Doughty is grifting con artist with self-delusions great enough to make Patrick Bateman seem self aware.

This book was not what I expected, but was absolutely horrifying. I am actually slightly alarmed by how well Bomer was able to crawl into the pits of the brain of an entitled incel. This is the classic story of a white man failing up, with little ramifications along the way until he finally messes with the wrong person. I loved the ending on this one.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

(4.5/5⭐)

Whaaaat did I just read? & why do I keep imagining Dwight as the Scranton Strangler?

I’d never been so far into someone’s head that I emerged in fear it could have rubbed off on me. Paula’s writing of Doughty? May have forged some new neurological pathways, and I am scared. Jk..kinda.

Trying to grapple with Paula being the force behind Doughty’s words has proven impossible. Impressed doesn’t begin to cover it. It’s fairly easy to think up an a$$hole in vast strokes, but what Paula accomplishes here is akin to detailing an iris (I don’t paint, but eyes are small so this can’t be that much of a reach 😂). This dude is the epitome of the entitled white guy w their head so far up their own 🍑 they’ve list any sense of reality. Def not a fan of how it manifested in Doughty, but man would it be nice to think this highly of myself, even for a day 😅

Doughty’s brand of “unhinged” is so naïve. The sheer delusion is hilarious. Not in full, but in glimmers I got Dwight Schrute with roid rage and a family history of intentional misogyny. Even knowing he’s full of it, it was impossible to ignore his…charm? I’m not sure what the word is, but I think the synop is spot on when making a Ted Bundy comparison. I can’t think of a single redeeming quality in this guy—it got to a point while reading I was so annoyed with him I kinda wanted to stop, just to get a break from being inside his head. I am SO glad I didn’t stop. You could have paid me a milli and given me a year to think and I still couldn’t have come up w a better ending.

Taking a step back from the humor you see an outline of cyclical, familial abuse. The slippery slope of taking things much too far becoming the norm, raising children into the next batch of terrible role models. While sobering, it’s a thread that was astonishing to find woven in throughout.

I highly highly recommend this as long as you’re okay w offensive humor. Keep in mind this is set in the early 90’s, so your internal Overton Window will need to shift a good amount. I will say though, the jokes and statements in poor taste are effective & indispensable—not for shock value. You’re laughing at Doughty, not with him.

Thank you times a milli to Paula Bomer & SOHO Press for the stunning gifted finished copy 😮‍💨😍

"I've never seen her get this excited opening a book." - My Husband

This book is wild. It was almost hard to read the inner monologue of someone so horrible but it was so well done and well written! The ending was satisfying but also just whoa. If you like really crazy books about bad people, this one will be for you! Give it a try!

The Stalker comes out next week on May 27, 2025, and you can purchase HERE!

Beata was coarse. She was low-class tough, which made her masculine. She had the hair of a baby or an old woman, fine and staticky, pulled back harshly in a black rubber hair band. Her makeup was slutty, lots of black eyeliner and singed curls for bangs. She wasn't nice to the boys. No eye contact. A scowl. An air of impatience.

Doughty really had me on edge as he manipulates, deceives, and preys on women throughout the novel, all while hiding behind a lie of charm and self-delusion.

Thanks, Soho Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was a tough read—not because it’s deep or complicated, but because it’s so full of awful behavior that it gets exhausting fast. The Stalker follows Doughty, a lazy, arrogant guy who thinks he’s a genius even though he doesn’t do anything but lie, mooch, and hurt people. He drops out of college, ends up in New York City in the early ’90s, and basically spends his days doing drugs, watching TV, and pretending he has a big-shot real estate job.

Doughty is sexist, racist, and homophobic. He treats the women in his life terribly, lies constantly, and uses people without a second thought. The book tries to show how awful he is, but after a while, it just feels repetitive and depressing. There’s no real growth, no redemption, and not much insight—just one messed-up situation after another.

The writing is decent, and the author clearly knows what she’s doing, but the story doesn’t go anywhere. It’s hard to care about a main character who is so horrible all the time, especially when the book doesn’t really offer any reason to keep reading besides shock value.

If you like dark, gritty stories with no hope or humor, you might get something out of this.

This was a very heavy read. A very dark satirical look at incel culture from a first person perspective. It’s uncomfortable to be in Doughty’s head, but Paula Bomer’s masterful writing really makes you absorb the awful things that he does. Not my usual cup of tea, but it did feel like it was in conversation with books like American Psycho, and is a terrifying and powerful addition to that canon. Overall, good read, but I never need to read it again. It’ll stay in my head for a long time.

American Psycho meets The Average American Male and Diary of an Oxygen Thief

Violent, disturbing, sad, and darkly funny, this was a wild ride. The main character is awful, insufferable, violent, misogynistic, mentally unwell, stunted and inept (both emotionally and in society), but makes for an interesting and can't look away from this car crash kind of narrator. This certainly isn't for everyone, but I think the people who do like this type of story and narrator will enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy for review.

The Stalker is a brutal, pitch-black character study of a delusional predator drifting through 1990s New York. Paula Bomer writes with sharp, unflinching prose and a satirical edge, crafting a disturbing portrait of entitlement and exploitation. It’s bleak, bold, and intentionally discomforting—best suited for readers who appreciate transgressive fiction that doesn’t flinch from the ugliest aspects of human behavior.

Really enjoyed this had me laughing (rightly or wrongly) the writing style is addictive and pacy, I found it hard to put down

I couldn’t get into this book at all. I disliked the main character way too much to feel invested in any way. I know he was supposed to be despicable, but it didn’t work for me. This was a DNF.

