★★★ 1/2 out of ★★★★★
By Michael David Wilson
Freddie, a young teacher and husband living in Japan, begins his days like most of us do- scrolling through his social media accounts to see who tweeted what, how many likes our latest Facebook post is getting, and keeping our “fomo” in check on Instagram. However, one morning he notices a direct message on his account – a video link that all but begs him to click, the URL hidden by the message “a late birthday present”.
Behind the link the video is strange, creepy, and a little bit sexy- but what follows after viewing is anything but. What follows is a story of paranoia and obsession that rips apart Freddie’s idyllic life, destroys his marriage, and takes a turn that no reader will see coming, not to mention you’ll never look at Hello Kitty the same way again!
Accurately described as “The Ring meets Fatal Attraction for the iPhone generation”, I read The Girl in the Video in one sitting and while I truly enjoyed this novella it is not for anyone who needs their plots tied up in a neat bow. Since I happen to be one of those people (and maybe this isn’t fair) it is the reason for that half-star and not a full fourth star; I actually yelled “But why?! I need to know!” reading the last pages. That didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book, I just need more, and you will too!
The Girl in the Video is being released on April 28, 2020, by Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. You can pre-order it in print or e-book format on their website, Amazon, or wherever you get your books.