Blog Tour – The Closer I Get by Paul Burston @Orendabooks @Randomthingstours

Welcome to Dark Reads stop on the Random Things Blog Tour for The Closer I get by Paul Burston. Many thanks to Anne and Orenda Books for inviting me to to take part in the Tour and for providing a digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

About The Book

Tom is a successful author, but he’s struggling to finish his novel. His main distraction is an online admirer, Evie, who simply won’t leave him alone.

Evie is smart, well read and unstable; she lives with her father and her social-media friendships are not only her escape, but everything she has.

When she’s hit with a restraining order, her world is turned upside down, and Tom is free to live his life again, to concentrate on writing. But things aren’t really adding up. For Tom is distracted but also addicted to his online relationships, and when they take a darker, more menacing turn, he feels powerless to change things. Because maybe he needs Evie more than he’s letting on.

Paperback: 276 pages
Publisher: Orenda Books (11 July 2019)
ISBN-10: 1912374773
ISBN-13: 978-1912374779

Get a copy of the book here

Dark Reads Review

Yikes! What an intensely dark read (see what I did there?!)

This is a story of Stalking, obsession, delusion, lies and deception and I loved every minute!

I find some of the scariest stories are the ones that can and do happen, The Closer I get is so relevant. The majority of use various social media platforms on a daily basis. I found this a really interesting premise, as a blogger the use of social media as a platform to talk about books and connect with other bloggers and authors felt very familiar. I love Twitter, and my bookish family, but if there was ever a book that would give you a phobia of social media this is it! The Closer I get demonstrates flawlessly how easily a ‘Social Media storm’ can be stirred up and how quickly things can get out of hand…

The book is told from both Evie and Tom’s perspectives through alternating chapters, this worked perfectly for this book. I would finish a Tom Chapter and feel like I knew what I thought, then I would read an Evie chapter and question everything I though I knew!

The book starts with a letter from Evie to Tom, it’s a chilling insight to how far her obsession and delusions have gone. Next we get to hear Tom’s statement to the police. The book continues with narratives from past and present. The tension mounts with every chapter, the paranoia and anxiety were palpable to the very end, and what an ending it was! This was the best ending to a book I have read in a long time. I have a feeling it will stay with me for a while.

I have to say that Burston’s ability to write characters is fantastic, particularly Evie. What a dark and complex character she is, she is intelligent and extremely well read, with lots of lovely literary quotes, she is an eccentric and deluded masterpiece, her monologue was beautifully written.

The Closer I get was a dark psychological thriller and I would pick up another Burston book in the blink of an eye. This one comes highly recommended from me.

About The Author

Paul Burston is the author of five novels and the editor of two short story collections.

His most recent novel ‘The Black Path’, was long-listed for the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2016 and was a bestseller at WH Smith. His first novel, ‘Shameless’, was shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. His third novel, ‘Lovers & Losers’ was shortlisted for a Stonewall Award. His fourth, ‘The Gay Divorcee’, was optioned for television.

He was a founding editor of Attitude magazine and has written for many publications including The Guardian, The Independent, Time Out, The Times and The Sunday Times.

In March 2016, he was featured in the British Council’s #FiveFilms4Freedom Global List 2016, celebrating “33 visionary people who are promoting freedom, equality and LGBT rights around the world”. He is the founder and host of London’s award-winning LGBT+ literary salon Polari and founder and chair of The Polari First Book Prize for new writing.

You can check out Paul’s Website here and follow him on Twitter (as long as you aren’t a crazy stalker! haha!)

Follow the rest of the blog Tour here