Parasocial

How it reads

Parasocial is thriller (social-media thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in a big city setting, in the present day, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are identity, secrets and power and politics. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is dark — no rescue, no neat bow. At 112 pages it's a single-sitting book. It's a hidden gem — known to relatively few readers.