Oh hell yeah. I could not stop reading this absolute train wreck. I loved how we were deep inside our main characters mind with the flow of consciousness writing style. The dichotomy between his POV and the implied reality of the situations was perfection. Speaking of perfection, the ending. Chefs kiss from me. I’m sure this book will be divisive because unfortunately some people just don’t appreciate fun depravity but alas it gets a great score from me.

HOLY SHIT.

I have a love and hate relationship with this book it was so wild. this is one of the best character study novel I've read so far. just pure delusion, male entitlement, and the rot of privilege gone to waste. I went into this not expecting any plot but the rather character discomfort was like a slow, grimy unraveling of someone who believes the world owes him everything while he contributes absolutely nothing.

this book is not for people who like tidy plots or redemption arcs or characters that learn a single damn thing. this is for people who want to feel like they just licked the inside of a New York City subway pole in 1992.

premise: Doughty, a delusional, entitled failure from a once-rich family who drifts through 1990s New York City. Believing he’s destined for greatness, he lies, manipulates, and preys on women to survive, while actually living a life of addiction, joblessness, and self-destruction. It’s a dark, satirical character study of male privilege, toxic masculinity, and the quiet violence of mediocrity.
—

Robert Doughten Savile "Doughty" (the name alone makes me want to commit violence) is quite literally the worst man I have ever met on page. He's like if mediocrity was a sport and gaslighting women was cardio. He is a master of absolutely nothing except being a delusional parasite. No talent. no skills. just raw, unfiltered entitlement and crack pipe dreams. this man wakes up and chooses FAILURE every single day and I couldn't stop watching. the novel doesn't just explore toxic masculinity, it throws it at you like a brick through a Soho loft window. it's super grotesque and darkly hilarious it's so real it hurts. every page feels like watching someone dig their own grave with a spoon while monologuing about how they're definitely the next big thing.

and the worst part and scariest part of this is I KNOW MEN LIKE THIS EXIST. we've all met one. the guy who lies about his job. the guy who "used to be" something. the guy who blames everyone else for his failures while preying on vulnerable women just to feel powerful. the author literally said "here's the American Dream rotting from the inside out."

this book is not pretty. it's not kind but it's unforgettable.
4.5 stars
thank you so much Soho Press & Paula Bomer for an early copy!

the book comes out on May 27.

Ok so I didn’t love it.
The blurb had me thinking I was in for something edgy but darkly funny — instead, I got a collection that felt like it was trying way too hard to shock and ended up being just... unpleasant. Crude and just kind of gross for the sake of it. Some of the content felt really off — antiemetic, racially insensitive and scenes of sexual assault.
I don’t mind raw or messy writing when there’s a point to it, but this felt more like provocation without purpose. The tone was jarring and not in a good way — just left me feeling uncomfortable and kind of irritated.
Advertised as black humour that just didn’t ring true for me.

Ok, wow. This is a super dark comedy about a delusional psychopath. I imagine some readers may appreciate this book more than I did. For me, it was just too bleak and sordid. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok this is legit the most unexpected terrifying book I've ever read! Billed as a "Dumb American Psycho," this is the epitome of horrible white man failing upwards except, twist, he's just a psychopath and doesn't actually get very far. I've never read anything quite like Paula Bomer's THE STALKER and it is for sure going to stay with me for a bit. It def got under my skin.

Doughty is a con-man, drug addict, horrible person from CT who moves to NYC in the 90s and is able to convince women to let him stay with them for free - thinking he has an apartment of his own and a real estate business. He does not. He's stupid, evil, and unfortunately good looking. Being inside of his head was disturbing, but Bomer lands the insane ending and makes the scary journey worthwhile. I think I need to try more of her books as she nails dark comedy, which I love. I can't wait to hear what other readers will think of this one.

Thank you for the galley. I enjoyed this a lot. I was worried this title would be one that certain demographics might come to idolize for the wrong reasons (see the cis-white straight man obsession with American Psycho and Fight Club who fail to see the real meaning of those books), but ultimately this is a different beast. The protagonist Doughty is far too stupid to be idolized. This is an acerbic, nasty, fun book that really lampoons male privilege, class entitlement, and misogyny. This won’t be for everyone but those that get it will really like it.

Really enjoyed reading this and it was a super quick read for me. Never at any point did I have any clue where this story was going to go. It continued to subvert my expectations with every chapter, culminating in an ending that I won’t soon forget. Definitely not a book for everyone, but for those that love an unhinged narrator and have a dark sense of humor. This book is a Gemini and rightly so.

What can I say? It's Knut Hamsun's Hunger but redpilled. It's Dennis Reynolds: Lost In New York. I started reading Stalker and thought, "sure, this guy is a douche bag but it's not as dark as I was expecting" and by the end of the book I felt like laughing maniacally to cope with what I just read. This book is going to be divisive and there's not one redeeming feature about Doughty, the delusional egotistical protagonist, but my god the story is a compelling car crash. I was hooked.

I'm sorry to give this one a low rating as I really thought it sounded great, unfortunately I struggled with the writing style from the very beginning and just didn't feel it brought the character or premise to life. I also assumed the use of the surname Savile had to be deliberate but it doesn't seem it having read the book, which is odd. Fantastic cover design though!

Oof! This author is so talented, to make me despise the book’s main character so much. This is a tough read to work through but honestly, that difficulty only speaks to the author’s skill at representing such a detestable main character. Glad I read, but not sure I could do it again.