I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of escapism and my time out from a hectic world. The story grabs you from the outset and pulls you in and the storytelling really made it worth reading. Characterisation was on point and I know I will be looking out for new publications from this author or similar in the future. A recommended read.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
This is the 2nd book that I have read by Carter Wilson, I also read "The Dead Girl in 2A" in 2019 and really enjoyed it.
When I was cleaning up and checking my TBR list at the end of 2020, I discovered that I had another of Carter Wilson's books, "Mister Tender's Girl" in it so I quickly moved it up my list to read.
"Mister Tender's Girl" was another original, smart and well written thriller by this author that had me glued to the story the entire time and even had me laughing many times.
My only regret about this book was that it took me so long to read it.
I will definitely be on the lookout for Carter Wilson's next book.

Mister Tender's Girl explores Alice Hill/Gray's life after an attack by her classmates where she was left to die at age fourteen. The classmates were influenced by a sinister character her dad created called Mister Tender. In present, she runs a coffee shop, is closed off to new people, and suffers from PTSD. The book becomes engrossing as you learn Alice is being watched, sent eery notes, is being stalked. The exploration of familial drama and surviving trauma clear focus in this story. The book loses some of its thriller /psychological intrigues in the unraveling of the "real Mister Tender ". In all, a quick suspenseful read.

3.5 stars

This is a story loosely based on the Slender Man stabbing, so as expected disturbing.

Lots of twists and turns as one would want from a thriller. I don't know why I put off reading this but I am glad I finally got around to it. It is dark and makes for a good quick read.

There were some points that I didn't love the twists in plot but overall enjoyed the book.

I wish I could remember what it was about this book that attracted my attention in the first place. Because I am so far behind in my ARC reading I've been very judicious in what I ask to read, so something, somewhere along the line, this book seemed like something I would really enjoy.

But I didn't.

The book follows Alice Hill who, as a young teen, was attacked and nearly killed by two classmates who claimed that Mister Tender had ordered them to attack Alice as a sacrifice. But Mr. Tender doesn't exist ... he was a fictional character, a pop culture icon, created by her father for a series of graphic novels.

Now, years later, Alice has learned to protect herself in a variety of ways, including martial art self-defense. But her biggest means of protection is to become reclusive. With only her unhinged brother as a friend, Alice lives and works under assumed names. But now someone has found her. Someone who is stalking her, someone who knows more about her than should be possible, someone who refers to himself as Mister Interested.

This should be a strong psychological thriller, but instead it almost becomes a comedy with our main character acting outrageously in order to represent 'terror.'

<span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>**WARNING : POTENTIAL SPOILER AHEAD**</strong></span>

There was one particular moment on which this book really hinged and the story took a turn that we couldn't ever leave....

Alice approached on the street by someone. Maybe a stalker, maybe not. She is about to defend against him when her brother shoots the man. There is blood all over the snow outside her home. They bring the man (not dead) into the house where they shoot him again. In front of a neighbor. As he begs for his life.

And I actually have no problem with this (in terms of being a part of a thriller story). It's the complete lack of reaction about killing this man from any of the three people involved (Alice, her brother, her neighbor). It's as if it never happened once we move on.

And from that point I lost all interest in the book. I hoped for something that never came and what did come was just a let-down. Yes, I was a little surprised by the ending ... but only a little ... and it definitely wasn't worth the wait.

I was definitely underwhelmed.

Looking for a good book? <em>Mister Tender's Girl</em> by Carter Wilson is a psychological thriller that requires a fair amount of willing disbelief on the part of the reader to get to an ending that is ultimately unsatisfying.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

At fourteen, Alice Hill was viciously attacked by two of her classmates and left to die. The teens claim she was a sacrifice for a man called Mister Tender, but that could never be true: Mister Tender doesn’t exist. His sinister character is pop-culture fiction, created by Alice’s own father in a series of popular graphic novels.

