Someone You Know

Newspaper columnist Daniel Caruso has a wife he loves deeply, a daughter who means everything to him, and an obsessive secret life that threatens it all. At a conference in Seattle, he meets Stephen Hart, a handsome firefighter, and the two spend a passionate night together. Awakening alone and deeply conflicted the next morning, Daniel resigns himself once again to the hollow, tainted pleasures of his dual existence. His encounter with Hart, though, is far more than a one-night stand: it marks the beginning of a terrifying, noirish descent.On the journey home to Providence, R.I., Daniel receives a bizarre and frightening sign that someone knows the most intimate details of his life. Then, after he reunites with his family, another message makes it chillingly clear that Stephen Hart has been murdered. The killer, taunting Daniel through macabre communications, paints a brutally accurate portrait of Daniel's sexual obsessions, leaving no doubt that he is watching Daniel's every move – and those of his family. As Daniel desperately tries to shield his wife and daughter from the truth, he succumbs to the killer's diabolical manipulations and is dragged deeper into a netherworld of bathhouses and S/M clubs in a nerve-shattering thriller driven by the devastating price of secrecy.Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, Gary Zebrun's debut novel returns to print, accompanied by an introduction by Scott Hightower."e;This astonishing first novel combines excellent prose, dialogue, and character, drawing with throat-gripping suspense that invites comparison with Hitchcock, Woolrich and Charlotte Armstrong."e; – Ellery Queen Magazine"e;Cool as witch hazel, frightening as a fresh body part … guaranteed to give you sleepless nights … If you've ever wondered what goes on inside those big old clapboard houses in Providence, Rhode Island, this beautifully crafted novel will give you the horrifying scoop."e; – Edmund White"e;In this first novel, Gary Zebrun introduces himself as a major fiction writing talent … Someone You Know is not only a compelling mystery, but an emotionally charged and acutely observed psychological portrait of a lost and secretive man forced by a widening circle of murders to confront who he is … A novel I found myself remembering long after I'd finished it. It's that good."e; – Ron Hansen, Atticus"e;This novel reminds us, in beautifully perceptive prose, that imagining another person's life is perhaps the best thing we can do for one another."e; – Karen Shepard, An Empire of Women"e;Seductive … savage … searing … an electrifying page-turner."e; – Richard Labonté, Book Marks"e;Gary Zebrun's Someone You Know is a harrowing and at times heartbreaking account of one good man's futile hope that he can contain the increasingly dangerous mess his closeted life has created for him … This is a hugely impressive debut, filled with tenderness, wisdom, and clarity of insight."e; – Jim Shepard, Project X"e;Stark … tightly written murder mystery … compelling."e; – Booklist