"An Excellent Debut Thriller"
Reviewed by Min Jung
Posted September 11, 2011
Thriller Psychological
Dr. Sheila Tao is a psychology professor at Puget Sound
State University, and Ethan Wolfe is one of her students and
teaching assistants. For the past three months (and
change), they have been sleeping together, but Sheila tells
Ethan that things must stop because she has become engaged.
She further suggests that he switch to a different adviser.
This enrages Ethan -- how dare Sheila dump him? How dare
she treat him like this? He threatens to release a sexually
explicit video the two of them made together, until Sheila
agrees to keep him under her purview. However, Ethan isn't satisfied. In his off-time, he begins
investigating Morris, Sheila's fiancé. He goes to Morris'
business, posing as a potential interviewee, in an elaborate
disguise, in an attempt to gather information on who he
perceives to be his competition. After that, Ethan begins
following Sheila, all to gain more information about her in
order to carry out the master plan -- kidnapping her. He
does this after one of her Sex Addict Anonymous meetings. Although she has been with Morris for quite awhile, she has
only recently disclosed her addiction to him. When she does
so, she also comes clean about her affair with Ethan. On
the heels of her admission, Morris is no longer that he can
marry her. They decide to meet for lunch before the final
pre-wedding meeting with the wedding planner, but Sheila
never shows up. Through a series of events, Morris
eventually reports her as missing. The police won't
investigate, so Morris hires a private investigator. And in
the meantime, Sheila is being held captive by a man who
seemingly has no conscience. This book grabbed my attention on the first page and it
never let go. There were some parts where I couldn't turn
the page quickly enough, as I raced to find out Sheila's
fate or to find out what Ethan was up to next. A good
thriller is hard to come by, because the author has to be
careful not to make things melodramatic. The bad guy has to
be bad yet not a caricature, and the victim has to be
sympathetic, yet not pathetic. Ms. Hillier did an excellent
job with this task, and I look forward to reading more of
her work.
Learn more about Creep
SUMMARY
Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in
human behaviour. And when she began an affair with sexy,
charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was
playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were
together, desolate and depressed when they weren't, she
realizes the three-month fling with her teaching assistant
has to end. After all, she's engaged to a kind and loving
investment banker who adores her, and her life is about to
change for the better. But when she attempts to cut the
affair dead in its tracks, Ethan Wolfe won't let her walk
away. Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a
sex tape that would surely get her fired and destroy her
prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting
him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening
move without her colleagues or her fiancé discovering her
most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound
State University: a female student, a star athlete, is
found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of
violence, sex and blackmail...and before she knows it,
Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with
the lover she couldn't resist — who is now the monster who
won't let her go.
ExcerptA trio of students still lingered in the lecture hall,
chattering loudly in one of the aisles. Hesitating, Sheila
walked toward Ethan, her insides tight.
She couldn't put it off any longer. It was time.
"Professor Tao," Ethan said as she approached. His
light gray eyes crawled over her face, missing
nothing. "Great lecture today. Very engaging. Even
learned something new, though of course I took this class
as an undergrad. You have such a refreshing take on
classic theories."
Always the terrific bullshitter. He usually got away
with it because of his good looks and cocky demeanor. But
today, the very sound of his voice made her want to throw
up.
"We need to talk." Her voice was low. She was
hyperaware of the three students still chatting about
twenty feet away in the otherwise empty hall.
"Oh?" He continued to study her. "About anything in
particular?"
"You know exactly what this is about."
"Let me guess. Leanne Armstrong tattled on me." He
finally broke eye contact to glance at his watch. "Can
this wait?"
Unbelievable. He knew damn well this wasn't about
Leanne. Fine, he wanted to play it that way, so be it.
"No, it can't." Her voice was still quiet, but she
spoke with authority. "Whatever the hell's going on
between us, you still work for me, and you still need to do
your job."
Ethan laughed, and the sound echoed in the large
auditorium. He didn't care who might be
listening. "You're ballsy. I always liked that about
you. Always so professional."
"Ethan—"
"So why don't you do my job as well? From now on, I'll
redirect all student concerns to you. You can handle that,
can't you?" He cocked his head to one side. "I know how
much you care about your students, Dr. Tao. You'd never
let them down. Especially me."
The three students still chatting in the lecture hall
were watching them, perplexed looks on their faces. Sheila
didn't think they could hear anything from where they were
standing, but there was no way to know.
Ethan leaned in closer and she could smell his cinnamon
breath. "I watched our video again last night, Sheila, and
I am this close to making you famous. Go ahead. Push me."
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