My lord this book scared me shitless . It wasn't jump scares or gore, at least not until later. It was the anxiety-inducing, constant self-doubting, hMy lord this book scared me shitless . It wasn't jump scares or gore, at least not until later. It was the anxiety-inducing, constant self-doubting, horrible unease the writing produced. It made your skin crawl and held your attention in a vice grip.
I loved Patricia because she wasn't perfect and made mistakes. But you understood her actions, even when they got too much, too cringey, too real and honest.
I love how the book built up James's character, so your perspective of his character altered the more you uncovered.
The mundane normalcy of the daily life with the shocking jolts of horror and supernatural events was jarring in a good way. It really pulled you into that Southern, American neighbourhood, with all the etiquettes and stereotypes, but it pulled back the skin so you could see the bones beneath. The ugly, the human and non-human.
I've never read a truly frightening and disturbing vampire novel in my life. Would definitely recommend, though I suggest regular breaks when you can't stomach the darkness. Surround yourself with puppies and rainbows and chocolate before you dive back in....more
Okay, okay, serious review face on. The Witchfinder's Sister was, I admit, thoroughly entertaining and I fell hook, Well, this was a barrel of laughs.
Okay, okay, serious review face on. The Witchfinder's Sister was, I admit, thoroughly entertaining and I fell hook, line and sinker into the story but with the deepest sense of impending doom, like the knowledge that a hundred car pile up is about to happen and I'm just cruising along beside the motorway, watching as it unfolds. Unable to intervene, cringing at every moment, but unable to look away.
This is this book. It was SO infuriating! The injustice, the horror, the superstitous, dumb, moronic, DUMB stupidity of the people of that time is stomach ulcer inducing. It's ridiculous how one rumour can leave a woman hanging from a noose. It's absurd how grown-ups could believe that imps are suckling on teats around women's--sorry "witches's"--genitals. If you're unlucky to have a wart, a pimple, a mark of any kind you're the devil's whore? God, and this is based on true events as well? *Facepalm*
But, I digress.
Let's start from the top.
Plot: girl called Alice loses her husband tragically when he gets his face blown off by a faulty gun he was testing. Ouch. She has no choice but to go back home to her estranged brother--who she left on bad terms by marrying now-dead husband. Tail between legs, painfully aware of her dependence on her brother, Matthew, she is taken into his home, and not in the most friendliest of manners. She's with child also, but it's early days and she feels she must conceal that from Matthew, at least for now. She soon discovers that Matthew is much changed. He's become an 'upstanding' figure in the community. Mostly, he just goes around accusing innocent women of being witches, and stupid male folk follow him because they're scared little boys really who have had horrible things befall them and need someone or something to blame. And so the tragedies pile up. Alice is in the middle of all of this. Unable to get through to her bordering on sociopath/psychopath brother. She's also forced into doing his bidding by watching the so-called witches to see if the so-called imps appear when the poor women have been made to sit on a stool for hours and hours without sleep or food. A lot of bad stuff happens, to Alice as well. And Matthew continues to get a lot of support from rich idiots. You see what I mean?
It's awful, but entertaining.
I hated Matthew with such a passion. I wanted to dive into the book just to throttle him. Alice I understood, even though the fear that held her back from doing next to nothing irritated me, I understood it. She's not a hero, she's a normal person, caught up in something she cannot win. You can't reason with a madman. And Matthew is a madman. He's smart, calculated and emotionally retarded. He doesn't bat an eyelid when he discovers Alice loses her baby. He doesn't care about the suffering of the women he's falsely accused, the deal he makes and then breaks simply because he can. The worst part is that he BELIEVES he's doing good. That he's dishing out justice. He's a nasty piece of work. And he's apparently a real person who killed 106 women in two years before dying of suspected consumption. But in the book, the end is much more satisfying. So, on that note, it made the whole horrific events just a little more bearable.
