Tenderness ****

Cormier, Robert. Tenderness. 1997.

I always describe this book as "a serial killer novel" which I think is pretty accurate. It follows three different characters. The first is Eric Poole. Eric was in juvenile detention for killing his mother and father. Before that, he had killed three young girls, but the police have been unable to link him to the murders. Now, he is about to be released and he is currently fixated on one of the female inmates who is also about to be released. Another character is the Police officer that is desperate to catch him killing someone else, as he knows he is a serial killer and will try it again. The final character is Lori. She has run away from home and has become obsessed with Eric. All she wants to do is be near him and kiss him.

We can tell right from the beginning that Lori is going to be with Eric and we just know he is going to try to kill her. This gives the reader a lot of suspense and really keeps the reader interested. Readers who enjoy suspense will enjoy this book tremendously.