First published 2011
Therapist Victoria Vick receives a call from an unsettling man who refuses to give his real name. He contacts her with cryptic messages and claims his situation defies explanation. During their sessions, the patient she calls Y__ reveals an extraordinary story. He says he stole cloaking technology from a canceled government project. This technology makes him nearly invisible. He uses this power to watch strangers in their private moments, observing them when they believe no one can see them. Vick suspects Y__ suffers from elaborate delusions, but his detailed accounts unnerve her. She cannot determine whether he tells the truth or spins fiction. Her fascination with Y__ grows into dangerous obsession. The case consumes her thoughts and threatens her professional judgment. Her marriage begins to fracture under the strain. As Y__ shares increasingly disturbing tales of his voyeuristic activities, Vick questions her own grip on reality. The relationship between doctor and patient blurs as curiosity transforms into fear.
Genres: suspense, mystery, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: obsession, unreliable-narrator
230 pages · Hardcover · Scribner