The mystery was grand, the thriller and fear was palpable. Some things were left unexplained, such as what was it that Alice felt slip past her into the house that night. She'd thought it was Matthew's dog brushing past her through the front door when she opens it for a rather terrified Matthew. But he says he left his dog at home. So what WAS it? That's something I guess we have to leave to our imagination, amongst other things. The characters were interesting, their personalities clearly laid out with a depth that made you question is anyone ever truly just evil? You knew who was who by the way they spoke, which is important. And the writing was sound. I liked how it was written in second person as well.
If you like mystery, witches, historical fiction, tragedy and the brutal truth of the makings of scared men who went on to do horrific things, then this is for you. It's certainly not fluffy....more
Wow this kicks you right in the feels, doesn't it? Not to put too fine a point on it.
So Rose goes on a quest to search for Dimitri and his Strigoi behWow this kicks you right in the feels, doesn't it? Not to put too fine a point on it.
So Rose goes on a quest to search for Dimitri and his Strigoi behind in the naively described 'freezing' land of Siberia. She intends to kill him because she loves. Sounds fun already. Oh, what love this is. No, seriously, despite my jesting, it is quite a sweet albeit bitter plot. She knows that he would never want to be a Strigoi, to be without a soul and wandering around killing innocents. It goes against his Dhampir guardian nature. He was good, warm, full of life. And she doesn't know what to expect when she finally meets him. And my GOD the moment she meets him is so chilling and had me rereading it a couple of times just so I didn't miss a thing.
This book was full of intrigue and great characters. Rose ends up with Dimitri's family through some happy twist of fate, and stays there for a time. The feelings that being in Dimitri's family home stirs up is enough to make me reach for the tissues. I really felt for them both. It was so heartbreaking. She meets this dodgy dude called Abe, and he seems to have an agenda alright but not what you would expect. And when you finally realise who he is and what he's up to, it all makes perfect sense.
Rose then joins forces with a group of vigilante dhampirs who go around killing Strigoi by themselves, not under any order of the vampire race, but as rogues. I found their reasons reasonable enough, if a bit unorganised. I was in Rose's boat on that one. She decides to join them when she figures Dimitri might be in a city and she's proven right. After much interrogation of Strigoi, she finally finds one that knows Dimitri, and tells him to send D a message. And he gets it.
From then on she's pulled into a world of Strigoi against her will, a man who looks like the man she loves, but just isn't, despite what her heart is desperately seeking. Things go stokholm syndrome and blood whoring from there. You get it, I got it. She's trying to hold onto something but at the expense of falling into darkness. That period of the book where she became so weakened by blood loss and high and addicted to the endorphins from the bites (Strigoi bites are super strong compared to a Moroi as well, so mega drug ride), she was easily manhandled by a mere human. And that makes her feel so ashamed of herself. She's a strong, capable Dhampir guardian who has been reduced to an addicted, blood whore all because she's trying to cling onto the man she loves, hoping that he's still in there somewhere.
FYI, I love this moment in the film. It's where I see how much Dim loves her, just by the way he says her name and looks at her. *swoon*
She finally accepts reality, manages to escape and after a brutal battle of strength and wits, she sends him to a watery grave with a silver stake lodged in his chest. It's a powerful, gutwrenching moment for someone like myself who really connected with Dimitri's character, and believed in their love, felt the power of it.
But then she gets a letter waiting for her back at the academy, with the stake inside, and that little doubt she had at the time she'd shoved the stake into his chest, uncertain for a moment that it hadn't penetrated deep enough, turned out to be true. He's alive. Or as alive as a Strigoi can be and he's one pissed off Strigoi, intent on killing her.
It's poisonous, it's torture. But I loved it.
This book, and the third book are my favourite in this series. They really had me hooked and hauled me with them on their messed up emotional ride. I'm not a sucker for vampire romance as such (har har I did a punny), I just like the sort of mystery, forbidden, adventurous, passionate and all consuming element that usually goes hand in hand with this genre. I like vampires in general to be what they used to be: bloody-thirsty, dangerous monsters. But I also like layers and complexity. I like drama, pushing boundaries, and I just like love in a story. Not lovey dovey, but a love that gets battered and stretched and tainted but keeps on firing, keeps on giving, even taking. Because that's epic. And this, to me, was pretty epic.
