Someone You Know

By Gary Zebrun

Book Overview

Newspaper columnist Daniel Caruso has a wife he loves deeply, a daughter who means everything to him, and an obsessive secret life that threatens it all. At a conference in Seattle, he meets Stephen Hart, a handsome firefighter, and the two spend a passionate night together. Awakening alone and deeply conflicted the next morning, Daniel resigns himself once again to the hollow, tainted pleasures of his dual existence. His encounter with Hart, though, is far more than a one-night stand: it marks the beginning of a terrifying, noirish descent.On the journey home to Providence, R.I., Daniel receives a bizarre and frightening sign that someone knows the most intimate details of his life. Then, after he reunites with his family, another message makes it chillingly clear that Stephen Hart has been murdered. The killer, taunting Daniel through macabre communications, paints a brutally accurate portrait of Daniel's sexual obsessions, leaving no doubt that he is watching Daniel's every move - and those of his family. As Daniel desperately tries to shield his wife and daughter from the truth, he succumbs to the killer's diabolical manipulations and is dragged deeper into a netherworld of bathhouses and S/M clubs in a nerve-shattering thriller driven by the devastating price of secrecy.Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, Gary Zebrun's debut novel returns to print, accompanied by an introduction by Scott Hightower.

"This astonishing first novel combines excellent prose, dialogue, and character, drawing with throat-gripping suspense that invites comparison with Hitchcock, Woolrich and Charlotte Armstrong." - Ellery Queen Magazine

"Cool as witch hazel, frightening as a fresh body part ... guaranteed to give you sleepless nights ... If you've ever wondered what goes on inside those big old clapboard houses in Providence, Rhode Island, this beautifully crafted novel will give you the horrifying scoop." - Edmund White

"In this first novel, Gary Zebrun introduces himself as a major fiction writing talent ... Someone You Know is not only a compelling mystery, but an emotionally charged and acutely observed psychological portrait of a lost and secretive man forced by a widening circle of murders to confront who he is." - Ron Hansen

"Gary Zebrun's Someone You Know is a harrowing and at times heartbreaking account of one good man's futile hope that he can contain the increasingly dangerous mess his closeted life has created for him ... This is a hugely impressive debut, filled with tenderness, wisdom, and clarity of insight." - Jim Shepard

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1959902377
• ISBN13: 9781959902379
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Requeered Tales
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

An Author You Should Know

The premise of SOMEONE YOU KNOW is intriguing: a married guy who has anonymous sex with men on business trips and at the local cruising parks suddenly finds himself in a web of murder that threatens to reveal his true sexual identity. The book itself was a very quick read and does, indeed, grab the reader and makes them hold on for the ride. You want to know who the killer is, and you want to know if your different suspicions are true. However, without giving anything away, I would also have liked to have seen less of the seedy side of gay sex and more about the man's struggle with coming out. It seems that the reader would have felt more sympathy toward the main character, his affected family, and the killer's victims if all of his sexual encounters with men weren't met in dirty, dark locations. (Hello, Senator Craig!) Additionally, as other reviewers have noted, a bit more mystery about the killer's identity would have been welcome. Overall, I would give this debut novel 5 stars, as the writing was excellent and did not bore the reader; it flowed naturally. However, the story is probably only 3 stars as it stands. I feel that it could have been executed (enter bad pun here!) better. Hence, my average rating of 4 stars. I look forward to Zebrun's next novel, Only the Lonely.

Channeling Hitchcock

It is evident, after only a few pages of his impressive debut novel Someone You Know, that Gary Zebrun has produced a page-turner worthy of late night reading chills. In fact, this book which has since been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in the Mystery category, has enough going for it to make Zebrun an author to watch. Someone is sleek and briskly told, and will engage the reader immediately, defying to be put down. The story centers around talented journalist Daniel Caruso, a closeted married father of one who has plenty of anonymous sex at home and abroad. It is his unfortunateness that he attracts the attention of a serial killer, who begins murdering his conquests. Blackmail and mailings of body parts ensues, erupting into a cat and mouse game as Caruso attempts to outwit his tormentor, believing it is someone he knows. However, Someone is more than just a well-painted thriller. It is an examination of the self we hide from ourselves as well as other people; lies told to keep afloat, and lies told to others so as not to alert them to our demons. Caruso is a hard drinking, self-destructive man who is wracked with guilt and shame, by himself and the killer. And Zebrun is a skilled enough writer to allow his protagonist to remain flawed from beginning to end, particularly when his secrecy becomes too big for him to contain from his family. There is no magic redemption here, and no fully predictable ending, even though one wishes desperately that Caruso would come to his senses before it is too late. Fuzzy plot points aside and forgiven, Someone is mostly clean and smartly written, and gets right to the point. One applauds Zebrun for pushing Caruso right to the edge, particularly in a finger-in-the-socket scene in which Caruso is faced with a razor sharp and undeniable brand of humiliation in front of his wife and daughter. Someone You Know is sure to find itself a following this summer, and some may be compelled to read it twice. If Alfred Hitchcock were alive today, given his bold direction and fondness for telling twisted stories involving the effects of sexuality on the common man, he'd readily add this to his cannon, which includes similar-minded works as Psycho, Rope, Vertigo, Rear Window, and Frenzy.

Taut, edgy thriller

If you thought the dead rabbit in the movie "Fatal Attraction" was creepy, hold on tight. How about a killer who sends a body part from each victim in the mail? That's what happens to Dan Caruso, a newspaper columnist who is married and closeted. He tricks with ferocity, his unrequited lust burning within him and driving him to risky choices. He finds that men he has slept with are getting murdered--and the body parts he receives are the gruesome bonus. He goes to a police detective for help--of course, it's a guy he has tricked with. The investigation delves into a seamy world of dark bathhouses and S & M bars. Why the killer is tormenting Dan is central to this suspenseful story. The writing is lean and keeps pulling you through page after page. You'll find yourself drawn to this creepy, unusual story and maybe even breathless by the end.

Roller coaster ride!

Great book! Gary Zebrun has a hit from the start! It's a quick read that takes your mind away from everyday life and makes you think "what if" someone was following you and knew your secrets. How would you react?

Interesting gay mystery,

I found this book both chilling and quite entertaining. I think you will too.