Carla
The book was wonderful, the narrator was horrible. She read this story of the murder and dismemberment of a mother as if she were reading a fairy tale to a group of children, with a sing-song lilt. I could easily imagine her pausing to show pictures to the children. Had I not deeply respected Diane Fanning and her work, I would have stopped listening.
Occasionally lost the plot, excuse the pun, but otherwise a fascinating deep dive into these religious beliefs and practices.
It was probably not the best idea to read this in the waning days of 2020. Several sentences were strikingly prescient of a pandemic.
Uneven in one regard: the section on JonBenet Ramsey. I thought in reading another book by Douglas that he has a blind spot with regards to this case, and this book cements that feeling for me. The rest of this book is very professional and unbiased; the JonBenet chapter is biased (he calls Lou Smit a “hero”!) and sarcastic. He also makes statements without evidence, such as mothers and fathers would never do x or y. Interesting...but very frustrating.
I am reviewing this book for Cemetery Dance in my position as an early reviewer, so I must note I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
A new, refreshing horror collection about the spaces between, running the gamut from simply the best Lovecraftian story I have ever read to the most disturbing body horror about the most selfish cat lady that has ever lived. Two of the stories take place in the time of Covid without being stressful to the reader, and both take a unique approach to this new horror we face, our”new normal” and the in-between space it has created in our lives. With carefully crafted introductions to each author, the reader will be making TBR lists as they go along, and making new horror friends as they crawl between these walls.
What would make for a terrifying horror movie does not translate to the page. I would love to see this on the screen. However, there were moments when I thought, because of certain wording and such, “what exactly did I just read?” This is simply the wrong medium for this story.
I figured out the mystery long before I believe the reader should have, and the protagonist seemed to be enjoying her wallowing-in-self-destructiveness way too much for me to empathize with her.
Horror expansions begin Rose: I've read the first title on my horror expansion list, and it was a corker. Douglas Clegg never fails to bring the fear, and this prequel to the Harrow House series was hallucinatorily terrifying.
It's must-read if you are fascinated by cults, Magick, and the idea of esoteric knowledges. Caveat: if you do not enjoy sexual horror, this book is not for you. At all.
Harrow House:
prequels:
The Necromancer
Isis
1. Nightmare House
2. Mischief
3. The Infinite
4. The Abandoned
Thorn: I have the flu. As I have mentioned, I also have an autoimmune disorder. So I am going to hide under the covers, and read, and try not to think about the damage my immune system is currently doing to itself, or what twisted remix of illness the flu will become. That's my own private horror show, and I don't wanna participate.
This book was exactly what I expected and wanted it to be: a relaxing read. If you read a book with “Gossip” in the title, and expect [b:East of Eden 4406 East of Eden John Steinbeck http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309212913s/4406.jpg 2574991] or [b:The Great Gatsby 4671 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1273944449s/4671.jpg 245494], you're going to be sorely disappointed...and as disgusted as other reviewers here on Goodreads. Otherwise–have fun! That's what books like this are for!
Smashing British murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie, in which relationships are complicated and everyone is a suspect.
I wanted more details on a few facts. For instance, Davis stated that no evidence wrt mitigating circumstances was given, per Darlie Routier's instructions to her attorneys. Mitigating circumstances were the only thing standing between her and the death penalty! No reason is given.
On the whole, though, this is an excellent book about the case, and gets more to the heart of motive than other works about the murder of Damon and Devon Routier.
I had difficulty immersing myself in this book, because of the author's unnecessary name-dropping. I understand, without context, to mention that the author met Anna Freud personally, since she founded the study of child psychology. However, I see no need to add, both in-text, and in a specific endnote, that the author's wife was friends with the author [a:Flannery O'Connor 22694 Flannery O'Connor http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1268204096p2/22694.jpg].
Interesting premise, but too much snappy repartee for my taste. Detracted from the story.
