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Channeling Hitchcock
Someone You Know by Gary Zebrun
It is evident, after only a few pages of his
impressive debut novel Someone You Know,
that Gary Zebrun has produced a page-turner
worthy of late night reading chills. In fact, this
book which has since been nominated for a
Lambda Literary Award in the Mystery category,
has enough going for it to make Zebrun an
author to watch. Someone is sleek and briskly
told, and will engage the reader immediately,
defying to be put down.
The story centers around talented journalist
Daniel Caruso, a closeted married father of one
who has plenty of anonymous sex at home and
abroad. It is his unfortunateness that he
attracts the attention of a serial killer, who
begins murdering his conquests. Blackmail and
mailings of body parts ensues, erupting into a
cat and mouse game as Caruso attempts to
outwit his tormentor, believing it is someone he
knows.
However, Someone is more than just a well-
painted thriller. It is an examination of the self
we hide from ourselves as well as other people;
lies told to keep afloat, and lies told to others so
as not to alert them to our demons.
Caruso is a hard drinking, self-destructive man
who is wracked with guilt and shame, by himself
and the killer. And Zebrun is a skilled enough
writer to allow his protagonist to remain flawed
from beginning to end, particularly when his
secrecy becomes too big for him to contain from
his family. There is no magic redemption here,
and no fully predictable ending, even though
one wishes desperately that Caruso would come
to his senses before it is too late.
Fuzzy plot points aside and forgiven, Someone
is mostly clean and smartly written, and gets
right to the point. One applauds Zebrun for
pushing Caruso right to the edge, particularly in
a finger-in-the-socket scene in which Caruso is
faced with a razor sharp and undeniable brand
of humiliation in front of his wife and daughter.
Someone You Know is sure to find itself a
following this summer, and some may be
compelled to read it twice. If Alfred Hitchcock
were alive today, given his bold direction and
fondness for telling twisted stories involving the
effects of sexuality on the common man, he’d
readily add this to his cannon, which includes
similar-minded works as Psycho, Rope, Vertigo,
Rear Window, and Frenzy. P&A
impressive debut novel Someone You Know,
that Gary Zebrun has produced a page-turner
worthy of late night reading chills. In fact, this
book which has since been nominated for a
Lambda Literary Award in the Mystery category,
has enough going for it to make Zebrun an
author to watch. Someone is sleek and briskly
told, and will engage the reader immediately,
defying to be put down.
The story centers around talented journalist
Daniel Caruso, a closeted married father of one
who has plenty of anonymous sex at home and
abroad. It is his unfortunateness that he
attracts the attention of a serial killer, who
begins murdering his conquests. Blackmail and
mailings of body parts ensues, erupting into a
cat and mouse game as Caruso attempts to
outwit his tormentor, believing it is someone he
knows.
However, Someone is more than just a well-
painted thriller. It is an examination of the self
we hide from ourselves as well as other people;
lies told to keep afloat, and lies told to others so
as not to alert them to our demons.
Caruso is a hard drinking, self-destructive man
who is wracked with guilt and shame, by himself
and the killer. And Zebrun is a skilled enough
writer to allow his protagonist to remain flawed
from beginning to end, particularly when his
secrecy becomes too big for him to contain from
his family. There is no magic redemption here,
and no fully predictable ending, even though
one wishes desperately that Caruso would come
to his senses before it is too late.
Fuzzy plot points aside and forgiven, Someone
is mostly clean and smartly written, and gets
right to the point. One applauds Zebrun for
pushing Caruso right to the edge, particularly in
a finger-in-the-socket scene in which Caruso is
faced with a razor sharp and undeniable brand
of humiliation in front of his wife and daughter.
Someone You Know is sure to find itself a
following this summer, and some may be
compelled to read it twice. If Alfred Hitchcock
were alive today, given his bold direction and
fondness for telling twisted stories involving the
effects of sexuality on the common man, he’d
readily add this to his cannon, which includes
similar-minded works as Psycho, Rope, Vertigo,
Rear Window, and Frenzy. P&A
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