Whispers From the Dead (1989)

By: Joan Lowery Nixon

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

After a near-death experience due to an accident while out swimming with friends, Sarah Darnell has contracted a serious fear of the water and a connection to the spirit world. When her father gets a promotion, Sarah’s family is uprooted from their Missouri home and moved to a beautiful house in Houston, Texas. Almost immediately Sarah has a bad feeling about the home and soon enough she begins having visions and hearing cries of “¡Ayúdame!” late at night. It soon becomes clear that someone is reaching out to Sarah from the grave and she must help this spirit before she ends up meeting a similar fate.  

As someone who has read several of Ms. Nixon’s mysteries over the years, I was relatively disappointed in this one. The story itself was interesting – it’s a twist on the “we got a great deal on this murder house” trope, in that the family purchasing the house was unaware of the horrific events that occurred within the walls. Apparently the fact that a murder took place on the premises is not something a realtor is required to disclose – or at least it wasn’t in Texas in the 1980s. That’s always fun.

Sarah soon befriends her chubby, bubbly neighbor Dee Dee and becomes acquainted with Eric, a teenage boy that lives down the street. While Dee Dee is sweet and naïve, Eric is a douche right out the gate. He calls Dee Dee “Chubby” like it’s her name and criticizes Sarah for being too tall for him. He does, however, introduce her to the love interest of the story, Tony – a guy who is handsome and charming, but also has that bad boy edge. Sarah is immediately smitten and ignores any and all red flag behavior because “he’s so cute, though!”

Both Eric and Tony are friends of Adam Holt, the boy who used to live in Sarah’s house – a boy who is believed to have murdered a pizza delivery girl in the foyer of the home but released on a technicality. A boy who was also accused of sexually assaulting a classmate – but people don’t believe that happened because she “has a reputation.” (Yay, the nasty belief that someone who is sexually promiscuous cannot be sexually assaulted. 

Promiscuous people still pick and choose who they get involved with and still have the right to say no to anyone who they don’t want to be with. Also, if she’s owned up to her easy reputation, why would she lie about being with Adam?) Knowing that his friends stuck by him through the sexual assault accusations and murder charges is enough for me to say, “throw everyone in the damn trash,” but Sarah continues to hang out with Dee Dee and Tony.

From the details of her visions and evidence she finds within her home, Sarah realizes someone other than the pizza girl was likely murdered there and she is determined to solve the mystery so the young woman’s spirit can finally rest.

Sadly, Sarah is not the brightest when it comes to detective work and even more oblivious to potential dangers around her. She trusts people far too easily, even when it’s clear the spirit she’s communicating with is trying to warn her away from someone very specific. She gives away exactly how much she knows when fishing for information from people who very easily could be the murderer. She only tells one person where she hides the evidence of a second murder victim and then her house is broken into, the only thing stolen is said evidence. When she discusses the fact that a therapist told her the only way to stop the visions is to face her fears and get back in the water, a certain someone is very insistent on helping her get over her phobia, just the two of them alone at a very secluded pond. Absolutely no ill intentions there, nope.

Source

It’s pretty obvious who the killer is early on and the “twist” (or, rather, how Sarah figures out who it is) feels shoe-horned in within the second to last chapter. After this wakeup call she does get her wits about her and is able to come up with a strategy to bring the killer to justice. This includes outsmarting them in the final act.

The strongest element of the story was not the whodunit or the protagonist, but the spirit herself. The mystery around who she was and what really happened to her was the most intriguing. I also really liked the commentary on how the upper middleclass suburbanites viewed undocumented immigrants (cheap labor, easy to exploit, disposable). They too could live like the rich elite and have servants. These immigrants were also seen as easy victims – they can’t tell anyone if they’re being abused because they could risk deportation and many have no one that would miss them if they disappeared altogether. The excerpt at the beginning of the novel includes the spirit speaking Spanish so I was clued in pretty quickly that the victim was Hispanic and likely an undocumented immigrant once I noticed the trend of Latina maids in Sarah’s neighborhood. 

Oh my God! Exploitation of desperate poor people is so fetch! (Source)

This book is a product of its time, however, and does refer to these individuals as “illegal immigrants” or simply “illegals,” and while it’s not pleasant to read, it does help the reader see how this community views the folks they employ.

There are also some suspenseful sequences. I did worry for Sarah when she was alone in her house and realized there was an intruder, leading to her being trapped in a bathroom with them trying to break down the door. Also, despite seeing it coming, the pond sequence was also quite tense (because of course she went, the fool!). I felt her panic as she was pulled toward the water – and this was just from her water phobia, she had no idea her companion had nefarious plans for her.

I'm not a fan of Sarah’s mother. She’s tries to guilt Sarah into not having the visions because Sarah’s pain “hurts her mother and father.” Like Sarah wants to have this connection to the spirit world? Gee, Honey, have you tried NOT being psychic?

Sarah: 

Source

Her Mom: “Have you thought about how this affects ME?!”

Her Mom is also the one who encourages her to go to the pond with the aforementioned insistent individual. Maybe I was spoiled by having a mother who could easily read people but there is no way she would have let me go on such an excursion. Especially if I had a friend that worked as a life guard and access to the local pool like Sarah does.

I feel this is one of Ms. Nixon’s weaker works – the story is still interesting and I liked the social commentary, but normally the killer isn’t as easy to figure out and the protagonist is usually a lot smarter. It’s like she meets a boy she’s attracted to and her brain oozes out her damn ears. I did want to find out what happened to the spirit and I did care enough about Sarah to worry when she was in danger, but overall this was a slightly disappointing revisit to a favorite author from my childhood.

6/10

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** Credit to the Creators of all images and gifs used in this blog entry. I've sourced the ones I could but some have been sitting on my computer for a long time. If you see an image without a source and know/are the content creator, please comment below so I can credit accordingly. 

SCREAM #3: Wanted to Rent (1993)

 

By: Jessica Pierce (AKA: J. M. Morgan, Morgan Fields & Jill Morgan)

Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Suspense

Things are tight for the Baker family. Having recently divorced, Laura is trying to make ends meet on her single income as a librarian. To bring in some extra funds she decides to rent out a room in the house to a handsome older seminary student named Ethan Palmer. Much to her sixteen-year-old daughter, Christy’s dismay, Ethan is given her room, forcing her to bunk with her ten-year-old sister, Charlotte. While the rent Ethan pays is helpful, there is something about him that unsettles Christy, making her feel unsafe in her own home. In order to protect her family, Christy decides to investigate Ethan and determine whether he is the creep she thinks he is.

The SCREAM series, like Point Horror, is a collection of young adult horror/thriller novels from the early 1990s that have no connection to one another. The novels are contributed by various young adult authors and each one can be read as a standalone story. As there is no reason to read them in any sort of order, I picked this one as the plot sounded the most interesting.

The story definitely feels heavily inspired by the 1987 film The Stepfather mixed with the “Unhinged House Guest/Roommate” trope popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s so it doesn’t exactly tread new ground. While it is fairly predictable, the characters are well rounded and the story still manages to retain tension and suspense.

We know from the book’s summary and the blurb at the beginning of the novel that Ethan definitely is dangerous, so it’s a matter of seeing how quickly the family he’s staying with realizes this and what happens to them once they do. Christy is the only one in the house that picks up on Ethan’s weird behavior but can’t get anyone with authority to listen to her suspicions. She has to go into Nancy Drew mode if she has any hope of finding peace again.

I really liked Christy. For an early ‘90s YA horror heroine she’s developed pretty well. She makes no effort to hide that she’s struggling with her parents’ divorce or her anger at having to give up her bedroom, both of which are used against her frequently when she raises her concerns about Ethan. However, she is fairly cognizant of her emotions for a sixteen-year-old girl, and often doubts her own instincts for the same reasons. Despite her doubts she pushes forward in her investigation of Ethan because she cannot ignore the nagging feeling that something is wrong and she feels the need to protect her family however she can. She even proves herself to be a bit of a badass in the end, so take that, Ethan!

Thankfully Christy isn’t entirely alone in her probe into the real Ethan Palmer. Her two best friends Keith and Lisa are by her side most of the way. Despite a small fight between Lisa and Christy about 75% into the story, both friendships are strong and these two supply Christy with the support she needs to take action. Lisa always makes time for Christy, even if she’s about to run out the door for a date or didn’t get to sleep until 2:30 AM, but Christy needs her at 6:00 AM. She does get frustrated that the Ethan debacle seems to be taking over Christy’s life and misses her friend, which is why they fight, but in the end they make up as best friends always do. Keith treads the line between supportive friend and possible love interest, but nothing really develops between him and Christy aside from some minor, shy flirting. While Lisa even begins to doubt Christy at one point, Keith never does, and that is something that works in Christy’s favor many times throughout the course of the novel. (Side note, I’m still tagging this as a healthy love interest as there is something there, just not acted upon within the context of the story. Also, we love a male friend side-character that is a genuine, good person without an overt romance plot.)

The character that caused me the most rage aside from Ethan himself (oh, we’ll get to him!) is Laura, Christy’s mother. This whole thing could have been avoided if she wasn’t so dense. I get that money was very tight, but what single woman invites a strange man into her home almost immediately with two young daughters in the house? There didn’t seem to even be twenty four hours between Laura talking to Ethan about the room and him moving in. Did she even check his references? Also, who the hell were his references since no one seems to know him? (I’m picturing Ethan with multiple phone hook ups ala Bobby Singer in Supernatural, answering each one pretending to be someone else.)

Just Replace the Government Agency Names with "References"

I know that Laura is also reeling from the divorce and having her husband run off with another woman and that she was super vulnerable, making it incredibly easy for a smooth talking sociopath to slither into her good graces. However, if your teenage daughter is telling you that the boarder creeps her out and has come into her room at night, maybe listen to her concerns, and not, I don’t know, start dating the dude? Yes he’s attractive and makes you feel wanted or “flattered” as you call it, but your daughter is visibly terrified of the man.

“I think you’d like something to be weird about him. You’re looking for trouble where there isn’t any.” (p. 33)

“It’s not that I doubt you’re telling me the truth, at least what you think is the truth … Only it was very late. You were sleepy … You were asleep. The fire engines woke you. Maybe, if you were dreaming then, you were dreaming earlier.” (p. 59)

“… He’s been very understanding about the way you’ve been acting since he’s been with us. You’ve made it pretty miserable for him, Christy.”
“Mom, he scares me!”
“I’m sorry about that, I really am. I wish things could be the way they used to be when your father and I were together, but I can’t make that happen. I know our divorce has been hard on you. Things have changed in your life. I wish I could make them better. Christy, you love your father, I understand. But, you have to understand something. Our financial situation isn’t the same as it used to be. We need the money we get from renting the room. Without it we can’t afford to live here.” (p. 68)

You can’t rent the room to anyone else?

“He’d like to be friends with you too. I know you love your dad. No one’s trying to change that. It’s just … Ethan wants to be someone special in our family. He’s told me how important we’ve become to him. I’d like it if you could give him a chance. Try a little harder to be his friend, Christy.”
“I don’t need him as a friend.”
“Then, do it for me. Maybe I need him. Maybe I don’t want to be alone the rest of my life. Your dad has his girlfriend. Be fair. Maybe I need someone for me.” (p. 89)

Ugh, the guilt trip and the gaslighting. No one said you couldn’t date, Laura! Just maybe don’t date the guy that scares your teenage daughter? I don’t know, just a thought.

I don’t want to victim blame. Laura was in a very emotionally vulnerable state and Ethan is a charming man that preyed upon her. He also rapidly becomes emotionally abusive to her. For that, I am empathetic. However, her teenage daughter has told her multiple times that she’s scared of the man and cited numerous examples, from the way he looks at her to him coming into her room at night to him getting physical with her, and he even admits to doing some of these things. He just finds a way to twist them so Laura sees the events the way he wants her to and she falls for it every time! 

He Literally Corners Christy Like This in Her Room.
But That's Totally Normal, Right Laura?

I’m sorry, nothing you say is going to make me okay with you in my child’s room and especially not if you lay hands on her. If this were my Mom, the guy would be lucky to only be kicked out of the house and not end up six feet under. (Of course, my Mom would never let a strange man into the house in the first place, no matter how hard up for money we were or how attractive and charming he was, but I digress.)

This brings us to the man himself, Ethan Palmer. I hate him so much. He’s undeniably the villain. As aforementioned, the book makes no attempt to hide what he is. He does, for the sake of Laura and Charlotte, but completely drops the mask around Christy most of the time. He blatantly stares at her, calls her ‘special,’ seems aware of her every move in the house, yells at and manhandles her when he gets her alone, listens in on her phone calls, etc. It’s obvious he gets a sadistic pleasure out of playing with Christy’s head and turning her family against her. He’s cocky, thinking that because he has Laura wrapped around his finger there’s nothing Christy can do to stop him. Oh, but sir, you’re in a Young Adult horror novel and Christy is the heroine. You should know better than to underestimate her.

Christy's About to Channel Her Inner Buffy Summers

The plot itself, though predictable, flowed well and kept me reading to find out what happened next. I often had an idea what Ethan would do, but Christy’s movements occasionally surprised me. She was smart and she was aided by good friends who would help her brainstorm what to do. She makes other people aware of her current situation – her mother might not take her seriously, but other people suspect she might be onto something. Her investigation into Ethan was more interesting than his increasingly erratic behavior, but seeing how the two combined and played out was entertaining.

It was easy to get emotionally invested in this one as I cared about Christy and I was so frustrated for her. Having the advantage the book’s synopsis and blurb provided, I knew Christy was onto something and wanted her to succeed in protecting her family from Ethan. It’s a product of its time for sure, and a bit derivative of popular horror and thriller films of the era, but I still enjoyed this quick little read.

7/10

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Someone at the Door (1994)

By: Richie Tankersley Cusick

Genre: Young Adult Horror/Thriller

Hannah Stuart is having a rough day. She finally got up the nerve to break up with her abusive boyfriend of six months and she just wants to get home and be done with the day. Unfortunately there is a blizzard rolling in and Hannah’s parents are out of town, leaving her in charge of her younger sister Meg. As the storm hits and the night wears on, Hannah’s stress levels are on the rise. Between threatening phone calls from her ex, anxiety about keeping warm should they lose power, and a news report about an escaped killer on the loose, Hannah fears it’s going to be difficult to get through. On top of this, at 2:00 AM, two injured young men appear at their door, begging for help. The girls reluctantly let them in, but as the storm stretches over the next few days, strange things begin to happen – food disappearing along with the axe from the woodpile, creepy pranks of a violent nature, and who the hell built that giant snowman in the front yard? Is it Hannah’s enraged ex boyfriend looking to terrorize her? Is it the escaped killer? Or is one or both of the injured young men the girls have allowed in their home not what they seem?

I originally read this novel approximately nineteen years ago and oddly felt the urge to reread it recently. 

It’s me, hi, I’m the old fart, it’s me

It must be the winter setting that set this off, but encouragement from fellow Goodreads user and author, Nenia Campbell, pushed me to pick it up again. It’s fitting that I wound up finishing this reread of a novel about two girls isolated in a blizzard while in the middle of one myself. I remembered enjoying this story as a fourteen-year-old and hoped it held up, despite forgetting most details. For the most part, it did.

One thing I didn’t remember was what a cranky jerk Hannah is. On the one hand, I understand, I get snippy and easily irritated when I’m anxious too, and she is under a lot of stress. I get it, and I get that she’s only seventeen so her emotions aren’t going to be regulated as well as a fully developed adult’s. However, she’s quick to verbally hit Meg where it hurts and physically attempt to hit Jonathon and Lance when they say things that upset her. (Ninety-five percent of the time this leads to the guy pinning her down … maybe she just has a kink for being manhandled by attractive men. Understandable, but girl, use your words!) 

Then there’s the fact that, for about eighty percent of the novel she refuses to believe her ex could be behind any of the strange goings-on. (Babe, he literally threatened to kill you and could have been the only one to leave that disgusting ‘gift’ in your car.) When she finds his abandoned car and gets upset that he might be injured and/or lost in the snow, I was like, “Oh, honey…” When she gets pissed that the others care more about finding the dog than making sure her piece of shit ex isn’t in danger, I wanted to smack her upside the head myself. If I had to choose between helping the family dog that loves everyone and the ex that threatened to murder me, that bastard can freeze to death, I’m choosing the innocent dog. If my ex is out there we'll find his body in the spring. 

The abusive ex as I cuddle up with the dog inside. 

Meg is all bleeding heart and naiveté. I do get why Hannah gets annoyed with her, the girl is a bit dramatic and trusts too easily. (Someone seriously needs to educate this girl on the fact that a man being attractive doesn’t prevent him from being a murderer before she becomes a victim of the next Ted Bundy.) She’s quick to be moved to tears or fright. However, she is also driven to help people, whether it’s letting Hannah sleep and making her dinner after a rough day, counseling her on how her ex was a worthless piece of shit anyway, breaking the house rules and letting the family dog in the house (I seriously despise people who make their dogs live outside), or aiding in taking care of the injured men they’ve taken in. She’s immature in some aspects, but she’s a good kid.

This brings us to the injured parties in question, Jonathon and Lance. They are a little off-putting right from the start, ready to break the door down if the girls didn’t provide them shelter. Their relationship with the girls varies throughout the story, with Meg innocently trusting them for the most part and Hannah being cautiously suspicious.

Jonathon is the more personable of the two – kind, good-humored despite his severe leg injury, gentle yet stubborn, almost to the point of self-sacrificing martyrdom. His fair hair and big blue eyes seem to lure Hannah in, and the two do seem to have great chemistry, even kissing a few times. They could possibly have a healthy relationship, if he doesn’t turn out to be a murderer, and she gets her anger under control and stops trying to hit people. (Although maybe that’s foreplay for them … their first kiss does happen after she takes a swing at him and he’s pinning her arms between their bodies.)

He does appear to be the more trustworthy of the duo, but doesn’t come off as entirely innocent either. He’s very shifty when it comes to personal details and does say creepy things on occasion, often reminding Hannah of just how isolated she and Meg are.

“ ' – your parents.’ Jonathon’s voice sounded softly in her ear, and Hannah whirled with a gasp.
“’What did you say?’
“She hadn’t heard him leave the corner, hadn’t even heard him cross the hall. Now his blue eyes gazed into hers, and as he leaned forward, one sleeve lightly touched her arm.
“ 'Your parents,’ he spoke again. ‘Don’t you think you should wake them up?’
“It comes to her then, in a slow, chilling realization, that he knew her parents weren’t here – that he knew she and Meg were completely alone – that somehow, somehow he knew – " (p. 34)

“ 'As soon as the snow lets up. The road crews will be out here early, you know … to make sure we’re all right.’ …
“ 'As isolated as you are?’ he murmured. ‘I don’t think so.’” (p. 37)

“You girls are stranded out here … It just wouldn’t be right to leave you two alone.” (p. 65)

“ '[My boyfriend] is coming over today,’ Hannah repeated emphatically. ‘And bringing some of his friends. They’re all football players, and my boyfriend’s extremely jealous.’ …
“ 'Like the road crews? Look, Hannah, your boyfriend won’t be coming today. You know it, and I know it. So why keep playing games?’" (p. 80)

This scene was playing in my head while reading the last exchange.

Lance is much more suspicious from the start. When the guys first arrive at the house, Hannah doesn’t have much interaction with him due to his head injury. It’s later that evening when he wakes up that they have their first encounter, where he puts her in a stranglehold from behind. Solid start to whatever relationship will occur between you two, bro. Everything about him is darker than Jonathon, from his shoulder-length hair, to his broody and intimidating demeanor, to the willingness to get physical and the weird things he says.

He takes a particular interest in the story of the escaped killer as Meg relays what she saw on the news and he’s the one that decides he and Jonathon need to stay and protect them. The fact that he does seem to take this role seriously works in his favor, especially when it comes to Meg. With Hannah, he gets sick of her shit pretty quickly, and honestly, between her attitude, the amount of times she runs off into the storm, and the amount of times she tries to hit him, I don’t entirely blame him. I don’t entirely blame her either though, because I feel like he enjoys being a bit of a jerk to her.

“She ran for the hall, jumping back with a scream as she collided with Lance in the doorway.
“ 'Looking for your sister?’ he asked, and Hannah froze, her heart leaping into her throat.
“ 'Where is she?’ Hannah demanded. ‘Where’s Meg?’ She tried to step around him, but he moved sideways at the same time. To her fury, she found herself trapped between Lance and the wall.
“Hannah looked up at him, fighting back panic …
“ 'If you don’t let me go,’ Hannah threatened, ‘I’ll –'
“ 'No one’s holding you,’ Lance said. He lifted his arms at his sides, and Hannah suddenly realized that he’d backed away. Flushing angrily, she shoved past him and ran up to her room.” (p. 74-75)

“… she tried again, hating herself for being flustered, hating him even more for knowing it. ‘Get off of me,’ she said sharply.
“Lance seemed to consider this a moment, looking down at her with a relentless stare. Hannah felt her breath quickening – her heart racing. Once more she tried to move, once more she stopped, all too aware of his body on hers. Then she saw one corner of his mouth curl in a sardonic smile.
“'You know …” Lance murmured, 'if I wasn’t so sure what an in-control person you are … I’d swear you were blushing.’
“ 'Let me go!’ Hannah screamed, and tried to swing at him.
“Without warning, he pinned her hands to the ground. He was so incredibly strong that Hannah felt a surge of panic go through her …” (p. 130-131)

One thing both men have in common is the offense they take to the girls, particularly Hannah, suspecting one of them might be the escaped killer. Um, guys, they are two teenage girls, stranded in the middle of nowhere during a seemingly endless blizzard, who have heard news reports about an escaped murderer headed their way and they have no idea who either of you are.

“’Look, I understand why you’re so nervous about us being here, but what do I have to do to convince you we’re not going to tie you up, rob your house, and have our way with you?’
“Hannah flushed deeply. ‘That’s not funny.’
“’No,’” Jonathon said solemnly. ‘It’s not funny. So I wish you’d stop making me feel like a criminal.’” (p. 80)

Jonathon, how very Billy Loomis of you. 

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I'm not a killer?"

Also, I don’t think you can speak for Lance. The man has threatened to tie you up because you insist on putting weight on your injured leg. With the amount of times Hannah has wandered off into the blizzard or gotten violent with one of you, I’m sure the thought of tying her up crossed his mind at least once.

While Jonathon acts like a kicked puppy about these suspicions, Lance just gets angry and snide. 

I guess his approach is the Mother Gothel method.

“Gasping, she felt Lance crush her down into the snow, and his eyes flashed above her with a strange, dark light.
“ 'Oh, I forgot,’ he said quietly. ‘You don’t like being this close to escaped killers, do you?’
“Hannah gasped in terror. She could see the tense lines of his cheeks, the endless dark of his eyes. As she gazed up helplessly, she could feel her lips moving, trying to get out the words.
“ 'I don’t know what you mean,’ she whispered. ‘I – I don’t know what you’re talking about –'
“ 'Oh … I think you do.’
“ 'It’s – it’s just that I was on the roof – and I was so – so scared –'
“ 'You don’t know what scared is.’
“Without warning, he rolled off.
“ 'Oh. And by the way … I tried to start your car but nothing worked. Guess you really are stranded now.’” (p. 131)

“ 'You were watching me!’
“ 'Watching you?’ Lance said slowly, as if considering the possibility. ‘If that was on my mind, a locked door wouldn’t do you much good.’ (p. 172)

That’s really comforting, Lance. You say and do things like those quoted above and then have the audacity to get angry when Hannah finds you a little suspicious. And Jonathon, Mr. ‘I understand why you’re nervous,’ 

no, I really don’t think you do. Hannah described it pretty well.

“But no matter who those guys are, we still have to be careful. Whoever they are, Meg and I are still alone with them – and if we act too suspicious and scared, that could be dangerous … and if we act too nice and trusting, that could be dangerous, too.” (p. 70)

This is one thing women and femme presenting individuals talk about a lot – curtailing their behavior to best protect themselves. This is often what has saved potential victims of serial killers – learning to adapt to appease this person so you can escape. The same is often done by victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment. You do what you have to do to avoid being harmed as much as possible. Not knowing anything about these men, and considering Lance got violent with her almost immediately, it’s more than understandable that Hannah would be thinking like this.

Despite having read this book before, I couldn’t remember most of it. However, that’s not very telling, as aforementioned, the first time I read this was about nineteen years ago. I didn’t remember all the weird things that our four central characters encountered or who the person behind all of these scary occurrences turned out to be. I had the pleasure of being in suspense all over again, and in that aspect, the story delivers. I didn’t remember what happened next and couldn’t wait to find out – binge reading over 100 pages in one night. Despite being more annoyed by Hannah and still unsure about both Jonathon and Lance, I did care enough about the central characters to want them to survive and hoped that neither of the boys was the one terrorizing the sisters.

Did it hold up? I think I’ll shave down my original rating slightly. It is a fun, quick and enjoyable read that wasn’t too predictable, even the second time around. It’s decent entertainment for a snowy afternoon, being both short enough and suspenseful enough to be read in one sitting. I’m glad I revisited it, and will probably do so again.

6.5/10

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The Lost (2001)

                           By: Jack Ketchum

Genre: Horror / Thriller / Suspense

During the summer of 1965, two young women were brutally murdered while camping in the woods. The police know who did it but cannot prove it. They believe the killer is Ray Pye, the assistant manager at the Starlight Motel, and regular deviant youth of their small New Jersey town. It is also believed that Ray’s friends know more than they’re saying. Four years later, the police are still watching Ray as he slowly comes undone, but no one could have foreseen his final act or predicted the tragic loss left in his wake.

The novel starts off right before the initial murders, with Ray and his friends Tim and Jennifer hanging out at a campground. When Ray sees two naked girls camping together, he decides he wants to kill them. What follows is a scene of carnage as the girls are brutally shot numerous times with Ray laughing through it all and Tim and Jennifer unable to stop him. They reluctantly help him clean up the crime scene rather than running when they have the chance and wind up wrapped up in the crime as accessories, fearing going to the police due to their own involvement. Come 1969, they are both experiencing varying degrees of guilt, but are somehow still loyal to Ray, despite the way he treats them.

The three central characters are fairly awful people and make their parts of the first 60% of the book hard to get through. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Ray, Tim, Jennifer, Detective Charlie Schilling, retired Detective Ed Anderson, Sally, Katherine, and a stray cat (yes you read that correctly).

The most disturbing chapters are those from Ray’s perspective – the misogyny, the racism, the homophobia, and the narcissism. He’s both incredibly conceited and ridiculously insecure – taking great pride in his pretty face but wearing cowboy boots with crushed up cans inside to make up for his height of 5’3”. (With the amount of times the boots are mentioned alongside his difficulty walking in them, I was really hoping for a scene where they cause him to fall. No such luck.) 

I kept picturing this scene and hoping for it. *sigh*

He seems to think the world, and especially women, owe him something, and he should be able to have whatever and whoever he wants. When someone refuses to give him his way, disaster will strike.