Plus, there was a lot of ass kicking. That's always good. ...more
Well I wrote a long ass review that didn't save. Fuck you very much, Goodreads.
But this book was awesome and soul crushing. I'm on the next one. Can'tWell I wrote a long ass review that didn't save. Fuck you very much, Goodreads.
But this book was awesome and soul crushing. I'm on the next one. Can't be arsed to rewrite another review. So yeah. Whatever.
*EDIT*
So I'm on the last book and have some time to rewrite this goddamn review. I can't just leave one book unreviewed, my OCD won't allow it. I've also decided to try out a slightly different reviewing technique, using my bookshelves and my book highlights as guides.
I also don't usually like doing a plot summary of the novel and what happens--I tend to skip over that when I read other people's reviews too, oddly enough--but I'll do one for my fave books in my usual, snarky and probably hilarious fashion because that's just the way I am. Here goes.
So, in this book Dimitri and Roza are still going through the whole 'I can't be with you but I need you so I'm going to stare at you from a distance and pine and tell you we're not right together when I not so secretly want to be with you' fight. And it goes on for a while but who can contain such immense sexual tension, eh? Not these two. In other news, Rose is seeing Mason everywhere. His ghost. And she's trying to hide that crazy fact for fear of being thrown in a loony bin, but that backfires when she gets assigned to be Christian's guardian for the guardian test. She's openly pissed off about not being assigned to Lissa, and in Rose fashion, she makes a big song and dance about it. Swearwords galore. Cos, that's how she rolls and I love her for it. It's guardian testing time for all the novices, who are assigned a Moroi to guard, whilst school guardians pretend to be Strigoi and 'attack' them, testing the novices reactions, defence and skills.
One of the guardians distracted Ryan while the other--Dimitri, I now saw--grabbed Camille. She screamed, not faking her fear. She apparently didn't find being in Dimitri's arms as thrilling as I did. --I don't know why that makes me giggle every time I read it.
During a surprise 'attack' by 'Strigoi' a.k.a Guardian Stan, Rose sees Mason and freezes up, letting Christian get 'killed'. And because of her song and dance about not wanting to be his 'guardian' the guardians and school board think she did it on purpose. Rather than admit she's seeing ghosts she decides to accept punishment.
She does later admit in a way that Christian isn't as bad as she makes out to be. To be honest, they make a great team. They did in book two against the two Strigoi who kidnapped them, and they do later on when Strigoi attack the school.
"Isn't he (Christian) a pain in the ass?" "Yes," I said, licking icing off my fingers. "He is. But for the next six weeks, he's MY pain in the ass."
--
"I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other." - Christian "I already have a nickname for you, but I'll get in trouble if I say it in class." - Rose "Ah," he (Christian) said happily. "THAT'S the Rose I know."
Lots of brooding, fighting, arguing, snarkiness and within that, Rose senses darkness, unexplainable beatings up of Moroi, which she discovers are Moroi forcing other Moroi to use compulsion by torturing them with their magic and making them use compulsion to defend themselves from the pain. They do the same to Lissa, and Rose runs to her rescue.
The overuse of magic so close to magic wards that circle the academy as a protection against Strigoi attacks--cos they can't pass through them--actually breaks the wards. Makes them weaker bit by bit. No dead can pass through wards, and the fact that Rose kept on seeing Mason every now and again was a big flashing sign that something was wrong, it just took a while to figure out WHAT. It was a warning, and he was trying to tell her about the Strigoi, but ghosts don't have much communication skills, save for a sad stare and a nodding or shaking head for yes and no answers. He only gets the chance to speak when he finally announces "They're coming" just before the school is under attack. FYI, this is not so long after Dimitri and Rose FINALLY get it on.
