Wow. No, hang on, let me say it again: Wow. Ben H. Winters is an incredible writer. He grabs the reader by the throat and doesn't ease up on the pressure, not even for one split second. Reading Bedbugs was like a roller coaster: Just when I thought I knew what was going on, my expectations of the rest of the novel were dashed to pieces again and again. I purchased this book thinking, "Oh, okay. A family of three gets eaten by insects. Ho-hum. Nothing I haven't heard before." Boy, was I wrong. Bug phobias are among the most common, and Winters plays on these fears to the point of almost inducing the fear itself. At times, the reader is sure that Susan, who bears the brunt of the bedbugs' torment, is completely batty and wishes only that she is able to receive professional help by the end of the novel... and yet, no more than ten pages later, the reader is rooting for her with vigor, desperately wishing that her husband Alex and her hired exterminator Dana would believe her. This novel left me with chills. Wonderful job!