Support Buddy

by Lesley A. Camphouse

“Hi, my name is Cameron, but my friends call me Cam. And… I am a pedophile.”

Cameron was living his life just fine. He had his family, his friends, and an occasional date with whoever was willing to, to keep up the facade.

His life is turned upside down when he has an epiphany and wants to do something good in life. High on his savior complex, he signs a contract that forces him to speak at an event, where he tells his biggest secret to the audience.

Cameron is a pedophile, but no one knows. As the day of his reveal comes closer, Cameron wants a way out, but the organization refuses his departure. He is the main event.

Everything goes to shit when he decides to confide in his best friend when he realizes he has no other option. His best friend Jester fixes his problem, but now Cam owes him, and Jester’s coming to collect…

This is an Extreme Horror Novel. Consider this a warning for everything. 18+.

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk, Thriller, Adult Fiction, Adult, Mental Health, Dark

168 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2025

About the author

Lesley is a Dutch author who writes unhinged stories across the genres of Extreme Horror/Splatterpunk, Erotic Horror, Romantasy, and Dark Romance. Her signature is creative gore and creating characters you sympathize with, whether you want to or not.

She lives secluded with her husband and their five cats. When Lesley isn't writing, she's either reading, obsessing over oddities, or contemplating whether her nerd collection needs to be expanded. (Yes, the answer is always yes.)

Reviews

[Stacy]

Heavens to Betsy , this book took an unscheduled chill in the freezer.

Where do I even start with this mess?

You know that awesome feeling when you step in dog poop while walking? Yeah, Cam is that poop that just won't scrape off your shoe. Cam is super gross.

At first, Cam tries to sugarcoat things to make you think what he's doing isn't that terrible. Cam does score a teensy point for something he does to Katie , and by teensy, I mean one.

There's not a single likable adult in this book. I was so furious with this book that it had to take another timeout in the freezer!

Thanks, Lesley, for bringing out the angry beast in me. I love the book. This was definitely extreme. So, before you dive in, make sure you know your triggers, or you might just end up like me , freezer and all!

[Peter Topside]

This was one of hardest books that I've read to date. I honestly almost DNFed it several times. The focus is pedophiles, and it gets very graphic and gritty with the entire underground dealings of such people. Stuff that I wouldn't even dare to say out loud. I read extreme horror quite often and rather enjoy it, but this was all very real-world type of horror, which can actually be much harder to process. With all that being said, this was a really uncomfortable, yet unique, concept. I haven't read Lesley Camphouse before, but she really came up with something special here. She wanted to disgust the reader and expose things that most of us would never dream about in our worst nightmares, and the mission was absolutely accomplished. Cameron, as our lead, had a tremendous amount of depth as we were given a full access ride through his conflicted feelings and actions throughout. It humanized pedophiles in certain ways, but, at the same time, also had a lot of mixed messages with how the reader was meant to take it all in. There was really two extremes of these people, neither good, but I felt like the story never took a definitive stance, nor was the reader able to do so, either. I also thought that there were too many plot points introduced for such a short story, and it would have been better served with less, doing some deeper dives into Cameron's focus. So, it wasn't without some room for improvement but was still a memorable experience. Reader beware on this one, but, if you have the stomach for it, it's well worth your time.

[Veronica ☠️]

Cam lives a normal life to hide what he truly is inside. He is a predator, but he's never acted out anything. He actually hates that he's this way and a way to be a better person is he actually fights off the bad guys who act out these awful crimes. He agrees to speak at a conference about his ways but gets cold feet at the last minute. He comes clean to his best friend Jester, who is a lawyer, and that's when more truths are told.

Jester also confides in Cam by telling him someone has been abusing his little boy, and he needs Cams help to find the predator and end him. Together, these two go on a major killing spree trying to find the monster who did this. They are put in very compromising situations, they do some really awful things, and innocent people are dragged in along the way. But what both of them don't know is that sometimes the monsters are hiding in plain sight.

This was a very heavy read. And also a very conflicting one. You see Cam struggle with his inner demons, and at times, it's hard not to feel bad for him. He's eliminating bad people, but he is also not so innocent. Even if he doesn't want to do certain things, he at times does, and it makes him just as bad. This was sad. Painful. Because this happens in our world today. The ending had to go that way. I do want to give the author credit because of how this book was written. Yes, it's a nasty subject, and there are some really disgusting scenes, but nothing is glorified here. It's just the sad reality on paper. It was a very tough read but a good one.