And before I have enough time to celebrate it, Dimitri is bitten by a Strigoi when on a rescue mission to get students who were kidnapped during the attack and hidden in a cave nearby. Rose tries to save him but is annoyingly pulled back by guardians.
It's a painful pain in the ass, but one I even more annoyingly discovered would happen--by accident--when I was pinning away on Pinterest...
[image] So, since starting book one I've had THAT FUCKING PIN in my head and have been waiting for it to come true and hoping it didn't. And it did. And I cried. This book hit me in the mega feels.
Here's the actual quote from the book...
"Mason, is Dimitri dead?" Mason shook his head. "Is he alive?" Mason shook his head. Neither alive nor dead. The world swam around me, sparkles of color dancing before my eyes. The lack of food had made me dizzy, and I was on the verge of fainting. I had to stay in control here. I had to ask the next question. Out of all the victims... out of all the victims they could have chosen, surely they wouldn't have picked him. The next words stuck in my throat, and I sank to my knees as I spoke them. "Is he... is Dimitri a Strigoi?" Mason hesitated only a moment, like he was adraid to answer me, and then--he nodded. My heart shattered. My world shattered. You will lose what you value most... It hadn't been me that Rhonda was talking about. It hadn't even been Dimitri's life. What you value most. It had been his soul.
IMMENSE FEELS. I DIED WITH HER. It was so so so hard to read. And I had to pause after it to get my bearings. Wondering what she'd discover when she met him face to face. Because that was inevitable. She HAD to eventually run into him.
And it didn't surprise me when she chooses to do that herself. Because she'd made an unspoken promise to him that if he turned Strigoi she would end that for him. He never wanted to be a Strigoi, and he'd said he'd rather be dead if he did. She wanted to do that for him. She feels like she owes it to him.
So she drops out of St. Vlad and goes off to find him, choosing him over Lissa, as Lissa puts it when she catches her at the gates and demands to know why she wants to leave her. Finally, Rose puts herself first and says just as much to Lissa. That this time it wasn't all about dear Lissa. Rose was doing this for HERSELF. She wanted to take control of her life for once, and I felt relief for her, and sadness for Lissa as well. It just goes to show how well the author has filled out these characters that I care and understand where each of them is coming from.
BOOKSHELF SUMMARIES (This is where I expand on why this book is in some of my bookshelves)
Crushed-by-backstory-avalanche: The problem with these books is the author likes to summarise what has happened in previous books to help us make sense of what is going on in the current book. Just in case you've forgotten or you're stupid enough to not start from the beginning. It's not necessary personally, and I have to repeatedly scan past a lot of it. Some of it is helpful because it gives a clearer perspective of what has happened, and it helps to just ground you and remind you of things you might have momentarily forgotten in all the drama. But a lot of it so not needed, and so repetitive.
Oh-god-the-frustration: This is because of several things. The forbidden romance and unbelievably sexual tension between Dimitri and Rose that just had me screaming JUST SHAG EACH OTHER ALREADY! Then there was the inner struggle with Rose. She didn't want people to know she was seeing ghosts and thing she was crazy but her test against Stan the guardian when he 'attacked' her and Christian when she saw Mason--perfect timing Mase, thanks--has her looking incompetent. She's trying to choose the lesser of two evils. And Dimitri--who knows her well enough to know she wouldn't freeze up like she claims she did out of fear, because he knows her and also because he's well aware she already fought two Strigoi in the previous book--he asks her what is really going on, she doesn't tell him straightaway. She's scared of what he'll think. She eventually does open up but it's a long frustrating time coming, as much as I understood her reasons.
self-discovery: Rose continues to grow in this book. She's always snarky, loud and outspoken, aggressive and passionate and not afraid to voice her opinions or throw a punch. Her answer to most things is violence. It can get her into trouble. Her mouth can too. But she's starting to learn discipline and controlling her tongue--and fists--taking cues from Dimitri. For example, when Jesse-- a pain in the arse Moroi whom she had a little fling with in book one and who in turn spread horrible rumours about her out of scorn--tries to piss her off with nasty jibes, she choses wit over punches. And it's equally as entertaining.
I gave Jesse a small smile and simply said, "Your wit is always such a delight, Mr Zeklos. I can barely contain myself."
wrist-slitting-time: Because after the glory and satisfaction of seeing the lovebirds finally together and admitting their love, of planning for the future, and seeing him taken away so tragically, I was so depressed and upset by this, hence wrist-slitting. Hey, nobody ever said I was tactful.
TO SUM UP
Great read, great tension and pacing. Lot's of mystery, magic, arse kicking and girl power. Lot's of smexiness and sexual tension and sweet moments. Lot's of sadness and anger, frustration and pain. And loss. It's one of the best books in the series, if not the best. I'd say this book and number four (Blood Promise) are on par.
BEST BITS
And here's a selection of some of my favourite moments I highlighted...
"Took things a bit far, didn't you?" I turned around and saw Ryan and Camille walking several steps back. If I'd been a guy, the appropriate response would have been, "You mean with your mom?" Because I was not a guy, though, and because I had manners, I just said, "Don't know what you're talking about."
--
"You're jealous of Adrian." -Rose Christian fixed his ice-blue eyes on me, and I could tell I'd hit the mark. "I'm not jealous. I'm just--" "--feeling insecure over the fact that your girlfriend is spending a lot of time with a rich and reasonably cute guy whom she might like. Or, as we like to call it, jealous." - Rose
--
When Jesse tries to bring Christian into the 'hand' gang, and Christian replies with his usual snark: "Thanks," said Christian, a slight sneer curling his lips. "Now that you've endorsed me and my family, I can finally get on with my life. It's the only thing that's been holding me back."
--
Christian and Rose warming to eachother: "Rose, I don't know if you're crazy or not, but I'm actually starting to think you might be the best guardian--or soon-to-be guardian--out there." "Did you just give me a serious compliment?" I asked. He turned his back on me and headed inside his dorm. "Good night." ...more
Now this is more like it! The first book wasn't bad but there were minor issues I had, mostly the connection with the characters, or lack of I should Now this is more like it! The first book wasn't bad but there were minor issues I had, mostly the connection with the characters, or lack of I should say. But that was not an issue in this.
The teenage school drama was much more toned down this time. Huge sigh of relief there. And the plot had me hook, line and sinker. I was gripped from beginning to end.
The forbidden love between Dimitri and Rose. The strigoi attacks. The gore. The mystery. The inner struggle, hopes and desires, jealousy and perseverance. The magic!
I am constantly routing for Dimitri and ‘Roza’ *shivers with excitement*. In fact. I'm going to change my name to Rose just so he can call me it in Russian. *fangirl scream*
Okay *puts on serious reviewing tone*, the writing is so well done, gripping, funny, tormenting, entertaining, scary at times. Rose in this novel was more likeable but not because she was funnier. In fact, she's starting to grow up a bit, despite getting a black eye, skiing at break neck speeds, getting pissed, starting fights, breaking up fights WHILST pissed, flirting nonstop and nearly getting killed more than once. That's just a day in the life of Rose. Yet, she's beginning to learn to think before acting. Dimitri is rubbing off on her *dirty giggle*. Laughter aside, it's true.
And when shit hits the fan and she realises she messed up and the consequences are huge, she pulls her big girl pants up and takes responsibility, going to great lengths to fix it. Saving those she loves, and those she hates too and risking her life in the process. It shows that her heart really is golden despite the outward hostility. And seeing her facing up to the strigoi near the end and the tragedy that occurred, really made me like her so much more. Dimitri too, because he always seems to be there to pick her back up. He knows what she needs when she needs it and it's hard not to admire that.
Overall this book had everything I could have wanted. I couldn't fault it. And I instantly picked up the next book so, bravo, author, you have me hooked....more
I'm reviewing this novel on the basis that I believe in its authenticity and truth wholeheartedly. Haters and unbelievers be damned.
