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Blackstone Chronicles #2

Twist of Fate: The Locket

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Jules Hartwick should be on top of the world. He has a distinguished career as president of the First National Bank of Blackstone, and his lovely daughter will soon be married. But his contentment is shattered: he's under investigation by the Federal Reserve--and that frightening audit threatens the financing of the Blackstone Center, which is slated to rise on the site of the old Asylum. And now, late at night, after a lavish dinner party, the Hartwicks receive a mysterious package containing a silver locket. Who sent it? Why? Jules has his own suspicions, as this second sinister gift unleashes a bloodcurdling chain of events...

86 pages, Paperback

First published January 29, 1997

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About the author

John Saul

120 books2,716 followers
John Saul grew up in Whittier California where he graduated from Whittier High School in 1959. He attended several colleges—Antioch, in Ohio, Cerritos, in Norwalk, California, Montana State University and San Francisco State College, variously majoring in anthropology, liberal arts, and theater, but never obtaining a degree.
After leaving college, he decided the best thing for a college dropout to do was become a writer, and spent the next fifteen years working in various jobs while attempting to write a book someone would want to publish. Should anyone ever want to write a novel concerning the car-rental industry or the travails of temporary typists, John can provide excellent background material.

Those years garnered him a nice collection of unpublished manuscripts, but not a lot of money. Eventually he found an agent in New York, who spent several years sending his manuscripts around, and trying to make the rejection slips sound hopeful. Then, in 1976, one of his manuscripts reached Dell, who didn't want to buy it, but asked if he'd be interested in writing a psychological thriller. He put together an outline, and crossed his fingers.

At that point, things started getting bizarre. His agent decided the outline had all the makings of a best-seller, and so did Dell. Gambling on a first novel by an unknown author, they backed the book with television advertising (one of the first times a paperback original was promoted on television) and the gamble paid off. Within a month Suffer the Children appeared on all the best-seller lists in the country and made the #1 spot in Canada. Subsequently all 32 of his books, have made all the best-seller lists and have been published world wide. Though many of his books were published by Bantam/Doubleday/Dell his last fourteen books have been published by Ballantine/Fawcett/Columbine.

In addition to his work as novelist, John is also interested in the theater. He has acted, and as a playwright has had several one-act plays produced in Los Angeles and Seattle, and two optioned in New York. One of his novels was produced by Gerber Productions Company and M.G.M. as a C.B.S. movie and currently one of his novels is in development.

John served on the Expansion Arts Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. He is actively involved with the development of other writers, and is a lecturer at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference and the Maui Writers Conference and received the Life Time Achievement Award from the Northwest Writers Conference. John is also a trustee and Vice President of The Chester Woodruff Foundation (New York), a philanthropic organization.

John lives part-time in the Pacific Northwest, both in Seattle and in the San Juan Islands. He also maintains a residence on the Big Island of Hawaii. He currently enjoys motor homing, travel and golf. He is an avid reader, bridge player, golfer and loves to cook.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
Profile Image for Ghoul Von Horror.
960 reviews295 followers
March 24, 2022
TW: Miscarriage, cheating, murder, uses of b-word and s*ut

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Jules Hartwick should be on top of the world. He has a distinguished career as president of the First National Bank of Blackstone, and his lovely daughter will soon be married. But his contentment is shattered: he's under investigation by the Federal Reserve--and that frightening audit threatens the financing of the Blackstone Center, which is slated to rise on the site of the old Asylum. And now, late at night, after a lavish dinner party, the Hartwicks receive a mysterious package containing a silver locket. Who sent it? Why? Jules has his own suspicions, as this second sinister gift unleashes a bloodcurdling chain of events...
Release Date: 01/29/1997
Genre: Horror
Pages: 86
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
• The plot of this one was interesting
• The story flowed

What I Didn't Like:
• Story two feels similar to story one in a way

Overall Thoughts: I love that after Jules fides a mysterious box in Madeline's car that has a locket in it with a piece of hair his first thought goes to that she's cheating. Like no conversation nothing just she's cheating. So weird like maybe she has a creepy stalker she hasn't told you about. Or maybe it's just some weird or that's been watching her she didn't know about.

This was a good story. I love that everything is about this small town. I love that everything links together.

I feel bad for the all people that are involved because they seem like victims.

Final Thoughts: I keep thinking that this would make such a great Netflix show. You could do six episodes of the Blackstone Chronicles. It's creepy and fun and campy. Onto book 3!

IG | Blog
Profile Image for Josephine (Jo).
656 reviews43 followers
September 17, 2017
I really enjoyed this, the second episode in the six part Blackstone Chronicles. Who is the mysterious person who goes into the old asylum and takes things from a secret room? They are all items that belonged to the poor inmates of the asylum and they all end up in the hands of members of the local community. Why does the stranger deliver these items to people in the town? The consequences are always dreadful.

The latest recipient of a ‘gift’ is Jules Hardwick, everything is so good for him, he is happily married to Madeline, he has a lovely daughter Celeste and his career as president of the First National Bank of Blackstone is going so well. But then he receives a gift, the locket, and his world is thrown out of kilter. He undergoes a massive change in character, his family and friends cannot understand what is wrong with him. He starts to act like a mad man and it all builds up to a terrifying conclusion.

This book is really creepy, frightening and tense and best of all it has NO swear words. Thank you John Saul! I have a few favourite horror writers most of which do not use bad language however, some do and for me it just spoils the effect of the story. True fear can be created without cursing, swearing really isn’t scary just unpleasant.
Profile Image for Armand.
184 reviews31 followers
April 18, 2019
I was wary that this novella would suffer the dreaded sophomore slump, but I shouldn't have as the book chugged along like a darkly brilliant train. I was again mesmerized by how the accursed gift - a locket this time - plunged its target into a precipitous and utterly believable insanity. It only needed 24 tense hours to wreak its havoc, but in the end it has irreparably shattered one solid and eminent family.

I also loved how the stories behind these evil objects dovetailed perfectly not only with the recipients' mania, but with their histories too. I'm rating this 7.5/10 or 4 paranoia-inducing stars out of 5.
Profile Image for CasualDebris.
171 reviews15 followers
July 22, 2017
From Casual Debris.

"The Locket" is the second novella in John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles. It is weaker than it's fairly average predecessor, "The Doll," but the broader story is made more interesting as characters peripheral to the main plot are further developed, generating expectations for their own stories in later chapters of the series. In addition, the focus on the peripherals helps crystallize the community and develop readers' interest in the over-arching tale.

We saw in the first part of the Blackstone Chronicles that a doll stashed away at the local derelict asylum was reclaimed by a mysterious figure and planted at the home of the McGuires in an act of unspecified vengeance. The goal was to destroy family harmony, which was successfully achieved. In the second part a locket is obtained from the same closed off stores of the asylum by the same mysterious figure, and delivered to another happy home, that of banker Jules Hartwick and family. Clutching this locket leads Jules to develop an outwardly aggressive persecution complex, which escalates in a straight line until the expected climax.

Saul makes sure to set up his victim as an all-around likable rich guy. The family members, parents and one grown-up daughter, Celeste, love each other undeniably. Daughter is about to marry a super cool dude who works at dad's bank and daddy dotes on him. They are good, community-oriented bankers who do good for their fellow townsfolk and, despite being top dog, daddy wishes good morning to all them common folk, like the tellers and what-not. He never even asks his female secretary to get him coffee! A true modern male role model. (Arguably, Saul could have created a female manager and a male secretary, but perhaps that was too modern for the bygone days of 1997. Alas, despite the date of publication and setting, the community presented in the series is an old fashioned one that hearkens back to Bedford Falls.) The streak of good people we have so mat in Blackstone is unevenly balanced by the few (I count two so far) "bad" characters, both dissatisfied middle-aged women who lack a man in their lives. Character depth is certainly not something this series boasts.

