New Book Alert: The Surrey Stalker by B.L. Pearce; Tight Suspenseful Novella About the Hunt for a Serial Killer

New Book Alert: The Surrey Stalker by B.L. Pearce; Tight Suspenseful Novella About the Hunt for a Serial Killer

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews



Spoiler Alert: B.L. Pearce's novella, The Surrey Stalker is extremely short. Because of that, it lacks something in characterization. But what it lacks, it makes up for plot and suspense. It's a brief read but it is one that keeps the Reader on the edge of their seats from first page to last.



A sinister character has been stalking and murdering various women around Surrey. His latest victim is an archivist named Julie Andrews ("like the actress", the officers say). DI Rob Miller uses the case as a distraction from his relationship woes with his fiancee, Yvette. As the body count increases and the investigators profile the killer and follow possible leads, Miller puts his and Yvette's lives on the line in his determination to catch him.


This is a tightly wound book where clues and suspense are laid out intelligently and lead to precise and well thought-out conclusions. When the police officers learn that the victim's engagement rings were forced inside the victims, they realize that the killer might be involved with weddings and envy those who have had good relationships when he had none. Profilers analyze that this is someone who had a stormy love life. Those leads prove to be effective in catching the Stalker.


The victims are chronicled through their encounters with the Stalker and the interviews with anguished fiances and family members. Justin remembers Julie as a loving affectionate woman who was worried about a troublesome follower. Sara Bakshi wanted to start a family. (I just want to mention how personally weirded out I am, reading a suspense novella in which two separate victims share my first and middle names.) The Reader really feels for these women who had their lives ahead of them but were cut short just when they should have been their happiest.

The chapters between the Stalker and the victims are the best. We peer into the Stalker's dangerous frame of mind almost like a hunter or predatory animal closing in on his prey. It is terrifying and mesmerizing as he follows them and ultimately traps them.


The characterization towards the police officers is unfortunately not as effective. Miller's relationship woes with Yvette are heart felt but serve mostly as distractions to the goal of catching The Surrey Stalker. They become repetitive and don't add anything new to "the lonely cop with spouse/significant other problems" trope.

However, Miller and Yvette's arguments puts her at a vulnerable position and leaves her right in the path of the Stalker so it moves the narrative along to an effective climax.

The Surrey Stalker is a tight finely structured novella that is filled with suspense and leads to a thrilling conclusion.