Every Move You Make: Chilling True Stories of Stalkers and Their Victims

by Victoria Heywood

From secretive online followers to jealous ex-lovers and obsessed admirers through to random strangers and crazed criminals, this unnerving book will provide an insight into the minds of stalkers, and reveal how their sinister actions affect their victims.

Victims and stalkers tell their stories – both in person and through court records.

Enlightening interviews with police, psychiatrists, doctors and support workers highlight the sometimes deadly but always distressing consequences.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than 100 cases from around the world.

4 Stars = It gave me much food for thought.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly enjoyed this book, the different cases mentioned were interesting (and I especially appreciated the Australian focus), and I learnt a lot.
I think what I didnt like was how much "personal opinion" the author put into it- at times it was helpful and eye opening, however it generally felt more like an opportunity for her to vent or compare her story. Dont get me wrong I think her mentioning what happened to her was helpful and added benefit to the book, but it went a little too far for me.
I also would have liked to have seen a few more examples of cases, and more insight into the support they did and didnt get, and exam of the "smaller" cases too - as someone who has also been stalked, I didnt realise what was happening at first and I really think it could have been helpful to use the opportunity really help other people who might be wondering "is it or isnt it?"
if you're interested in true crime, or aussie crime, I think this is a worthwhile read.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book

It was good. The tales were short yet sweet. Just what I was looking to read. Not too much brain power needed.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better true crime books I have read. This was really interesting with it's mix of normal people and celebrity stalking stories. The author does share some personal opinions and details too, which is unusual as this type of book is normally very fact based in the tellings.

[John Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had Victoria Heywood’s book for a while and have only got around to reading it through the past couple of months. The essence of that statement is ‘a couple of months.’ For someone who reads and reviews most books in one to four days, this has taken an inordinate length of time. I’ve read it between perhaps 10 other titles.

It’s not that Every Move You Make is poorly researched or poorly written. Far from it. More, it’s a book that’s frightening in the intensity of its message and in the case notes it covers: Factual tales about stalkers and stalking. Even as an elderly male, big, easygoing, self-sufficient, one who’s never been subjected to the act – nor likely to be adversely affected, even if so – it gives pause for thought.

I know – we all know – stalking is a fact of life. We read enough about it and hear news reports on a frequent basis. A great number of us will have friends, family, acquaintances who’ve been stalked. I know many from working with them in a counselling role, but it is not easy to follow, nor possible for the ordinary person to understand.

The book came about because Victoria Heywood was herself stalked. In her case it began simply enough when she and her dog bumped into a seemingly harmless old man – a lover of dogs – in a Melbourne park. It all went downhill from there, but at least provided the catalyst for what is such an important work.

I’m actually writing little about the book itself. Perhaps suffice to say its extent is broad, all based on worldwide research including interviews with victims and perpetrators. For me, it may have been slow reading, but I think it ought to be mandated especially for teens and young adults, and for anyone who may be in or coming out of a difficult relationship. The most awful consideration driven home is that it has potential to happen to any one of us… even a big, easy-going, self-sufficient old man...

Thank you, Victoria Heywood. Every Move You Make is essential reading, and a book that must be on every high school library shelf in Australia.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the most part, I found it to be written quite well. The stories were interesting and mostly Australian-based, which I really liked about the book.

There were a few small things that I didn't like, which mainly occurred towards the end of the book. The main one was that throughout the entire book, the author had (rightly so) stated that in no way is it ever the victims fault for someone stalking them, however in regards to Lea and Jenner's story, I felt like the author put some blame on Jenner for not telling Lea to stay away - Heywood had mentioned earlier victim blaming and how it is not the responsibility of the victim to tell the stalker to stop, it is the responsibility of the perpetrator to not be a stalker (I perhaps could have worded that better...but I think you get my point).

I also think the author did a little bit of a turn towards opinions on stalkers, she had mainly been neutral about it and had pretty much presented facts, but opinion started to peek through when she suggested Brittain may have rightly been trolled or that Robert Bardo was harassed and it was okay because it was "an eye for an eye". While I don't disagree with these statements, it seemed that Heywood reserved judgement just for a few and not to all. As I said before, these three issues all happened in the last 50 or so pages, so it was a disappointing end.

Aside from these small things, the author backed up her statements with academic articles and provided references for them all at the end, which I think is really important in a book of this nature. This isn't an academic book, but a good non-fiction, true-crime read that I think would appeal to readers that enjoy that type of book.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

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An true crime book with an Australian focus, but also looking at cases across the world, this is a fascinating deep dive into stalking, which includes personal anecdotes by the author herself. A quick read.

Elisa, Book Grocer

[Nicki Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and informative true crime read about stalkers. A chilling look into their mindsets and just how dangerous it can be to have one and just how easy it is to be unknowningly stalked. A thought provoking read for everyone.⭐⭐⭐⭐ #victoriaheywood #everymoveyoumake #tea_sipping_bookworm #truecrime #goodreads #getlitsy #thestorygraph #fable #echo

[Kelly Bardon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an easy read. I liked that the stories were short and I learned a lot about stalking

[Xanthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book having be written by an Australian, author, includes a lot of Australian content, which I appreciated.
A sobering read, that covers all sorts of aspects of stalking, with many case studies, including the author's own experience as a target.
Often frightening, I found this book by far more unnerving than most other true crime books I have read. I guess this is due to the fact that although famous people are prone to attracting stalkers, any normal, everyday person can unwittingly become a target.
I found the parts about cyberstalking particularly alarming but also informative.
The one thing this book lacks is a psychological look into why some people stalk. There was very little on the research done into the mental make up of stalkers, even though the author often mentioned mental illness. Her attention was very much biased towards speaking about the victims and the impact on their lives - understandable, given her experiences.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to read a book with the Australian context. The book is not particularly well-written, with some slips into hyperbole and editorialising. The subject matter is so riveting, however, and the real life stories told ate so moving, that you can overlook those problems.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty easy to read, some interesting/chilling stories.
on trying to win exes back: "the problem is, repeatedly calling, emailing, visiting or following someone is not only dead cert guaranteed to drive the loved one even further away, it's also called stalking and it is illegal." damn, true

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was thinking this book was going to be all about the " types of stalking there is but I was pleasantly surprised there was a lot of cases in there and lots I hadn't heard of. Great book.

[Deb Kingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly good read with quite a lot of Australian content as the author is Australian. A lot of good advice is included throughout the pages.