Click. Stalk. Destroy.: Inside the Minds of People Who Stalk Online

by Jessica Taylor, Jessica Taylor

From the Sunday Times bestselling author and psychologist

What happens when thousands of strangers decide you deserve to be destroyed?

How do strangers become obsessed with someone they barely know?

What happens when your stalker can destroy your life from the comfort of their own sofa?

For years, Dr Jessica Taylor was stalked - not by a lone figure lurking outside her home, but by groups of people online. They watched her. They monitored her life. They spread rumours, stole her identity, analysed her posts, contacted everyone she had ever known and coordinated attacks designed to ruin her life. To end her life.

And they believed they were justified. Like all stalkers do.

In Click. Stalk. Destroy., Taylor takes readers inside the disturbing psychology of online stalking. Combining her professional research with real-life examples and her own experience, Taylor unravels the psychology of this behaviour as well as the radically changing landscape of stalking, including the prevalence of female online stalkers and 'she was asking for it' narratives.

Revealing how the internet and social media has fostered new conditions for stalking, this is an exposition of the hidden world of psychological warfare and digital surveillance.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2026

About the author

Chartered Psychologist | Sunday Times Bestselling Author |

Director of VictimFocus | Speaker | Researcher

Alma mater: University of Birmingham (PhD) and The Open University (BSc)

Reviews

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Click, Stalk, Destroy is a powerful reframing of what we know about stalkers and their behaviours. Dr Jess Taylor uses her own experiences alongside her work as a psychologist to analyse the mindset and motivations behind stalkers, and looks at why victims are failed at every level. Having been stalked myself, this book was a refreshing look at what we know about stalker behaviours and how changes in technology and sociology have contributed to a worrying rise in cases. Taylor examines the experience of the victim, which is so often ignored and dismissed, and crucially emphasises the long term impact being stalked can have. It is a must read for anyone who seeks to arm themselves with the tools required to understand stalkers, and a fierce argument for why the eager pathologisation of women must stop. This book is terrifying, groundbreaking and urgent.’

[olivia]

This book is really badly written.

I found out after starting the book that author is not a qualified or regulated practitioner psychologist (I wrongly assumed she was a clinical or forensic psychologist). She also has no peer-reviewed published research of her own.

She cites her own research but it seems extremely poor quality and doesn’t account for bias. I assume that this is why she has never formally published any of it. And, in my opinion, she misrepresents the current published research (conducted by others) to fit her narrative.

Even the fictionalised bits aren’t good, incredibly over the top and just a bit weird.

[Marina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I decided to buy this book in Audible after seeing the author on Women of Impact. Harassment is a topic I'm particularly interested in, however, I found the book disappointing. Some of the information is interesting, but it's constantly interwoven with the author's personal experiences, which are soporific and, honestly, difficult to believe. I couldn't get past Chapter 7.

[Gemma Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an essential read in our ‘terminally online’ world, which rewards hate and cruelty. The gender dynamics are fascinating and worthy of examination—specifically, why so many women engage in this behaviour when the victims remain predominantly women. While my own stalkers have been men, both in real life and online, this book made me realise that much of the abuse my friends have experienced should be understood through the lens of stalking. I’m currently working on my Master’s in Forensic Psychology, and I found this book very accessible and it has given me a lot to think about.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like her underclass book I have a hard time believing that much of this ever happened. She's been caught out lying again and again. She quotes her own study throughout this book (30+ times) but where is this Taylor 2025 study available to read and has it been peer reviewed? She famously doesn't believe in getting anything peer reviewed and on the topic of Tattle Life she's biased so for any of it to be taken seriously it needs to go through some academic rigour.

An article says it's lightly dramatised, lightly is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Kerry Daynes has a useful blog post about how 25 separate people not connected have all contacted her to say Jessica Taylor falsely accused them of stalking her when they raised concerns. Every chapter starts with whats written to be real life but there's no way to know what is real and what is " lightly dramatised." Taylor claims to have been leaked screen recordings of these zoom calls from the group of professional women that were stalking and trying to destroy her. But if these do exist why aren't the police investigating their crimes? They would have been charged if what she wrote is true. Jess trys to put people off reporting to the police as she says they'll laugh and you and put you on meds. This is not true at all.

If you like a basic not very well written thriller you may like the first part of each chapter. The rest is just regurgitating some easily found studies that you would be better off reading yourself rather than relying on Dr (not a medical Doctor - she has a research only PhD and no clinical experience) Jessica Taylor to cherry pick bits to show out of context.

I've no idea who the target market is for this part fiction part rehashing of studies is. I expect no one.

[Zara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bizarre bizarre premise for a book. As an academic in the field of VAWG (violence against women and girls) I understand the need for rigorous, empirically grounded literature to strengthen our hand against our oppressors. We need testimonials of victims, and carefully and ethically gathered data on the materiality and harms of stalking and harassment. We need clear cut methodologies so research can be viewed for quality and source. What this book is, is nothing like this: it’s a call to arms of Jess and her wife “Jay” to ensure that both of them can continue to self-publish false reports, tweet and make tiktoks, run a multi-level marketing campaign, and self-publicise all without any kickback, criticism, or questioning. Jess seems to mistake gossip and online forums (somewhat irritating, but not dangerous, violent or illegal) with stalking (dangerous, violent and illegal) and, honestly, wants to close down free speech because it affects her business model. For someone who claims to side against patriarchy, she seems to hate women talking and sharing information. Might I suggest Jess turns her computer off once in a while? That way she would stop deliberately and with bad faith conflating idle banter with something much more ominous.

Whining, subjectivity, and tiktok do not make compelling evidence. Unfortunate, as with NO peer-reviewed articles or books under her belt, it’s all JT seems to have.

I've kept a close eye on Victim Focus over the years and have seen it's staff numbers shrink from 15 to 2 (Jess and her wife). Jess ought to turn the interrogation onto herself to see why her business is failing, and not blame people online who are doing the right thing by calling her out for the hack, scammer, and charlatan that she is.

[Amanda B · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost thank you for writing this book! For shedding light on this very serious issue using vulnerable real-life examples and research. You are helping to make the world a safer place for everyone by your advocacy for better laws surrounding online stalking.
Secondly, this book should be required reading for so many professionals. Here are a few.
1. Anyone working within the Criminal Justice system (Police. Lawyers etc)
2. Corporate/HR- to better protect employees
3. Politics-policy-change makers to update the laws associated with stalking, particularly online.
4. Education system-Teachers/curriculum etc. to teach about this behaviour, warn about how harmful it is and the applicable laws.
5. Mental Health providers-trained to look for it, validate their patients & be able to recommend support for victims.

[Jody-Ellen Percival · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not stop listening to this book i finished it in two day. I love how Dr Jess included her own experiences a long side the research to demonstrate how the stalking has changed and the extreme impacts it can have on the victims lives.

[Andrew Innes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.Well written and researched as usual.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow...