The Groomer

Wow! Höly Shït! I don't even know where to begin. Not much really surprises me or gets to me, but man! The Groomer by Jon Athan is one wild ride. This book really delves into the creepy world of child predators, and it doesn't sugarcoat anything. The start was pretty rough, but it mellowed out as it went on, at least for a bit.

The story is about Andrew McCarthy, catches a guy named Zachary Denton taking pictures of his daughter and other kids at the park. Then again later at a restaurant. When his daughter Grace disappears, Andrew tells the police to check on Zachary as he feels he's the culprit. Andrew decides to take matters into his own hands, as he feels the police aren't doing anything, and this leads him into a path of revenge and violence.

Zachary's story is full of disturbing and violent acts towards children, so this is definitely not an easy read. The book is harsh and not for the faint-hearted, but if you can handle the intensity, it's totally worth it. Jon Athan really nails it with the suspenseful and gripping storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

If you're into psychological thrillers and can stomach the graphic stuff, The Groomer is a book that will stick with you. Just be ready for a seriously dark and unsettling ride.

I couldn’t rate this book. Because how do you rate a book with such awful, horrible brutality positively- even if the story calls for it.

As the mother of a Minecraft/Fortnite loving son slightly younger than the first victim I am horrified. I have his accounts locked down but even now I want to take them away completely. I was devastated and nauseated reading Liam’s chapters. My son and I will be having yet ANOTHER serious talk about the dangers of the internet and the like.

And then the Death Wish- type carnage began. The father out for blood after his 5 year old daughter went missing. And it was disgusting. And yet you can’t help but cheer for him.

This book… will scar you if you’re a parent. But it also should be read if you’re a parent. So that we wake the heck up when it comes to the dangers of unsupervised internet access with our youngsters.

Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Groomer by Jon Athan- but don’t take that lightly. Warning: child abuse, abduction, murder, torture.

Honestly, I don’t even know where to start. It’s rare that a book leaves me completely speechless—but this one? Yeah, it did that. And not in the “oh, that was clever” way—it’s the gut-twisting, stomach-in-your-throat kind of silence.

This is actually the first book I’ve ever had to put down halfway through because I genuinely felt like my organs were staging a protest inside me. It’s that intense. And it hits way too close to home—I have kids, including a ten-year-old son, just like the story’s beginning. And suddenly, this nightmare scenario isn’t fiction. It’s real. Terrifyingly real.

This book is every parent’s worst, most unthinkable fear. And the worst part? You know, deep down, that people like the villain in this story exist. That this sort of horror actually happens. People are sick. Truly, horrifyingly sick.

Yet somehow, Jon Athan makes you feel for the family. You get it. You understand the father’s actions—even when you know they’re wrong. It’s disturbingly human, disturbingly real. And yes, while I saw the ending coming, I found it fitting. I’ll let you wrestle with it yourself.

This isn’t a book for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached. It’s grotesque, it’s disturbing, it’s brilliantly written, and it leaves you unsettled long after you turn the last page. But as messed up as it is? I couldn’t stop reading. Gruesome, dark, twisted—5 stars, because if this isn’t a perfectly executed nightmare, I don’t know what is.