Pete Says That This Book Is "fun, as long as you read it WAY before bed time".

Bedbugs

FOR RENT: Top two floors of beautifully renovated brownstone, 1300 sq. ft., 2BR 2BA, eat-in kitchen, one block to parks and playgrounds. No broker’s fee.

Susan and Alex Wendt have found their dream apartment.

Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric. And the elderly handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the basement. But the rent is so low, it’s too good to pass up.

Big mistake. Susan soon discovers that her new home is crawling with bedbugs . . . or is it? She awakens every morning with fresh bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter Emma has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists her building is clean. Susan fears she’s going mad—until a more sinister explanation presents itself: she may literally be confronting the bedbug problem from Hell.


Pete says:

"In 'The Sound of Music' Rodgers and Hammerstein pose the question 'How do you solve a problem like Maria?' In this day and age, I'm wondering, how does one sell a book called Bedbugs? Well, I'm certainly up for the challenge. For despite the titular subject matter the book is a lot of fun -- as long as you read it way before bed time. If not you'll be checking under your mattress every ten minutes or so.

Uptight mom Susan has just lucked into a Brooklyn Heights apartment where the rent is not beyond her family's means. Why did the the previous renters leave in such a hurry? Who cares, the rent is low. Isn't that a funny noise that seems to come from nowhere, or a strange smell you can't quite put your finger on? Let it go. It's Brooklyn Heights, right across the East River from Manhattan. You win, right?  Wrong. Poor Susan is continuously bitten by bedbugs, but why her and not her husband? They share the same bed. The exterminator says the home is clean, there are no bedbugs. Could it be all in her head? And isn't that the last thing anyone wants to hear? Bedbugs are a terrifying enemy because they're practically invisible. Not like the mole people living in your closet or the monster under your bed.

I would recommend this novel to fans of classic 1970's horror books and movies  such as The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, and the Amityville Horror. There are even some elements of Oscar Wilde's A Picture of Dorian Gray. If you thought the painting in that one was rough, wait until you add bedbugs to the mix."