Scary? No. Bestseller? Yes, but why!!??
353243
I cannot believe this book was a bestseller! Or maybe I can. The latest trend in publishing seems to be, to be as lazy as possible and just jump on whatever plot or genre that last made it to a Bestsellers list and clone it until it becomes hackneyed. It seems the latest wagon is "Gone Girl". I'm already tired of the very predictable, supposedly new 'female psycho' genre. (In reality, mystery and romance novels have had the sociopath female bad guy for years).
I hate to give bad reviews and it's certainly not the authors fault that this is the trend, but although the book was excellently paced, the characters were flat, stereotypes -almost silly.  One of them, the needy, desperate and easily manipulated friend, was directly borrowed from Gone Girl. The others were easily recognizable from other books, TV shows, movies, and, yes, cartoons (think Scooby-Doo, as another reviewer suggested).
This might be a good book for a bit of a thrill if you don't read much and aren't familiar with the usual plots and suspects. Or, if you are such a huge Gillian Flynn fan, any book that has the slightest resemblance to Gone Girl will tickle your fancy. If you are wondering, I do like Flynn but thought Gone Girl was her least well-done book.
However, its promoted as very scary when it isn't the least bit scary. Not a single iota of scary in it. So if you are looking for frightening you will have to look elsewhere.
And what is up with the endorsement from Reese Witherspoon on the cover? This book was a gift. If I had seen it in the store with that strange endorsement on it, alarm bells would have started going off and I would have given it a miss.
The worst part of this honestly, was that NPR lauded this book. I cant imagine why NPR named this a Best Book of the Year. In the future, I will be highly suspicious of books they recommend. I can understand why this book might be popular, but well-regarded and recommended: no.
1534846
I don't get all they hype about this book!

We read it for the first (and last) time last night and it ended up scaring my children.  They have never been scared of Monsters, but last night they sure were!
3456425
I own a small bookstore, the author (or someone saying he was him) just called. First he asked "Have you heard of my book ___ yet?" Yeah, right. Like it's something anyone would have heard of. I'm naturally suspicious and this seemed weird right away. He's in another state from me, calling from a private number, asking if I could order some of his books for some friends that live here who wanted to see it. After asking questions and being obviously skeptical, I told him that since the book (expensive) was not remotely related to my store's line, if his friends wanted it, I'd be glad to order it if they came in and prepaid. But, overall it seemed very fishy and I didn't think I wanted to deal with the transaction. At first I assumed either it was someone trying credit card fraud, or someone who just needed some of their books bought from the book distributor and thought they could con me into buying them for his "friends". Anyway, then he launches into his pitch about whatever program he's trying to hawk...so I hung up.

Fishy, fishy, fishy!! Stay away!!
1020545
I really, really wish I had known what I was getting into when I started this book.

I thought it was just a typical paranormal romance/urban fantasy book, based on the descriptions of it I had read. In hindsight, I probably should have attached more significance to the title.

I don't get disturbed easily. I've read true crime stories about serial killers, hundreds of murder mysteries, sat through all of the Hellraiser movies...I never batted an eyelash. But not even halfway through this book, I was writing to my husband, begging him to make the book stop. His advice was to stop reading, which I just can't do.

Now, I'll grant it that a lot of the book's horror comes from a personal phobia of mine. I won't mention which part of it had me uncomfortably squirming. However, there's plenty of creepy thrown in there to scare everyone. Sociopaths kidnapping children in the woods, the underground, the circus paraphernalia, clowns, the monster snake trying to eat everybody, the feeling of being locked up when you have no hope of escape or rescue...the book's got it covered.

The way the book transitioned from the beginning to the actual plot was wonderful. As it opens, you fall safely into the assumption that this is a paranormal murder mystery, with a heavily romance-influenced plot. It strings you along, letting you believe that the book's purpose is all about finding Aisha. Then, when you're least expecting it...BAM! You get thrown into the REAL story.

Not a lot of information is given out in this book, and the bits of story you *do* get are slow in coming. But the overall atmosphere of the book is so disturbing, it sort of slips your mind that you still don't have any answers about what exactly is going on.

The book ended in a cliffhanger I saw coming miles away (not what happened, but the fact that the book would go out in a cliffhanger), but it didn't feel very open ended, or leave me screaming in frustration. It could easily have been a standalone novel - albeit, one with an ending that leaves you with more questions than answers.

(Follow my book reviews at: [...]
3957764
In December, a local store teased me with constant coupons. And I gave in. Each. And. Every. Time. This is one book I picked up.
If you had the opportunity to spend a whole week with a deceased love one, would you take it? No matter what? This book is SCARY! Afraid to close your eyes at night, scary. Afraid to close-your-eyes-in-the-shower-to-wash-your-face, scary. If you're in the mood to be scared, read it!
4141094
I haven't read a ghost story in a very long time.  I cannot remember if a fellow blogger reviewed this or if I just picked it up at Barnes and Noble because of the awesome, creeptastic cover.

I have been on a search for a "super scary" book.  I mean really " super scary", I just haven't found it yet.  This one comes pretty darn close though.  It was definitely creepy, and I did find myself shutting the book once in a while because I was a little freaked out.  So on the scary spectrum this one was scary, just not "super" scary ;).

I am still in love with vampires.  I know most of the world is sick of hearing about them, but I don't think I ever will be.  I think the thing that drew me in besides the awesome cover was the name Helsing.  I knew it had to be along the lines of Van Helsing...well it's the same family ;).

Micheline and her crew decide to go on a call about an entity causing an uproar and death in a local hospital.  Micheline can see ghosts better than anyone on her team.  She decides she and her crew should go in and contain the entity.  She can capture ghosts with the light from her camera.  She steals their energy and stores it in the film.  I thought this was an interesting take on capturing ghosts.  As, I read more I totally got how it would work.  Except with this particular ghost.

While trying to capture it Micheline and her team get "infected" by the ghost with a soulchain.  It grows in their bodies and can kill them.  They have between 4 and 7 days to find the entity and get rid of the soulchain before it kills them all.

This book was exciting.  I was on the edge of my seat most of the time, and like I mentioned above, there were a few times I had to shut the book and read a "happy" book for a while.  Usually because I was reading at night in the dark with just my reading light.  Ya, it was creepy.  I don't know why ghosts are so scary to me, but they are.  Maybe because of the "who knows" factor.  Or "what if" it could really happen???!

Micheline's father is the owner and operator of the Helsing Corp.  He is not the kindest person on the planet.  After loosing his wife he emotionally left the family.  Micheline know's she is defying her fathers orders when she sneaks out to find the entity.  She knows she can capture it and now her life hangs in the balance.

There are some sweet twists and turns in this book, and I really enjoyed it.  I wish I could be one of those readers that could predict what was going to happen, but I am not.  Maybe my mind just automatically goes the opposite way...hehe.  It's very easy to distract me from what is going to happen.  I guess that's why the twists and turns were so great.  I didn't see them coming.

I was so excited to finally get a book that scared me a little.  I know, sounds weird.  I love reading sappy love stories, but sometimes I just need some more excitement in my life ;).  Even if it's in the lines of a book.  That makes it even sweeter.  I wouldn't want that in "real" life...heheh

If you like ghost stories, this is a great one.  It's exciting, fast moving, and very well written :).
4824683
I have read most Rebecca Forster books and have not been let down yet! Quick-paced, most are those 'page turners' that make you want to stay up all night reading.  I saw a one-star rating on this book (????? - wow), saying the characters were shallow.  I beg to differ.  Bill Hamilton, the antagonist in this story, is one of the scariest men I've ever seen described.  Scary because these sociopaths walk among us.  Rebecca Forster is a top-notch author in my estimation.

The ONLY objection I have to her books (or most other e-books) is editing - filled with misspellings, punctuation errors and the like.  These mistakes actually stop the reader's focus forcing them to re-read a word, sentence and even paragraph multiple times to understand the author's thought.  (BIG difference between "heroin" and "heroine", for example.)
1974880
My friend gave me this book to read before seeing the movie (movie was actually very good!) telling me, "I dare you not to scream and chuck the book across the room at least once while your reading it! "  Well, I didn't live up to her dare, close though!  The book in itself has  some really funny moments (I know some people think the  clothing/wallet/resturant parts are boring, I thought they were  hysterical).  It then does a complete 180 around page 150 and turns to full  throttle disturbing horror.  I was scared out of my mind in the day it took  me to read this.  I was thoroughly disturbed when I finished the book  and quickly wanted it out of my sight.  More power to people who can read  this one twice, I myself cannot.  I will never look at anyone in an Armani  suit with a firm handshake the same way again!
4409889
Horribly scary for my 7 year old.  I find this book completely inappropriate for an elementary-aged child.  I believe this is the first review I have ever written, and I write it because I felt the obligation to warn people not to waste their money.  I was so shocked that this book currently receives an average of 4 1/2 stars.  Even if you don't mind the scary words and illustrations,  the story had no coherent plot.  It has a cute cover that pulled me in, but boy was I mistaken.  Here are a few words from this book:  horrible sound, dozens of ogres, monkey battalion,  screeches and roars, stampeding, pursued by enraged dinosaurs, poltergeist army, smoky wolves that watch me while I sleep (referring to clouds), prowl, spooky sort of shadow, dancing weirdly, creepy, eerie, mouth is full of needles, destroy me, I'm afraid I may be eaten head and all,
The list goes on and on, but I think my point has been demonstrated.
1065141
I'm not particularly interested in Tom Cruise. I bought the book because people are too frightened to publish it in Australia (where I live), or to sell it. That was enough reason for me to go out and buy it. Has it been worth it? ABSOLUTELY. This book should be compulsory reading. The thing I find the most frightening (and this applies to many belief systems - not just Tom Cruise's one) is that anyone who doesn't belong, is not regarded as  worthy. The inability to recognise another person's humanity is not only disastrous - it's insane. Scary stuff.
33715
I think I will make it a yearly thing to read one Stephen King book around Halloween. Whos better at presenting a scary book than Stephen King? No one I can think of.

This year I read his first published book, Carrie which I found creepy, but not the kind of scary that keeps you up at night (like how Salems Lot was when I read that last year). I still found the novel enjoyable and found it a worthy debut. Its hard to imagine that Stephen King has been writing for 40 years! And he is still churning out good stuff even after this long (at least that is what my friends say who have read a lot more of his books, especially the more recent stuff).

Anyways, back to Carrie, creepy, yes, definitely, and well worth the time spent reading it. You really feel bad for Carries character. Poor thing! If anyone out there was treated the same way as she, would you find her later actions justifiable? A question I pondered even after finishing the book. Now I badly want to see the movie, the original one that is, with Sissy Spacek.
3546330
I picked up this book because it supposedly scared the hell out of Stephen King - which I find hard to believe because it didn't scare me. It was disturbing and left you thinking long after finishing the book, but I didn't find it "scary" per se. I would and have already recommended this book to others. It's definitely worth reading!!
4906728
This book is scary as H*^LL!! It will have you dropping the blinds and double checking the doors before bed! The worse part is there are probably people out there in this world that are this wicked! I loved this book so much,now reading the prequel and it is just as scary,,KEEP THEM COMING!!!!
675018
All the books by R.L. is (I can tell) done quickly and after each chapter, there is always a I gasped,or I screamed, whatever. It is not that scary and all there is is fun. The books are fun to read but not scary. Not by a little. Don't get me wrong here. I mean, he wrote a lot of Goosebumps~!
4224402
I was terrified of just about everything after reading this book.  Even the great Stephen King writes similarly to Lovecraft!  Oh, and speaking of King, with that story "Crouch End"... YIKES!  If you want to read  this Stephen King story, it is now in Nightmares & Dreamscapes.  Sweet  dreams...
1773195
It was a good story in that it pulled me in and read the book very quickly. But there was a lot of weird stuff going on that the author just kind of glazed over quickly without any explanation that left me saying, "wait - wtf?"

Spoiler Alert

Things like...Kate's mother's affair with a teenager, Opal's problem of "just taking things," Kate's compulsive lying, even at the age of 41, the ghost hauntings, Kate's mother being possessed and why oh why was the bus driver possessed? Where did that even come from? It happened, and then it was not talked about or discussed AT ALL.

My biggest problem with the story was its construction. I didn't mind the jump back and forth from past to present, but everything just happened so neatly and conveniently. it was almost like the author would come up with an idea and write abuot it in the past (example: Raven, "I was raped by Del's Dad.") Then, she would realize that this idea doesnt fit in anywhere, and then  would come up with a backstory (example: Nicky, "I knew what was happeneing to Del at night.") I felt like this happened over and over again. The big murderer reveal at the end was just too neat and clean. Mother-possessed-by-long-dead-murdered-girl comes and finds Kate, tells her to "hurry! there isn't much time!" kate follows, runs into the woods, and oh no! runs right into the killer, setting up to murder opal. And wait! Nicky shows up too! Kate pulls the trigger - thankfully she had all of those BB gun lessons 30 years ago because she kills him with one bullet! She hits him right in the bullseye. Possessed-mother turns and talks like Del, "I guess we're even" and poof! The ghost is gone.

This was chick lit disguised as a mystery-ghost-story. Its a shame because the idea was a good one, and could have been spookier if it were written better.
746332
This is what started it all, my infatuation with Ms. Jensen's books.  I bought this 384 paged book at a used book store, not expecting much from it.  I automatically assumed that it was another piece of "fluffy" summer reading.  What I got instead ws a fantastic horror novel, filled with really creapy images!  This was one of those rare books that actually had me too freaked-out to turn to the next page!
The story centers around two sisters, Jodi and Amy, whos mother sends them to live with her ex-husband for the summer.  The two sisters arrive at the airport with mixed feelings about meeting their dad whom they've never seen before.  Little did they know that they would be spending their summer with a traveling carnival!  Yes, their father decided to join a carnival.
At first, the carnival seemed friendly.  A place filled with interesting charactors and fun rides.  Especially the House of Mirrors, the sideshow attraction that holds more than what you see on the surface.
Then the first body is found, crumpled into an unrecognizable mass of blood and bones.  Then the truth behind the House of Mirrors is untangled.  A truth filled with grotesque clowns and an evil magician who wants more than to hear children scream in his House of Illusions where nothing is as it seems...
This book was almost impossible to put down!  It had me staying up late into the night, too scared to turn the page and too glued to stop.  What I like most about this book is that it doesn't have a huge "Stephen King ending" where everything is put into a final statement.  This book makes you think.  This was refreshing.  The only problem I had with the book was some of the diologue.  Some of it was very unrealistic and melodramatic.  I couldn't picture real human beings using the same phrases that some of the charactors used.  But oh-well, this can be forgiven.  The rest of the book was great!
On the surface, this book might seem a little cheesy, but if you keep reading, you'll find that it's a fast pace horror novel filled with killer clowns, gruesome murders and some very creepy moments!