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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
While I appreciated parts of Ahlborn's writing, this didn't hold a lot of water for me. I found the cult amalgam too glaring (incredibly obvious Jim Jones and Charles Manson parallels, even to calling Halcomb's "cult" a "family") and it made me bored...I didn't see a lot of evidence that this actually WAS a cult, rather than just a group of people who were all hanging out around one "mysteriously charismatic" guy. There was never a detailing of the cult beliefs, or even a hint really, and the idea that Halcomb's charisma induced Graham to live in the house was laughable. The fact that Graham got hung up on that just seemed like willful delusion on his part. Some stuff just...nah. Didn't work for me.
I dithered a lot about the rating. I would of rated it one star but I think the book failed mostly from lack of editing and a better plan before the author started writing it. The book is rather simple for 370 pages, then it becomes peculiar. It is as uncomplicated as it is unsatisfying. There's no challenge. Reads like a very pale version of a Paul Tremblay novel.
When I started reading it and took my time to really scrutinize word selection it felt like something I could of written. I don't know if that gives me hope or depresses me. The book is rather dull. The opening premise is goofy and unbelievable.
The repetition of words and phrases made me bonkers. I read the book in about five days, so maybe if I'd taken my time it wouldn't bother me so much. Sometimes there were blocks of the same word dropped in a few chapters, sometimes it was smeared through the whole thing. It felt amateur to me. Some examples -
Cracked (a smile). Coiled arms. The first hundred pages featured constant eyebrow furrowing. Shot was used mercilessly in this book, and could be applied to looks, expressions, hands. For a book with no guns, a lot of things got shot. Murmuring. Squinting. Canted. Derailed. Tip of the tongue. Smirk. At the end the characters were 'cemented in place' an awful lot. It felt like lazy or perhaps uninspired word selection.
The language used to describe movement was mind-boggling. 'Shoving hands through hair' happened all the time and seemed too forceful to me. People 'rose out of their seat' but why say it like that (repeatedly)? Perhaps the worst was when the trend of 'lifted his shoulders to shrug' started popping up like dandelions. Why describe what a shrug is, just say he shrugged and get on with it. I didn't even mind the string of odd one shouldered shrugs as much, which leads to my next point...
The author employed a very narrow margin of human behaviours to the characters. All the nervous ones chewed their nails. Some dialogue and tics were echoed in other characters and I can't understand why that happened.
Most of the characters are desperately unlikeable. The main characters are selfish, tempestuous, damaged but not really relatable. Author tried too hard to make the characters flawed and relatable, but the excessive repetition of traits and past behaviour became annoying. The overwhelming anxiety of the characters put me off more than it made them sympathetic. I never understood why the main character is a true crime writer, he's positively miserable at it and about it.
The main villain and his posse were flat like cardboard cut-outs. There was a genuine opportunity to work with fewer characters and make them shine, alas, that's not what happened. I was bummed out by the lack of neat stand-out characters, like Uncle Mark, who was a footnote at best. Even the town remained largely un-described and untouched.
Book could have easily been 150 pages slimmer and tighter. Omitting the same thought conversations of 'my wife doesn't want me' 'am I doing the wrong thing' 'will they ever love me' 'maybe we should move out' 'maybe we should stay here' 'maybe we should move out' 'PLEASE LOVE ME' was tedious. There's inner turmoil and conflicting thoughts, but then there's beating a dead horse.
I have very little to comment on the general plot of the novel.
I think this review sounds a little more harsh than I'd intended it to be. This is my first experience with the author and I do have another book of hers on deck. I'll probably start reading it tomorrow. I genuinely hope I enjoy it more. I wouldn't of bought them if I hadn't been intrigued by the premise and the promise of a cracking good horror story. If anyone thinks my review is too harsh or requires clarification (or, gawd help me, justification, gimme a shout.
PS - I am not a doctor, but on page 203 Chloe's mother is said to have perished from sclerosis of the liver. Perhaps the author meant cirrhosis of the liver?