[megb]

this was a tough read however very well written! i’m surprised at how much i didn’t dislike the main character Cam. (i cannot say i liked him considering who he was 😂) the ending was very bleak, but i thought it was very fitting for the subject matter

[The_5ft_reader]

unbelievably hard read, I don't recommend it, its very detailed in places, very hard to stomach, so many mixed feelings reading this!

[Justin]

Very entertaining, the message was strong and clear, my emotions were all over the place, I won't ever forget reading it, the book had so many "Holy sh!t!" moments, crazy twist, and ended well. Solid 5 star book that will shock you. Guaranteed.

Trigger warnings to the max ⚠️⚠️

[Lizzy]

I enjoyed this one a bit more than distorted metamorphosis (though I also enjoyed that one). I felt the beginning was a bit rushed and less well written, but it completely levelled up once the story got going

I've engaged with a decent amount of extreme media and am honestly quite desensitised, but this made me feel viscerally uncomfortable and even squeamish in some scenes. I found myself squinting during the final scene in hopes that would somehow make it less excruciating to read 😭

This authors talent really shines through in the gorey/disturbing scenes, but I feel her stories would benefit from a longer page count with more set up and time to let the tension build

[Erica Hart]

This book was amazing! Sad and graphic, it details the world of paedophiles, including graphic content on the dark web.
The gore and torture the children are put through is stomach churning, so definitely check your triggers.
The book also makes you feel sorry for Cam, the lead character, a paedophile who hates what he is.
The twist had me gagged, as did the ending. I
I highly recommend this. Lesley's writing is thought provoking, visceral and heartfelt.

[Diane]

This has to be one of the most explicit books that I have read,I don't really know where to start with reviewing this dark,vile and twisted story.
It was extremely well written and I did enjoy the whole aspect of the book with it's twists and turns.
It was hard to take in at times and some bits were excruciatingly distressing with disgusting scenes that sent shivers down my spine and made me break out in a hot sweat!
Lesley Camphouse doesn't hold back at all here...and the subject matter may/will trigger some readers.

I have to give this book 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟's... it totally deserves it for delving into the dirty world of Cam and Jes.

[Mrsgmamma]

Wow this was deep and honestly kind of heartbreaking in the end. Cam is a pedophile but not like your normal pedophile (hard for me to explain), until he is. Cams best friend jester thinks his son has been being abused and someone had been touching on him so cam and jester decide to find out. Cam gets into these online groups and pretends to be all into what these other pedophiles are into. But cam definitely screws up with this (which you will find out why and how at the end of the story, but I will not spoil that for you). So cam and jester meet up with these pedophiles and decide to put a hit on them to try and find out who is the one responsible for touching on his son.
The ending definitely took me for surprise. I definitely didn’t see it ending that way. Cam was a superhero in the end, but regretted how it turned out for him to get that way, and well you will have to honestly read it to understand the rest. I truly had tears in my eyes.

[Sea Caummisar]

I had a friend tell me that this is the only book that has ever made her feel sorry for a pedo.
And my mind was blown. because who feels bad for a pedo? especially not her. and not me.
I had to see what the fuss was about.
I did not feel sorry for the pedo, but I also didn't 100percent hate the pedo either... I mean, I did not absolutely seeth and have the compelling urge to unalive the pedo. I didn't like the pedo either, but I wasn't filled with hate. Hard to understand? yeah, this review is so confusing and I'll add spoilers buried under the tag for my reasoning.. the pedo (main character of this story) does not act upon his urges. Even he sees his urges as a curse. So is he a pedo? Yes. Has he ever touched a child in an untoward manner? No. Does that make a difference? I suppose that's a matter of opinion.... There's more to the story, like some TERRIBLE things (for good reason), but not the worst things he could have done to children....

[Eve L. Fell]

Speechless

5/5 🍒

This book has me at a literal loss of words and a giant whirlwind of emotions. Knowing things like this happen in real life. Anyone who thinks it doesn’t is extremely naive.

Cam is a pedophile. He has never touched a child but he is attracted to children. He agrees to participate in an organization where he will tell a small audience about how he is a pedophile who isn’t a monster.

He gets cold feet and his best friend who is also a lawyer helps him out of the contract so he doesn’t have to speak at the organizations event.

After his best friend Jester helps him he asks for something in return. Something dark that takes Cam down a dark, dark path.

The content in this book is disgusting and made me nauseous. But on the other side of the coin, the stuff in the book is very real. Parents should be more scared of the things that can happen to their children. You truly can’t trust ANYONE with your kids and this book will remind you why. Do not go into this book without reading the triggers for the love of god.

[Pisces51]

Support Buddy (2025) was enjoyed by reading at bedtime the past couple of nights. This was only one of several works by the creative, original, and immensely talented Indie Author Lesley A. Camphouse which I have purchased. I love her immersive writing style, her abject fearlessness, perfect pacing, and complex character development.

I noted some stellar reviews on Goodreads by friends I consider mentors in nurturing my fascination for Splatterpunk/Extreme Horror.

I do not conjure up any negatives as the clock approaches the Witching Hour. Pedophilia, specifically defined as acting upon sexual desires with a prepubescent child, in my personal opinion, is an indefensible act. We know the alternative achronyms for a man who prefers prepubescent children like the one for "minor attracted people". The character of Cam piqued me a bit in this sensitive if not false arena of psychology. My beef with pedophilia is the total utterly comprehensive recitivism rate. It is perhaps heartless and certainly ruthless to opine that if a man cannot be reformed it is only logical for his freedom to be annihilated one way or another with his shoes to never strike the pavement of a city street or a little country town.

Camphouse does a wonderful job in creating anti-villains which are clearly just plain unadulterated villains. That said in the case of the main character of Cam I did feel for his anguish with empathy I did not believe went that deep. Could such a conflicted pedophilia exist? Camphouse convinced me but hey! it was not easy especially because of his changing POVs about the abbatoir he and his best buddy Jester built for them instead of a nice swimming pool. His final act redeemed him in my opinion.

A final word which leans sharply to savvy is that while the horrific, stomach churning acts of depravity were being described in the narrative it was third person and viewed through an additional lens. The immersive egregious acts of vengeance were more direct hits to the emotional solar plexus.

Keep up the stellar Extreme Horror. I love the originality and colorful twists on old plot lines. Kudos.


CAMPHOUSE BETTER AND BETTER!

[Bookaholic__Reviews]

I have so many thoughts and feelings and I don't know what to do about them right now because...wtf. Part of me wants to feel pity for Cam, but like no. Ugh! Messed up literally from start to finish. 😩

My mind went immediately to Jon Athans The Groomer or even Into The Wolves Den.... and I just know much like those books this one is going to have people in an absolute tizzy.

I have to give huge props as well to the narrator. Solid performance on what I have no doubts was not easy to read aloud.

I received an audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

[Alexa (reading slump)]

This shit was so fucking ass. I can't even right now.
Like, there are so many dumb things that happened I can't even wrap my head around them.
Plus, there are so many plot holes it's actually insane that this got published.
DO.NOT. READ.THIS. BULLSHIT.

***spoilers and all the issues I have with this book****

1. Cam’s denial that he would never hurt a child in the beginning just because he’s never laid hands on one. (You splooshed to CSA, bro; you are as guilty as the rest of them.)


2. Jester is conveniently manipulative towards Cam into doing things that don’t make sense. When he asks Cam to get some pictures, it’s pretty much implied he needs to get a kid, and Cam is scared enough for his life to do so. And what’s fucking crazy is Jester has the gall to act surprised when Cam does what he says by saying, “You could have deepfaked it.” But you didn’t fucking ask for that.


3. Debra’s character feels so out of place. Like, what do you mean she works for this really good company and can keep up a good, clean appearance, like clothes, makeup, etc.? She was obviously well put together enough for Cam to trust her. Her spiral, her living situation, and her death were way too convenient.


4. I still don’t know why Cam signed up to speak at the organization because it actually serves no value to the venue or to him. And they never elaborate on that besides Debra wanting him to say he’s a rapist to a private group of people. How will that help the children?


