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Shockwaves
Jackie is lost. A college student stuck in a loveless marriage, she feels she cannot escape the monotony of her life.
Then along comes Brooks, a mysterious but successful lawyer with political ambitions. He’s passionate, a true lover.
But someone else has come to town.
Brooks, Jackie discovers, is tracking a serial killer known as The Blade, whose victims are exclusively teenage girls.
The killer is on a rampage, pursuing several women. Soon, many turn up dead – brutally murdered by the Blade.
As he goes on however, he begins to get carried away with the killings and makes mistakes.
Soon, the situation rises above boiling point. As Jackie has a confusing encounter with the man who appears to be the murderer, she is forced to
With the intensity of both the murders and her relationship hotting up, will she be able to keep her head?
Will she be able to control herself?
Or will the Blade add Jackie’s name to his list?
Shockwaves is a gripping horror thriller from bestselling author Thomas Tessier.
“Rapture is great, destined to take its rightful place among the most memorable novels of psychological horror” – Washington Post
“Unpredictable... ingenious... nerve-paralysing” – Publishers Weekly
“Clever, fast paced... an effectively chilling movie-in-the-mind” – New York Times
“'The Nightwalker' is perhaps the finest werewolf novel of the last twenty years...scary, grim, fast-paced, very good.” – Stephen King
“An intoxicating blend of psychological drama and physical compulsion… enthralling.” – Library Journal
"Thomas Tessier’s stories are truly scary.” – Kirkus Reviews
“rattles the nerves and shocks the sensibilities.” – Houston Chronicle
“one of that select band of writers whose horror fiction I am anxious to read as soon as it appears” – Ramsey Campbell
“one of the very best writers of horror fiction of this generation.” – Douglas E. Winter, Reader’s Guide to Horror Fiction
"Thomas Tessier’s stories are beguiling…evocative…mesmerizing.” – ALA_Booklist
“a vastly talented writer and his stories are shocking…horrifying.” – RMN_Newsroom
“There is a building tension under the surface that makes reading Thomas Tessier an intense experience all to itself.” – DreadCentral
“Thomas Tessier’s horrors spring from honest exploration of our erotic impulses.” – toomuchhorror
“[‘The Nightwalker’ has] brutal action and a welcome sense of ambiguity” Huffington Post
“Thomas Tessier’s command of his craft is captivating.” – The Hartford Courant
Thomas Tessier was born in 1947 in Connecticut and studied at University College Dublin, Ireland. After working at a British publishing house for a number of years, he returned to America and turned to writing, publishing his first collection of poetry in 1970 and his first novel in 1978. The author or ten novels, and numerous poetry and short stories, Thomas’s works focus on science fiction, horror and the supernatural.
Then along comes Brooks, a mysterious but successful lawyer with political ambitions. He’s passionate, a true lover.
But someone else has come to town.
Brooks, Jackie discovers, is tracking a serial killer known as The Blade, whose victims are exclusively teenage girls.
The killer is on a rampage, pursuing several women. Soon, many turn up dead – brutally murdered by the Blade.
As he goes on however, he begins to get carried away with the killings and makes mistakes.
Soon, the situation rises above boiling point. As Jackie has a confusing encounter with the man who appears to be the murderer, she is forced to
With the intensity of both the murders and her relationship hotting up, will she be able to keep her head?
Will she be able to control herself?
Or will the Blade add Jackie’s name to his list?
Shockwaves is a gripping horror thriller from bestselling author Thomas Tessier.
