Unknown Sender by Ryan Lanz | Book Review

(Stand-Alone Novelette)

Published: June 5th 2015

Synopsis:

Jessica’s world revolves around studying at college and affording prepackaged meals, which leaves little time for socializing. In fact, she is quite content without being noticed, which only makes the attention of a mystery texter all the more unwanted.

She isn’t unfamiliar with strange advances, but this is something entirely different. This person knows things about her. Things beyond just an average stalker.

Even after all that, Jessica would be much more content to forget than discover who is chasing her, electronically or otherwise. Eventually, she finds out that she can’t outrun her past.

---

Add to Goodreads

My Rating:  4/5 (Really Good)

Book Information

Publisher: Applebury Press

Genre(s): Horror

Page Count: 25 (Print Edition)

Format: E-book

---

Note: I received a free digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

Hi! Today I have a review on a novelette written by the person behind the Book Review Directory, Ryan Lanz. It was an entertaining read filled with suspense and elements of horror. Read on for an in-depth review.

Quick Summary

Unknown Sender follows Jessica, an ordinary college girl—ordinary, at least until she starts receiving texts from an anonymous stalker. With stress from studies, she doesn’t have time for jokes like this. But what if it isn’t a joke? Things get messy when the past catches up with her…

My Review

The plot was intriguing, if not a bit under-developed. The novelette is quite short, so I can understand why the plot came off as such, but nonetheless, I think the plot would’ve been slightly stronger had the length of the story been longer. I applaud the author for telling us a story in such a small length of time, however. I will mention, that the ending was a bit rushed, and kind of threw me off, but it was an interesting plot twist. Of course, I would’ve appreciated had there been more of an explanation for it, as it had been a bit confusing at first, but I appreciate the creativity, Overall, there were several elements of surprise and suspense, and the plot was engaging and interesting, especially alongside the characters and overall mood of the story.

The main character, Jessica, was relatable and realistic. She was just a student concerned about her studies, when out of the blue she gets a creepy message from an anonymous person. Obviously she’s shaken up, and her untrusting attitude as a result of this uncertainty was familiar and understandable. There is a plot twist surrounding her that I did not quite understand, but overall she was a good protagonist.

I also liked the writing style. Author Ryan Lanz was able to create tension quite well, and there was something about the way the story was written that I felt as if I was in the story myself. Might just be me, but all in all, the writing style was quite good.

Overall…

A very quick, suspenseful novelette with a shocking plot twist, Unknown Sender will keep you on the tip of your toes guessing at what the anonymous sender will do next. A fitting story to read in between larger books, this might be a novelette to consider if you’re a fan of suspense, a bit of horror, and short stories.

Don’t worry, I’m not an unknown sender. Want to eat this with me?

-A