5. Sarah, aka Elly’s mom, is so fucking stupid you’d think she’s brain dead. If she was such a mama bear, why would she leave her kid to a guy she just met, and why wouldn’t she suspect him first when the photos got leaked? Even Cam thinks she is foolish, and that’s saying something.


6. The pedophile's little collection of fetuses and kids in jars gave me a fucking eye roll. I know this part is for shock value and “you can’t imagine how far these sick fucks can go,” but Jesus, I wanted to throw my phone. It was such a cheesy thing.


7. Another gripe about their plan to kill all pedophiles on the site they use… How does Jester know his kid is on that special site? Literally, how does he fucking know?



8. I mean, I guess I enjoyed when it was revealed that Bobby’s mother was the one who was abusing him. Her death was satisfying.


9. How the fuck did these guys not expect the photos they submitted to be used as content for the site? Why are they surprised that it went viral? And why does Jester try to convince Cam “it’s alright, it was a necessary evil”. NO TF ITS NOT JESTER.


This book was also hard to read with all the errors it had. You’d think all the people that helped her write it would say something about it.

[Dal R]

Got halfway and had to stop. This book seems more like a confession than a made up story and it’s vile.

[Heather Tarkington]

I can’t even describe how amazing this book is. It isn’t splatterpunk in the normal way-it is splatterpunk in the topic and severity that they go to when addressing it.
“ A criminal lawyer and his pathetic sidekick, a queasy pedophile” - first line of the book and explains it phenomenally!
Without giving spoilers, the main character is a pedophile, but you end up rooting for him in every way possible.
I wish I could read this book again for the first time. I am sitting here trying to figure out how to explain how amazing this book is and why everyone should read it, but words slip my grasp.
10 stars……if I could give that many

[hailey]

This is a deeply unsettling and screwed up novella told from the perspective of a self-loathing pedophile. What makes it both unique and emotionally conflicting is the way it captures Cam struggling with his inner demons - he’s fully aware of how disturbing his thoughts are, punishes himself and despises himself for them, and actively condemns those who act on such urges. This novella is incredibly well-written and brutal.

[Mickey]

Cam is a pedophile — but not a child molester. He wants to make that very clear. He signs up to speak to a group about who he is but backs out, fearing his secret will become public. Eventually, he confides in his best friend, who offers help — but that help comes at a cost.

Please read the full list of trigger warnings before starting this book. From the synopsis alone, you can tell what kind of story this is, but it’s not one to take lightly.

3.5* rounded up
This was an incredibly difficult read. I’ve read The Groomer, but this was so much worse. In The Groomer, the child abuse, while horrific, was somewhat limited, with most of the violence directed at the abusers. This book, however, contains far more depictions of child abuse. I nearly DNF’d it several times, continuing only because I wanted to see how it ended. The twist toward the end — discovering Bobby’s abuser — was shocking and deeply upsetting.
Despite everything, the author manages to make Cam a surprisingly sympathetic character. Experiencing the story through his POV evokes conflicting emotions — even some pity — which is disturbing in itself.
I read a lot of horror and splatterpunk and rarely feel triggered, but this one left me feeling genuinely unsettled. It’s powerful, but not for the faint of heart.

[Kat]

Unpredictable and karma served, good book for those who are desensitized to gory books.

[Allison | crazypageturner]

Cam is a self-loathing pedophile whose secret is about to be exposed. His best friend Jesper comes to his rescue to keep it quiet….but not without a price to pay. Soon, Cam is on a mission with Jesper to take down a pedophile ring and Cam becomes immersed in the worst side of the culture and sees a side of himself he never wanted to unleash.

~MY THOUGHTS~

❇️Trigger check! Pedophilia. Self mutilation and self harm. Self loathing and depression. This book is heavy at times. I wasn’t expecting the body gore and torture. Yikes.

❇️Cam is a complicated fellow. It’s strange that you are in the mind of the pedophile but even stranger is that he HATES who he is. It makes you feel bad for him at times throughout the book which is such an unsettling feeling. Jester is Cams best friend and has his own secret, ruthless side too. The two of them together make quite a pair 😅

❇️I don’t think Jespers plan was well thought out at all but was entertaining and shocking all the same 😂 They made a great ying and yang to read about.

