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Stalker Stalked
Lexi Mazur is a depressed, alcoholic, pill-popper whose only joy has become her reality TV shows, often fantasizing that the people on TV are a part of her world. After her boyfriend Steve leaves her, she fixates on the show Socialites and its star Magnolia Artois, following every facet of the girl’s life on social media in the hopes of befriending and becoming more like her.
Stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself.
But what happens when the stalker gets stalked?
Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know?
Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?
Stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself.
But what happens when the stalker gets stalked?
Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know?
Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?
270 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2021
3 people are currently reading
12173 people want to read
About the author
Lee Matthew Goldberg
29 books1,452 followersLee Matthew Goldberg is the author of fourteen novels including THE ANCESTOR and THE MENTOR along with his five-book DESIRE CARD series. His YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN is currently in script development with actress Raegan Revord from TVs Young Sheldon off his original written pilot. The GREAT GIMMELMANS comes out in 2023. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for an Anthony Award, the Lefty, and the Prix du Polar. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared as a contributor in Pipeline Artists, LitHub, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Electric Literature, The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Mystery Tribune, The Big Idea, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, Hypertext, If My Book, Past Ten, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Maudlin House and others. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at LeeMatthewGoldberg.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 8, 2021
Um…..I don’t know what to tell you. I thought this would be good, who doesn’t love a good stalking thriller? But I simply did not enjoy anything about this book. The protagonist has mental health issues (probably including PTSD and depression) and she abuses alcohol and drugs. A lot. I know she had a unpleasant childhood but she certainly turned into an unpleasant woman who is obsessed with the idea that she is being stalked and so she stalks others. She is rude, completely unpredictable, psychotic and also obsessed with watching reality TV shows.
This obsession becomes tricky when she thinks she has an in with the vapid group of women on the show Socialites but they later snub her. And to top it off, the book is smutty. I wouldn’t mind erotic so much but this was just smutty. The dialogue was ordinary, none of the characters were engaging, I didn’t find any of it funny and I think I’ll just leave it there. It just wasn’t the book for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
This obsession becomes tricky when she thinks she has an in with the vapid group of women on the show Socialites but they later snub her. And to top it off, the book is smutty. I wouldn’t mind erotic so much but this was just smutty. The dialogue was ordinary, none of the characters were engaging, I didn’t find any of it funny and I think I’ll just leave it there. It just wasn’t the book for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
September 4, 2023
Lexi Mazur is a thirty year old pharmaceutical reprepresentative making good money which allows her to live in New York and also give her access to her drug of choice that she has a horrible addiction to among many other things. Lexi's biggest and time consuming addiction is to reality shows (All reality shows). She spends her life digesting these shows as if they were necessary food for her body. It's all she wants to talk about to anyone who will even listen to her. This problem has caused rifts in all her relationships yet she doesn't understand why people think she has a problem. Another serious issue Lexi has is Stalking her ex-boyfriends and also one particular star of her favorite reality show. Lexi stalks people on the internet, instagram, Facebook and in person believing that they don't see what' she's doing. Eventually Lexi realizes she is also being stalked and instead of being upset she is thrilled that she would be chosen for someone to give her special attention so now she is on a mission to find out who her stalker is while accusing everyone she knows and just about anyone she just meets or runs into. Will Lexi ever realize that what she has been doing can have serious consequences or will she just go about her merry way hurting.others while she she falls deeper into the abyss of her pills, alcohol and reality shows?
Before I started reading this book, I thought it would be an exciting mystery/thriller and then after I started reading it I thought it would be a terrible mistake partly because I had to get used to the writing. OH, the LANGUAGE! The most profanity I have ever come across in a book. I don't consider myself a prude but this book was somewhat difficult for me because I nor the people in my everyday life don't speak this way (I mean with non-stop crazy profanity) but the language was extremely vulgar, crass, degrading, etc., etc. on Every Page maybe almost every paragraph but I'm still glad I gave it a chance and the disgusting language was just another part of Lexi's illness (maybe). This story follows a young woman's downward spiral as far outside reality that one could get. It was more of a psychological look at what living a lonely life with television being her best friend and medicating herself with pills and alcohol to achieve a numbing effect whenever uncomfortable thoughts would come into her mind. Eventually, everything starts taking a toll on her work and every aspect of her life as she continuously spirals out of control even when she finds herself with a chance at being on one of her shows, Lexi can't distinguish reality from fiction even when she finally crashes. This is a very raw, darkly comedic, irreverent and not a very pretty look inside addiction.
WARNING: If you are a person who is prim and proper at all times and dislikes over the top profanity or is easily offended by bad language then this book may not be for you.
I want to thank the publisher "All Due Respect" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have given this book a rating of 3 1/2 RATING AND CAUTIONARY 🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!
Before I started reading this book, I thought it would be an exciting mystery/thriller and then after I started reading it I thought it would be a terrible mistake partly because I had to get used to the writing. OH, the LANGUAGE! The most profanity I have ever come across in a book. I don't consider myself a prude but this book was somewhat difficult for me because I nor the people in my everyday life don't speak this way (I mean with non-stop crazy profanity) but the language was extremely vulgar, crass, degrading, etc., etc. on Every Page maybe almost every paragraph but I'm still glad I gave it a chance and the disgusting language was just another part of Lexi's illness (maybe). This story follows a young woman's downward spiral as far outside reality that one could get. It was more of a psychological look at what living a lonely life with television being her best friend and medicating herself with pills and alcohol to achieve a numbing effect whenever uncomfortable thoughts would come into her mind. Eventually, everything starts taking a toll on her work and every aspect of her life as she continuously spirals out of control even when she finds herself with a chance at being on one of her shows, Lexi can't distinguish reality from fiction even when she finally crashes. This is a very raw, darkly comedic, irreverent and not a very pretty look inside addiction.
WARNING: If you are a person who is prim and proper at all times and dislikes over the top profanity or is easily offended by bad language then this book may not be for you.
I want to thank the publisher "All Due Respect" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have given this book a rating of 3 1/2 RATING AND CAUTIONARY 🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!
September 17, 2021
Stalker Stalked by Lee Matthew Goldberg
A bit more creepier than I thought it would be. About a young woman and she's involved in many things.
Story goes back to her present boyfriends and past ones, the sex is not explicitly in detail but it's mentioned from time to time.
Like the drama of the society shows and the scenes that come to life.
At times she goes to extremes to get her boyfriend back by stalking him and also dressing in an animal costume to take sex pics of a girl she wants to friend and more.
She is also being stalked and watches for the shadows. She tries to prove to herself that she knows what to look for and she's better at stalking then the stalker them self.
Lexi has a run in with the doctor she sells pharma drugs to when he starts massaging her shoulders...
She fantasizes with the detective who questions her about the doctor and his complaint against her. She's very open...
Love the relationships she has with Pria and how she's there to get her up and dressed and cleaned up when she's been laying low for a several days with no contact.
Lexi does not reciprocate. Intervention from Pria and a lot of accusations about how Lexi is really turning into her mother sets Lexi's head on straight again...
Between reality shows and being on a new tv show you wonder what parts were the drugs and hallucinations and which were real.
She takes others advice and the outcome is quite a miracle. She has her own ideas of a new show, how to help others who are being stalked but she may not live to do much of anything...
About the author and their other works are listed at the end.
Kept my interest and couldn't put it down.
Received this review copy from the publisher and this is my honest opinion.
A bit more creepier than I thought it would be. About a young woman and she's involved in many things.
Story goes back to her present boyfriends and past ones, the sex is not explicitly in detail but it's mentioned from time to time.
Like the drama of the society shows and the scenes that come to life.
At times she goes to extremes to get her boyfriend back by stalking him and also dressing in an animal costume to take sex pics of a girl she wants to friend and more.