“Rapture is great, destined to take its rightful place among the most memorable novels of psychological horror” – Washington Post
“Unpredictable... ingenious... nerve-paralysing” – Publishers Weekly
“Clever, fast paced... an effectively chilling movie-in-the-mind” – New York Times
“'The Nightwalker' is perhaps the finest werewolf novel of the last twenty years...scary, grim, fast-paced, very good.” – Stephen King
“An intoxicating blend of psychological drama and physical compulsion… enthralling.” – Library Journal
"Thomas Tessier’s stories are truly scary.” – Kirkus Reviews
“rattles the nerves and shocks the sensibilities.” – Houston Chronicle
“one of that select band of writers whose horror fiction I am anxious to read as soon as it appears” – Ramsey Campbell
“one of the very best writers of horror fiction of this generation.” – Douglas E. Winter, Reader’s Guide to Horror Fiction
"Thomas Tessier’s stories are beguiling…evocative…mesmerizing.” – ALA_Booklist
“a vastly talented writer and his stories are shocking…horrifying.” – RMN_Newsroom
“There is a building tension under the surface that makes reading Thomas Tessier an intense experience all to itself.” – DreadCentral
“Thomas Tessier’s horrors spring from honest exploration of our erotic impulses.” – toomuchhorror
“[‘The Nightwalker’ has] brutal action and a welcome sense of ambiguity” Huffington Post
“Thomas Tessier’s command of his craft is captivating.” – The Hartford Courant
Thomas Tessier was born in 1947 in Connecticut and studied at University College Dublin, Ireland. After working at a British publishing house for a number of years, he returned to America and turned to writing, publishing his first collection of poetry in 1970 and his first novel in 1978. The author or ten novels, and numerous poetry and short stories, Thomas’s works focus on science fiction, horror and the supernatural.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1982
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162 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Tessier
197 books105 followersThomas Tessier grew up in Connecticut and attended University College, Dublin. He is the author of several acclaimed novels of terror and suspense, plays, poems, and short stories. His novel Fog Heart received the International Horror Guild's Award for Best Novel, was a Bram Stoker Award finalist, and was cited by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of the Year. He lives in Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 22, 2025
2.5/5, rounded up.
This was my fourth read from Tessier, and easily my least favourite of the bunch. The writing itself is solid, of course, but I found a lot of this book to be rather tedious, which at only 220 pages, is saying something. There are some tantalizing elements, such as the slasher story that sort of plays out in the background, surfacing only briefly from time to time. Tessier spends much more time telling the story of an ill fated romance between two characters that I kind of hated. Each of them drove me up the wall in their own ways. I did like the ending though, where it felt like it finally started to rise to the level of his other works, but sadly this kind of felt like an extended prologue to a nonexistent, better book.
This was my fourth read from Tessier, and easily my least favourite of the bunch. The writing itself is solid, of course, but I found a lot of this book to be rather tedious, which at only 220 pages, is saying something. There are some tantalizing elements, such as the slasher story that sort of plays out in the background, surfacing only briefly from time to time. Tessier spends much more time telling the story of an ill fated romance between two characters that I kind of hated. Each of them drove me up the wall in their own ways. I did like the ending though, where it felt like it finally started to rise to the level of his other works, but sadly this kind of felt like an extended prologue to a nonexistent, better book.
July 16, 2025
Part serial killer/slasher, part surreal love story, and it's all intriguing. Tessier doesn't hold your hand to the climax to give some nice, easy ending, but rather leaves you wonderingand wanting more. Another unique and very satisfying Tessier.
April 27, 2022
A great slasher novel. This book was very fast paced, and has a lot to do with obsession and love. This is my 4th book by Tessier I really enjoy his writing.
November 30, 2017
Review: SHOCKWAVES by Thomas Tessier
What a subtly horrifying novel! Amazing! The author gently balances routine "normal" reality with some distinctly spooky stuff, which is all bound up with crime and with railroaded "justice" (no mercy and very little common sense) and with dreams of a good life, and failure, and seeking for love; all these "normal" human components, while all the time in the background are these monsters--and they're not all "criminals." Sometimes the wolf in the sheep pen looks just like a "good guy," and sometimes the wolf is a charm-dispensing, possibly supernatural, entity wielding a sharp object. Serious thought-provoking here!
