THE PRESERVATIONIST
by Justin Kramon
Arriving at college with heavy emotional baggage, Julia picks the wrong guy to unload on: cue the slow build to mayhem.
Julia Stilwell has issues. Though a freshman at Stradler College in Pennsylvania, she is still recovering from a terrible car accident; she’s not all there. When the awkward Marcus starts to flirt, she doesn’t know quite how to respond. When Sam, the guy behind the counter of the school snack bar, shows up at a party Julia received an invitation to, they fall into something. Marcus has suspicions about Sam, but to Julia, he sounds bitter, not prescient. Julia and Sam stumble along, and Julia loses the last bit of good sense she has. She can’t talk to anyone. Her parents are a mess, suffering from the same tragedy that weighs on her. She can’t connect with her fun-loving roommate Leanette. This predicament leads to a classic thriller trope Kramon handles with skill. What distinguishes this book is Kramon’s willingness to put predator and prey on almost equal footing: The predator is inhumane but not inhuman.
A respectable thriller. Don’t be surprised if the movie appears at a multiplex near you.