She is also being stalked and watches for the shadows. She tries to prove to herself that she knows what to look for and she's better at stalking then the stalker them self.
Lexi has a run in with the doctor she sells pharma drugs to when he starts massaging her shoulders...
She fantasizes with the detective who questions her about the doctor and his complaint against her. She's very open...
Love the relationships she has with Pria and how she's there to get her up and dressed and cleaned up when she's been laying low for a several days with no contact.
Lexi does not reciprocate. Intervention from Pria and a lot of accusations about how Lexi is really turning into her mother sets Lexi's head on straight again...
Between reality shows and being on a new tv show you wonder what parts were the drugs and hallucinations and which were real.
She takes others advice and the outcome is quite a miracle. She has her own ideas of a new show, how to help others who are being stalked but she may not live to do much of anything...
About the author and their other works are listed at the end.
Kept my interest and couldn't put it down.
Received this review copy from the publisher and this is my honest opinion.
February 27, 2022
Lexi is a depressed addict, addicted to pills, alcohol and reality TV. She dreams of being a part of the shows, and lashes out at anyone who disagrees with her view on them. She's also carrying the trauma of her past, desperate to be loved, and paranoid when even the slightest thing changes. So much so, that she has stalked both her previous boyfriends, got into their emails and manipulating them until they leave. But now Lexi has her own stalked, hidden in the shadows, threatening and dangerous. With the list of who could be stalking Lexi growing bigger each day, Lexi tries to outsmart her stalker. But has she finally met her match?
First of all, thank you so much to the author for sending this book to me for a review, and for being so patient!
This is a thriller that's not quite a thriller BUT is still enough of a thriller for me to enjoy it. It's reality TV gone wrong, with a stalker in the mix, and a big who is it. I absolutely despised Lexi and yet ended up feeling sympathy for her too. The twists are subtle but give a good impact. This author is extremely clever with his writing, he had me gripped with this book, without me even realising. I went to put it down, and then thought nope, one more chapter.
This is a book that I think is a good read for anyone, it's so easy to get into and follow, and I think would be particularly good after a heavy book, wanting to read something like but still gripping and twisty, with a little bit of thrill.
First of all, thank you so much to the author for sending this book to me for a review, and for being so patient!
This is a thriller that's not quite a thriller BUT is still enough of a thriller for me to enjoy it. It's reality TV gone wrong, with a stalker in the mix, and a big who is it. I absolutely despised Lexi and yet ended up feeling sympathy for her too. The twists are subtle but give a good impact. This author is extremely clever with his writing, he had me gripped with this book, without me even realising. I went to put it down, and then thought nope, one more chapter.
This is a book that I think is a good read for anyone, it's so easy to get into and follow, and I think would be particularly good after a heavy book, wanting to read something like but still gripping and twisty, with a little bit of thrill.
September 5, 2021
I absolutely adored Goldberg's previous book published by All Due Respect, so there was no keeping me from his latest. In many regards it's a left turn from The Ancestor, but Goldberg displays his skill of creating empathetic characters regardless of how far they stray.
Lexi is our eponymous stalker and following a break up becomes obsessed with reality show "Socialites" and specifically the star of the show, Magnolia. Lexi is desperate to become her friend and eventually become one of the socialites. Her dependency on drink and drugs pushes her to the edge of her perceived reality, but is the stalker now being stalked too?
This is a novel full of suspense and mystery. Even when you want to turn away from Lexi, you can't. You want her to get better, to listen to those around her, but you suspect and fear them in the same way she does to. Another great release from Goldberg and ADR.
Lexi is our eponymous stalker and following a break up becomes obsessed with reality show "Socialites" and specifically the star of the show, Magnolia. Lexi is desperate to become her friend and eventually become one of the socialites. Her dependency on drink and drugs pushes her to the edge of her perceived reality, but is the stalker now being stalked too?
This is a novel full of suspense and mystery. Even when you want to turn away from Lexi, you can't. You want her to get better, to listen to those around her, but you suspect and fear them in the same way she does to. Another great release from Goldberg and ADR.
September 23, 2021
Lexi Mazur has spent her adult life following around people that she hoped she could be with. She stalks potential boyfriends and glamorous people she hopes to be friends with. Lexi works as a sales rep for big pharma and has been sampling the pills that put her in a haze and lift her mood. She is obsessed with reality TV and has found that her new favorite show, Socialites, films near her in New York City. After a breakup with her boyfriend, Lexi zeroes in on Socialites star, Magnolia. After sufficient stalking, Lexi meets Magnolia but is rejected. This only makes Lexi buff up her stalking efforts; however, as Lexi focuses on Magnolia, she begins to receive threatening phone calls and mysterious packages. Could it be that she is being stalked or is it a side effect of the pills? Is this exactly what Lexi wanted all along?
Stalker Stalked is a psychological thriller that focuses on very contemporary problems. Lexi's obsession with reality tv and overuse of social media are things that many of us can connect with. The writing pulled me into Lexi's life and her personality. Lexi is a wonderful and deep character. She is like watching a car crash or a dumpster fire, you know you should look away, but there is something intriguing in the chaos. Even though Lexi seems like an absolute garbage person, we see how her childhood has led her to this place of resentment and depression. Through her stalking episodes, I could also see her desperation to be liked and be part of a group. One of the other interesting characters was Lexi's one friend, Pria. I was amazed at Pria's ability to deal with Lexi at her worst and stick the friendship out. Lexi's drug habit made her an unreliable narrator and the suspense increased in the second half of the book as Lexi believes that she is being stalked as well. With a very unexpected ending and many twists and turns, Stalker Stalked is a unique and captivating psychological thriller.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Stalker Stalked is a psychological thriller that focuses on very contemporary problems. Lexi's obsession with reality tv and overuse of social media are things that many of us can connect with. The writing pulled me into Lexi's life and her personality. Lexi is a wonderful and deep character. She is like watching a car crash or a dumpster fire, you know you should look away, but there is something intriguing in the chaos. Even though Lexi seems like an absolute garbage person, we see how her childhood has led her to this place of resentment and depression. Through her stalking episodes, I could also see her desperation to be liked and be part of a group. One of the other interesting characters was Lexi's one friend, Pria. I was amazed at Pria's ability to deal with Lexi at her worst and stick the friendship out. Lexi's drug habit made her an unreliable narrator and the suspense increased in the second half of the book as Lexi believes that she is being stalked as well. With a very unexpected ending and many twists and turns, Stalker Stalked is a unique and captivating psychological thriller.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
August 7, 2021
Lexi is an alcoholic an avid stalker. All is well in her world as she has conversations with reality TV show personalities stocks them on social media. That is until she realizes she is being stalked and true to Goldberg’s style it keeps you turning the pages. Lexi is a mess but not so much of a mess that she can’t stock her stalker, But who is stalking Lexi could it be Magnolia after she finds out Lexi got cast as a friend on her reality show social lights and may be responsible for her latest scandal or could it be officer Azlee or maybe one of her ex boyfriends? The list is not short and Lexi is well with you will not get out of this unscathed. This was such a good book, I think I would read anything that this author wrote even if it was a recipe he is not good. From the ancestor to the tutor to this book they’re all just awesome and five star reads and this is no exception I completely recommend this book to anyone who likes dramatic situation with a few lol moments thrown in. What an awesome read!
September 10, 2021
This is a wild ride that just gets crazier and crazier. I love a good thriller and this kept me reading; I couldn't put the book down. Lexi's obsessive stalker nature leads her down some twisty roads with hills and valleys that will have you saying, "what the heck!" I also really like the psychology of this book. You can see where Lexi's nature comes from. You can see how childhood patterns lead to this adult obsessive person. Really fascinating. Highly recommend.
