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Don't Talk to Strangers: A Novel
They were strangers in a seductive game of hide-and-seek.
One by one, the women were disappearing. Each had been young, vulnerable...and each had been spending time on the Internet "chatting" with a mysterious
stranger. It was Carrie Blue's job to track down that stranger, to put herself on the Internet in the guise of a lonely young student, and to smoke out a cunningly seductive killer.
But soon Carrie is drawn inexorably into a world where truth is indistinguishable from fiction, where fantasy and reality collide. It proves far more difficult than she ever could have imagined to resist the lure of a twisted mind--one that may already have figured out who Carrie is, and marked her as his next kill.
One by one, the women were disappearing. Each had been young, vulnerable...and each had been spending time on the Internet "chatting" with a mysterious
stranger. It was Carrie Blue's job to track down that stranger, to put herself on the Internet in the guise of a lonely young student, and to smoke out a cunningly seductive killer.
But soon Carrie is drawn inexorably into a world where truth is indistinguishable from fiction, where fantasy and reality collide. It proves far more difficult than she ever could have imagined to resist the lure of a twisted mind--one that may already have figured out who Carrie is, and marked her as his next kill.
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1996
18 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Bethany Campbell
97 books23 followersSally McCluskey (aka Bethany Campbell) was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, as an only child. She attended college beginning as a chemistry major, after quickly switching her major to English. She obtainded a B.A. from Wayne State Teachers College, and an M.A. in English from the University of Arkansas. She met her husband, Dan Borengasser, while both were graduate students at Northern Illinois University, where she obtained a Ph.D. in English.
Sally taught and in her spare time wrote, but after marriage, the couple moved to an area where teaching jobs were scarce, and she turned to writing full time. She wrote poetry, articles, short stories, and contributed to textbooks, but finally decided to try a romance novel at the urging of her mom and aunt, both avid romance fans. To Sally’s amazement, Harlequin bought her story After the Stars Fall and published it in 1985 under the pseudonym Bethany Campbell. She has also written as Lisa Harris. She has won three Romance Writers of America (RWA) RITA Awards, three Romantic Times Reviewer Awards, a Maggie Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.
She lived with her husband in northwest Arkansas. Her husband, who serves as Vice President of Ozark Film & Video Productions, also writes, and has had several short films and plays produced.
Sally taught and in her spare time wrote, but after marriage, the couple moved to an area where teaching jobs were scarce, and she turned to writing full time. She wrote poetry, articles, short stories, and contributed to textbooks, but finally decided to try a romance novel at the urging of her mom and aunt, both avid romance fans. To Sally’s amazement, Harlequin bought her story After the Stars Fall and published it in 1985 under the pseudonym Bethany Campbell. She has also written as Lisa Harris. She has won three Romance Writers of America (RWA) RITA Awards, three Romantic Times Reviewer Awards, a Maggie Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.
She lived with her husband in northwest Arkansas. Her husband, who serves as Vice President of Ozark Film & Video Productions, also writes, and has had several short films and plays produced.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 13, 2018
Internetis eksisteerib "Omega" MOON nimeline maagiline jututuba, kus igaüks saab endale valida just sellise identiteedi nagu nad igatsevad. See on koht, kust üksildased inimesed armastust ning abieluinimesed kõrvalsuhteid otsivad, terroristid tegutsevad ning isegi üks mõrvar naistele jahti peab.
Kui üksteise järel kaovad noored naised, kelle ainsaks ühendavaks lüliks on, et nad olid eelnevalt MOON-is kellegiga tutvunud ning oletavalt selle inimesega kohtuma läinud, siis hakkab ühte kadumisjuhtumitest uurima eradetektiiv Hayden Ivanovich. Mees palkab endale abiks endise politseiniku Carrie Blue, kelle ülesandeks on varjunime all jututoas ringi liikuda ning kahtlane mees üles leida.
"Mehe ilme muutus kinniseks. Ta toetas küünarnukid lauale ja asetas sõrmed katusekujuliselt kokku. "Mul on üks klient," ütles ta. "Ta tundis huvi ühe "Omega tüdruku vastu. Tüdruk on kadunud."
"Kas "Omegast"? küsis Carrie.
"Täiesti kadunud," lausus Ivanovich, ja jälgis otsekui Carrie reageeringu tugevuse hindamiseks tema nägu. "Tüdruku nimi on Gretchen Small. Memphise riigiülikooli teise kursuse tudeng. haihtus kevadvaheajal õhku. Seitsme nädala eest broneeris ta endale edasi-tagasipileti Chicagosse. Sinna ta lendas, aga tagasipilet jäi temast kasutama. Ja sealtmaalt edasi ei tea me temast enam midagi."
"Ülejäänu on vaikus," mõtles Carrie, tundes sügaval kontides mingit pahaendelist pakitsust. Ta küsis: "Kas tema kadumine on kudiagiviisi seotud "Omega" MOON-iga?"
"Ta tutvus "Omegas" ühe teise vennikesega. Võib-olla vale venniksega. Minu klient on mures. Gretcheni loodud tegelaskuju on MOON-ist kustutatud. Klient väidab, et tüdruk ise poleks seda ealeski teinud. Ja ta ei ole esimene sel moel kaduma läinud neiu." (lk. 35)
See raamat on mu riiulis olnud juba aastaid ning ma tõesti ei mäleta, kas olen seda juba korra lugenud või mitte. Olin meeldivalt üllatunud. Tagant järele analüüsides võiksin muidugi teatud asju kritiseerida, näiteks tundus tegelaste käitumisviis kohati ebaloogiline, kuid ei hakka seda pikemalt tegema, sest lugemiselamust see ei vähendanud.
Kuigi raamat ilmus juba 22 aastat tagasi, on see sisu poolest üllatavalt aktuaalne. Põhiidee on ju selles, et internetis suheldes ja ennast avades tuleb ettevaatlik olla, turvatunne on siiski ainult näiline.
Kui üksteise järel kaovad noored naised, kelle ainsaks ühendavaks lüliks on, et nad olid eelnevalt MOON-is kellegiga tutvunud ning oletavalt selle inimesega kohtuma läinud, siis hakkab ühte kadumisjuhtumitest uurima eradetektiiv Hayden Ivanovich. Mees palkab endale abiks endise politseiniku Carrie Blue, kelle ülesandeks on varjunime all jututoas ringi liikuda ning kahtlane mees üles leida.
"Mehe ilme muutus kinniseks. Ta toetas küünarnukid lauale ja asetas sõrmed katusekujuliselt kokku. "Mul on üks klient," ütles ta. "Ta tundis huvi ühe "Omega tüdruku vastu. Tüdruk on kadunud."
"Kas "Omegast"? küsis Carrie.
"Täiesti kadunud," lausus Ivanovich, ja jälgis otsekui Carrie reageeringu tugevuse hindamiseks tema nägu. "Tüdruku nimi on Gretchen Small. Memphise riigiülikooli teise kursuse tudeng. haihtus kevadvaheajal õhku. Seitsme nädala eest broneeris ta endale edasi-tagasipileti Chicagosse. Sinna ta lendas, aga tagasipilet jäi temast kasutama. Ja sealtmaalt edasi ei tea me temast enam midagi."
"Ülejäänu on vaikus," mõtles Carrie, tundes sügaval kontides mingit pahaendelist pakitsust. Ta küsis: "Kas tema kadumine on kudiagiviisi seotud "Omega" MOON-iga?"
"Ta tutvus "Omegas" ühe teise vennikesega. Võib-olla vale venniksega. Minu klient on mures. Gretcheni loodud tegelaskuju on MOON-ist kustutatud. Klient väidab, et tüdruk ise poleks seda ealeski teinud. Ja ta ei ole esimene sel moel kaduma läinud neiu." (lk. 35)
See raamat on mu riiulis olnud juba aastaid ning ma tõesti ei mäleta, kas olen seda juba korra lugenud või mitte. Olin meeldivalt üllatunud. Tagant järele analüüsides võiksin muidugi teatud asju kritiseerida, näiteks tundus tegelaste käitumisviis kohati ebaloogiline, kuid ei hakka seda pikemalt tegema, sest lugemiselamust see ei vähendanud.
Kuigi raamat ilmus juba 22 aastat tagasi, on see sisu poolest üllatavalt aktuaalne. Põhiidee on ju selles, et internetis suheldes ja ennast avades tuleb ettevaatlik olla, turvatunne on siiski ainult näiline.
September 9, 2021
I enjoyed this book but it did take me a while to read it as I uess I didn't really care what happened. Having said.that though it was different.
When girls go missing there us a suspicion that there is a serial killer on a virtual chat room.that they had all gone on. Carrie is hired to work undercover to try to find the killer.
Part of the story is the killer talking and his obsession with killing girls and part of the book is Carrie's life and her time spent in the chat room. I wasn't terribly interested in the sexual antics of people in a virtual chat room...kind of creepy I thought.
I guess the point of the book is when you talk to a stranger on-line you don't know that person at all. People though become so desperately lonely that they risk everything to try to find love. An entertaining and different read.
When girls go missing there us a suspicion that there is a serial killer on a virtual chat room.that they had all gone on. Carrie is hired to work undercover to try to find the killer.
Part of the story is the killer talking and his obsession with killing girls and part of the book is Carrie's life and her time spent in the chat room. I wasn't terribly interested in the sexual antics of people in a virtual chat room...kind of creepy I thought.
I guess the point of the book is when you talk to a stranger on-line you don't know that person at all. People though become so desperately lonely that they risk everything to try to find love. An entertaining and different read.
May 26, 2017
Thrilling, powerful, suspenseful, and a unique read! This story brings to better light a frightening and real issue with social media today. Vulnerable, young people have no idea what they may be getting themselves into chatting with strangers on the internet, and this book lays out pretty well how terrible things can happen. The characters here are a bit too good to be true, but acceptable because the story is so good. The chapters are a bit long so no convenient breaks allowed, but worth the time to read.
July 25, 2018
It wasn't exactly my favourite book of the year. Characters can be a little lesspersonality. The romantic relation shipp was a little unnecesary, and it came to a point whe things were happening so fast. I think the most interesting thing about the book was Omega and the virtual sex/relationship thing. i have to addmit that the second half of the good keep me reading like crazy. it was a good reading, it helped me to get out of my reading block. and to help a bit the book, it wasn't exactly what i was waiting for.
December 5, 2019
Wow I loved this book! It was powerful, thrilling and exciting to read. I tried to make it last a few nights as it was too good to end. Will be looking for more books by this author.
May 24, 2018
Una re lectura, que decidí hacer porque este libro me servía para el reto calendario en el que estoy participando. Generalmente, las re lecturas me producen cierto pánico, porque hay libros que tienen esa magia que a veces no sobrevive a una nueva visita a sus páginas. Afortunadamente, no ha sido el caso de Peligro en la red, al contrario este libro logró atraparme nuevamente, logró hacerme disfrutar con su historia, volver a tener nostalgia de los juegos de rol, y ponerme nerviosa en los momentos claves por el destino de los personajes.
Peligro en la red, nos habla de un asesino en serie, que acecha a sus víctimas a través de Luna Omega, un enorme juego de rol, en donde cada uno decide ser alguien más. Como a Brooke, me sorprende como las palabras pueden cobrar vida y crear nuevos mundos, en los cuales podemos perdernos y vivir miles de aventuras.
Sabemos quién es el asesino, ya que la autora nos permite disfrutar de varios puntos de vistas diferentes, podemos ver Luna Omega y el mundo real a través de los ojos de los personajes, saber que sienten y lo que piensan, porque muchas veces eso que dicen no es lo que hay en sus mentes. Hacía el final, tenemos dos sucesos importantes que le dan un gran cierre al libro y que hacen que por momentos te quedes sin aliento. Definitivamente, lo recomiendo.
Peligro en la red, nos habla de un asesino en serie, que acecha a sus víctimas a través de Luna Omega, un enorme juego de rol, en donde cada uno decide ser alguien más. Como a Brooke, me sorprende como las palabras pueden cobrar vida y crear nuevos mundos, en los cuales podemos perdernos y vivir miles de aventuras.
Cuanto más tiempo pasaba en su mundo de ensueños, más inadecuada ses entía en el de verdad; le parecía aburrido y hostil. No pertenecía a él, no encagaba, no sabía comportarse, y no se molestaba en aprender.
Sabemos quién es el asesino, ya que la autora nos permite disfrutar de varios puntos de vistas diferentes, podemos ver Luna Omega y el mundo real a través de los ojos de los personajes, saber que sienten y lo que piensan, porque muchas veces eso que dicen no es lo que hay en sus mentes. Hacía el final, tenemos dos sucesos importantes que le dan un gran cierre al libro y que hacen que por momentos te quedes sin aliento. Definitivamente, lo recomiendo.
La vida real era corta, dura y vacía; nunca la había acogido ni tampoco se había dejado acoger.
January 23, 2021
Full disclaimer I got this from the teeny library where I live as it was one of the few books they have in English. I literally just picked it up and read it.
As a person born in 1997, all of the computer-based technical aspects of this book are both adorable and hilarious. It doesn't make it bad at all but it gives an extra layer to a lot of the story/drama going on because you can't help but see this through a 2019 lense. Despite this, it still managed to interest me! It's like a catfish story from before we even had instant messaging services, if anything the aging of this book may have benefited it because I don't think I've ever heard of any story even remotely like this one, so ironically, it felt fresh and new.
Classically, there's a very "tied up neatly" ending, and some super dramatic moments which to me felt a little unnecessary but I can understand that the genre kinda demands it and that I am like so far from the intended audience.
Overall, it was fun to read, I enjoyed the story and was engaged throughout and genuinely interested in how different aspects would play out. I also found myself picturing it as a film a lot, which I don't normally do when I read, so maybe that means something I guess?
I suppose ultimately, if you feel like an easy read with a fun story and a likable characters, go for it. Or if you find it in your library.
As a person born in 1997, all of the computer-based technical aspects of this book are both adorable and hilarious. It doesn't make it bad at all but it gives an extra layer to a lot of the story/drama going on because you can't help but see this through a 2019 lense. Despite this, it still managed to interest me! It's like a catfish story from before we even had instant messaging services, if anything the aging of this book may have benefited it because I don't think I've ever heard of any story even remotely like this one, so ironically, it felt fresh and new.
Classically, there's a very "tied up neatly" ending, and some super dramatic moments which to me felt a little unnecessary but I can understand that the genre kinda demands it and that I am like so far from the intended audience.
Overall, it was fun to read, I enjoyed the story and was engaged throughout and genuinely interested in how different aspects would play out. I also found myself picturing it as a film a lot, which I don't normally do when I read, so maybe that means something I guess?
I suppose ultimately, if you feel like an easy read with a fun story and a likable characters, go for it. Or if you find it in your library.
March 22, 2023
El principio un poco lento y aburrido, pero a medida que va avanzando la obra se pone más interesante. El final de los personajes me lo esperaba la verdad, pero no me ha dejado de gustar por eso, al contrario. Perooo el final final me ha dejado..._.
March 13, 2016
This was a great book. It's a story about an Internet site that is a virtually reality site where one can go and chat with others under assumed names and false aliases. It's a place where anything goes (including cybersex). Things take a turn for the worse when girls start disappearing for real and one turns up dead. One of the users of the sites employs a private detective to look for the one dead girl (he doesn't know she is dead at the time) and he in turns hire two women to go on the site to try to draw the killer out. What follows is a cat and mouse game to try to catch the real life killer while it exposes the dangers of how easy it is to manipulate the truth on the internet. A great read for those who like psychological thrillers/murder mysteries!!
April 12, 2014
Well paced, carefully plotted, overall a great read!
April 8, 2017
Riveting read
This story shows how dangerous the Internet can be..the characters are well developed and I had trouble putting my kindle down.
This story shows how dangerous the Internet can be..the characters are well developed and I had trouble putting my kindle down.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews