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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
When Philo Drax goes to care for her aging grandfather, she quickly winds up accused of his murder...
Michael McDowell is one of my favorite horror writers from the last forty-something years. My wife got this for me sometime after our son was born and I managed to find time to read it over the past couple weeks.
Written in a style reminiscent of his work on Blackwater, Katie isn't a horror novel as much as suspense with a heaping helping of tragedy porn. Every time things seem to be going her way, her cousin Katie and her parents, the Slapes, show up like a zit on school picture day. Philo loses what money she has and has relatives and friends murdered every time her paths cross with the Slapes, especially the hammer wielding fortune teller Katie.
The book is written in short chapters with frequent reversals of fortune, making it hard to put down but not without a sense of mounting dread. There were several parts when things were brightening up for Philo that I felt myself bracing for the eventual kick in the balls.
I thought it would be akin to a religious experience when the bad guys met their fates. While not that powerful, it was quite satisfying.
While Katie wasn't my favorite Michael McDowell book, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Four out of five stars.
Michael McDowell is one of my favorite horror writers from the last forty-something years. My wife got this for me sometime after our son was born and I managed to find time to read it over the past couple weeks.
Written in a style reminiscent of his work on Blackwater, Katie isn't a horror novel as much as suspense with a heaping helping of tragedy porn. Every time things seem to be going her way, her cousin Katie and her parents, the Slapes, show up like a zit on school picture day. Philo loses what money she has and has relatives and friends murdered every time her paths cross with the Slapes, especially the hammer wielding fortune teller Katie.
The book is written in short chapters with frequent reversals of fortune, making it hard to put down but not without a sense of mounting dread. There were several parts when things were brightening up for Philo that I felt myself bracing for the eventual kick in the balls.
I thought it would be akin to a religious experience when the bad guys met their fates. While not that powerful, it was quite satisfying.
While Katie wasn't my favorite Michael McDowell book, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Four out of five stars.
McDowell is a master at pacing and setting up absolute and complete dread about what will happen next.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is why I read horror! I was ordering a physical copy before I even finished because I loved this and she deserves to go on my female killer shelf. It was extremely gripping, I felt so much for Philo, and Katie is one of the most memorable villains I've read in a while. There is a major trigger for animal cruelty, it happens within the first few pages so its a very shocking start. Wish I could say that was the only time, but nope. So just be warned! This is my second McDowell book (after The Elementals) and I really wish I had started with this one.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
dark
tense
fast-paced