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Okay, I’ll give it a try.

I agree the stalking plot ended up being unsatisfying. It started off so well, too! I was impressed by the subtle hand Dave used in the stalking elements: a pair of legs as the garage door closed, a couple of simple notes, a phone message. No overt threats (except the copy cat), no swinging axes, and yet he managed to produce a feeling of suspense and fear from that.
       
So what was unsatisfying? The unanswered questions, as already mentioned, and the too-neat stalker to hero transformation in the basement. Although I appreciate the irony of the fire being started by faulty wiring in the newly installed security system, that scenario makes the stalker’s presence at the party too coincidental.

I would have preferred a more highly motivated stalker. Louis could have set into motion a guy who takes matters into his own hands. That could still work, but what if the stalker was an employee of the publisher who was about to lose his job if Ian failed to come through with the next blockbuster? What if he finds out Ian has left the publisher, that Louis has resigned, and maybe layoffs are in progress. So he’s going to or has just lost his job, and decides Ian needs to be punished? Maybe he was the copy editor for all Ian’s books? Or (since picking on copy editors is slippery business ) an eccentric outside reader who is a huge Ian Merchant fan just south of sane, someone who refuses to accept the “end of horror”?

Disclaimer: Okay, bear in mind 1) I don’t read thrillers, 2) I don’t write thrillers, 3) nor am I known for stellar plotting (let’s just say I’m more at home with character development and introspection. LOL), but I’d somehow like to see the stalker’s motivation beefed up and have it played out as a real stalker getting caught in the act.

Oh, and… [i]please[/i] don’t kill the dog.

This is probably the most nitpicky thing anyone could nitpick about, but I had an issue with names. For example, Lois and Louis, who I think at one point appear in the same sentence. Help me! And then we had Anne Oakley, which is so close to Annie Oakley. Hanover and Howard are less mix-up-able, but still I did a double-take a couple of times (but that was also very late at night!) Keplar, Kael, Kevin, Kyle… Katherine Jacoby, Katherine Shade (the character/doll). That's a lot’s of K’s, when there’s so much more to the alphabet! See, I told you, nitpicky. The only reason I noticed is proabably because I have to watch out for the same thing.

Which leads me to what I liked: I found the story engaging, finished it in two days & was up late at night to finish it. I liked the characters, especially Ian and Rebecca (like their names as well as “Merchant” very much, btw and love the nickname Bec). I found Ian’s love for his wife and his yearning for her company totally sweet. As I said, I liked the deft hand with subtle suspense.

What I found most intriguing was the reason Ian got blocked in the first place – reaching the end of the road in horror and finding it wrong for him. As a writer, I loved the hook of a writer with writer’s block (talk about horror!!), although it disturbed me to think any fiction writer could stop writing fiction. That Ian doesn’t believe in heroes any more was pretty disturbing to me as well, and that doesn’t ever seem to be addressed. (Or did I miss it?) I’d have liked Ian to see the “hero” in the people he knows: Howard, Rebecca, Trout, Pete, Mike Oakley, etc… and to find a vision for fitting that view of a hero into fiction. There was a hint of this when Ian was considering someone having meaning in their death with Howard in the desert, with Trout at his post, and finally with Lois and her quest for water. Still, I would have liked to see a connection with the hero concept and with fiction. See, it's still bugging me!

Also, I thought the concept of photographing the bible was so unique. I wondered why it wouldn't have occurred to Ian to try to have Howard's work published. (???)
       
Enjoyed the read and am getting a lot from the discussion,
Charlene