It engrossed me with its concept, and with its imagery. I kept thinking, “I can see this as a movie!”. Lo and behold, it has been filmed (trailer; ,Netflix).
What ruined it for me was the ending. Not the plot's ending, but the actual ending of the novel, the last few lines. In a horror novel that invokes the epic struggle between good and evil, evil beings should not be “shoo!”‘ed away.
“Shoo!” Really?
My version is 333 Films to Scare You to Death, but Goodreads won't allow me to add it, pointing instead to this one.
This book is nothing like its misleading premise. It's about three women who either desperately want to get pregnant or who are unhappy moms whining because a mommy blogger influencer has gone offline. It's a miserable, sad read.
Also, it employs an odd gimmick: the author inserted the acknowledgements into the novel's action! Very jarring. You read an intro page from the stalker of the blogger, jumping right in the action (supposedly), turn the page, and the author is thanking everyone for supporting her for writing her novel and assuring readers they are going to love it, for two pages worth! Then Chapter One starts. Rather off putting start to what turns out to be a misleading and depressing book about fertility, not at all a thriller.
There were many factual errors in the prologue—about what a serial killer is, about the history of serial murder, about the facts concerning the Jack the Ripper case, for crying out loud. But I held on.
Then the first chapter was on pornography and sexual serial murder. Oh, no.
In it, the authors actually stated that rape and rape-murder were not as prevalent when sex workers were more prevalent and brothers and sisters slept in the same beds. Seriously. More sexy time all ‘round, and rape, and I quote, wasn't worth going to the gallows for.
That's not how that works. I went to grad school for this, and I refuse to read further in a book that has this statement in it. It insults my intelligence.
Exactly what I wanted and expected
This is not a polished, ghost-written Hollywood vehicle, ready for the Movie of the Week script. Reading this book feels like sitting down for a cup of coffee with Pam while she burdens some painful, nostalgic, and confusing memories.
I learned which family member acted differently before and after the murder. I learned which family member really raised red flags for me. And I learned what it was like behind closed doors, when the Ramseys, their friends, and their scorched earth ex-friends could catch their breath.
Despite...
...some continuity errors (all three involving clothing and hair, oddly enough), this is quite the unique story, with a sensitive handling of mental illness.
Over halfway done, and there's not enough information about the Tony and Susan Alamo cult, and too much explicit child abuse, and too much information about the author's eleven-year-old's erections. I wish that were hyperbole. Literal and repeated descriptions of his tucking it in and its popping out as he discovers girls on the compound...this is not what I signed up for.
Autobiographies are risky. People fib about themselves, either on purpose or unconsciously. They go in tangents in or to brag or hide.
Hall spends a great deal of this book telling us how amazing her birth family is—they stomped all over Europe and she pretended to be an oracle on the moors of Scotland while other kids were in school—when they actually weren't—they were judgmental and verbally abusive. I didn't want to spend that much time reading about the Marvelous Mighty Halls, or about how Sands Hall is an Educated Talented Writer. I wanted to read about Scientology's effect upon a person. I got very little of that in a quite long book.
Side note: I now know all about Sands' time on Guiding Light, but it's not in the IMDb. Odd.
I received an advance review copy from BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
I deeply enjoyed this collection of horror stories based around teaching—it made me uncomfortable in the most delightful way. It felt like an exploration of my own stress dreams about school: I have skipped an entire semester or year of a class, and I have to sneak in and take the exam without the teacher/professor ‘s noticing; it's the end of the year, and I have to clean out my locker but I don't remember where it is; the teacher/professor detests me and only me (this actually happened to me, but it replays in grotesquerie in dreams). This book perfectly captured that stress dream horror feeling, and now I need a brightly colored blanket and a cookie. Thanks! That was fun.
Enchanted by this brutal and gripping religious horror, one of my favorite subgenres. Incredible worldbuilding. I am chronically ill and disabled, and the imagery of this world made me forget about high levels of pain for long stretches at a time. Thrilled to find out just now that it has an upcoming sequel!