Psycho Surrogate

by Paul Phillips

Who is Jasmin Hines? On the surface, she appears to be the perfect surrogate mother for Maggie Squires’ sister, Virginia. She’s friendly, smart and caring, driven by a desire to help others. However, Maggie is the only person who seems to notice Jasmin’s strange quirks. The stories she tells of her background don’t add up. She plays outlandish pranks. And she’s paying a little too much attention to Maggie’s boyfriend, Gavin.

When Maggie starts to look into Jasmin’s past, she has little idea of the can of worms she is about to open, that will tear her whole world apart. It seems Jasmin is intent on taking on a permanent place in the lives of the Squires family. Maggie’s place.

174 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2017

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Hi, my name is Paul Phillips.

If you were a fan of Point Horror, Nightmare Hall, Fear Street or the myriad other 90s YA horror books, then my work should be right up your alley!

My books are approximately 50,000 words in length and although set in the fictional town of Howlett, are all stand-alone stories. (Unless I one day write a sequel!)

I hope my books can provide some quick, harmless fun for those after a bit of 90s YA horror-style nostalgia, or those who are up for some cheap thrills and spills without having to commit to a 400-page book.

Reviews

[Paula Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie is supportive of her sister Virginia's use of surrogacy to have a baby, unlike their mother. However, the new surrogate, Jasmin Hines, gets Maggie's spidey senses tingling! She tells Maggie stories about her past that don't match up with what Virginia has told her. And her behaviour just gets weirder and weirder! What does Maggie do? It's not like they can just ask Jasmin to leave! Meanwhile, there are alternate chapters from four years ago, in which a college freshman called Audra Fahey develops a strange obsession with her new roommate Wendy, demonstrating actions very similar to what Jasmin is doing now. Hmmm! What could be the link?

Well, this was a lot of silly fun! To me, it was like a Lifetime made-for-TV movie, with a little dash of the current crop of psychological thriller elements thrown in, viewed through the lens of a 90s YA thriller! I think it probably needed a little extra breathing room (that is, it could have actually benefited from being a little longer) to allow the characters to develop a little more fully, because some of the plot elements escalate pretty quickly. But that does mean you're never bored! Also, I think there may have been one too many psychos for the price of one.

As usual, there are plenty of unexpected plot developments, which I've now come to expect from this author, so I was constantly on my toes! I admire the author's ability to jump between sub-genres, rather than just doing the standard murder mystery time and again. My rating would lean more towards 3.5, but I'm rounding up because it still managed to genuinely surprise me in places, and the short, sharp chapters kept ensuring that I'd promise myself "one more chapter", until all of a sudden, I was finishing it! Plus, I do love that title. Please let this become a TV movie!

[Paul Phillips]

This was a lot darker than some of my previous books. It sounds trite, but you really do have to follow where the story takes you. Plus, it's no fun writing a book if you can't occasionally surprise yourself as well with what ends up happening. This was also the first time that I've dealt with dual timelines, which was fun. It also meant that I had to pay extra careful attention to make sure everything matched up correctly. I had to do quite a few re-reads to ensure continuity, that's for sure! I won't give anything away, obviously, but parts of the ending were inspired by a creepy dream I once had.