❇️This book just wowed me in a sickening kind of way. The brutal reality of the mind of a pedophile, no matter how mild or extreme, is disturbing. An interesting story on blackmail, revenge and acting on horrendous urges for the sake of the greater good. A lot going on in this novella and the triggers are abundant. With all of that said it is VERY good. And that ending!?!?🤯🤯 My first book by Lesley A. Camphouse and I can’t wait to read others.

[Christina cchasingtales & my.starlit.library]

Camphouse is an excellent author. The story is well written and a real page-turner. I read it in one sitting. The violence is brutal and explicitly described and I loved the payback time scenes. 💪🏻🔥 Despite the fact that it’s a novella, the story is deep and intense and you definitely will experience a wide range of emotions. Ultimate bizarreness in a good way!

Thanks to the great writing skills of the author I even started to empathize with the main character, despite his feelings, and I had so much respect for the way he dealt with it and how much he was disgusted by people who actually do surrender to this urge. The major plottwist was mind blowing and that ending, I didn’t see that one coming! 🤯

I’m so glad I tried this subgenre and maybe I will even try it more often now. This was a great book and I would definitely recommend it to extreme horror lovers, you won’t regret it!

[Risshan Adele]

The conflict of emotions you will feel when reading this is mind blowing. How can a story be so good and so depressing?! Oh Cam.. How my heart broke. Holy triggers and plot twists!
This is sooo amazing and will be one I need a physical copy of.

[Katlyn May]

My favourite book from him so far. Fantastic. A very interesting perspective. I almost felt bad for the main character then I remember. I feel like more should have been told to Jes, I would’ve love to know his reaction. What happens now to El and Sarah? Does Jes continue? Omg I want to know!

[The Beloved Bibliophile]

Where do I begin? This book made me sad. It delves into dark world with a dark web and the monsters that you think are monsters aren’t actually monsters and the real monsters are the ones who smile and are seemingly kind. It was heartbreaking to read about what happened to Cam, but it was even more heartbreaking what Elly and Sarah had to go through. My heart broke for Bobby, an innocent boy who was betrayed by the one person he should always feel safe with. 😢😢😢😢

The gore was pretty excessive for me, and I read splatterpunk and fantasy war battles. But maybe the author was attempting for us as the readers to get with it and understand the characters pain.

I just..man..I just am sad about Cam. He really just needed someone to help him. Jes, to me, wasn’t a good friend. I just feel that he wasn’t the person in the moment that Cam needed. Sarah was that person. I’m also sad about Elly but I know she’ll recover and heal from trauma.

Whew..lots of emotions with this one.

[Heather Lachelle Fulmer]

Read Warnings.

This is extreme horror in every sense of the word. Dark, graphic, and deeply unsettling.

Cameron’s carefully crafted life implodes when he signs up to publicly confess his darkest secret. As the event approaches, desperation pushes him to his best friend, Jester—who solves the problem… for a price.

There’s no comfort here. No redemption. Just spiraling chaos and consequences that hit hard.

If you have triggers, take them seriously. This one doesn’t hold back. This story speaks on the gruesome underground pedophiles and it doesn't spare details I wish I didnt have to read.

[Samantha 🔪 Corpse 🩸]

You know … I always said that the most disturbing book I’ll ever read will most definitely be written by a man ……. Lesley A Camphouse enters the chat …. My lord … I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because I despise the main character Cam … and no I don’t feel any sympathy or empathy towards that piece of shit … I was satisfied with the ending .. even though I feel that monster deserved way worse than what he was given .. that’s just my opinion though!

[Jacqueline Blue]

this was a super TOUGH book...CHECK TRIGGERS BEFORE READING!!! I want to say this is the first book I've read by this author and was honestly shocked it was written by a female .. especially with the subject at hand. tough story but very well written & very well put together. A well written book that includes a difficult subject such as this deserves 5 stars.

[Nicole Rubbo]

A strong well written story with more twists and turns than I ever expected. Not for the faint of heart Lesley Camphouse is definitely one of my favorite new authors and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

[Toni Hallie]

I started this book this morning and literally never put it down. It grabbed me right away and kept me hooked all the way through. The pacing is tight, the tension stays high, and the story is just addicting. I honestly didn’t expect to binge it in one sitting, but here we are. If you want something fast, gripping, and impossible to step away from, this is it.