What a subtly horrifying novel! Amazing! The author gently balances routine "normal" reality with some distinctly spooky stuff, which is all bound up with crime and with railroaded "justice" (no mercy and very little common sense) and with dreams of a good life, and failure, and seeking for love; all these "normal" human components, while all the time in the background are these monsters--and they're not all "criminals." Sometimes the wolf in the sheep pen looks just like a "good guy," and sometimes the wolf is a charm-dispensing, possibly supernatural, entity wielding a sharp object. Serious thought-provoking here!
September 8, 2025
"Why is my husband so boring? Doesn't he know that women just want to get fucked to death by sexy serial killers?? Why can't he spice things up???"
October 3, 2012
I am a big fan of Thomas Tessier. I loved SECRET STRANGERS, FINISHING TOUCHES and FOG HEART. So I was looking forward to SHOCKWAVES, a short novel written in 1982 and published by Fontana. The story centres around Jackie, a college student, who falls for Brooks, a successful lawyer with political ambitions. Brooks is tracking a serial killer known as The Blade, a killer of teenage girls. One day Jackie dreams of been seduced by a mysterious man, but doubts whether it was a dream or reality when she falls pregnant. But who is the mysterious man, and what has happened to him? I was immediately hooked, like is the norm with Tessier, but I have to admit it became a bit of a struggle as Jackie's relationship with Brooks developed. If you're unfamiliar with Tessier try FINISHING TOUCHES, or the Stoker winner FOG HEART.
September 9, 2015
Just finished SHOCKWAVES. This is a fast, compelling read like most all of Tessier's books. And, like most of his books, you'll finish it and think, "Wait. What?" since his plots always linger with you. How many authors achieve that?
February 9, 2023
Took me awhile to finally start reading Tessier’s work but I’m glad I finally did. Shockwaves was good slasher fun.
August 27, 2025
In its background, a slasher novel, on the surface (aided by the original publication under the Night Shades branding), a dark romance with secrets bubbling in the background. Its great strength is Tessier's incisive and elegant prose and an ending that runs darker than you'd think, and more so when you think on it.
December 17, 2020
Tessier is a good writer but this was not for me. Disliked the characters and not very satisfying. The ending really was a what the f***?
April 30, 2012
Early Tessier, readable but flawed.
April 15, 2017
Shockwaves by Thomas Tessier.
Jackie is lost. A college student stuck in a loveless marriage, she feels she cannot escape the monotony of her life.
Then along comes Brooks, a mysterious but successful lawyer with political ambitions. He’s passionate, a true lover.
But someone else has come to town.
Brooks, Jackie discovers, is tracking a serial killer known as The Blade, whose victims are exclusively teenage girls.
The killer is on a rampage, pursuing several women. Soon, many turn up dead – brutally murdered by the Blade.
As he goes on however, he begins to get carried away with the killings and makes mistakes.
Soon, the situation rises above boiling point. As Jackie has a confusing encounter with the man who appears to be the murderer, she is forced to decide:
With the intensity of both the murders and her relationship hotting up, will she be able to keep her head?
Will she be able to control herself?
A very good read with good characters. Although slow in places it was confusing in places and I didn’t understand the ending. 3*. Netgalley and Endeavour press.
Jackie is lost. A college student stuck in a loveless marriage, she feels she cannot escape the monotony of her life.
Then along comes Brooks, a mysterious but successful lawyer with political ambitions. He’s passionate, a true lover.
But someone else has come to town.
Brooks, Jackie discovers, is tracking a serial killer known as The Blade, whose victims are exclusively teenage girls.
The killer is on a rampage, pursuing several women. Soon, many turn up dead – brutally murdered by the Blade.
As he goes on however, he begins to get carried away with the killings and makes mistakes.
Soon, the situation rises above boiling point. As Jackie has a confusing encounter with the man who appears to be the murderer, she is forced to decide:
With the intensity of both the murders and her relationship hotting up, will she be able to keep her head?
Will she be able to control herself?
A very good read with good characters. Although slow in places it was confusing in places and I didn’t understand the ending. 3*. Netgalley and Endeavour press.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews