Rapture

by Thomas Tessier

Jeff loves Georgianna. Jeff has always loved Georgianne. Now, years later, Georgianne is as beautiful, as magical as ever -- and ripe for terror.

Because a love like Jeff's makes a man crazy, he'll do things he'd never have dreamed possible. Even target, stalk, and possibly destroy everyone Georgianne loves: her faithful husband, her nubile daughter. Until Jeff is all she has left...

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Novels, Psychological, Mystery, Noir

310 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Thomas Tessier grew up in Connecticut and attended University College, Dublin. He was 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 lived in Connecticut.

Reviews

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember that dude who was your best friend in high school but he kind of maybe always wanted to ask you out and never did? Now it's almost 20 years later and he's a serial killer. Surprise!

[Anna Bueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was 9 years old when I read this book. I was staying at my Grandma's house for a week in the summer and found it under the bed in the guest room. I read the whole thing in one day. It turned me gay.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure if I should call this a horror novel, but the main character Jeff is super creepy! Jeff starts the novel heading back to Connecticut from California for his father's funeral. Jeff left for college (UCLA) and never turned back, graduating and then starting a computer business that is now thriving (this was first published in 1987). Where did the last 20 years go? Work. After arriving in his home town, he starts thinking about Georgianne, a friend from high school who he had 'a thing' for but never had the nerve to follow through.

While kicking around town with his surviving relatives and old high school buds, he starts asking about Georgianne and eventually finds out she is married and living fairly close by; after engineering a meeting, he takes her to lunch and then dinner with her husband. He decides her husband is a loser and she cannot possibly be happy with him; he sees her as a 'potted plant' now whereas she should be at his side celebrating life. Well, he has money to burn and a crafty mind, so he decides to make her his...

What is really creepy about Rapture involves how Tessier put the reader into the mind of Jeff and his obsessions. Basically a workaholic, Jeff's loneliness, and his age (approaching 40) compel him to make some changes in his life, and the change he wants most is to have Georgianne! How far will he go? Read this to find out! I have some quibbles with this one, but it left me wanting a shower bad and Jeff really is a great asshole. 3 stalking stars!

[Brendon Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the 20 or so books I choose at the beginning of the year and said I 'must read' and I only wish I got to it sooner.

Jeff is a successful businessman, single and a workaholic. When he returns to his hometown where he hasnt been for 20 years he runs into Georgianne a high school friend. This encounter ignites his passion he once had for her. The problem is she is married and has a child. Jeff cant get her out of his mind and he will stop at nothing for make Georgianne his.

This book isnt very violent or gory but gosh it packs a PUNCH! The way Tessier shows us the warped mind of a stalker and how they integrate themselves into their victims life and manipulate them is truly haunting. The inner dialogue of Jeff as he plans out his actions to win over Georgianne is very realistic as being someone who has spoken to stalkers as part of his job. The anger over why they cant be with this person and taking everything they say or do and analysing it over and over is something these creeps do.

Its paced very well and written very simply in its style but it grabs you from the first few chapters. When it all starts to unravel near the end my heart was racing.

Brilliant psychological horror/thriller that will appeal to fans of both genre's.

[Jon Von · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of obsession and murder told from a killer's pov. A man becomes obsessed with a girl he was friends with twenty years earlier and discovers she has a husband and a teenage daughter. Despite living on another coast, he tries to insinuate himself into their life. The book has a pulpy style and it's a little dull for the first half. But once he starts to meet her family, it tips more and more into madness, becoming a violent, sexually charged tale. This was surprisingly gruesome and effective despite the protagonist being kind of boring. It made me think of a white male version of a Patricia Highsmith novel but given a lurid Stephen King-esque sheen.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tessier probably didn't set out in 1987 to write The Incel's Guide to Manipulating Women into Wanting to Get with Them, but looking back from 2023, it's pretty clear that's what he did. Not that he's supporting that idea (it's pretty clear that Jeff Lister is NOT the protagonist of this book), but I can't help but think that a certain type of white male on the internet will read this book and think, "Now THIS guy totally gets it!" and start going at it with a highlighter. I've seen enough news stories by now to know that this is pretty close to how it goes down in the real world.

I really waffled over how to rate this book. On the one hand, it's really hard to read, but on the other hand, this is a horror novel. Good horror SHOULD make you feel uncomfortable, a little squicky, maybe even make you want to put the book down (even though there's going to be that little nagging voice that compels you back to the book just so you can see how the antagonist finally gets his in the end). But boy howdy, this is one that will put you through the wringer along the way.

[William M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

RAPTURE, by Thomas Tessier, is quite addictive, although not as inspired or suspenseful as his novel, FINISHING TOUCHES or the novella, FATHER PANIC'S OPERA MACABRE. I expected more out of this tale of an obsessed stalker who puts all his resources into winning over a woman he had a crush on ever since high school, twenty years earlier. As always, Tessier is a wonderful writer that cuts to the quick, never adding fat or fluff to get his point across. He always keeps you on edge and drops subtle hints of foreshadowing. My biggest problem, however, was the way the some of the characters (Georgianne and Bonnie) seemed to have an almost psychic ability - a hunch - to sense the lead character's crime of murder, without any reason or evidence to back it up. The ending seemed a little rushed, but once again, Tessier still manages to spin a tense thriller and I look forward to his new book, WICKED THINGS, his first published novel in ten years.

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

For this 1987 story, think "Fatal Attraction" but with the roles reversed. Or "Obsession" mixed with "American Psycho." If that sounds like your cup of tea, you should definitely give this a try.

I almost consider this a "remake" of Tessier's 1978 novel "The Nightwalker," as it has similar themes and a central protagonist that is also the antagonist, but it takes out all of the supernatural elements. The result is a novel that explores the sociopathy of Eighties tech culture, one that feels very poignant to contemporary readers.

If the main character, Jeff, were around today, he would probably have been responsible for designing social media platforms to maximize screen time and brain rot, and definitely would be moving into developing AI models. He'd be one of those guys who would annoy you at cocktail parties rambling on about how data centers will increase GDP and whatnot.

He is a successful entrepreneur in the burgeoning world of 1980s Silicon Valley tech. He spends most of his time working, not partying, and he is a well-mannered, quiet man. However, when we first meet him, he's saying goodbye to his lover, who seems to behave on the infantile side. Clue number one that all is not right with Jeff.

When he has to return to his childhood home for his father's funeral, he learns that a former school crush, Georgianne, still lives in the area. After stalking her a bit, he pretends to accidentally run into her in a parking lot. She's happy to see him, and she invites him to spend some time with her. However, she's married and has a teenage daughter. For the next few days, Jeff worms is way into her life and that of the family. Her own nostalgia and affection for Jeff makes her blind to his increasing lack of boundaries, and her failure to set limits ends up having dire consequences. That's because Jeff's own nostalgia is turning into obsession, hence the title of this book.

For a good portion of this novel, you forget you're reading a horror thriller. Like the brilliant Japanese novel and film "Audition," much of the story feels like a sentimental and romantic character study of a lonely and flawed man with a midlife crisis. We follow Jeff as he meets the family and slowly gets into a cock-swinging competition with her passive-aggressive husband, Sean. There's a brilliant scene where Sean, who's a health nut, invites Jeff, a heavy smoker, to go jogging. Jeff feels compelled to keep up the pace with Sean, even though both of them know he's not in the shape to do so, and things go about as well as you'd expect. It's a nice character moment, and makes you feel some sympathy for Jeff.

But any attachment you may have for Jeff goes out the window as he starts to show his true colors in his pursuit of Georgianne. Though he thinks he loves her, he doesn't see her or anyone as an autonomous human being. People exist only for his own self gratification, and if they are even dispensable to serve his needs. The spotlight remains on Jeff as a critique of rationalist and materialist culture.

The narrative is often uncomfortable, because you are forced to experience the entirety through the predator's point of view. You don't want to keep reading, because you hope that Jeff will just be a decent bloke and do the right thing, but you know he won't. You dread just how far he will take his manipulation in order to win the prize, and just what explosive action he will take if he doesn't get what he wants. But as much as you may not want to see what happens next, you can't help yourself.

There are a couple of lovemaking scenes that are surprisingly well done and even sexy. Usually horror writers are terrible at writing intimacy, or intentionally make it gross, but I think Tessier should have gone into writing romance when the paperbacks-from-hell bubble burst. My only complaint is that this feels a little TOO much like a romance. Two-thirds of this book is taken up with Jeff hanging out with various women while pretending to be Prince Charming--going to restaurants, drinking booze, watching TV, giving backrubs, dancing, chatting on the phone, making out and making love.

But patience pays off at the end. The suspense is palpable and builds to a smoldering, yet oddly quiet, conclusion. A very interesting novel you will not likely forget.

SCORE: 4 Ferraris out of 5

[Mique Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

The first two thirds had me really hooked and intrigued, but the third act was such a let-down. What I love about this book is how is starts off all mundane and placid… only for a nefarious and sinister undertone to slowly creep in as we learn about the MC’s true motivations. Beyond his evil desires, I didn’t really find him to be all that interesting—his one-note characterisation fell completely flat. A lot of the characters here felt one dimensional, and I ultimately lost interest in them. The writing felt too passive and the third act just had so much dead air that kept putting a stop to the momentum (which actually started to feel sluggish at times). Not a fave.

[amerie ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

wasnt bad but it was a waste of my 3 days I’ll tell you that much

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5, rounded down.

Tessier takes you on an absolutely unnerving journey inside the mind of a deeply disturbed individual. It reminded me a lot of Caroline Kepnes, "You", though far less humourous, and obviously this book predates that one by a significant margin. Tessier shows an uncanny ability to realistically portray the mentality of his twisted character, and there's nary a false note to be found. Top notch stuff.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to become a stalker but nobody in this day and age seems worthy of my undying obsessive attention.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.75.

One sentence summary: Incel tech bro thinks everything belongs to him.

This could have been “ripped from the headlines” of 2025 and is written in Tessier’s usual engaging style. Reading the main character’s thoughts felt a lot like experiencing the inner monologue of a lizard, or an alien.

[Jessica Woodbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first read from my new collection of Valancourt's Paperbacks from Hell collection. Picked almost entirely at random, I was really pleased with my choice.

This is compared often to American Psycho, which came a few years later, though the author wanted to write something more like Talented Mr. Ripley. I think it's a great spot in between those two, making space all its own, feeling both surprising and inevitable.

The idea of the truly terrible protagonist was not an entirely new one in the 80s, but it's still risky and Tessier executes it really well. Plenty of current novels trying to capture "toxic masculinity" don't get it as right as Tessier does even though the book is almost as old as I am.

The cover maybe overpromises, this is a slow burn, thinking Highsmith will get you a better expectation. But who can say no to a pulpy cover? Definitely has me curious to read more Tessier. (Lucky for me there is another of his novels in my new collection.)

[Christopher John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could've been written in the 2020s

A book older than I am that's maybe more relevant than ever. This is a chilling character study on straight white male entitlement that's aged like a fine wine. I never would've found this without Grady Hendrix's endorsement. I'm glad I did - it's well paced and written. Highly recommended.

[Billy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the start of the book is very normal and while Jeff comes off as a bit creepy and potentially sleeping with a teenager, he doesn’t appear to be a murderer right away. This is actually a good thing, because it’s intriguing to see the buildup of this guy becoming worse and worse.

On the other hand, we are stuck in his head essentially the whole book, and while it has interesting moments it can be a bit boring as he slowly works his way towards his goals. There is the occasional glimpse into the minds of other characters, but unfortunately they are not all that interesting or well developed. To the point where Jeff’s obsession with Georgianne really does seem odd given that she doesn’t have much personality. Although maybe that’s the point and Jeff is able to paint his own idea of her because of that. Interesting ideas in theory that kind of drag the characters and narrative down though.

I could see some ways where this would have been better with some different ideas. In fact, there were moments that I was sure the story was leading to that ended up not happening, and not in a shocking way but in a boring, sort of, “Oh, that happened. Okay.” Sort of way.

The character study of Jeff is worth checking out and there are some genuinely surprising moments, but overall you’ll know what’s coming and spend a lot of time just waiting for those moments to happen.

[Mark Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really gripping and insightful book that delves into the mind of a man who reconnects with a childhood crush. Obsession and delusion ensue, followed by murder. Ending wasn’t predictable but is slightly underwhelming for it, I think. Still highly enjoyed the journey.

[Ren · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ohmygod, I love this chick. Everything else in my life was dumb. *20 min later* whut? Lol. Jk."

That was the book. But go ahead and read it if you want. Lol.jk.

[Sheena Forsberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

“It was hard not to think of her as just a sexy little high school kid, but she was a brilliant student on her way to Harvard”

“It was a shame about Georgianne. A woman falling for the wrong guy was an old, old story, Jeff knew, but he still found it hard to fathom. First Mike Rollins, then Sean Corcoran. It was up to Jeff to turn her around, to save her, in a sense, from herself.”

——————————-
Jeff was an incel before it was cool; the sad event of his father’s death makes him think about Georgianne; the one that got away.
So, he manipulates a (not so) chance encounter with her and all hell breaks loose.
Jeff is the kind of guy that makes women choose the bear every.time. ; far worse: he’s not even aware of that fact himself.
Awfully rapey, and near-cartoonish in his singleminded 80s bad-guy persona (this is after all the kind of guy who buries his face in the sofa & bites through the cushion in frustration).
Wholly unbelievable characters and plot, but entertaining enough for those of us who grew up watching late night thrillers from the 80s. I’ve not been turned off Tessier and I’m looking forward to the other 2 books of his waiting in the TBR.

[Snakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paperback from Hell about a psychopath stalker who runs into his old high school crush. She’s married with a child and he proceeds to insert himself into her life and chaos ensues. Highly recommended. A few reservations about granting that 5 stars when it’s for a pulpy horror novel. But this was great.

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: RAPTURE by Thomas Tessier

This is my third consecutive novel by this author, whom I read because he is a talent. I really enjoyed reading this novel, as I have his other work, due to this. As with SHOCKWAVES, I truly disliked the protagonist, Jeff Lisker, so I amazed myself at how well I enjoyed the novel. Mr. Tessier is superb at character definition, as well as at plots both amazingly twisted and twisting. His plotting is exceptionally imaginative, and his ability of characterization would make authors of literary fiction proud.

[Ben Loory · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty straightforward thriller about a psychopathic stalker, but EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE and had a great ending. just a really haunting truly perfect ending. i was not surprised to find that tessier started out as a poet; he's all about the feel of things and never wastes a word.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know where the synopsis that's written on here comes from because that's not it. This is essentially a darker version of something like You. A man approaching middle age runs into a woman he had a crush on during high school(the one that got away for him) and discovers she is married and has a kid now. Delusional and toxic thinking takes over and he starts planning on making her his, regardless of how far it goes. Extremely uncomfortable to read but I wouldn't have it any other way for something like this.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a different kind of love story and will take readers into strange horror. One to grab.

[beach horrorreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

It reminds me of Fatal Attraction, Jagged Edge, American Psycho and a Hallmark movie. But better. To be in Jeff’s head is fascinating while you’re terrified and wondering how this will end.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy enough I knew early on this would have to be a daytime read. I found it to be a fascinating character piece, but don't need to read it again.

[Frank Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the horror genre, and whether in film or literature, the most horrifying tales have nothing to do with the supernatural. As I write this review, the film Speak No Evil is screening in theaters and it is an agonizing slow burn of psychological horror, more horrifying because you know such a situation is completely possible and perhaps even plausible. Thomas Tessier's Rapture is one of the more horrifying and horrifyingly "true to life" tales of psychopathy I have ever read.

Tessier masterfully gives us insight into his protagonist's mind as he twists all that happens to his preferences and how he turns all evidence of failure into a new realization of his deep insight. You see the twistedness and you feel the tightening in your stomach just knowing it ain't going to lead to anything good. Jeff, the tech-bro psycho reunites with a High School crush and the happily married Georgianne makes an innocuous comment when asked by her husband why she and Jeff never dated in High School saying that if Jeff had asked she would have gone out with him. And as Grady Hendrix points out in his Introduction, "And right there, on page fifty-two of a two-hundred-and-forty-seven page book, she's sealed her fate." And like a Greek tragedy, all the stalking, the murdering and depravity unfolds from that one moment.

I don't know how I missed out on the work of Thomas Tessier, but I've already got several more of his books on my "To Read" shelf. I'd say that the writer he most reminds me of is Jim Thompson, especially the Thompson of The Killer Inside Me or A Hell of a Woman, as well as his professed "model", the masterful author of the first person psychopath novel: Patricia Highsmith. The big difference is that we uncomfortably find ourselves rooting for Highsmith's Tom Ripley while we are kept looking on in horror as Jeff moves inexorably toward doom.

[Tom S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and interesting

This is my first book by tessier and I think he pulled a few tricks in this that set it apart from just another stalker slasher type novel. Most interestingly, tessier uses third person omniscient to illustrate the delusions held by the main character as he unfolds his "plan" but by keeping things detached directly from the character, tessier is free to effortlessly jump to the perspective of another character during times of duress. This is fascinating because it's only during those times that we actually catch a glimpse of how odd this man's behavior is. It's kind of a structural twist on an unreliable narrator because if we trust the main character completely, well sure there's nothing wrong with tracking down an old high school chum right? The reader is virtually complicit up until the moments of horror and it's quite jarring. Much better than I expected albeit a bit slower paced than I might have preferred. Worth a shot!

[Bill Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a bunch of Tessier's books as they were published. Phantom is one of my favorite horror novels from its era. My horror-reading had diminished by the time this one came out but when I found a copy in a stack of books we are getting ready to donate or put in our LFL, I gave it a try. It's extremely readable but also flat, predictable, and annoying in places. The female characters are awful. Both of them hop into bed with a psychopath to "get closer to him and try to understand him." Dreadful even in the 80s. Such appeal as it has is its telling of a brutal, sad story in a consistently understated tone -- mostly the tone of the psychopath. If the narrative had stuck with that single voice and not put us occasionally, almost randomly, into the heads of the other characters, it would have been a better book.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stalkers and obsessive psychos are nothing new in horror. Hell, I’d say at least 25-30% of this kind of story makes up novels, movies, and ideas. So the fact that Tessier somehow manages to make this stereotypical staple of the genre feel almost original and exciting comes as a welcome surprise.

Once the plot gets rolling and things start happening, this book is basically unputdownable. The tension is palpable and the pacing is break neck. The quick decent into the mind of a madman is exceptionally well done and even had me begin to question his reality. Was he the crazy one or were his thoughts, feelings, and subsequent actions justified?

Though the ending was satisfying with great closure, I felt it was a bit rushed. I wanted more.

Either way, Rapture was a ton of fun and it’s a shame it’s become overlooked in favor of other far less original takes on the subject matter.