Monday, February 17, 2014

Friend Me by John Faubion - REVIEWED


About the Book:
When a lonely wife and her frustrated husband each secretly pursue companionship online, neither dreams that a real woman is behind their virtual creations, threatening their marriage---and their lives.
Scott and Rachel's marriage is on the brink of disaster. Scott, a businessman with a high-pressure job, just wants Rachel to understand him and accept his flaws. Rachel is a lonely housewife, desperate for attention and friendship. So she decides to create a virtual friend online, unaware that Scott is doing the exact same thing. As Rachel desperately tries to re-create a friendship with a friend who has passed, Scott becomes unfaithful and is torn between the love for his wife and the perfection of his cyber-girlfriend. But neither realizes that there's a much larger problem looming . . .
Behind both of their online creations is Melissa, a woman who is brilliant---and totally insane. Masquerading as both friend and lover, Melissa programmed a search parameter into the virtual friend software to find her perfect man, but along the way she forgot to specify his marriage status. And Scott is her ideal match. Now Melissa is determined to have it all---Scott, his family, and Rachel's life.
As Melissa grows bolder and her online manipulations transition into the real world, Scott and Rachel figure out they are being played. Now it's a race against time as Scott and Rachel fight to save their marriage, and their lives, before it's too late.
In today's digital age, the Internet presents all kinds of opportunities to test our personal boundaries, and this exciting and suspenseful story raises important questions about the ethics of virtual relationships. Friend Me will open your eyes to a new---and terrifying---moral dimensions and how they play out in the real world.

Read an excerpt and buy a copy HERE!

My Thoughts
People are looking to the web for friendships, for relationships at all levels.”  (p. 3)

This statement, made by the creator of a virtual-friend cyber network really said a mouthful of truth in that one sentence!  I think that is what makes this book so extraordinarily creepy.  I use that word positively as far as it means that this story will be a little too close to home for comfort, and the thrill ride to the conclusion is superb!  So, creepy is what you want to find in a suspense novel.

However, what REALLY creeped me out was the realization of the TOTAL vulnerability that is exhibited through on-line “relationships.”  The fact that Scott knew (or thought he knew) that his “virtual friend” wasn’t real emboldened him to choose a female friend.  In no time he was in so deep it was scary!  And I did not foresee the possibility that the person behind this “network” was really behind all that she controlled.  I mean, I suspected it sort of, because the first chapter is a bit disconcerting, but I assigned the TOTALLY wrong motive to that scene, and that really came back to bite me!

So be warned.  There are LOTS of twists and turns in this novel!  If you frequent social networks, you will probably leave them alone for a while.  This is just entirely too possible.  Creepy.  And part of it is so very REAL!!  I mean internet friendships often take on a life of their own and bleed into reality in ways that are dangerous and even deadly!


And all of this in a DEBUT novel! I can’t wait to see what John Faubion comes up with next!!
About the Author:

John Faubion has spent many years in Asia as a missionary with his family. Since returning to the United States, John has worked as a senior software developer for a large appliance chain. He teaches an adult Sunday school class and enjoys writing and driving his 1949 Packard automobile. John lives near Indianapolis with his wife, Beth, and their daughter. - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/John-Faubion/411636990#sthash.iFSAPoNw.dpuf

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