Expected scarier given storyline and publisher
587334
Synopsis: From Netgalley

  The village of Deepvale has a sinister past. Built in the 1400s, it has been home to a number of sordid characters, including Peter Suman, known locally as 'The Conjurer' due to the diabolical experiments he was rumored to have conducted during the 19th Century, in a dark old house beside a lake.

  In the 1990s, after a bet with his elder brother and three friends, seven-year-old Simon Mallinson goes missing inside the now derelict Conjurer's House.

  Fifteen years later, his brother Anthony is back in Deepvale, following the brutal deaths of his parents. And strange events have begun to occur in the village again, including the apparent return of young Simon and his creepy new friends. Worse still, Peter Suman appears to be back, too, bent on achieving what he failed to do over a hundred years earlier...

My rating: 2 Stars

My opinion: I must admit that I found this novella to be slow moving and not very scary...even the parts that were supposed to be. As a result, it was difficult in keeping my attention. I expected more from this book (I was thinking the movie Poltergeist) than what was delivered.

Source:  Darkfuse Publishing for Revie

Would I recommend? : Nah, which is very rare given the publisher.

Stand Alone or Part of a Series: Stand Alone
956122
At my age the story and characters are easy to relate to.  The situational background is made to seem realistic and that is scary.  Could it really happen.  I need to review the second edition to determine if I am more comfortable or more nervous.

K

*****
69398
I really did enjoy this first book, of the Trilogy.  However, there were moments in the story that episodes seemed to drag. It looks as though the series will also have moments of packed action followed by periods of tedium. In one way this is necessary for character  development and to tie in the different pieces of the story line, but it seems unbalanced and as a reader, I want to yell out, "Lets get on with it!" Overall, I do recommend the book for a creepy, supernatural and eerie experience.
3314722
On the fifth day, there was fear...

Leaf wakes up in a hospital ward and realizes something strange is going on. There are several people with her, but they all appear to be sound asleep, and there are no medical items. Leaf remembers that Lady Friday was a nurse at the tent hospital, but it's not until a frightened hospital cleaner tries to save Leaf from being detected that Leaf becomes aware of the danger that she --- along with her Aunt Mango and several other sleepers --- is in.

Meanwhile, Arthur wakes up from a nightmare in the Citadel. The last battle has left him shaken, but he appears to have defeated the Piper for now. Unfortunately, the New Nithling army has control of the Great Maze, while Superior Saturday causes trouble by cutting off the telephone lines and controlling the elevators of the House. To make matters worse, the Dame Primus, since gaining the Fourth Part of the Will, has unwonted, barely-concealed moments of rage. Arthur isn't sure he can trust her, but he has no choice. He is trying to figure out what happened to his family in the week that has passed on Earth, as well as locate his friends who have been captured --- or worse --- by the Piper.

Then, a messenger from Lady Friday arrives bearing a letter and a gift. Lady Friday has apparently abdicated her position and will turn it over to whoever can find the Fifth Part of the Will and the Fifth Key. For Arthur, this means he has to go against the Piper and Superior Saturday and possibly gain control over them. However, the week hasn't been going well for Arthur, and it gets worse when he is unexpectedly transferred to somewhere within the House, with no known way of getting back to the Great Maze or to the Secondary Realms.

While Arthur tries to make his way to Lady Friday's Scriptorium, he encounters some familiar enemies and meets a few new characters, including the Paper Pushers, who have an unusual but interesting line of work. Arthur has more work cut out for him, but when Leaf discovers Lady Friday's real motive --- "experiencing" --- the day is further seeped in the fear of the unknown.

LADY FRIDAY, the fifth book in Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series, adds another dimension to an already exciting and at times scary adventure that will have readers looking forward to the weekend.

  --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle
4839231
I am posting this review for my daughter who received this novel from the author for reviewing. I have read the book as well and recommend it.

Summary:

Victoria Hunter faces an enormous terror as her twin sons are torn from her arms, and the shock leaves her with little more than vague memories of consuming fear and something profoundly evil. FBI agent Mc Clanahan is convinced that Victoria Hunter suffers from severe postpartum psychosis and is herself responsible for the infants disappearance. Her psychiatrist however, is beginning to sense that what she is up against is not something easily explained in the glib terms of psychiatry and law enforcement. Meanwhile, Father Stephen Christensen, an aged Catholic priest finds himself closer to the truth than most and that isn't much comfort to him. An ancient secret is waking up and reaching for destiny. Victoria's mother has some deeply help secrets which she simply cannot reveal to her daughter, even in the light of these terrifying circumstances. As the protagonist and the other characters start to spiral towards a terrifying crescendo the reader will find themselves struggling to define good and evil within the context of this book.

Review:
J. A. Leary's debut book is a good start. It is a supernatural mystery starring Victoria Hunter, a highly accomplished business woman and mother of twins. It has an original plot, unlike many of the popular wannabes, interesting dialogue, and life-like characters. Mr. Leary proves that it is possible to write a spell-binding book involving the supernatural without vampires and werewolves. Yes, you read that right. There are no vampires fighting over the heroine in this book. Many twist and turns will compel you to keep turning the pages well into the wee hours of the morning. The book delves into the eternal question of good and evil and challenges some deeply held Judeo-Christian principles which may further fascinate (or upset) some readers.
The initial pages felt awkward as though the writer was trying to write according to some creative writing principles handed down by a teacher from long ago, rather than in his own voice. By about chapter three it was clear that Mr. Leary had found his way back to his own voice and style and the novel had managed to garner my undivided attention. As the perspective of the narrator changed frequently in the book it became, at times, cumbersome to read.

This book is not an easy read and some of the scenes can be quite frightening, which makes this not a book I would recommend to younger audiences. But to readers who enjoy reading something other than your average pool side novel I recommend this book.
3304201
Alice and Friends is the first of Catt Dahman's books that I have read. I was totally impressed and read the book in one night, staying up to 2 a.m. Once I closed the book, I then had to wake my husband up because I was so frightened. That's a compliment to Ms. Dahman's abilities, but man, was I scared. I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone, because the storyline necessarily involves sexual abuse and violence and for some folks, that's not good reading.
Alice is driving along when three of her tires go flat at once, a statistical improbability, and she sits in the dark, scared to bits until a nice man and his adorable young son stop to help. They seem as afraid of her as she is of them, which totally disarms her. Uh-oh. And then there's that awful smell, coming from under her car. Events just pile up until Alice is so terrified she puts all her trust in the nice man and his son. That's her first mistake. But what makes this a good read is that Ms. Dahman doesn't make Alice seem like a nitwit for trusting the man and his son; she makes it seems like exactly what you or I would do in her place and THAT is where my late-night terrors came from. Her story plucked every one of my deepest fears, including the fear of losing my sanity.
I said I wouldn't recommend this to just anyone, but if you're a horror fan and you like to explore fear to the utmost, please read this book. It's a gem.
1365777
Very Scary and what if something like this really happened. Excellent story as usual. I listened to the audio book and thought the reading was average at best. 5 stars for the story 3 stars for the narration.
4087807
It was a bit scary to think that this could actually happen to someone.  Just find the flaw that all of us have somewhere and exploit it.  The ending was a bit disappointing because Beth is left to continue her chaos.  Left me a bit unsettled and on edge.  Wanted Grace to get a clue and end the chaos.  She eventually does but not until many twists and turns.
1959934
This book is among the scariest books I have ever read and I must say that there should be a book 2!
1422139
The mean snakes in this story terrorized Little Britches.  These snakes creep me out and had my kids rapt.  It's a scary story because of the snakes.

I wanted the snakes destroyed because they seemed irredeemable.  They destroyed themselves.  This is the closest thing to a scary nighttime story as I want to get with my boys and girls.

Elements of the story can be expounded upon to show that the authors may be having a wicked politically incorrect laugh, but it was just a scary story to us.
1109009
I chose a five star rating after reading all three books, hoping and praying this was a fictional story. It was more frightening than any scary  movie that I've seen. I guess it was having the imagination to even come up with a story such as this....
It makes one think.....What if?

We better PRAY!!!
2930745
The story is written in the first person, which makes it even more frightening than it otherwise would be.  I will not reveal the ending, but it is not a happy one.
1280286
As a lover of Dean Koontz, I must say this has been thus far the most difficult book to read. The antagonist is so evil that I find myself too traumatized to finish. It is a great read but I fear my sensitivy prevents me from completing this book in a timely fashion. I will update once I'm able to pull up my breaches and finish this tale.
1514471
I was expecting more action, but felt a little shortchanged. Herbert is one of those authors who likes to keep the scary things not fully seen, which is great for enhancing the reader response to the scare, but a bit out of place in this book where the point is wanting to see what's in the fog. I felt frustrated while I was reading. The reader desperately wants glimpses into the fog, but Herbert really doesn't deliver.

Not a bad book. This is a decently enjoyable horror read, but probably not as frightening as it could be. I give it 3 stars in terms of scariness.
2116470
This scorned women was truly scary and made evil. Some parts were drawn out and predictable. Need A LOT of patience with this book due to the ( or lack their of) poor editing that is layed out. Overall is was good if your looking for a fictional ghost story.
4938603
I read this novel before reading "Hell's Acre" (the factual book about the Body Farm creation).  The suspense and one of plot lines of the novel were fictional, but many of the cases and background forensic anthropology were grounded in fact.  Even the main case of the plot is grounded in reality.  This made the book much more realistic and, therefore, scarier for me to read.  I'm glad I don't live in Tennessee because I think this line of books would make me want to stay inside and barricade the doors.
3188818
I picked up this novel from a local Goodwill store when I noticed the title. I love a good scary story, you know, the kind that keeps you up at night. The title along with the cover and summary seemed like it was going to be one of those stories. I had never read a book by this author, but that doesn't deter me from trying a book by someone new to me. I read the reviews of the author and purchased the book.

Rarely do I ever come across a book I don't like, but this one was quite disappointing. Nothing happened! A teenager asks his crush out on a date, and she agrees to go on one condition--he must sneak her into Beast House after it closes. He agrees out of desperation for a date with her. The problem is that most of the book describes him hiding in a hole in the cellar to avoid detection by employees closing down for the night.

What should have tipped me off to this dismal plot is the fact that all of the reviews in the book were about the author and not this book. I realized what this meant too late but kept on hoping and believing something scary was going to happen.

I won't say anything about the ending in case anyone wants to give this book a shot, although I strongly recommend that you don't. That being said, the ending does not in any way make up for the lack of plot, suspense, and character development. Oh, and the absence of horror. This book could've been really really scary! Since I haven't read the first three books about Beast House, maybe they're better. I hope so since I plan to try the first one.