This novel is a compact 154-page suspense story, yet Kehret employs several literary techniques such as the structural techniques of foreshadowing and the use of dual points of view—all geared toward heightening the tension between Ginger and her stalker. Other literary techniques found in the story are flashbacks and liberal doses of comic relief.

The most evident technique is Kehret's use of the omniscient narrator who veers from Ginger's point of view to Joyce's. In the opening chapter, readers see Ginger's pleasure at her thirteenth birthday party: opening presents, celebrating with her best friends, and basking in her parents' retelling of the familiar stories of her birth. Immediately, however, a shadow darkens the scene in the form of Joyce, who stares unblinkingly at Ginger's table. "A chill of apprehension prickled the hair on Ginger's neck. She knows who I am, Ginger thought, but I...