Tim is Ray’s lapdog … I mean “best friend.” He is a weak, cowardly boy who occasionally has quiet moments of rebellion against Ray’s power over him, but, for the most part, has very little character development. Tim would possibly be happy being Ray’s doormat for the rest of his life if he wasn’t in love with Jennifer. Tim’s love for her is the only reason he does the one good thing he’s ever done in his life. So in the end, he does the right thing but for somewhat selfish reasons and I don’t feel any sympathy for him.  

Jennifer is Ray’s girlfriend in the loosest sense of the word. He has her over to have sex and expects her to be faithful to only him while he hits on and/or has sex with every other attractive girl in town. She puts up with it because she both loves and fears him, but it becomes apparent her patience is wearing thin. She has a bit more development than Tim, and there are moments when I am proud of her for standing up for herself against Ray’s abuse, but overall she is still a crappy person by the end of the book.

At first I really did not like Katherine – she’s snotty and rude, judgmental, and always seems to be looking for trouble. She’s also the character with the most development, going from the spoiled rich girl with an attitude to a young woman realizing the causes of her misdirected anger. She grows from being nasty to other women to comforting and consoling them in frightening situations. Katherine is also one hell of a fighter. Not only is she feisty on her dates with Ray, giving him a run for his money, she defiantly stands up to him during his final rampage as well, both with her sass and violence. (Shoulder ramming him into the floor, beating him with the chair you’re tied to … Girl, are you Black Widow?)

Sally seems like such a sweet person with a big heart. She’s responsible, smart and kind, but also not willing to take crap from anyone, especially Ray Pye. She’s the only woman in town he can’t seduce and it irks him. She just wants to work and earn a little pocket money before leaving for college in the fall, but Ray can’t accept that. Nor does he like how much of a fighter she is. When she has the opportunity to run and possibly escape Ray’s frenzy, she chooses to risk her life and help her fellow captives instead.

For the most part, I really liked Detective Charlie Schilling. He really cares about the victims in the cases he investigates, having become attached to the girls murdered in 1965 and their families. So attached, in fact, that his marriage to his job caused his actual marriage to crumble and his wife to leave with their two children. They part on good terms and are still able to co-parent, even with her all the way across the country. Their ability to remain close and their obvious continued love for each other is touching and left me hoping for them to reunite at the resolution of the Ray Pye issue. Schilling will not rest until he proves Ray is responsible for the 1965 murders, but ends up blaming himself for pushing so hard when Ray finally snaps.

Given how much I typically loathe age-gap relationships, I really thought I would dislike Ed. However, the man really does seem to love Sally and treats her like an equal. He’s a lonely widower who spends his days cooking and gardening and she makes him feel alive again. There are no attempts to control her and he even tries to step back from their relationship to let her live her life without him weighing her down. He is very protective of Sally, especially when he realizes Ray has his sights set on her, and will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

I’m not entirely sure why there were sections from the perspective of a stray cat, but they were cute and eased the tension a bit. However, these chapters also had me anxiously grumbling, “You better not kill that sweet baby!” The cat becomes attached to Ed and he decides that it’s time for a pet.

The majority of the novel takes place between the events in 1965 and Ray’s breaking point in 1969, following him as he slowly loses control. As his little empire of sex, drugs and rock and roll begins to fall apart, the mask of charismatic normalcy he’s worn all these years begins to slip as well. When he snaps, he goes on the worst spree of assault, kidnapping and murder the small town of Sparta has ever seen. This rampage and the final build up to it made the final 40% of the novel intensely gripping. I couldn’t put it down until I finished the book. I needed to know what happened – and it was horrific.

The ending for me was a bit disappointing. I was not happy with who died and who survived, although there were some incredibly well-written heartbreaking scenes. Ray’s comeuppance is problematic and unsatisfying. I was really hoping for an ending like that of the films Death Proof (2007) or Fresh (2022), but alas, no. 

This would have been a much better ending.

I wanted happier endings for many of the characters, many of which remain just as lost as they were throughout the rest of the novel. Then again, maybe that was the point.

This is a fast-paced but disturbing read. Being in Ray’s head every few chapters is very uncomfortable and honestly feels a little violating. Just reading his thoughts made me want to cover myself, causing me to empathize with the female characters even more. Some of the other characters are just annoying and reading things from their perspectives irritated me. The midsection of the story is a bit slower than the beginning and end, and some find it hard to get through, but once things start falling apart on Ray, it picks up again and doesn’t let up until the “afterward” section at the end. The true ending is unsatisfying and problematic. An average novel that could have been better and is not on par with the other Ketchum novels I’ve read.

6.5/10

The Marsh King’s Daughter (2017)

By: Karen Dionne

Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Content Warning: Animal Abuse / Death, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence and mentions of Sexual Assault / Rape.

Helena Pelletier finally has the normal life she’s always wanted – a loving husband, two healthy daughters, and her own successful business. However, what her family doesn’t know is that Helena harbors a secret about her past – a secret that she never believed would come to light and endanger her newfound peace. Helena thought she could keep her identity as the daughter of the convicted rapist and murderer, “The Marsh King,” from her family, but once her father escapes from prison, she knows she must track him down in order to protect herself and her loved ones.

I really wanted to like this book but I am very torn. I thought the premise of this novel was exciting. Helena’s character is a product of the abduction and rape of her mother – a case similar to that of Jaycee Dugard. Helena’s mother was abducted at age fourteen by a man of Native American heritage known to her only as Jacob. He held her captive for fourteen years, keeping her as a “wife” and forcing her to bare his child. I found this idea fascinating – a story told from the point of view of a child coming from such a situation.

The story itself was interesting. It alternates from present day Helena’s perspective to flashbacks of her life growing up in the cabin with her parents. It detailed her survivalist training and their “living off the land” lifestyle. Interwoven between these two time periods are excerpts from Hans Christian Andersen’s tale, “The Marsh King’s Daughter,” which provides a parallel to the story unfolding – especially between the daughter in the folk tale and Helena herself.

Ms. Dionne does know how to write a suspenseful thriller. The tale was a gripping read that slowly delved into darker depths the further we went into Helena’s back-story. This is a child who was raised in the wilderness and knew nothing of the outside world except for what she read in outdated National Geographic magazines. Helena was raised in an abusive home. She watched her father verbally abuse, beat and torture her mother while being taught to hate her mother as well. Helena adored her father, despite his sadistic cruelty to herself and her mother, and it wasn't until he took one “punishment” too far that she began to detach from him and eventually escaped with her mother.

The thing that really drags this book down for me is not the plot or the story itself – that was gripping and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen during the final showdown between Helena and her father. What keeps me from giving this story a higher rating is the characters – most of the people in this book are scum.

Obviously Jacob is absolute garbage – there are no redeeming qualities for him. He gets off on killing animals and people alike, and wants to destroy Helena’s carefully crafted new life. However, Helena is an incredibly irritating protagonist and some of the things she says and does are so anger-inducing!

I really wanted to like Helena. As aforementioned, she had a unique, but horrific upbringing, and I was hoping she’d grown from that to be able to utilize her past skills to protect her family. While she does do the latter, she has hardly grown from the wild child who escaped the swamp. She was raised to hate her mother and she still does throughout the majority of the book, constantly taking jabs at the poor woman. Helena mentions that she never really bonded with her mother (though it appears her mother made several attempts to do so that Jacob thwarted). Helena criticizes nearly everything her mother ever did, to the point of being hypocritical – for example she drags her mother for never returning to school and improving her life after they escaped from Jacob, but Helena herself never finishes high school. Helena is a rape apologist making constant excuses for the horrible things her father did to her mother (including blaming his Native American heritage!) and stating her mother wouldn’t have been any better off if she hadn’t been abducted. Never mind the fact that her mother was in extensive therapy following her escape due to all the trauma she experienced. Helena states she had therapy too, and it taught her that her father was a narcissist who had slowly turned her against her mother, but she doesn’t manage to stop criticizing her mother until the last few pages of the novel when she seems to have a dramatic change of heart. Helena desperately needs to return to therapy – her healing is far from complete. She also needs to check the internalized misogyny that floods through her veins and makes her judge her daughters harshly (ex: criticizing her oldest for being “soft” and “afraid of bugs.”).

I do understand that Helena was limited from the start due to her first twelve years being shaped by an abusive, sadistic narcissist and not having any positive role models following her escape. With her mother too traumatized to assist in raising Helena, she really needed someone to step in and fill that void, but no one did. Helena and her mother moved in with her mother’s parents after their escape, only to be treated as cash cows rather than provided with love and assistance. Helena had little chance of developing normally, which is sad, but, unfortunately, I still have very little empathy for her character.

I also understand that the child in the fairy tale of the same name is there as a parallel to Helena. Helga, the girl in the tale, is beautiful yet evil by day and ugly yet good by night. I felt that we were supposed to wonder if Helena’s dark nature – her upbringing, her mixed emotions toward her father, and her anger towards her mother - would cause her to turn evil and side with him or if her less-often seen good side would prevail. The plot is fairly predictable in answering that question, but the resolution is satisfying all the same.

Overall, this was an interesting read. Although many have enjoyed this book immensely, I found the protagonist ruined it for me and the suspenseful plot was not enough to distract from her annoying narration. If you are not into internally misogynistic female protagonists, graphic depictions of child abuse, domestic violence and animal deaths, you should probably skip this one.

4.5/10

The Oak Knoll Mystery Series: Books 1 - 3

Deeper Than the Dead (2010)
Book #1

By: Tami Hoag

Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery

It is 1985. Behavior analysis and profiling are a fairly new addition to the FBI. Computers are still very expensive and not owned by many small town sheriff’s offices. DNA has barely been discovered and there is little technology to test it. Forensic technology is in the stone age, yet Oak Knoll has a serial killer on the prowl, and they must find out who it is the old fashioned way.

It’s a sunny afternoon when four fifth grade students running through the park woods stumble upon the body of a murder victim. She is the latest in a string of three bodies and a missing person. Detective Tony Mendez has a hunch that this is the work of a serial killer, and calls an old friend, Vince Leone, FBI profiler extraordinaire, to consult. It is as he fears, and he can only hope that he and Vince can find the killer before he or she strikes again.

I really liked the creepiness of the killer. I thought the signature of depriving the victims of sight, speech and hearing was original and scary. I really liked the way a child’s letter of hero worship about his father is interspersed with segments of the killer going through the routine with his latest victim. It is a great way to show that the killer could be anyone, even a devoted family man, and that’s always the scariest thing of all.

I love the character of Anne Navarre. She is fun, witty, and fiercely protective of her students. When she feels one of her students is being abused at home, she steps in. She is there for all of the students who found the body and refuses to allow anyone to push them around or scare them in any way. She’s not afraid to stand up to anyone, especially a misogynistic bully like Frank Farman, and I love that about her.  It is also what attracts Vince toward her. There is a bit of insta-love between the two, as well as a good fifteen to twenty year age difference, but they at least love each other for the right reasons. I read the third book before this one, so I knew where their romance would lead, and I enjoyed watching the slow beginnings.

I felt bad for the kids who found the body. Tommy Crane is a sweet, smart little boy who is often picked on and rarely stands up for himself. He and his friend Wendy were being tormented by Dennis Farman, the class bully, and his little sidekick, Cody. None of these kids have the happiest of home situations, especially Dennis and Tommy. I even felt bad for Dennis when his downward spiral commenced, due to everything he went through at home. Honestly, it was bound to happen, considering what that kid witnessed and dealt with on a daily basis.

I swear, there must be something in the water in Oak Knoll that produces awful parents. Other than Sara, Wendy’s mother, everyone has at least one crappy parental figure. Tommy’s mother is a raging, narcissistic control freak, who cares more that he missed his piano lesson than that he just stumbled upon a dead body in the park. She drugs him to make him sleep, screams at anyone who crosses her, and goes into spastic rages for little to no reason. Dennis’s father, Frank, is an abusive, misogynistic jerk who happens to work for the Sherriff’s department. He thinks all women are whores that are meant to serve men, and that’s exactly how he treats his wife. He beats her and berates her in front of Dennis, who, in turn, begins to believe that all women are stupid useless cows, only good for cooking food and having sex. Even Anne’s father is a complete prick, picking her apart constantly.

While I find the character of Franny amusing, I do feel he screams “GAY CLICHÉ!” He’s well-dressed, loves kids, is effeminate, loves fashion, etc. Every time I read a line of his dialogue, the cliché “gay lisp” would run through my head. I feel he’s a little too out there and obnoxiously flamboyant, hitting every gay cliché character trait out there. I think he would have been a better character if he was more subtle, not constantly reminding the reader that he is gay. We know, but there should be more to a character than clichés surrounding their sexuality.

I did like the overall story. I found the characters likable and the crime interesting. Hoag knows how to create suspense, ending each chapter just so, making me want to keep reading. If I hadn’t read Down the Darkest Road before this, I think I would have been fairly surprised when the killer’s identity was revealed. Hoag peppered in enough red herrings to make it harder to zero in on the actual villain.

Overall, it was a fun, suspenseful read. Aside from the cliché gay character and everyone’s parents being despicable, the mystery is solid and the villain is creepy.

7/10

Secrets to the Grave (2011)

Book #2

By: Tami Hoag

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

A year after the See No Evil murders, a young mother is found brutally murdered in her own home. The only witness to the crime is the victim’s small daughter, Haley – who also suffered injuries in the attack and remains traumatized. Enter Anne Leone (previously Anne Navarre) to help Haley through her trauma and identify the killer. Someone killed Marissa Fordham, but who and why? The investigation digs up many secrets along the way, secrets that give many motive for murder.

I found this mystery to be just as intriguing as the last one – maybe even more so because I didn’t know the identity of the killer before reading it. I really wanted to learn who killed Marissa, who seemed like such a great person – loving and friendly, a great mother. I also felt for Haley, the daughter left behind by the tragedy, and hoped that she would find happiness with a family that would love her.

I liked how Hoag, once again, led me down a road of twists and turns, introducing suspects here and there, making it hard to decide who the real villain was. Marissa’s best friend is also attacked – but is her attack related to Marissa’s death or based on something else altogether? There is also a subplot including Dennis Farman, his life in the psychiatric hospital and his visits with Anne.

The returning characters are as great as always. Anne Navarre married Vince Leone between Book #1 and this one, and she has left teaching to finish her schooling in psychology and work with children.  She is still as strong willed and feisty as ever, standing her ground to protect herself and any child in her care. Vince has fully retired as an FBI profiler, but still entertains speaking engagements and consults on murder cases. The two are ready to create a family together.

Tony begins to fall for Sara Morgan, Wendy’s mother, who is finally on the verge of divorcing her cheating husband. However, while I love Tony as a detective, he did annoy me a lot in his obsession with pinning the murder on Sara’s soon-to-be ex husband, Steve, and harassing the man. As much as the guy was a jerk and a bad husband, and as much as he deserved to be punched in the face, Tony went out of his way to make this guy’s life uncomfortable with no substantial evidence. That was not okay with me. Tony, you’re better than that!  

As for new characters, I found Gina to be annoying at first, but she proves her strength when she is abducted and left for dead. Haley is just adorable, and despite my knowing where she ends up due to reading Book #3 before hand, I was still incredibly anxious for her during custody meetings. I absolutely hated Milo Bordain, the older woman of wealth who claims to be Marissa’s benefactor and substitute mother-figure. Mrs. Bordain is self-righteous and self-centered, the entire world has to stop when she commands it. She always gets what she wants, and she wants Haley even though she doesn’t know the first thing about child development. She throws her weight around or temper tantrums when she cannot get her way. I wanted to jump in the book and throttle her!

The story was paced perfectly and, once again, Hoag demonstrates her talent for leaving a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter and forcing you to read on. The only thing that bothered me was the repeated detail of the bullet lodged in Vince’s brain. We know it’s there, it doesn’t need to be shoved down our throats. Otherwise, it is another fast-paced, interesting mystery story.

Overall, the story is gripping, fast-paced and keeps the reader hooked until the final pages. Other than a few minor annoyances, the book was well-written and enjoyable.

7/10

Down the Darkest Road (2011)
Book #3

By: Tami Hoag

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

It has been four years since Leslie Lawton vanished on her way home from a softball game. Four years and not a trace of her has been found. Her mother, Lauren, while still not giving up hope that her daughter’s disappearance will one day be solved, has packed up younger daughter, Leah, and moved to Oak Knoll, California. Unfortunately, the man Lauren suspects abducted Leslie has also recently moved to town, and his sights might be set on Leah.

I really wanted to like Lauren but I just couldn’t bring myself to do so. I understand that she’s grieving both the loss of her eldest daughter and her husband, but she does have a young daughter to parent, and she’s not doing the greatest job. She doesn’t take care of herself, doesn’t eat, and drinks all the time. She’s paranoid and doesn’t let Leah go hardly anywhere – which is understandable, but hey, Leah is a teenager, let her have some time to be a kid. Also, the twist revelation about Lauren’s intentions in Oak Knoll really angered me, they could have left that part out and I would have been able to like her character a little.

I felt I could relate a bit to Leah, the youngest daughter. I know what it’s like growing up and being the good child, the one who follows all the rules and tries not to make waves; the one who tries not to burden other people with her problems because they’re suffering from the same things. I’ve been there, and it’s rough. It made me so angry that Lauren was so wrapped up in herself and her own pain that she didn’t even notice that her daughter was suffering too. Leah was living in the shadow of an older sibling who wasn’t even around anymore.

I did like the characters that are part of the ongoing series – Tony Mendez and Anne Leone. Both provided as much support and aid to Lauren as they could, especially when the creep who took Leslie begins harassing her at her home in Oak Knoll. With no proof that he was on her property, there’s nothing the police can do to help her, but Mendez looks into her case anyway, and winds up working with Detective Danni Tanner – my favorite female character out of the whole book. She’s confident, tough, quick with the wit, and has a healthy appetite. I enjoyed her immensely and hope to see her in future entries in the Oak Knoll series.

This novel does differ from Hoag’s usual style slightly because we know the identity of the killer/creep the entire time. Normally, Hoag will have the reader see a little bit of the story through the villain’s eyes, but we never know who that villain is until he or she reveals him/herself. Here, we know his identity, and we see the disgusting things he does and thinks about. He’s also incredibly frustrating because he knows that both Lauren and the police are onto him, and he plays cat-and-mouse games with them, hiding behind his rights when they try to retaliate. I wanted to reach into the book and kill him myself.

The twist toward the end caught me a little by surprise, but not entirely. The events of the climax are pretty action packed, and I’ve got to say, Hoag doesn’t let her heroines go down without a fight. These girls are fierce, even when backed into a corner, and there seems to be no way out, they still give it everything they’ve got.

Overall, this is a fun, simple read. If you don’t want the first two books in the Oak Knoll series ruined for you, I would read the series in order. This one gives away the endings to the prior two. While Lauren was a frustrating character, the rest of the colorful cast made up for it. Worth a look if you’re into mystery/thrillers with interesting plot lines and characters who won’t take things laying down.

6/10

The Diviners (2012)

Book #1 in “The Diviners Series”

By: Libba Bray

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Seventeen-year-old Evie O’Neill has been sent away to Manhattan to spend a few months with her uncle Will. Her parents consider this a punishment for her antics in town, but Evie couldn’t be more excited. She sees this as an opportunity to let loose and find herself, hoping she’ll find more people like her. She’s a free spirit, a flapper, and she has no intentions of being responsible. Yet, she soon discovers there is a killer on the loose in her city, one that has the police baffled. Aiding her uncle in his investigation of the paranormal symbols left behind by the killer, Evie realizes that she has the power to catch this villain through supernatural means – a power that could put her in more danger than the killer alone.

I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the setting – the 1920s is one of my favorite decades to read about, and Bray really brought it to life in this story. There are speakeasies, flappers and chorus girls. Prohibition is in full swing, racism is rampant, and homosexuals have to keep their sexuality a secret – only revealing themselves in underground clubs. She also gives us a glance at the butchery young, desperate women went through back then when they had abortions. (That is actually probably one of the scariest images in the novel.) She also discusses churches that supported the KKK and a movement to purify the genetics within the United States, both of which, scarily enough, actually existed.

I thought the characters were great as well. I did have a hard time dealing with Evie on occasion. Many of her decisions are selfish and can lead to trouble for others around her. (Ex: when Mabel gets arrested during a raid at a club, which could have been avoided if Evie had agreed to leave when Mabel wanted to.) As much as she claims to adore Mabel, she never really bothers to understand her, only try and change her to make her fit in. I know she means well, but it does get irritating. I also hated how much she drinks alcohol and how frequently she wants it or emphasizes how great it is. However, I loved Evie’s strength and sass. I found her very witty and enjoyed her sarcastic exchanges with Sam, Jericho and Will.

Mabel is the character I most related to, despite the fact that she never really had much of the story focused on her. She’s an introvert, a reader, shy but kind, and holds strong in her beliefs for the rights of others. She was raised to fight for workers’ rights and takes part in that movement – headed by her parents. I understood her irritation with Evie – who, in her own way, meant well in her attempts to bring Mabel out of her shell – because I know how it feels to have someone you care about try to change you.

Memphis is also a strong character. A boy who once had the power to heal, he spends his time running illegal gambling numbers, writing poetry, reading, and looking after his younger brother, Isaiah. His back story is tragic, and all he seems to have left is his little brother who he’d do anything for. It is through Memphis that Bray also explores the way interracial relationships were received back in the 1920s. His best friend warns him against the relationship – citing it as dangerous when the woman gets sick of him. She could lose her job if her boss discovered she was dating an African American. I hope this continues to be explored in future entries of the series.

Theta and Henry are also interesting characters. I liked that Theta was similarly sassy to Evie and knew how to work a crowd. She’s a free spirit, a dancer, an entertainer, but she is also running from a dark past. Henry is sweet and kind, a man that took her in when she was starving on the streets. He has a great sense of humor, and he’s also gay – which was a dangerous thing in that era. As with the interracial component, I hope this theme is also explored more in the books to come.

Lastly, we have Sam and Jericho – one a petty theif, the other a ward of the state, taken in by Evie’s uncle. Sam comes off as charming but snaky when Evie first encounters him at the train station – he picks her pocket and thus begins a battle of wits between the two. Eventually he comes to work for Evie’s uncle, becoming a perpetual pain to Evie, but also a great source of aid in the case. I am also very interested in his past and his quest to crack open “Operation Buffalo.” I want to know what happened to his mother just as badly as he does. Jericho is interesting just because of his history. He is the strong silent type, only speaking when he feels it is important, but still offering much insight on the case at hand.

I also found the villain to be intriguing. I liked that, similar to Freddy Krueger,  he had a creepy rhyme that followed his legend. I also found the mythology surrounding him creepy but believable. A supernatural killer, sacrifices, and the apocalypse? That kind of story is right up my alley! The fact that he had a crazed cult following only aided in the creep-factor for me. I’m wondering if the Brethren will reappear in later entries. They are an interesting group – I would like to see more of them.

The novel was both very suspenseful and a fast read. When I had the time to read, I’d run through four or five chapters at a time. Despite the fact that I didn’t always agree with Evie’s decisions, I did worry for her when she began investigating on her own. I did worry about who might be next, and there were many twists and turns I didn’t see coming.

There was only one other thing, aside from some of Evie’s characteristics, that I didn’t like about the novel. I didn’t like that Bray was descriptive about animal sacrifices, especially when she avoided describing the death scenes of the murder victims at all. If one could be avoided, why not the other? If one is graphic, why must we cover up the other? It didn’t make sense to me. I don’t like animal deaths in general, but I can understand them being described if the human deaths are also done that way. If not, I don’t see why we have to read such details. It just doesn’t seem necessary to me.

Overall, this was a fun, suspenseful read with realistic, interesting characters who may not always be likable, but do develop as the story progresses. The villain and his followers are creepy and the story is very engaging. Recommended.

8/10

In the Deep Woods (1989)

By: Nicholas Conde

Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

Children’s book author and illustrator, Carol Warren, never expected something like this could happen to her. She’d lived a normal life filled with good friends and family as well as success as an author. Everything changes when her best friend is found brutally murdered and Carol becomes involved in the investigation. At first she just wants answers about who killed her friend, but once she realizes someone she loves is a suspect, she will do whatever it takes to prove his innocence, even if it risks her own life.

The first thing I liked about this book is the heroine, Carol. Most books in this vein are focused on getting the heroine to fall for some hunky man working with her on the case and spawning an erotic romance as a side story, but that isn’t the case here. In fact, while Carol may date a few men in the novel, she’s not in the market for romance, and, actually, finds it very hard to get in the mood for it due to the dreadful crimes committed in the case. That is something that makes a lot more sense to me. Carol is also successful and independent, only relying on herself, and she has a great deal of self-respect and loyalty to her friends and family. However, this loyalty could also blind her to what is going on around her.

I also liked the fact that she had her own worries outside of the mystery, such as her father’s failing health and the fact that she’ll probably have to put him in a nursing home. She and her brother discuss it and wonder if it’s the right thing to do – and it’s very hard for Carol to imagine being ripped from her home in her final years. She has a very kind heart, loving deeply and honestly those who are close to her, and I felt for her in making that decision.

I thought the story was very suspenseful, and I whipped right through the novel because I needed to know what happened next. Is the killer who the police believe it to be, or is it an elaborate frame job? Was Carol really in danger of becoming the killer’s next target?

I also liked the scenes from the killer’s point of view and how he was styled. He is definitely creepy, especially in the point-of-view scene where he has his victim tied up in the woods and prepares to torture her. He reminds me a lot of Ted Bundy – how he uses the ruse of being somehow handicapped in order to gain the sympathy and trust of a would-be victim, and then gets the better of them. Also, his final act of murder as he begins to lose control toward the end of the novel is an obvious nod to the murders of nursing students committed by Richard Speck in the 1960s. The Green River Killer is mentioned in comparison to the killer in this novel, but I feel that there aren’t many similarities, aside from where the bodies are found.

I liked how the book dealt with the idea that a family member or friend that you’ve known your entire life could turn out to be a serial killer. Carol has to deal with the fact that the police believe her brother is the Deep Woods Killer, and another character reveals that they have a family member guilty of such atrocities. Even having someone in your family suspected of such crimes can do a number on the rest of the family, and of course, the suspect themselves – as despite the saying, “innocent until proven guilty,” in the public eye, it’s often guilty until proven innocent.

I’m not sure how I feel about the character of Paul Miller. He goes to elaborate lengths to disguise his true self and true intentions from Carol, despite asking her to trust and help him in his investigation. I can’t describe such over-the-top instances of this without giving away spoilers, but I can say that it is hard to accept that someone would go that far to keep up a façade. These actions felt like they belonged in some espionage thriller, not a murder mystery. Also, it was because of his constant lies that I couldn’t bring myself to like him by the end of the novel. I found myself falling for his lies along with Carol, so I felt equally betrayed when I would find out he was just spinning another web of deception.

The other thing I didn’t really like was the ending – I found it rather anti-climactic. I wanted a dramatic show-down between Carol and the killer, and instead it is over in an instant. I felt a bit let down after all of that built-up tension and hours of reading.

Overall, it’s definitely a great read and I recommend it for mystery buffs. It’s very suspenseful and keeps you guessing until the final few chapters, and even then, I was hoping there would be some twist and it would turn out to be someone else. Still, it was a well-written mystery that kept my attention, and I would probably read it again.

7.5/10