With thousands of online hookup services available just a mouse click away, many men have taken their chances meeting a complete stranger, with the hopes of fun and gratification. But
what if, instead of pleasure, the stranger behind the screen name arrived with the intention of causing bodily harm, or even death This perilous possibility is highlighted in
award-winning author Rick R. Reed'ss thriller novel, IM (ISBN 9781932300796, Quest Books, 2007).
Hailed as the Stephen King of gay horror by Unzipped magazine, Reed brings readers a fast-paced, enthralling story filled with mystery and gore. The serial killer of IM peruses gay
internet hookup chat rooms for potential victims. Through lusty instant messages, the killer seduces other men into inviting him to their homes under the pretense of romance. The
unknowing victims's hopes of passionate fun, however, are quickly dashed when brutal murder usurps their plans for romance.
When recently out and ousted gay Chicago police detective Ed Comparetto is called in to investigate the murders, he is sickened by the bloodshed and becomes determined to find the killer.
Ed'ss career, sanity and boyfriend are all on the line as he works to discover the truth before the killer strikes again. The suspenseful twist in IM is that the killer may already be
dead himself, the victim of a similar crime to the ones now being perpetrated.
Through the skillful use of alternating points-of view and multiple first and third person accounts, Reed manages to keep readers in nail-biting suspense. IM also makes use of a rather
audacious tactic with a frightening look into the killer'ss mind in the form of up close and personal first-person narratives.
I like having that immediacy and bringing readers right into my own little nightmare world, Reed says. Most of my writing is the kind of horror that can really happen, and I think that'ss
what makes it so terrifying.
About the Author
Rick R. Reed lives with his partner in Miami, Florida. His novel A Face Without a Heart, a modern-day version of Oscar Wilde'ss The Picture of Dorian Gray, was named Best Novel of 2000 by
the Queer Horror Awards. Reed'ss short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, including the Lambda Literary Award-winning, I Do/I Don'st. His next novel, In the Blood, a vampire
love story, will be out in November.
IM (ISBN 9781932300796, Quest Books, 2007) can be purchased through local and online bookstores. For more information, visit www.rickrreed.com.
Publicity contact: www.readerviews.com. Review copies available upon request.