As the subtitle of Stalked - The Human Target by Rachel Cassidy indicates, this book contains Stories of people pursued by stalkers and the devastating effects on their lives. For the most part, this was an informative and educational read and contained information on what constitutes stalking and harassment, case studies and information from subject matter experts.
I wasn't expecting bullying and harassment to feature as much as stalking but the inclusion made sense when explained. From the mention of David Letterman and Madonna in the synopsis, I was expecting to read about more famous cases than those included in Stalked.
In an attempt to provide balance, the author included the perspective of a stalker convicted for his crimes. However the interview didn't go anywhere near far enough in my opinion. Given this was the only first person perspective of stalking from the perpetrator's point of view, I wanted to know more. Did he regret his actions, did he ever feel the urge to stalk again, and how did the time drain of obsessive stalking impact his life. How did he keep it secret.
Given that I was left wanting more information on the topic of stalking, the appearance of 9 pages of author acknowledgements at the end of a 178 page book seemed over the top. One of the stalking victims (Mark Wilson, former judge of Dancing with the Stars) was given 4 pages to list his own acknowledgements and the combined 13 pages was excessive.
On the flip side, the resources list at the end was comprehensive and no doubt will be helpful to some readers. I'd recommend Stalked by Australian author Rachel Cassidy for anyone dealing with bullying, cyber-bullying, harassment or stalking.
My rating = **
Carpe Librum!
Doesn't really seem like a book I'd read, but an interesting concept nonetheless :)
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Thanks Keturah, I think it's important to increase awareness, as often a crime might begin as stalking and escalate from there.
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