Dream Stalker

Mari Bailey

4/9/2002

Review by Molly

When Heather Morgan sets out on the high school graduation gift trip from their parents to New York City with her best friend Tara Leonard she is determined that nothing is going to spoil her holiday. Heather has plans to visit as many museums and take in as much of the city as she possibly can during the time she and Tara will have in the city they have dreamed of visiting, but have not visited before. The one single blot on her enthusiasm are terrifying nightmares that have suddenly begun tormenting Heather, nightmares in which she is fleeing from something terrifying, something unseen.

The two ecstatic girls plan to spend an entire week during their first visit to the exhilarative city. Soon after their arrival the girls meet Curt Bonner a fellow about their age who tells them he is from the Boston area. Before long the girls begin to realize Curt Bonner is popping up everywhere they go. The thought that the pleasant young man may be a stalker is shocking to the girls Heather and Tara are loathe to leave New York, nevertheless they do look forward to leaving their seeming stalker behind. Heather's nightmares have not lessened, in fact they are at the moment much worse because the terrifying unseen something is visible at this time and the something terrifying is Curt Bonner.

In her initial offering Mari Bailey has created a chilling, roller coaster ride of a novel for her readers. Dream Stalker will hold young adults spellbound in reading this gripping suspense filled page turner. Readers will find the work hard to put down as they devour passage after electrifying passage. The terror Heather experiences is unmistakable, Tara is perfect as the dependable, feet on the ground confidant. Curt Bonner causes many a chill. Aunt Delilah is a delightful charmer.

Filled with much of the tension found in Melinda Rucker Haynes' YA novel Ghostly Acts, Dream Stalker is a fast-paced, stimulating read complete with powerful situations and a rich textured fabric of New York neighborhoods and sights, aromas, sounds and characters. Kudos to writer Bailey, she has produced a well thought out novel sure to please those who enjoy a good chilling thriller.

Keep the lights on and the doors locked. Watch those cues, hints and red herrings. The surprise ending may catch the non observant unaware!

You can find this book listed at adolescentlit.com.

Reviewed first for Word Weaving