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happilyfluffy's review
5.0
Loved it
J. D. Barker is quickly becoming my favorite author. I couldn't put this book down. All of his books have been like that for me. Can't read them fast enough.
J. D. Barker is quickly becoming my favorite author. I couldn't put this book down. All of his books have been like that for me. Can't read them fast enough.
sarahs_bookish_life's review against another edition
5.0
I grew up reading horror novels by the likes of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and James Herbert, to name but a few. J.D Barker deserves to have his name up there with them.
A horror book that grips you from the start. I actually recommend if your brave enough to read this on a night time in a dark room as for me, reading this on my kindle in my bedroom with no lights on made the story really come to life.
The McAlister family are strong characters though I felt more drawn to Rachael the mother and Ashley the daughter. The story weaves between an old journal from years ago to present day and the horrors that are starting to unravel from the horror books that Thad McAlister has written.
The author does a wonderful job of describing the horrors that the family have to face and in parts you almost feel as if you are part of the book experiencing the sights and smells that the characters are experiencing.
This book is certainly not for the faint hearted and any thrill/scare seekers certainly won't be disappointed!
This is the first book I have read by J.D.Barker and I will certainly be reading more.
A horror book that grips you from the start. I actually recommend if your brave enough to read this on a night time in a dark room as for me, reading this on my kindle in my bedroom with no lights on made the story really come to life.
The McAlister family are strong characters though I felt more drawn to Rachael the mother and Ashley the daughter. The story weaves between an old journal from years ago to present day and the horrors that are starting to unravel from the horror books that Thad McAlister has written.
The author does a wonderful job of describing the horrors that the family have to face and in parts you almost feel as if you are part of the book experiencing the sights and smells that the characters are experiencing.
This book is certainly not for the faint hearted and any thrill/scare seekers certainly won't be disappointed!
This is the first book I have read by J.D.Barker and I will certainly be reading more.
jonetta's review against another edition
4.0
New deputy sheriff Bentley Jamison has to tell prickly sheep rancher Maddie Connor that one of her ranch hands is missing. Unfortunately, it's her shepherd who took the entire flock into the mountains to graze. When she and Bentley go searching them, things get dicey and dangerous. Meanwhile, Sheriff Frank Curry's ex-wife takes things to a new low while Nettie Benton, growing weary of waiting on him, has her head turned when former bad boy J. D. West comes back to town.
I had a hard time putting this book down as there were three interesting storylines in play and I knew they had to converge at some point. I was baffled by Maddie and Bentley's challenge and Frank's issues were just frustrating. This was the best story to date and while I figured out most of the mystery, I wasn't able to solve it all.
Graham Winton does a great job with the narration, providing the proper regional accents expected and "telling" instead of reading the story. I'm not crazy about his female voices (they can sound a bit shrewish at times) but that didn't interfere with my level of enjoyment.
It was a nice change to have more mature main characters, making the romance just lovely. Their kind regard for each other was refreshing. I loved that part of the mystery is still open (not a cliffhanger) and I can't wait to listen to the next book.
(I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)
I had a hard time putting this book down as there were three interesting storylines in play and I knew they had to converge at some point. I was baffled by Maddie and Bentley's challenge and Frank's issues were just frustrating. This was the best story to date and while I figured out most of the mystery, I wasn't able to solve it all.
Graham Winton does a great job with the narration, providing the proper regional accents expected and "telling" instead of reading the story. I'm not crazy about his female voices (they can sound a bit shrewish at times) but that didn't interfere with my level of enjoyment.
It was a nice change to have more mature main characters, making the romance just lovely. Their kind regard for each other was refreshing. I loved that part of the mystery is still open (not a cliffhanger) and I can't wait to listen to the next book.
(I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)
michelle87's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
paperbackstash's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a long time since I've read a witch-themed horror book - I recognize some of the ideas used in this one, with a few of them being new. There was something familiar about it, almost like the characters themselves were haunted by something they recognized in the back of their minds. The book goes back and forth through brief experts in the novel of something that happened back in the day with the original witch trials, to the current day where an innocent family now has to pay the price for their success.
The book reads quickly, the chapters driven by scenes told through the points of view of a small scattering of characters. Pace is consistent, where there isn't much down time to grow bored. The author has some genuinely creepy scenes, especially with the strange minions and the dirt that keeps trapping the family inside the house. I tried practicing a clickity-click-click noise with my own fingernails - how annoying that would grow.
While the story works for being an old-fashioned witch focused horror tale, with a small surprise or two, it didn't live up to my expectations with characterization. I found the page players one-dimensional and predictable, down to some of the dialogue, especially from Dell toward the end. Enough of the story is too familiar, with the characters being a little light, and some of the predictable cheesiness like seduction in the basket, that I settled on a three star rating.
It's worth a read, especially for horror fans who dig this kind of thing.
The book reads quickly, the chapters driven by scenes told through the points of view of a small scattering of characters. Pace is consistent, where there isn't much down time to grow bored. The author has some genuinely creepy scenes, especially with the strange minions and the dirt that keeps trapping the family inside the house. I tried practicing a clickity-click-click noise with my own fingernails - how annoying that would grow.
While the story works for being an old-fashioned witch focused horror tale, with a small surprise or two, it didn't live up to my expectations with characterization. I found the page players one-dimensional and predictable, down to some of the dialogue, especially from Dell toward the end. Enough of the story is too familiar, with the characters being a little light, and some of the predictable cheesiness like seduction in the basket, that I settled on a three star rating.
It's worth a read, especially for horror fans who dig this kind of thing.
lmkensmoe's review
5.0
Great find
Did not think I would like a book that was about a witch but I really enjoyed this book. Was hard to put down and anxious for the next book. If you like suspense get this book.
Did not think I would like a book that was about a witch but I really enjoyed this book. Was hard to put down and anxious for the next book. If you like suspense get this book.
trevert's review against another edition
2.0
Sadly, got to give this one a pretty general "Meh". It was something of a pastiche of "In the Mouth of Madness" and old TV movie "Don't be afraid of the dark" with its little killer gnomes, but I never found myself connecting with the characters. They pretty much functioned as plot pieces to move the story forward, without a real feeling of being actual people, at least to me, alas. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good either.