A fairly middle of the road thriller, but it's always nice to see the LGBTQ+ community represented in a variety of mainstream media.

The thrills aren't quite as thrilling as you'd expect from a book about a man being stalked by a killer. I never found myself on the edge of my seat or concerned with the safety of either of the characters who narrate the novel's events, nor was I ever shocked at events around the story's conclusion.

Oliver, who I suppose you could call the main protagonist, was pretty grating. Weak and whiny, he makes so many eyeroll-inducing decisions that you could ALMOST believe they're the actions of a former drug addict and NOT convenient literary devices.

In fact, none of the characters give you something root for. They all feel like gay stereotypes, and there was never a moment when I was drawn to care for any of them. Do we live in a world that contains completely unlikable, self-absorbed individuals? Of course, but we have the choice not to give a shit about them. In Bath Haus, in order to see the story to it's conclusion, we're forced to be present with individuals most of us wouldn't give the time of day. There are literary villains I can think of who I'd empathize with more and would rather read about than Oliver, Nathan, & Co.

Furthermore, and without giving too much away, there are many inconsistencies that arise towards the story's end, the most glaring of which is why a certain character didn't start flipping shit from the very start of the novel when events OBVIOUSLY didn't go according to plan. Decisions they make at the story's beginning make even less sense at the conclusion, which makes it feel like "WHO" was planned without much thought put into "HOW".

Again, always cool to see your community represented and I think it's great we're seeing that representation in the form of a thriller. However, if asked my opinion by a friend, I'd probably say they would be safe to skip.