The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner

Scary books are not my thing.  In all honesty, scary anything is not my thing.  Just ask my husband about the time he made me ride Stitch's Great Escape (formerly known as Alien Encounter) at Magic Kingdom.  The "Happiest Place on Earth" was not so happy that day.  So when I had this brilliant idea we decided to make October all about scary books here at TFA, I didn't think I would have much material to contribute.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the book that I was currently reading (I Googled scary books and it was one that came up!) would end up qualifying for a review this month.

Scary.  But good.

Gardner writes a disturbing tale of marriage gone horribly wrong.  After she uncovers that her husband Jim is a serial murderer, Tess takes matters into her own hands and goes to the police.  Jim, a respected police officer, is eventually jailed but he escapes (of course..don't they always in scary-type stories?).  Tess knows that Jim will stop at nothing to kill her once he is released so she finds a safe place to hide her young daughter and treks across the country to hire and train with a present-day mercenary.  As an ex-Marine, J.T. is perfect for the job.  He's fit.  He's tough. Yeah, he has a drinking problem, but that is a minor detail.  At least Tess hopes it is.

So where is the scary?  Everywhere. Just the fact that she might not convince J.T. to help her train/get stronger is scary because he is her ticket to staying alive.  What if Jim finds where she hid their daughter?  Would he use her to lure Tess to him before she was ready?  What if J.T.'s sister, a FBI agent, blew her cover?  The biggest scare factor, though, is that Jim had a police background.  He had old uniforms, he knew the vernacular, he could assimilate himself into virtually any situation unnoticed.  I feared every new character Gardner introduced because I was certain that Jim was going to appear at any moment and continue his killing spree.  When the police found a severed head of one of their own in the ceiling duct of the headquarters conference room, things got particularly eerie.  Jim was a master of disguises too, which didn't help my nerves.

All in all, my first venture at reading a scary novel was a success.  It wasn't so scary that I had to quit reading it but it was scary enough that I had to take short breaks between chapters.  So, I think that means I may be ready for more scary books.  That does not mean however, that I am ready to ride Stitch's Great Escape (formerly known as Alien Encounter) again.  Dumbo ride, anyone?