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A review by dnemec
The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz
4.0
Ben Shadeland and Eddie Blaze are a great team. They’ve made a name for themselves creating music for movies and are highly in demand. But Ben is in a slump since his wife left him and took their son, Joshua. He can’t seem to write a note. Eddie is desperate to get Ben writing again, as there is a deadline looming for an upcoming horror movie, House of Skin. In the past, Eddie has taken Ben to spooky places to inspire him, and he has an idea for a great place that would definitely put Ben back on his game.
Chris Blackwood is also having a rough time. After watching the Warriors loose, Chris realizes he is up to nearly $500,000 owed to his bookie. Desperate to repay the money and not ask his father for help, he rents the family island, The Sorrows, to Eddie. Chris hopes the infusion of funds will get his bookie off his back for the time-being until he figures out how to get the rest of the money. Eddie hopes the island will inspire Ben to finish the score for the movie. Not only is Castle Blackwood, the only home that stands on the island, an eerie place, but there is also a locked tower, a pit, and an intriguing unsolved mystery. It also has a recording studio from the island’s original owner and Chris’s ancestor, Robert Blackwood.
Ben, Eddie, Claire (a young promising composer) and Eva (the movie director’s assistant) fly to the island, where they will be left for a month, no less. While there are plenty of provisions for the group, there are no means of communication. No cell phone coverage, no internet, nothing. They are stuck, for better or for worse.
There is some bad history on the island from the original owner’s days, relayed to the reader through the journals of a former caretaker that is peppered through the story. Chris had a horrible experience as boy in the castle. There were also a bunch of academics that visited in the late 1970s and met with an unhappy ending.
This is much more than a haunted house story. The story was enjoyable with plenty of atmosphere and weirdness. Almost as soon as the group arrives on the island, strange things began happening. My only complaint is the end. I could have done without some of that. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s read, but as we closed in on the climax, something occurred. Then something else occurred, at which point I was like – really?! Aren’t we done yet? And then something else went wrong. At that point, I was just wanted to finish the damn book already. Overall though, I really enjoyed the book. The end just soured things for me a bit.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This is it!
Chris Blackwood is also having a rough time. After watching the Warriors loose, Chris realizes he is up to nearly $500,000 owed to his bookie. Desperate to repay the money and not ask his father for help, he rents the family island, The Sorrows, to Eddie. Chris hopes the infusion of funds will get his bookie off his back for the time-being until he figures out how to get the rest of the money. Eddie hopes the island will inspire Ben to finish the score for the movie. Not only is Castle Blackwood, the only home that stands on the island, an eerie place, but there is also a locked tower, a pit, and an intriguing unsolved mystery. It also has a recording studio from the island’s original owner and Chris’s ancestor, Robert Blackwood.
Ben, Eddie, Claire (a young promising composer) and Eva (the movie director’s assistant) fly to the island, where they will be left for a month, no less. While there are plenty of provisions for the group, there are no means of communication. No cell phone coverage, no internet, nothing. They are stuck, for better or for worse.
There is some bad history on the island from the original owner’s days, relayed to the reader through the journals of a former caretaker that is peppered through the story. Chris had a horrible experience as boy in the castle. There were also a bunch of academics that visited in the late 1970s and met with an unhappy ending.
This is much more than a haunted house story. The story was enjoyable with plenty of atmosphere and weirdness. Almost as soon as the group arrives on the island, strange things began happening. My only complaint is the end. I could have done without some of that. I don’t want to spoil anyone’s read, but as we closed in on the climax, something occurred. Then something else occurred, at which point I was like – really?! Aren’t we done yet? And then something else went wrong. At that point, I was just wanted to finish the damn book already. Overall though, I really enjoyed the book. The end just soured things for me a bit.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This is it!