July 29, 2021
Every so often a book comes along that is so bloody good, but you can't put into words how you feel about it!
Totally unputdownable & compelling, this was such an awesome read.
A genius plot line, well developed strong female leads, coupled with the authors sharp prose & wit made for a different, yet cleverly curated read.
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙?
Meet Lexi Maxur, a depressed, alcoholic pill popper, whose only excitement in life is watching reality television, where she fantasises that this is her world, her reality. When she splits with her boyfriend, she turns her affections to tv star Magnolia Artois, star of tv's Socialites.
Recently Lexi has felt someone watching her & her apartment, is it her mind playing tricks or is the watcher playing her at her own game?
Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.
𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 5 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
Totally unputdownable & compelling, this was such an awesome read.
A genius plot line, well developed strong female leads, coupled with the authors sharp prose & wit made for a different, yet cleverly curated read.
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙙?
Meet Lexi Maxur, a depressed, alcoholic pill popper, whose only excitement in life is watching reality television, where she fantasises that this is her world, her reality. When she splits with her boyfriend, she turns her affections to tv star Magnolia Artois, star of tv's Socialites.
Recently Lexi has felt someone watching her & her apartment, is it her mind playing tricks or is the watcher playing her at her own game?
Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.
𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 5 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
July 20, 2021
‘Always be looking over your shoulder…’
New York City author Lee Matthew Goldberg earned his Masters in Fine Arts from the New School in Manhattan and has created a reputation as an award-winning author (eleven novels) whose works are published in multiple languages. He is equally successful in writing screenplays and pilots, and is the editor in chief and co-founder of Fringe (publishing fiction that is outside the box), and co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series. STALKER STALKED is his newest novel in the suspense/thriller genre.
Goldberg continues to make a powerful impression as a master storyteller. His concept for STALKER STALKED is imaginative, and the prose is visceral and pungent, descriptive to the point of transporting us into the world he has created. An introduction or prologue is unnecessary as he leaps into the mystery of his book: ‘I am being watched. This is not the first time. My stalker is smart, just like I would be. He or she finds the shadows. Shows up when I’m wasted or popped too many little blue pills. So I’ll be far enough away from reality to believe they are real. When I’m sleeping they’re at the foot of my bed, exhaling in the dark. When I turn on the light, they scatter like a cockroach…’ In those few sentences the core of the plot is revealed.
The author provides a fine plot overview: ‘Lexi Mazur is a depressed, alcoholic, pill-popper whose only joy has become her reality TV shows, often fantasizing that the people on TV are a part of her world. After her boyfriend Steve leaves her, she fixates on the show Socialites and its star Magnolia Artois, following every facet of the girl’s life on social media in the hopes of befriending and becoming more like her. But stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself. But what happens when the stalker gets stalked? Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know? Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?’
Lee Matthew Goldberg is an artist of substance who makes a powerful impact on the reader. Very highly recommended.
New York City author Lee Matthew Goldberg earned his Masters in Fine Arts from the New School in Manhattan and has created a reputation as an award-winning author (eleven novels) whose works are published in multiple languages. He is equally successful in writing screenplays and pilots, and is the editor in chief and co-founder of Fringe (publishing fiction that is outside the box), and co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series. STALKER STALKED is his newest novel in the suspense/thriller genre.
Goldberg continues to make a powerful impression as a master storyteller. His concept for STALKER STALKED is imaginative, and the prose is visceral and pungent, descriptive to the point of transporting us into the world he has created. An introduction or prologue is unnecessary as he leaps into the mystery of his book: ‘I am being watched. This is not the first time. My stalker is smart, just like I would be. He or she finds the shadows. Shows up when I’m wasted or popped too many little blue pills. So I’ll be far enough away from reality to believe they are real. When I’m sleeping they’re at the foot of my bed, exhaling in the dark. When I turn on the light, they scatter like a cockroach…’ In those few sentences the core of the plot is revealed.
The author provides a fine plot overview: ‘Lexi Mazur is a depressed, alcoholic, pill-popper whose only joy has become her reality TV shows, often fantasizing that the people on TV are a part of her world. After her boyfriend Steve leaves her, she fixates on the show Socialites and its star Magnolia Artois, following every facet of the girl’s life on social media in the hopes of befriending and becoming more like her. But stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself. But what happens when the stalker gets stalked? Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know? Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?’
Lee Matthew Goldberg is an artist of substance who makes a powerful impact on the reader. Very highly recommended.
August 23, 2021
Hey, I wrote this, so I'm a bit biased, but others are digging it too. Here's some early praise!
"Engrossing. The book is darkly comic, satirizing a number of contemporary institutions—big pharma, reality TV, social media celebrity—while pulling the reader into more transgressive territory." - Kirkus Reviews
"You know it's a good thriller when you have to make sure no one is in your closet, and that your door is locked! This is an exciting and fascinating read." - The Black List
"Goldberg turns the conventional stalker thriller on its head with a tale that is fresh, suspenseful and hugely entertaining. Lexi Mazur is every bit as awkward, relatable and dysfunctional as Bridget Jones. A tautly-written plot and smart characterization will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last paragraph." - BestThrillers.com
“An unputdownable read, complex and powerful. Goldberg’s razor-sharp writing masterfully captures the protagonist’s evaporating grip on reality.”
– Martin Bodenham, author of Watch for Me, Crime and Justice, and The Geneva Connection.
“The tables are turned in dramatic fashion when a pill popping, reality-television-addicted stalker suddenly finds herself the one being stalked. From page one, I was drawn into Lexi's dark, suspenseful world. Taking readers on an emotional and thrilling journey, Stalker Stalked is a riveting, unique concept that will keep you turning the pages all night long.”
-Nicole Mabry, Author of Past This Point
“This mesmerizing thriller from Lee Matthew Goldberg stuck me in the protagonist’s obsessive mind to the point that, toward the end, I found myself doubting the motives of my friends. Not that this will happen to other readers. It’s probably all in my mind. Probably.”
-Rob Pierce, author of the Uncle Dust trilogy
"A rare find. As entertaining as it is subversive, Lee Matthew Goldberg’s razorblade prose and scathing wit lend an easy comparison to Bret Easton Ellis and Jay McInerney and with Stalker Stalked – a devilishly acerbic tale of a pill-popping, reality TV superfan in delirious freefall – he has not only created a work of fiction as vital to our right here and right now as American Psycho and Bright Lights, Big City were to theirs, he’s issued a bold challenge to an entire generation of novelists: Catch me if you can!"
-John Jantunen, author of Savage Gerry and No Quarter
"Engrossing. The book is darkly comic, satirizing a number of contemporary institutions—big pharma, reality TV, social media celebrity—while pulling the reader into more transgressive territory." - Kirkus Reviews
"You know it's a good thriller when you have to make sure no one is in your closet, and that your door is locked! This is an exciting and fascinating read." - The Black List
"Goldberg turns the conventional stalker thriller on its head with a tale that is fresh, suspenseful and hugely entertaining. Lexi Mazur is every bit as awkward, relatable and dysfunctional as Bridget Jones. A tautly-written plot and smart characterization will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last paragraph." - BestThrillers.com
“An unputdownable read, complex and powerful. Goldberg’s razor-sharp writing masterfully captures the protagonist’s evaporating grip on reality.”
– Martin Bodenham, author of Watch for Me, Crime and Justice, and The Geneva Connection.
“The tables are turned in dramatic fashion when a pill popping, reality-television-addicted stalker suddenly finds herself the one being stalked. From page one, I was drawn into Lexi's dark, suspenseful world. Taking readers on an emotional and thrilling journey, Stalker Stalked is a riveting, unique concept that will keep you turning the pages all night long.”
-Nicole Mabry, Author of Past This Point
“This mesmerizing thriller from Lee Matthew Goldberg stuck me in the protagonist’s obsessive mind to the point that, toward the end, I found myself doubting the motives of my friends. Not that this will happen to other readers. It’s probably all in my mind. Probably.”
-Rob Pierce, author of the Uncle Dust trilogy
"A rare find. As entertaining as it is subversive, Lee Matthew Goldberg’s razorblade prose and scathing wit lend an easy comparison to Bret Easton Ellis and Jay McInerney and with Stalker Stalked – a devilishly acerbic tale of a pill-popping, reality TV superfan in delirious freefall – he has not only created a work of fiction as vital to our right here and right now as American Psycho and Bright Lights, Big City were to theirs, he’s issued a bold challenge to an entire generation of novelists: Catch me if you can!"
-John Jantunen, author of Savage Gerry and No Quarter
September 19, 2021
Stalker Stalked was definitely an entertaining and bizarre take on your classic stalker book. Lexi is a depressed, pill popping alcoholic who’s been known to stalk her boyfriends in the past. When her current boyfriend dumps her, she sets her sights on a new obsession, the star of a reality TV show “Socialites”. Lexi’s days are suddenly filled with obsessively following the star not only on social media, but around town as well. But Lexi also begins to feel that she is being watched and followed. Is her frequent substance abuse to blame for her paranoia or is the stalker now being stalked?
Throw away any notions you have with regards to what this book is about. The synopsis doesn’t really cover how bat s*it crazy this story is, but hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised. I was! The characters are all awful, manipulative and self absorbed but totally spot on. The drama is off the charts and the dark humour is certainly on point! Is it a bit smutty? Yes! I see that as just the added bonus 🤣. I had so many LOL moments and can honestly say that this book was the perfect escape.
But besides the entertainment, this was also a glimpse at mental health, addiction, substance abuse and our obsession with celebrities, social media and social norms. The author did a great job of blending it all into this slightly wacko and witty book.
Throw away any notions you have with regards to what this book is about. The synopsis doesn’t really cover how bat s*it crazy this story is, but hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised. I was! The characters are all awful, manipulative and self absorbed but totally spot on. The drama is off the charts and the dark humour is certainly on point! Is it a bit smutty? Yes! I see that as just the added bonus 🤣. I had so many LOL moments and can honestly say that this book was the perfect escape.
But besides the entertainment, this was also a glimpse at mental health, addiction, substance abuse and our obsession with celebrities, social media and social norms. The author did a great job of blending it all into this slightly wacko and witty book.
January 24, 2022
"...the knife at my neck ready to end me for good. My stalker with all the power. Even I would've never gone this far." The first chapter end with those lines and who wouldn't want to know what the fuck exactly happens next, right!?
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the arc of this thrilling novel. It doesn't waste time, it jumps and grabs your throat right away and itwas creepy af! I enjoyed this book very much.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the arc of this thrilling novel. It doesn't waste time, it jumps and grabs your throat right away and itwas creepy af! I enjoyed this book very much.
October 7, 2021
Wasn't sure I was going to like this book, but wow, this was something. A pretty fast easy read and very entertaining. Nothing is as it seems and it really describes the reality TV addiction quite well.
Hated the ending though it stayed true to form.
Loved this book.
Hated the ending though it stayed true to form.
Loved this book.
September 10, 2021
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S STALKER STALKED ABOUT?
Lexi Mazur is a pharmaceutical sales rep who has a habit of sampling her products in addition to drinking pretty heavily. When her boyfriend of about a year breaks up with her, things get worse. Her pill uptake and drinking increase, and she escapes into Reality Shows like The Real Housewives of ______, and her new obsession (literally), Socialites. She'd been heavily invested in those shows before—it was a bone of contention with her ex—but she sunk to pathological levels after the break-up.
Soon, Lexi begins showing up at locations that she knows one or more of the stars of Socialites will be, trying to put herself in a situation where their paths will cross, in the belief that it's all it will take for them to befriend her. Once they're friends, her life will improve and she'll get a bit of the glamorous life they have—maybe even a role in the show.
She has some reason to think that this behavior will work—it has been the foundation (and eventual doom) of her romantic relationships.
Yeah, Lexi is a stalker—she just has a new outlet for these impulses. Her behavior and substance abuse spiral to new depths. We get some details about her prior issues and behaviors, but the novel primarily documents her descent to rock bottom.
That would be enough for most authors, but here's where Goldberg throws in the plotline that makes Stalker Stalked stand out. In the midst of all the above, Lexi starts to sense that someone is watching her. Stalking her. Is it one of her exes? Is it someone from Socialites? Is it just her imagination, maybe a side-effect of some of the medication she's abusing?
And then the threats begin...
LOW-HANGING FRUIT?
Lexi's story aside (as much as you can do that kind of thing in this book), this book is a sharp satire and critique of TV Reality Shows.
As I read it, I wondered occasionally about Goldberg picking a target that's too easy. Where's the challenge in taking shots at Reality Shows?
As easy a target they might be, it's a target that seems to demand this kind of attention and examination. The cultural impact of this kind of shows—and the social media influencer accounts (and wanna-be social media accounts) that tell the same kind of fictions—is large enough, disturbing enough, that we need as many artists in as many possible media to put them under the microscope.
Looking at this phenomenon through Goldberg's lens something jumps out at me (and I realize that I'm probably fifteen years behind other people on this insight), this kind of reality shows provide a socially acceptable form of stalking for the masses. How many people think they're getting a special kind of insight into the lives of these stars? A special, private, view of their day-to-day life? How many unbalanced viewers like Lexi are out there learning that this is an appropriate way to live and take the license to do the same but for people who aren't on TV?
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT STALKER STALKED?
I didn't like Lexi—at all—for the majority of the novel. I wouldn't have described myself as terribly invested in what was going on with her or in her well-being. She's just unsympathetic, unpleasant—the kind of character that most novels would have cast as the villain (one you may ultimately find sympathy for).
As much as I wasn't able to get invested in her as a character, I couldn't stop reading. Something about the novel—and I really should be able to put my finger on what it was, but I can't—gripped me like a Lee Child or Nick Petrie thriller. Compelling doesn't quite express it—I had to know what was coming next. Lexi was like the proverbial car wreck that you can't take your eyes off of. Also, I was pretty curious about some of the people around Lexi, how were they going to fare in the face of her problems.
Eventually, however, I started pitying Lexi. I started understanding how she got where she is and how she was tumbling toward rock bottom.
Stalker Stalked is a gripping read, a tragedy that you can't look away from—that you can't get enough of. It's disturbing and thought-provoking. You're going to want to get your hands on it.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Down & Out Press via NetGalley and Lori Hettler of The Next Best Book Club in exchange for this post—thanks to all of them for this.
---
WHAT'S STALKER STALKED ABOUT?
Lexi Mazur is a pharmaceutical sales rep who has a habit of sampling her products in addition to drinking pretty heavily. When her boyfriend of about a year breaks up with her, things get worse. Her pill uptake and drinking increase, and she escapes into Reality Shows like The Real Housewives of ______, and her new obsession (literally), Socialites. She'd been heavily invested in those shows before—it was a bone of contention with her ex—but she sunk to pathological levels after the break-up.
Soon, Lexi begins showing up at locations that she knows one or more of the stars of Socialites will be, trying to put herself in a situation where their paths will cross, in the belief that it's all it will take for them to befriend her. Once they're friends, her life will improve and she'll get a bit of the glamorous life they have—maybe even a role in the show.
She has some reason to think that this behavior will work—it has been the foundation (and eventual doom) of her romantic relationships.
Yeah, Lexi is a stalker—she just has a new outlet for these impulses. Her behavior and substance abuse spiral to new depths. We get some details about her prior issues and behaviors, but the novel primarily documents her descent to rock bottom.
That would be enough for most authors, but here's where Goldberg throws in the plotline that makes Stalker Stalked stand out. In the midst of all the above, Lexi starts to sense that someone is watching her. Stalking her. Is it one of her exes? Is it someone from Socialites? Is it just her imagination, maybe a side-effect of some of the medication she's abusing?
And then the threats begin...
LOW-HANGING FRUIT?
Lexi's story aside (as much as you can do that kind of thing in this book), this book is a sharp satire and critique of TV Reality Shows.
As I read it, I wondered occasionally about Goldberg picking a target that's too easy. Where's the challenge in taking shots at Reality Shows?
As easy a target they might be, it's a target that seems to demand this kind of attention and examination. The cultural impact of this kind of shows—and the social media influencer accounts (and wanna-be social media accounts) that tell the same kind of fictions—is large enough, disturbing enough, that we need as many artists in as many possible media to put them under the microscope.
Looking at this phenomenon through Goldberg's lens something jumps out at me (and I realize that I'm probably fifteen years behind other people on this insight), this kind of reality shows provide a socially acceptable form of stalking for the masses. How many people think they're getting a special kind of insight into the lives of these stars? A special, private, view of their day-to-day life? How many unbalanced viewers like Lexi are out there learning that this is an appropriate way to live and take the license to do the same but for people who aren't on TV?
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT STALKER STALKED?
I didn't like Lexi—at all—for the majority of the novel. I wouldn't have described myself as terribly invested in what was going on with her or in her well-being. She's just unsympathetic, unpleasant—the kind of character that most novels would have cast as the villain (one you may ultimately find sympathy for).
As much as I wasn't able to get invested in her as a character, I couldn't stop reading. Something about the novel—and I really should be able to put my finger on what it was, but I can't—gripped me like a Lee Child or Nick Petrie thriller. Compelling doesn't quite express it—I had to know what was coming next. Lexi was like the proverbial car wreck that you can't take your eyes off of. Also, I was pretty curious about some of the people around Lexi, how were they going to fare in the face of her problems.
Eventually, however, I started pitying Lexi. I started understanding how she got where she is and how she was tumbling toward rock bottom.
Stalker Stalked is a gripping read, a tragedy that you can't look away from—that you can't get enough of. It's disturbing and thought-provoking. You're going to want to get your hands on it.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Down & Out Press via NetGalley and Lori Hettler of The Next Best Book Club in exchange for this post—thanks to all of them for this.
Did Not Finish
August 18, 2024No star rating because I only read the first two chapters. I was excited about a Queens set thriller, but the writing is terrible and the two characters introduced so far are so cardboard I just cannot. Leaving this note so I do not forget and buy this again. NYC friends, you are welcome to my copy!
September 19, 2021
Ever woken up in the middle of night thinking someone’s watching you.
Casually strolling around shopping and felt a presence shadowing you.
Reached for the spoon of ice-cream only to find out that it has disappeared.
A word of caution.
Stalker Stalked by Lee Matthew Goldberg might petrify you then.
A spine chillingly ‘real’istic book that will keep you awake for days and redefine reality.
The premise of the book is so different and disturbingly sinister. We have all heard of stalking, well this book as its title suggests is about the stalker getting stalked. Twisty.
Liza Mazur, stalks everyone in her life. In fact that’s the way she even finds her boyfriends. She stalks them into falling in love with her. The way she goes about it is quite devious but clever, oh so clever.
Then one day her manipulating schemes stop working on her boyfriend Steve.
What do you think happens to her then?
Highly strung as she is, she reaches a zenith in frazzledness (if i can call it that). She goes on a bigger pill-popping and binge watches reality TV shows. But Liza being Liza she does this with a twist. She imagines that she is part of that world and is going to be vital to the show’s success. She sets up befriending the show’s star Magnolia Artois by following her in reel and real life.
And surprisingly she does succeed and becomes a part of the show.
And then the tables turn!
The Stalker starts getting stalked.
What happens next?
Does Liza drag her childhood friend Pria into her mess?
Does she get her boyfriend Steve back?
Does she fulfill her dream of becoming a ‘reality’ star?
Does she outsmart her stalker or does she finally meet her match?
Stalker Stalked is a trippy, scary read full of twisted wit and an equally trippy end (which i think is the beauty of Lee’s writing style). It however is also a deep analysis of the world we live in today where the lines between realities are blurred. Where ‘Social Media’ defines how we perceive ourselves, often forgetting our ‘real’ selves. Pushing ourselves, instead of happiness, to often the very depths of despair.
The book leaves you pondering the question that Lee subtly brings up mid book.
“Do you wonder if you’ve created the very reality that you wish for?”
So glad I got this ARC, it was a spine chillingly trippy read. Hope you liked my fair and honest review.
Happy Reading:)
Casually strolling around shopping and felt a presence shadowing you.
Reached for the spoon of ice-cream only to find out that it has disappeared.
A word of caution.
Stalker Stalked by Lee Matthew Goldberg might petrify you then.
A spine chillingly ‘real’istic book that will keep you awake for days and redefine reality.
The premise of the book is so different and disturbingly sinister. We have all heard of stalking, well this book as its title suggests is about the stalker getting stalked. Twisty.
Liza Mazur, stalks everyone in her life. In fact that’s the way she even finds her boyfriends. She stalks them into falling in love with her. The way she goes about it is quite devious but clever, oh so clever.
Then one day her manipulating schemes stop working on her boyfriend Steve.
What do you think happens to her then?
Highly strung as she is, she reaches a zenith in frazzledness (if i can call it that). She goes on a bigger pill-popping and binge watches reality TV shows. But Liza being Liza she does this with a twist. She imagines that she is part of that world and is going to be vital to the show’s success. She sets up befriending the show’s star Magnolia Artois by following her in reel and real life.
And surprisingly she does succeed and becomes a part of the show.
And then the tables turn!
The Stalker starts getting stalked.
What happens next?
Does Liza drag her childhood friend Pria into her mess?
Does she get her boyfriend Steve back?
Does she fulfill her dream of becoming a ‘reality’ star?
Does she outsmart her stalker or does she finally meet her match?
Stalker Stalked is a trippy, scary read full of twisted wit and an equally trippy end (which i think is the beauty of Lee’s writing style). It however is also a deep analysis of the world we live in today where the lines between realities are blurred. Where ‘Social Media’ defines how we perceive ourselves, often forgetting our ‘real’ selves. Pushing ourselves, instead of happiness, to often the very depths of despair.
The book leaves you pondering the question that Lee subtly brings up mid book.
“Do you wonder if you’ve created the very reality that you wish for?”
So glad I got this ARC, it was a spine chillingly trippy read. Hope you liked my fair and honest review.
Happy Reading:)
September 19, 2021
Lexi Mazur is a depressed, alcoholic, pill-popper whose only joy has become her reality TV shows, often fantasizing that the people on TV are a part of her world. After her boyfriend Steve leaves her, she fixates on the show Socialites and its star Magnolia Artois, following every facet of the girl’s life on social media in the hopes of befriending and becoming more like her.
But stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself.
But what happens when the stalker gets stalked?
Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know?
Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?
Wow!!! What a read this was.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.
But stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself.
But what happens when the stalker gets stalked?
Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know?
Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?
Wow!!! What a read this was.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.
September 6, 2021
Honestly, for the first half of the book I was just thinking what the hell am I reading, yet I did continue to read. Lexi is a pharma rep and is currently using her own supply to self medicate plus using alcohol. Lexi very clearly has mental health issues that are apparent from the beginning, her relationship with her mum was far from ideal and had a lasting impact on how Lexi lived her life. I actually think Lee did a great job with making you really dislike Lexi which I think was purposely done to show how addiction and substance abuse can really change a person. This book wasn't what I thought it would be, I thought it would be about a stalker being stalked when really I felt it was more a stalker with mental health issues dealing with addiction and how that impacted her life and her reality. Lexi is obsessed with reality programmes and in particular with one of the characters from the socialites, when Lexi is turned away from becoming part of the group, she really does start to lose the plot. Luckily, Lexi has a great friend who stuck by her the entire time. By the end of the book I was actually really enjoying it and learning to like the main character even with all her flaws.
I do feel the book is really misleading and the twists are incredibly bizarre, especially the whole 'stalker' scenario, I just wasn't buying into that. The ending was really quite satisfying and actually made up for the part of the book that I disliked. I felt there was sexual elements added to this that weren't necessary and just kind of came across as a person's weird fetish, I didn't really feel they played a part in the story, other than to state Lexi was unstable but that was already clear from many other things.
I do feel the book is really misleading and the twists are incredibly bizarre, especially the whole 'stalker' scenario, I just wasn't buying into that. The ending was really quite satisfying and actually made up for the part of the book that I disliked. I felt there was sexual elements added to this that weren't necessary and just kind of came across as a person's weird fetish, I didn't really feel they played a part in the story, other than to state Lexi was unstable but that was already clear from many other things.
September 17, 2021
Stalker Stalked by Lee Matthew Goldberg psychiatric thriller that will leave you in awe. Lexi Mazur has many flaws; alcohol and drugs have been a large part of her life for several years. She also lives viciously through the characters of reality TV. Lexi mimics their behavior, seeks them out, and tries to become part of their cast. Through this, she feels stalked by someone else. Could it be the socialite she is stalking, the detective on her case, or the side effects of her pills like her friends are telling her?
Lee Matthew Goldberg is a rare author who is a master storyteller. He places you right there with Lexi in Stalker Stalked, even if you don't want to witness her spiral behavior. You feel sorry and disguised by her actions but are amazed at how this novel ends. The twist on the change of events will make this a memorable read for years. But I also felt I was in Lexi's head and could not recognize the truth of what was taking place. You understand what addicts face when they leave reality for an alternative world.
Lee Matthew Goldberg is a rare author who is a master storyteller. He places you right there with Lexi in Stalker Stalked, even if you don't want to witness her spiral behavior. You feel sorry and disguised by her actions but are amazed at how this novel ends. The twist on the change of events will make this a memorable read for years. But I also felt I was in Lexi's head and could not recognize the truth of what was taking place. You understand what addicts face when they leave reality for an alternative world.
December 1, 2021
Lexi, Lexi, Lexi. What the heck are you doing with your life?
That’s what I kept wanting to scream at Lexi Mazur, who is strung out on “blue heavens” and losing a grip on reality as she is obsessed with the reality TV show Socialites.
Whether it’s the drugs, PTSD, or just her nature, Lexi is impulsive and obsessive. That’s what drove her boyfriend away; actually, it’s how Lexi first stalked him down. But daily, Lexi tunes in to the ladies of the Socialites; she is consumed with them, especially Magnolia. It’s gotten so bad she believes they will be her friends.
Then Lexi becomes suspicious that she is being watched, stalked even. And who would know better than someone who has stalked others, right?
So this one gets a little wild. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 has a tense, creepy feel. Lexi’s behavior is erratic, cringy at times, which leads you to question whether she is being stalked or if this is all her drug-induced paranoia.
Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @leematthewgoldberg for an invite to the tour and a gifted copy.
That’s what I kept wanting to scream at Lexi Mazur, who is strung out on “blue heavens” and losing a grip on reality as she is obsessed with the reality TV show Socialites.
Whether it’s the drugs, PTSD, or just her nature, Lexi is impulsive and obsessive. That’s what drove her boyfriend away; actually, it’s how Lexi first stalked him down. But daily, Lexi tunes in to the ladies of the Socialites; she is consumed with them, especially Magnolia. It’s gotten so bad she believes they will be her friends.
Then Lexi becomes suspicious that she is being watched, stalked even. And who would know better than someone who has stalked others, right?
So this one gets a little wild. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 has a tense, creepy feel. Lexi’s behavior is erratic, cringy at times, which leads you to question whether she is being stalked or if this is all her drug-induced paranoia.
Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and @leematthewgoldberg for an invite to the tour and a gifted copy.
March 1, 2022
“He was staring at me like some people did. Like I was missing a screw. Like they were better than me because they had their shit together and I was a mess.”
Stalker Stalked is a fast-paced, dark and twisted psychological thriller that’s quite the page turner!
The story follows Lexi Mazur, a thirty year old pharmaceutical rep struggling with addiction and the highs and lows of a troubled life.
Though fun and pulpy, it also depicts drug abuse and mental illness in all its complexity, deep pain and loneliness, making it difficult to read at times...
As Lexi navigates through her different relationships and obsessive behaviours, she spirals out of control. To a point where the reader can no longer differentiate between what’s really happening to her and what’s not.
That said, if you’re a fan of reality tv - my guilty pleasure, chances are you’ll also be more than captivated by this read.
Thank you to the author for the gifted copy.
Stalker Stalked is a fast-paced, dark and twisted psychological thriller that’s quite the page turner!
The story follows Lexi Mazur, a thirty year old pharmaceutical rep struggling with addiction and the highs and lows of a troubled life.
Though fun and pulpy, it also depicts drug abuse and mental illness in all its complexity, deep pain and loneliness, making it difficult to read at times...
As Lexi navigates through her different relationships and obsessive behaviours, she spirals out of control. To a point where the reader can no longer differentiate between what’s really happening to her and what’s not.
That said, if you’re a fan of reality tv - my guilty pleasure, chances are you’ll also be more than captivated by this read.
Thank you to the author for the gifted copy.
November 23, 2021
Strange days indeed! In this latest thriller from Goldberg. We meet Lexi, a pill popping, alcoholic pharmaceutical rep who has an unhealthy obsession to reality shows. She is also a stalker. Just ask her ex. She follows Magnolia from the show Socialites, she needs to become part of their world. Things really take a twist when Lexi thinks she is being stalked by somone as cleaver and manipulative as her. This is a trip, but it's so much more than an unstable woman and her drama. It touches on issues if big pharma and social media. This was creepy! and to say thought provoking is an understatement. You won't stop thinking about it. It's totally bananas with the perfect ending. Just wow!
Dawnny Ruby
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley NY
Dawnny Ruby
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley NY
September 20, 2021
I had the pleasure of reading this psychological thriller by Lee Matthew Goldberg through Blackthorn Book Tours. And let me just say, WOW, can he ever write a voicey character!
The main character is Lexi, so Goldberg writes from a female perspective. Lexi is bold, brash, and unafraid to tell people what she really thinks. She’s got a mouth on her that would make a sailor blush, and the likely cause is a past full of abuse and lacking any sort of love or affection, along with a problem with drugs and alcohol. She has grown up to be something like the person she wants to be like the least: her mother. Lexi abuses substances to escape from reality, and it turns her into someone she really isn’t. Because she doesn’t know how to love or what to expect in a relationship, she forges her own path by forcing connections with people. Everyone she meets is a potential new target for friendship or a romantic involvement. At the root of it all is the need to be unconditionally loved and wanted. Noticed. Appreciated.
There are so many things going on inside Lexi’s brain at any given moment. As I was reading, I could see the destructive decisions she was making. Several times, I thought, “Oh no, here she goes again,” when she met someone new, or someone did or said something the wrong way.
It’s a classic case of the abused becomes the abuser—one in the same, when you get right down to it. Lexi was her own worst enemy, but she thought everyone else was the bad guy.
When things took a turn for the better, I was so wrapped up in Lexi’s reality vs. actual reality that I wasn’t sure which was which—and that’s exactly what was supposed to be happening because, really, neither is she.
The character arc was strong in Stalker Stalked. We learn a lot about what makes her tick, and what she believes she needs to make her a strong person. We see her go through her highs and lows as she, the one who is normally doing the stalking, becomes the victim of a stalker as well. Everyone she knows is a suspect. She’s got exes, enemies, her only true friend, a doctor, even a police detective in her sights as she tries to figure out who’s stalking her. But being stalked means someone wants her, right? Maybe that’s not such a terrible thing, Lexi rationalizes…
There were a few lines throughout the story that just made me laugh, the thoughts she’d have about people. Lexi is very vulgar, so do be aware of some explicit language and sexual scenes in the story. There were also some OMG parts, particularly at the very end of chapter forty-eight!
All in all, it was a very interesting read. The thing I loved most about it was Lexi’s voicey-ness. It was very distinctive, and I love characters like that, regardless of what their story is. Lexi is very precise and detailed in her analysis of others. She hones in on the slightest feature: “When I passed it over, I touched his hand. His was smooth, I could tell he used lotion and trimmed his cuticles. He smelled of oak–a great, grand tree.” She also zones in on her current target, whoever it might be, and essentially fabricates a reality where they’re in some sort of mutually wanted relationship: “We were already finishing each other’s sentences.”
I was rooting for Lexi not to succeed at forcing friendships and love, which is what she desperately wanted, but to learn to love herself first and take the steps she needs to get better, which is what she fiercely needed.
The main character is Lexi, so Goldberg writes from a female perspective. Lexi is bold, brash, and unafraid to tell people what she really thinks. She’s got a mouth on her that would make a sailor blush, and the likely cause is a past full of abuse and lacking any sort of love or affection, along with a problem with drugs and alcohol. She has grown up to be something like the person she wants to be like the least: her mother. Lexi abuses substances to escape from reality, and it turns her into someone she really isn’t. Because she doesn’t know how to love or what to expect in a relationship, she forges her own path by forcing connections with people. Everyone she meets is a potential new target for friendship or a romantic involvement. At the root of it all is the need to be unconditionally loved and wanted. Noticed. Appreciated.
There are so many things going on inside Lexi’s brain at any given moment. As I was reading, I could see the destructive decisions she was making. Several times, I thought, “Oh no, here she goes again,” when she met someone new, or someone did or said something the wrong way.
It’s a classic case of the abused becomes the abuser—one in the same, when you get right down to it. Lexi was her own worst enemy, but she thought everyone else was the bad guy.
When things took a turn for the better, I was so wrapped up in Lexi’s reality vs. actual reality that I wasn’t sure which was which—and that’s exactly what was supposed to be happening because, really, neither is she.
The character arc was strong in Stalker Stalked. We learn a lot about what makes her tick, and what she believes she needs to make her a strong person. We see her go through her highs and lows as she, the one who is normally doing the stalking, becomes the victim of a stalker as well. Everyone she knows is a suspect. She’s got exes, enemies, her only true friend, a doctor, even a police detective in her sights as she tries to figure out who’s stalking her. But being stalked means someone wants her, right? Maybe that’s not such a terrible thing, Lexi rationalizes…
There were a few lines throughout the story that just made me laugh, the thoughts she’d have about people. Lexi is very vulgar, so do be aware of some explicit language and sexual scenes in the story. There were also some OMG parts, particularly at the very end of chapter forty-eight!
All in all, it was a very interesting read. The thing I loved most about it was Lexi’s voicey-ness. It was very distinctive, and I love characters like that, regardless of what their story is. Lexi is very precise and detailed in her analysis of others. She hones in on the slightest feature: “When I passed it over, I touched his hand. His was smooth, I could tell he used lotion and trimmed his cuticles. He smelled of oak–a great, grand tree.” She also zones in on her current target, whoever it might be, and essentially fabricates a reality where they’re in some sort of mutually wanted relationship: “We were already finishing each other’s sentences.”
I was rooting for Lexi not to succeed at forcing friendships and love, which is what she desperately wanted, but to learn to love herself first and take the steps she needs to get better, which is what she fiercely needed.
November 8, 2021
Can reality fiction get so overwhelming on our brain that we are unable to distinguish reality from fiction?
Has internet, instead of closing distances, made people
more lonely?
Is it easier to stalk people, due to social media?
Is it easier to take drugs/ alcohol to numb our senses or is it better to be strong enough to feel our emotions & situation with a sane mind?
This psychological thriller answers many such questions & more.
.
Stalker Stalked
by
Lee Matthew Goldberg.
All Due Respect, an imprint of Down & Out Books (17 September 2021).
.
286 pgs
53 chapters.
Genre: #mystery & #thriller
.
𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲— 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.
―Charles Bukowski.
.
🦋
Do you like observing people? Have you ever been caught in an uncomfortable eye contact?
Or
Have you ever been Stalked? Or do you know someone who was?
Or
An author you have read a lot from?
Or
Do you think internet has made stalking easier?
Or
Do you watch reality TV?
.
.
Lexi Mazur is a depressed, alcoholic, pill-popper whose only joy has become her reality TV shows, often fantasizing that the people on TV are a part of her world. After her boyfriend Steve leaves her, she fixates on the show Socialites and its star Magnolia Artois, following every facet of the girl’s life on social media in the hopes of befriending and becoming more like her.
But stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself.
But what happens when the stalker gets stalked?
Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know?
Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?
.
.
Has internet, instead of closing distances, made people
more lonely?
Is it easier to stalk people, due to social media?
Is it easier to take drugs/ alcohol to numb our senses or is it better to be strong enough to feel our emotions & situation with a sane mind?
This psychological thriller answers many such questions & more.
.
Stalker Stalked
by
Lee Matthew Goldberg.
All Due Respect, an imprint of Down & Out Books (17 September 2021).
.
286 pgs
53 chapters.
Genre: #mystery & #thriller
.
𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲— 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.
―Charles Bukowski.
.
🦋
Do you like observing people? Have you ever been caught in an uncomfortable eye contact?
Or
Have you ever been Stalked? Or do you know someone who was?
Or
An author you have read a lot from?
Or
Do you think internet has made stalking easier?
Or
Do you watch reality TV?
.
.
Lexi Mazur is a depressed, alcoholic, pill-popper whose only joy has become her reality TV shows, often fantasizing that the people on TV are a part of her world. After her boyfriend Steve leaves her, she fixates on the show Socialites and its star Magnolia Artois, following every facet of the girl’s life on social media in the hopes of befriending and becoming more like her.
But stalking isn’t new to Lexi. She ultimately won over her ex Steve by following and manipulating every minute detail about him so he’d fall for her. In fact, she landed her other ex-boyfriend Jeremy in the same way. Being a pharma rep, she’s used to manipulation to get doctors to buy her drugs, along with the perk of saving pills for herself.
But what happens when the stalker gets stalked?
Recently, Lexi has felt someone watching her: in her apartment in Queens, at her job. At first, she thinks her mind’s playing tricks, but the watcher is behaving just like she would. And soon they begin leaving threatening clues like she starts to do to Magnolia once her obsession grows more dangerous. Is it one of her exes out for revenge? Her only real friend from childhood who she’s always had an unhealthy rivalry? A detective who may have figured her out? The reality star Magnolia trying to turn the tables? Or even someone she might not know?
Lexi learns the only way to beat her stalker is to use her own stalking prowess to outsmart them at their own game. But has she finally met her match?
.
.
December 6, 2021
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“Stalker Stalked” is a unique psychological thriller that stands out from the rest, and the story intrigued me.
I always love the author’s story-telling style because of how personal he gets with the characters. The leads in his stories are not people you would consider role models because they have a lot of flaws and make mistakes. Yet, you get drawn into their lives because of their actions and wonder how they respond to situations. Lexi is no different in the story. I found her odd yet mysterious as soon as she started stalking Magnolia. Similarly, even Magnolia is sizzling, and you wonder what she does as shock value being part of the socialites.
Moreover, the author also builds the suspense very nicely in some chapters. Certain parts that stood out for me were when the creepy Zebra stalks Lexi or the pretense of someone in the shadows, and the black box left on the doorstep. As the story progresses, it was also interesting to see how Lexi’s relationship with the supporting cast, like Pria and her mother, affects her actions and impacts her relationships.
However, there were a few minor issues with the story. For instance, I felt like I was reading parallel subplots, one focusing on the mysterious entity that unnerves Lexi and the other with her obsession over Magnolia. Also, the story is very creepy in some chapters but feels light-hearted in others.
Nevertheless, I feel like it is a good attempt by the author to try something different in the genre. Overall, “Stalker Stalked” is a very out-of-the-box psychological thriller because of its unique characters, and I liked reading it.
September 16, 2021
This book is a helluva wild ride. ‘Stalker Stalked’ follows Lexi Mazur, a 30 year old pharma sales rep in NYC who has some serious issues. She can’t get through life without constantly popping a few Monopolin ( a xanax or valium type drug) every few hours and losing herself in bitchy reality tv shows ( Real Housewives type stuff) . The ‘little blue pills’ along with the alcohol abuse ramp up when her boyfriend Steve leaves her after he finds she has been going through his emails. Post-breakup Lexis is saved by a new truly trashy, over the top bitchy, relative tv show called ‘Socialites’ and especially the character of Magnolia Artois. She starts dedicating all her obsessive, stalker energy into trying to befriend Magnolia and becoming a character on ‘Socialites’.
There’s a lot going on in ‘Stalker Stalked’ . Lexi is a stalker and she’s sure that she is being stalked on top of that there’s the dysfunctional relationship she has with her ‘best friend’; the dysfunctional relationships she’s had with past boyfriends; the dysfunctional ( and abusive) relationship she has with her mother and the dysfunctional relationship she has with trashy reality tv and their stars. Lexi is an incredibly unlikable character - she is shallow and abusive and broken. The other characters that appear in the book are very underdeveloped and one dimensional, so as a reader you’re forced to concentrate on Lexi, which is honestly unpleasant.
I feel like the writing in ‘Stalker, stalked’ lacks some of the subtlety that can be found in books similar to it ( looking at you ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’). A combination of the one dimensional characters, over-the-top scenarios and Lexi’s tell-it-all narration really impacts the writing quality. There is a deeper commentary on reality television culture and shallowness in the West , especially amongst some sections of the population, but I felt like the story didn’t have to go so bizarre whacko to get its point across.
** Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC**
There’s a lot going on in ‘Stalker Stalked’ . Lexi is a stalker and she’s sure that she is being stalked on top of that there’s the dysfunctional relationship she has with her ‘best friend’; the dysfunctional relationships she’s had with past boyfriends; the dysfunctional ( and abusive) relationship she has with her mother and the dysfunctional relationship she has with trashy reality tv and their stars. Lexi is an incredibly unlikable character - she is shallow and abusive and broken. The other characters that appear in the book are very underdeveloped and one dimensional, so as a reader you’re forced to concentrate on Lexi, which is honestly unpleasant.
I feel like the writing in ‘Stalker, stalked’ lacks some of the subtlety that can be found in books similar to it ( looking at you ‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’). A combination of the one dimensional characters, over-the-top scenarios and Lexi’s tell-it-all narration really impacts the writing quality. There is a deeper commentary on reality television culture and shallowness in the West , especially amongst some sections of the population, but I felt like the story didn’t have to go so bizarre whacko to get its point across.
** Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC**
September 17, 2021
"...I collapse...the knife at my neck ready to end me for good. My stalker with all the power. Even I would've never gone this far."
OMG! This quote is just the start of the crazy wild ride that is Stalker Stalked by the formidable Lee Matthew Goldberg. What it is all about is in the title and It is ingenious as a perfect plot for a psychological thriller.
Lexi has an obsessive personality. She is obsessed with popping pills, drinking, social media, reality TV and stalking future and ex boyfriends. Depressed after a break up she develops a new obsession, the reality show Socialites and begins stalking its star Magnolia.
As she gets more out of control her job as a pharmaceutical rep is on the line, her freedom in jeopardy as the police may be on to her shenanigans and then her life might be in danger as she realizes she is now the one being stalked by a more vicious stalker than herself.
The beauty of this story is that Lexi is in no way a sympathetic character. She is manipulative, mean and self centered and yet I was scared for her. Even, dare I say, concerned for her well being. She aggravated me, was frustrating at every turn and yet she is the center of this story-which she would love!
This author knows how to write a story so insane, so unpredictable that despite the main character being despicable I could not stop reading it. I read this in one night. It's compelling, divisive and a honest look at the role social media plays with our mental health and emotions all for corporate profits
Also, when a book about stalking uses the song "I'll Be Watching You" in a chapter I am all in. Pure genius.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
OMG! This quote is just the start of the crazy wild ride that is Stalker Stalked by the formidable Lee Matthew Goldberg. What it is all about is in the title and It is ingenious as a perfect plot for a psychological thriller.
Lexi has an obsessive personality. She is obsessed with popping pills, drinking, social media, reality TV and stalking future and ex boyfriends. Depressed after a break up she develops a new obsession, the reality show Socialites and begins stalking its star Magnolia.
As she gets more out of control her job as a pharmaceutical rep is on the line, her freedom in jeopardy as the police may be on to her shenanigans and then her life might be in danger as she realizes she is now the one being stalked by a more vicious stalker than herself.
The beauty of this story is that Lexi is in no way a sympathetic character. She is manipulative, mean and self centered and yet I was scared for her. Even, dare I say, concerned for her well being. She aggravated me, was frustrating at every turn and yet she is the center of this story-which she would love!
This author knows how to write a story so insane, so unpredictable that despite the main character being despicable I could not stop reading it. I read this in one night. It's compelling, divisive and a honest look at the role social media plays with our mental health and emotions all for corporate profits
Also, when a book about stalking uses the song "I'll Be Watching You" in a chapter I am all in. Pure genius.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
August 10, 2021
In ‘Stalker Stalked’ Lexi is a pharma rep who’s sampling her product, to manage her anxiety and depression, has become a problem along with the vodka chasers. When Lexi’s boyfriend breaks up with her, she returns to stalkerish behaviours to find out how it went wrong. Lexi’s issues escalate and her superfan-dom of reality TV becomes an obsession and she turns her stalker behaviour to the ‘stars’ of the her favourite show. Lexi starts to feel like maybe she’s being stalked, is it real or is it the pills? This was an easy engaging read, I did feel it got a little bogged down in the descriptions of the Socialites episodes, and this method of story within a story was a bit clunky and I admit to skipping through those parts. The premise was interesting and the descriptions of obsession with reality TV and the Instagram culture were on point. Overall an enjoyable read. #stalkerstalked #netgalley
September 22, 2021
This was definitely a strange book.. but in a really good way. Does that make sense? I highly suggest you go into this one not reading a bunch of reviews, go into this with as little information as possible. It really enhances this book when you let it be completely off the rails, that's exactly the way I think it was meant to be. It's hot mess express at full speed.
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