Eating Bull by Carrie Rubin

Eating Bull by Carrie Rubin is one of the best contemporary thrillers in circulation today. This expertly written suspense novel centers around Jeremy Barton, an obese high school student; Sue, a public health nurse who urges Jeremy to sue a fast food restaurant for enabling Jeremy in his food addiction; and “Darwin” a serial killer with an intense case of obsessive compulsive disorder, who is driven to cleanse society of the obese who he deems as the weak sheep of the population. 

Throughout the novel, readers get insight into what it is like to be an obese teenager. The constant bullying, terrorizing, and fat shaming that sweet Jeremy has to withstand is more even painful than the beginning symptoms of diabetes, hypertension, and asthma that he has to endure. Rubin balances the overwhelming issue of obesity, while developing each character individually. The murder scenes are incredibly graphic, and within each “Darwin” chapter, we get insight into how his past has made him a disturbed killer. Although Jeremy is the sweet, central character of this book, his nurse, Sue, is also a focus. Sue’s personal issues combine with Jeremy’s to make this story highly suspenseful. Sue is used to high profile cases such as this one, but her life has never been so threatened. Multiple deaths of obese people start to draw closer to Sue, who feels anxious due to her relationship with Jeremy and due to other controversial health cases that she has taken on. All of the danger makes it impossible for Sue to pinpoint who her biggest threat might be.

Eating Bull is an important social novel, highlighting the discrimination obese people endure every day. Jeremy Barton is often left to describe the taunts and loneliness he has to face, “Ironic how he could be so fat and yet so invisible at the same time.” Through these characters, readers are taken on a roller coaster ride of emotions. This book is a brilliant thriller, written with the kind of suspense that makes each chapter a new adventure. Readers who enjoy books that are psychologically intense and have a political backbone will love Carrie Rubin’s book. It is not for the weak, but it makes you want to stand up for those that society deems weak. This is a must-read for murder-mystery lovers.

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