elcome to another match, mis amigos! Stepping into the ring with El Critico this round, is Michael David Wilson’s debut novella, The Girl in the Video, from Perpetual Motion Machine publishing. For those of you not in the know, Wilson has made a name for himself via LitReactor, several published short stories and is the co-host of the popular horror podcast, This is Horror. In short, Wilson has the street cred, so ring that bell and let’s get on with it. 

The lowdown: A man receives a series of strange online videos that slowly turn his life into an anxiety-ridden nightmare.

This book moves. You hear the phrase “page turner” thrown around too much, but it’s applicable here. Every chapter drags us deeper into the mystery of the girl, her insane videos and Freddie’s growing fear and paranoia. There aren’t any meandering chapters here - from the jump Freddie’s seemingly good life gets an ice-bath. 

Part of what makes this such a fluid story is Freddie’s actions make sense. We’ve all been there as our mouse hovers over a link to something that’s probably gonna repulse us, but we also kinda wanna see even if it’s with one eye closed. With Freddie, it’s a clear and true portrayal of a self-fulfilling prophecy - he knows he shouldn’t be opening the damn videos, but ultimately he does despite the consequences or how strange the previous videos are. Wilson knows who his protagonist and supporting characters are and through deft writing, an understanding of relationship dynamics and skill brings us into the world he’s created. 

The novella’s primary shortcoming--although many might see this as a strength--is that it keeps whatever dirt the girl has on our boy Freddie completely in the dark. See, here’s the thing. If you’re going to hint by the book’s end that Freddie indeed has some dark, ugly secrets then why, as narrator, does he seem just as confused about what’s happening as the people around him? Is he just a guy who wanted to get some new spank material? Is he the all-around five star husband? Or did we just get duped into being empathetic for a total scumbag? Unfortunately, for those of us that wanted to know a little more about the ingredients of this tamale, Wilson isn’t giving up the whole recipe and we’re left wondering as much about the girl in the video, as we are about the guy watching the damn things. 

Overall, this is a great read if you want to immerse yourself in a tightly-written, lean thriller, but know going in that you’ll have more questions than answers and maybe think twice before you  open the things sent by strangers online.