This book follows the life of Alice years after her brutal attack, and someone is watching her every move. The similarities of a similar true life crime and the story told in this novel give this book an even more eerie feeling. This gripping thriller plunges you into a world of haunting memories and unseen threats, leaving you guessing until the harrowing end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend this to anyone that enjoys thrillers or books that leave you with an eerie feeling.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Carter Wilson for the ARC of this book Mister Tender's Girl. All opinions are my own

Mr. Tender's Girl is dark and thrilling. In this book Carter Wilson tells the tale of a young woman deeply troubled by a horrific past event. Memories from that event have shaped her existence - she can't escape them. This is the story of Alice's "salvation", and the horror that she endured to reach her psychological freedom.

This book was a tad too gory for me. The story itself was well written, and compelling and I read the book in record time. But there was just too much violence and blood for me to recommend this book. I DO love the works of Stephen King, and Mr. Tender's Girl reminded me ever so slightly of a King novel, but without King's finesse.

Unfortunately, I did not finish. I appreciate the opportunity to read this tale. Sadly I found this story a bit convoluted and lost interest halfway in.

Dark and disturbing, Mister Tender's Girl is a very entertaining thriller - as long as you can suspend disbelief in order to immerse yourself in it. Based on a true crime story, the many layers of this novel bring it to life and I found the story fascinating.

My interest in this book oscillated from engrossed to unsettling. This was a little too dark and graphic for me. I was very surprised to find out that this book was based on a true event, “The Slender Man Stabbing”.

The Main character, Alice made some choices I found hard to validate. Alices mother was a character I didn’t think was well developed or believable.

Without giving spoilers, the timeline of the characters birthday and their memories of what went on did not add up for me. In my opinion, the brother should have been the older sibling. That would have helped to make sense of it all.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

What a great book to start the year with. It was fast paced and very creepy. It was inspired by a horrific, real life crime without being based on that event (Slender man). The characters were interesting and well done. They were all imperfect in a unique way. One thing that especially freaked me out was how the author created the website (with password) from the book so I could actually see and what Alice did, along with the art. That was so clever! I would have liked one more chapter to find out what happened following the final event. Overall, a great read. One I have already recommended to a friend.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book in return for an honest review.

I thought this was a twisted, dark book with a protagonist that wasn't entirely likable--sort of had Gillian Flynn vibes for me, which I always enjoy. There maybe could have been some tightening up in places and there were some plot elements that went no where, but overall I would easily recommend the book.

A character created by her father in his dark graphic novels becomes a hit. It is due to this she is almost killed. Following this accident, Alice's whole life changes and since then she is anything but normal. Mister Tender is a handsome bartender in her father's novel with sinister intentions. She thinks her stint with this character is over, but one day he comes back! What is Alice going to do now?
This book will give you the creeps with a stalker lurking around the lead character, some dirty secrets from the past coming back to haunt her and some real spirits making their presence felt! It was a fast paced and interesting read, one that gave me nightmares! It wasn't intentional, but it made for the perfect Halloween read for me!
If you don't mind some blood and some spooky details, do pick this book up! It won't disappoint you... apparently based on some true events, I'd love to chat up to the author about what inspired him and how!
Loved the plot and the way it is all tied together...
Overall, a pretty entertaining book this.

Mister Tender's Girl is a satisfying suspense thriller that keeps you guessing. I enjoyed the characters and the plot twists were interesting. What started out as a children's tale for his daughter, Alice, and son, Thomas, quickly becomes a published graphic novel. When the Glassin twins become obsessed with the main character,Mister Tender, Alice's life is nearly destroyed. As she lies bleeding to death an anonymous passerby calls for help. Alice's family is torn apart and she is whisked away to the US to start a new life and try to become anonymous. But the past always finds you, no matter how far you run.

I’m sure everyone’s heard of the slenderman story and how two girls tried to kill their friend this story is very similar to that! It had me hooked from the first page! At fourteen Alice is brutally stabbed by two of her classmates claiming “mister tender” a fictional character that Alice’s father created in a comic book told them to kill her. Left clinging to life Alice’s life is forever changed. Ten years later Alice is living a new country with a different name trying to leave the horror of her past behind her. Alice suffers severe ptsd and panic attacks and has a hard time making it through each day. After logging onto a dating app one of her matches is mister tender! This doesn’t take long for Alice to realize someone is watching her after a book is mailed to her with illustrations and inscription from her late father who was murdered a few years before. She soon is contacted by a man named “mr interested” who runs a Mr tender fan site where she finds pictures of her home, pictures of her just living her normal life and she starts realize Mr interested is tracking her every move. Can Alice go back to her past to be able to survive and outwit Mr interested who just may be Mr. Tender? This book is a roller coaster you may think you have it all figured out but then your in for a surprise! This will leave you at the edge of your seat! Highly recommend!!!!

The title says it all for what to expect of the quality of writing in this book. I wish that the author had had a little more guidance from an editor to help get this story out of the raw shape and into something polished, because I think it could’ve. Gotten there.

4.5 stars - I’ve always been terrified by stories or movies about/related to Slender Man. When I read the synopsis for Mister Tender’s Girl and saw others describing this book as being inspired by the real life Slender Man case, I almost didn’t pick it up. If I’m going to be reading a psychological thriller I want to be on the edge of my seat or creeped out, but because of Slender Man? Nope, nope, nope! Ultimately the hype surrounding this book by other bookstagrammers and my own personal intrigue got the best of me. I’m so glad that it did because I loved this book. So much in fact, that I went out and bought a hard copy!

Now I don’t want to say too much about this book. I feel the synopsis gives readers just the right amount of information and I don’t want to spoil someone else’s reading experience. However I will say that you should read it. Mister Tender’s Girl has a unique plot and I think Carter Wilson is an amazing storyteller. This book creeped me out to the point that I didn’t want to read it before bed but also didn’t want to stop reading because it’s such a fast-paced and disturbing story. While reading I thought I had everything figured out, but I was so wrong! Have you ever had one of those moments where you’re adding all the facts together and you feel like a detective but then at the end of the book the author reveals the killer and you were wrong the whole time? Yeah, that happened to me a few times while reading this. The only reason I didn’t give this book a five star rating was because I felt the ending of the book was underwhelming and left me wanting more. Overall I highly recommend Mister Tender’s Girl by Carter Wilson and suggest you add it to your TBR.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Carter Wilson for the opportunity to read Mister Tender’s Girl. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.

Right from the beginning, Mister Tender's Girl pulled me into its story. There wasn't a dull moment in the book.

Alice's story was disturbing. The way a character created by her dad led to such tragic events in her life chilled me.

The story itself was one big mess. In an interesting way, of course. I couldn't stop reading, and yet, I didn't want to know what happens next. Told you, it was a mess.

And that is exactly why I loved it. I love psychological thrillers that mess with your head. The kind of books that make you wonder about things you'd never think about on your own.

All in all, Mister Tender's Girl was a chilling, goosebumps-raising read that will leave you paranoid and make you wonder whether you want to hug the book or throw it away.

When Alice was just a little girl she was attacked by twins who were trying to please “Mister Tender.” While Mister Tender’s Girl flat out states in the blurb that it was inspired by the true events surrounding a brutal stabbing of a young girl by two classmates who claim they did it in the name of the “Slender Man” – the character of Mister Tender reminded me less of the Slender Man and more of Lloyd from The Shining (if you don't know who that is, we may have to reevaluate our friendship) combined with Leland Gaunt from Needful Things as Mister Tender was a comic book …. errr excuse me graphic novel creation of Alice’s (the stabbing victim) father in the form of a friendly neighborhood bartender who could give you anything your heart desired – as long as you performed whatever task he requested of you in return.

Years have passed, Alice is now grown and moved across the pond to the States, owner of a coffeehouse as well as her own home and has done everything possible to escape her personal history – until a package arrives that won’t allow her to keep ignoring it.

I will attempt to avoid spoiling things here, but you do need to be forewarned that this sucker goes off the rails pretty darn quickly into unbelievable territory. And Alice???? Baby does some bad bad things. If you can check reality at the door you might find this to be a pretty stabby fun time. 3.5 Stars for me, but rounded down because apparently even some things are too ridiculous for me to accept.

ARC received about 114 years ago from NetGalley that I just now got around to reading since I suck. Thanks NetGalley!