The fall of good people is tied to heritage, as we learn there are familial ties between the asylum of the past, where treatment of patients was less than ideal, to the happy families of today. What we do not yet know is the source of the vengeance, who is conspiring against the good folk of Blackstone, and from where doth ye olde magic manifest itself from. We also know that the local journalist has a supernatural connection with the asylum's past, and receives visions and headaches whenever something is up. As his pa was once curator or director or some such at the asylum, we can suspect that he will likely uncover the plot of vengeance that is a-brewing, using his reporter skills and advice from the kindly uncle. Uncle aside, he has no family so perhaps will not be the object of an asylum trinket, or perhaps kindly uncle will meet an awful demise in Book Six.

Overarching story aside, the plot of locket is a straightforward tale of paranoia. It escalates in a straight line, without twist or any deviation whatsoever, and the trigger is the locket that its victim Jules clutches. At least with "The Doll" there was a tie-in with the object, while the locket is incidental; might as well have been a crown or a ring or a hot dog. Without the greater story riding astride this plot, as a piece of fiction it would be unnecessary and un-publishable.
Profile Image for Leigh F.
284 reviews10 followers
June 21, 2022
Only reason I didn’t finish this fun little tale last night was I had to cook for Fathers Day. Truly enjoyed this second portion of the Blackstone Chronicles and I look forward to the next one.
151 reviews
March 24, 2023
Story:

Die Bank hat Schwierigkeiten und wird geprüft, aber das macht dem taffen Jules nicht viele Sorgen. Er weiß, dass er nichts falsch gemacht hat und hofft, dass sich am Ende alles zum Guten wenden wird. Außerdem ist sein Herz voller Freude, da seine einzige Tochter ihre Verlobung bekannt gibt. Es wird ein großes Fest zur Bekanntgabe im eigenen Haus veranstaltet und es erscheinen viele Freunde, um mit der Familie zu feiern. Schon will er den Abend in Ruhe mit seiner Frau ausklingen lassen, da findet er zufällig ein Geschenk, dass offensichtlich an eben jene gerichtet scheint. Er kann seine Neugierde nicht zügeln und hält kurz darauf den ersten Schritt in sein Verderben in der Hand. Was für ein Gegenstand wird wohl in dieser Geschichte das Leben unserer Protagonisten beeinflussen?

Eine wirklich gelungene, spannende Geschichte, die mich vollkommen fesseln konnte. Die Geschehnisse sind stimmig und überzeugend.

Charaktere:

Die Charaktere wurden gut vorstellbar dargestellt. Sie sind facettenreich und können überzeugen. Sie handeln stets ihres Charakters entsprechend und haben eine interessante Hintergrundgeschichte.

Die Gefühle und Gedanken der Charaktere sind stimmig und gut nachvollziehbar.

Erzähler:

Die Personen werden von einer sehr talentierten Erzählerin gesprochen. Sie vermag ihre Stimme beeindruckend an die verschiedenen Personen anzupassen und vermittelt die Geschichte eindrucksvoll. Eine sehr gelungene Wahl für die Geschichte.


Eine spannende und absolut fesselnde Geschichte.
Profile Image for Mcf1nder_sk.
598 reviews24 followers
February 22, 2018
I finally completed reading the Blackstone Chronicles by John Saul. Holy crap! That was a great serial!

Overlooking the quaint little town of Blackstone sits an abandoned mental asylum. Relics of the horrors that occurred within its walls are mysteriously given to six of the town's residents, whose families all had ties to the asylum. These gifts will push the town to the brink of madness, and some people over the edge into the abyss.

I have been a Saul fan for over 20 years, and this may well be his masterpiece.
My rating: 4.75/5 stars
Profile Image for Mandi Lucci.
501 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2024
Who is the shadowy figure? How does he pick his victims? What is the story about the asylum? All these questions in my head. First the doll and now the locket. What is next? What’s going to happen in this town and the asylum? Hopefully not to someone I like. But I have a feeling that it’s gonna be soon. Maybe not in the next book but by the end. Will we discover it in time?
Jules you stupid man. What were you thinking? And how could something so small make such a huge difference?
And what if what’s inside the locket? What does it mean? And who’s is it?
Profile Image for April.
66 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2019
Very good second installment to this 6 part series. Great as a standalone and I can not wait to see how these all connect! These stories are CRA ZY! I am really enjoying this ride. Short and well written, I absolutely recommend this series. How can you go wrong when it takes such little time to read each one!? Just do it already.
Profile Image for Lynn K..
658 reviews17 followers
August 24, 2020
This just didn’t do it for me. I was bored and didn’t care about any of the characters. This series basically consists of a bunch of interconnected short stories and I find that short stories don’t give me enough time to really connect to any of the characters. I’m going to give the third one a shot and then decide whether to finish this series or abandon it.
Profile Image for Hanni.
249 reviews2 followers
January 15, 2023
Spannender zweiter Teil der Blackstone Chroniken, hat mir deutlich besser gefallen als der erste Teil. Auch hier ist abzusehen, was passieren wird, aber die Geschichte hat mich trotzdem sehr gut unterhalten. Die düstere Stimmung und diese unheilvolle Vorahnung von dem, was kommen muss, hat mir sehr gut gefallen.
August 10, 2023
I really enjoyed this! It was even better than part one of the series. This one felt very fast paced and had me turning pages quickly. I loved reading about the main character’ quick and terrible descent into madness brought on by supernatural forces and I am so excited to check the next part out!
Profile Image for Jennifer.
381 reviews7 followers
August 31, 2020
This is a story of Paranoia at its very worse. When the locket finds its new owner his and the lives of his family and friends will never be the same.
Profile Image for Cynthia.
717 reviews
Read
October 3, 2020
nice quick little reads - this one was as good as the first ... on to the third
Profile Image for C.M. Chafin.
Author 1 book8 followers
February 13, 2021
Very Othello-esque. I have some guesses on end-game, but still not entirely sure. Really enjoying the series though!
Profile Image for Cheryl.
1,086 reviews2 followers
July 16, 2021
The story isn't filling out the way I hoped it would. I feel more like I'm reading a comic book.
Profile Image for Mandy.
67 reviews
September 17, 2022
Honestly I keep having to force myself to read these...if they weren't 80 pages I probably wouldn't. Once you are about half way the story picks up and you want to see what happens but the first half is hard to get through....
Profile Image for Virago.
378 reviews
February 6, 2023
Re-read.

Things continue to go bad within the town of Blackstone. The local family-run independent bank, is in the midst of an audit, which has put a halt on the renovation of the old asylum into a shopping center. Jules Hartwick had been fairly positive about the outcome of the audit, as he hadn't done anything illegal, only gave out loans to some townsfolk in need that other banks wouldn't have. Plus his daughter was getting married to a man he more than approved of, someone who believed in banking the way he and his ancestors did, someone who would hopefully take over running the bank when he was ready to retire, thus keeping it in the family. Life was good.

But the Hartwicks have been targeted by the dark figure, who leaves a present in the car of Jules' wife Madeline. Jules found the locket wrapped up in his wife's car. As soon as he touched the locket something within him snapped. He accused his wife of having an affair and goes on an insane rampage. Before the end, he sends a message of warning to Oliver Metcalf that evil was all around them and that it needed to be stopped before it killed them all.

Yeah, lots more people are gonna die! This series is very creepy and equally thrilling.
Profile Image for Heather Boustead.
267 reviews43 followers
March 9, 2012
This is the second part of the Blackstone Chronicles, it starts very much like the first a mysterious figure leaves a memento from the asylum for someone to find. The object then causes chaos for that particular family last time it was a doll and this time it is a locket that causes the one in possession of it, in this case Jules Hartwick the owner of the First National of Blackstone, to become excessively paranoid. This book is extremely fast paced the entire thing takes place in the matter of a couple of days, the suspenseful parts occur only in one day. I personally don’t mind the time frame, but considering it only took me about three hours to finish it I would probably be extremely upset if I had to wait for another installment after this. All in all I wasn’t impressed by the story as much as the first section of this story line. To me this part was not very scary or even “spooky,” at best I would label it a Thriller.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews

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