PSS - main character realizes a week is missing and he can't figure out how that happened. Daughter kind of feels like that happened to her too. What's the point of the author having a four week deadline to meet the back guy if it takes two weeks to move and one week just up and disappears?
When I started reading it and took my time to really scrutinize word selection it felt like something I could of written. I don't know if that gives me hope or depresses me. The book is rather dull. The opening premise is goofy and unbelievable.
The repetition of words and phrases made me bonkers. I read the book in about five days, so maybe if I'd taken my time it wouldn't bother me so much. Sometimes there were blocks of the same word dropped in a few chapters, sometimes it was smeared through the whole thing. It felt amateur to me. Some examples -
Cracked (a smile). Coiled arms. The first hundred pages featured constant eyebrow furrowing. Shot was used mercilessly in this book, and could be applied to looks, expressions, hands. For a book with no guns, a lot of things got shot. Murmuring. Squinting. Canted. Derailed. Tip of the tongue. Smirk. At the end the characters were 'cemented in place' an awful lot. It felt like lazy or perhaps uninspired word selection.
The language used to describe movement was mind-boggling. 'Shoving hands through hair' happened all the time and seemed too forceful to me. People 'rose out of their seat' but why say it like that (repeatedly)? Perhaps the worst was when the trend of 'lifted his shoulders to shrug' started popping up like dandelions. Why describe what a shrug is, just say he shrugged and get on with it. I didn't even mind the string of odd one shouldered shrugs as much, which leads to my next point...
The author employed a very narrow margin of human behaviours to the characters. All the nervous ones chewed their nails. Some dialogue and tics were echoed in other characters and I can't understand why that happened.
Most of the characters are desperately unlikeable. The main characters are selfish, tempestuous, damaged but not really relatable. Author tried too hard to make the characters flawed and relatable, but the excessive repetition of traits and past behaviour became annoying. The overwhelming anxiety of the characters put me off more than it made them sympathetic. I never understood why the main character is a true crime writer, he's positively miserable at it and about it.
The main villain and his posse were flat like cardboard cut-outs. There was a genuine opportunity to work with fewer characters and make them shine, alas, that's not what happened. I was bummed out by the lack of neat stand-out characters, like Uncle Mark, who was a footnote at best. Even the town remained largely un-described and untouched.
Book could have easily been 150 pages slimmer and tighter. Omitting the same thought conversations of 'my wife doesn't want me' 'am I doing the wrong thing' 'will they ever love me' 'maybe we should move out' 'maybe we should stay here' 'maybe we should move out' 'PLEASE LOVE ME' was tedious. There's inner turmoil and conflicting thoughts, but then there's beating a dead horse.
I have very little to comment on the general plot of the novel.
I think this review sounds a little more harsh than I'd intended it to be. This is my first experience with the author and I do have another book of hers on deck. I'll probably start reading it tomorrow. I genuinely hope I enjoy it more. I wouldn't of bought them if I hadn't been intrigued by the premise and the promise of a cracking good horror story. If anyone thinks my review is too harsh or requires clarification (or, gawd help me, justification, gimme a shout.
PS - I am not a doctor, but on page 203 Chloe's mother is said to have perished from sclerosis of the liver. Perhaps the author meant cirrhosis of the liver?
PSS - main character realizes a week is missing and he can't figure out how that happened. Daughter kind of feels like that happened to her too. What's the point of the author having a four week deadline to meet the back guy if it takes two weeks to move and one week just up and disappears?
I love the idea of this book. But unfortunately it just went on for too long and was too repetitive for my liking. Also the plot was too predictable in my opinion. Creepy moments were few and far between and didn’t really succeed in giving me the creeps.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Great read
A really fascinating read for me. I was close to giving out 5 stars but I am left with a couple questions unanswered at the end and it bothered me that V seemed way older than her stated 12 years old. Other than those things, I quite enjoyed this story—with its past and present timelines—and was swept up in the drama of the cult.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes