One Step Behind is one of those books that promises a lot, but doesn’t quite live up to its promises. It was fine, but it didn’t strike me as particularly memorable.
Our main character is Jenna, a doctor, who is clearly unsettled as she believes someone has been stalking her. She’s been receiving strange emails and calls, and odd gifts have been left on her doorstep. She has contacted the police, who’ve advised her to record any incidents. She catches odd glimpses of the person she believes is responsible, but nothing sufficient to enable the police to arrest him.
One day she is on duty when the man she’s seen following her is admitted into hospital after seemingly being pushed in front of a bus. He’s gravely ill, yet Jenna treats him professionally. She could have let him die, but she didn’t. However, while he’s in hospital Jenna is determined to do whatever is needed to stop this harassment. Finally, I remember thinking, something will move this on.
Unfortunately, what follows was drawn out far longer than really was necessary. It was clear that Jenna was struggling. There were obvious issues with her family and support network, and once we’d established the link between her stalker and someone she knows it was definitely far too transparent to keep us waiting for so long before things finally started to unravel.
Eventually things come to a head. We learn that there’s a lot of messed up people, and most of them don’t really seem to learn anything from this experience.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for my honest review.