So this novel is actually more of a detailed account of a family terrorized by a mischievous (BIG understatement there) 'entity'. The novel isn't about trying to convince us whether it is this or that, but mainly just allowing you to see what the 'entity' is capable of. The author, Caroline, doesn't expect us to believe their story but even if I had been someone who didn't believe in the paranormal before this novel, I think I would have been convinced after reading it. Even just a little bit.
What I admire about Caroline and her family is their strength and grace. They carried on with life as best they could despite this evil presence under their own roof. It was horrible, entertaining and shocking to read but above all, it inspired hope. I enjoyed the accounts from both Caroline and her husband Neil, who seemed to take the brunt of the attacks. The 'entity' was physically harmful to him.
Even if you don't believe this is real, the story itself is really good, intriguing, enticing and scary. I know I had to pace myself because I didn't want to be reading it late at night. I'd start to get paranoid around dark shadows.
The writing itself was informative, simple and direct. It didn't contain any unnecessary detail or plot-filler. It didn't take its time getting to the point. The flow was smooth and constantly kept you on your toes. It was enjoyable. Not Shakespeare, but decent.
As for my opinion on what the 'entity' is, I'd go with what I believe, which is that it's a demon. Also known as a Jinn. The reason I think this is down to many things that the novel talks about, some of which I bothered to highlight.
Jinn are made of fire, which would account for the fire-starting. They're also very fast, incredibly strong and have powers that if we fully understood, would make the phone calls and tricks that the 'entity' perform seem reasonable. Not all are harmful or bad, but those that are, tend to be mischievous, prone to losing their tempers and being generally hot-headed, and many believe themselves superior to us because of their vast amount of abilities. I have read that they are meant to be filthy creatures, not all, just those that are evil in nature which is why they tend to hang out in graveyards, bathrooms etc. So it makes sense that they would piss on floors and let off supernatural stink-bombs or farts.
'His nostrils were filled with a pungent smell, like rotting cabbage. “Awe mate, is that you?” Neil gagged as the smell grew stronger.
Lee laughed at being accused of producing something so odious. “No it bloody well isn't. That's disgusting.”
Neil opened the back door and they both went outside for air.
“You have to admit, it's kind of funny... a farting ghost.”'
It is pretty funny. But gross.
The other thing that convinced me that it's a Jinn is that in the book it mentions 'Phil' a.k.a the entity, has a wife (who is to blame for the fires) and that they were born in the sixteenth century. Jinn do procreate (though don't ask me how, my guess is pretty much the same as we do). They also live much longer lives than us but they can die. They're not dead and they're not immortal. And there is never any mention that the 'entity' is a lost soul or has died. In that same page that this information is mentioned, they also ask the 'entity' if he wants to be their friend to which he knocks twice for YES. I can tell you now, he was playing them. He wouldn't be hanging around if he had a good bone in his ethereal body.
This statement is absolutely spot on – 'Mike has a theory that the entity thinks of us as inferior, here for his entertainment. It sees itself as way more powerful than us. The fact we would offer help is an insult.'
He is more powerful than us, strength wise and power and ability wise. But from what I know of demons, letting them in and more importantly FEARING them is what makes us weaker than them. Easier said than done, but if from the start Caroline and Neil had shunned his presence, ignored him and shown they had no fear and only had faith in God, reciting His name repeatedly in the house, I don't think things would have got as bad as they did. But that's not fair for me to judge. I'm not judging, honestly. No one can know what happened to this family.
Going back to the nature of demons from what I know, they tend to be pretty erratic emotionally. Anger is one big thing. But also jealously. Because of how often 'Phil' disliked Lee being in the house with Neil it had me wondering if 'Phil' was jealous of their friendship. I wonder how much 'Phil's' wife played in these attacks, and what her motive was. Perhaps she was jealous too, for other reasons. I've heard so many cases of demons being jealous of a man or a woman because they want to be with them. Odd, I know. But this book reminded me of those previous accounts I studied years ago. And when it mentions that 'Phil' is trapped, it had my thoughts racing. What is his motive? Is he bored? Is he just using the family as a cruel source of entertainment, like a child pulling of the wings of insects? Or is it something even more sinister, such as a fiery emotion like jealousy, anger or even hate? Or all of the above? Creepy to think about.
The whole thing with the family trying to seek out help at their church and beyond was the hardest thing for me to read. I felt so sorry for them. I hated the fact that for the priests, the family's going to church and listening to sermons was more important than their well-being. It was ridiculous. That scene where they go to church and Caroline pulls the Father aside and says that 'Things have been really bad': it's a precious moment where she's opening up to this so-called man of God and asking for his help, and he just brushes her off and says, 'Well at least it brought you back to the Church.' I mean what the fudge? How can he say that?
And then it gets worse when they finally go for the exorcism (took the priests long enough) and the priests are all up in their grill about renewing their vows or something and it's like, why can't they just help someone, no questions asked? Why does faith have to get involved? Does it really matter how often they pray, or go to Church or listen to sermons? No. It doesn't. I'm a religious woman. Not a Catholic, obviously, but if I was, I'd be as disgusted about that judgemental mindset as much as I am now.
Luckily, the exorcism seemed to do the trick and I don't think it was all down to the priests' “holiness”. I think it could be done by anyone who truly believes and says the words with complete sincerity, love and fear of God.
I will say one thing that surprised me. Mike, the investigator. Caroline mentions that during the time of the book, he converts to Islam. Now that interested me for obvious reasons. But I was also surprised that he never suggested getting an exorcism from that side of things. It is done. And also at the end of the novel, John says that he and Mike thought that from all the evidence they had collected, that the entity was actually a 'brag': 'an extremely dangerous elemental-type creature from the English folklore'. Which it could be. Though I think it's the same thing as a Jinn. Just a different name. Which it also says in the novel: 'the phenomenon itself is global – every culture around the world has different names for these creatures...' I'm just surprised it was never mentioned, or perhaps Mike didn't know about them at the time. *The author just told me after reading my review that he wasn't Muslim at the time of his opinions on the 'brag' and later suggested it could be, and recommend an Imam to come in and do his thing, to which the author declined as she didn't want to aggravate 'Phil' anymore.*
Anyway, let's move on from that road. And back to the book. As you see it did stir a lot of emotions in me, and I think it has and will for many. This book is doing very well on Amazon and has 100+ reviews. Most of which are positive. From what I saw when I had a peek, only two of them were one star reviews, and frankly, their reasoning was stupid. Sorry, but it was.
So if you'd like to be chilled to the bone and be freaked out for several days afterwards, then go for it! It's not scary scary. It's not like BOO! In your face. But psychologically, it plays in your mind and you'll realize after reading it, that it's still there. Lurking behind you.
Many people may have different interpretations as to what happened to this family. And many may discredit the accounts. I don't really care. The book is good. And worth reading. The author and her family and friends suffered a great deal over something that may never be explained. It's sad. But it's nice to see someone taking the time to open up to world so just maybe, there will be someone just as unfortunate as them who will read this and say, “I'm not alone.”
I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. And recommend it to anyone who wants something a little different.
Just a side note: the book cover is really striking. I love it. But oddly, when I first looked at it, I had extra-terrestrial on my mind. ...more
Gory, lots of wince-inducing moments, the pages mostly pockmarked with naughty words and vulgarity. Completely gripping. Not for the fainthearted. No Gory, lots of wince-inducing moments, the pages mostly pockmarked with naughty words and vulgarity. Completely gripping. Not for the fainthearted. No censorship here, no sugar coating, no mercy. If you can't handle graphic description of a cockroach wriggling up a dead man's nose moments after dying from an epileptic fit, or a guy getting knifed in the eye, then you shouldn't read this.
Too many people rated this book low because they couldn't handle the ugliness of it. Grow some balls, people. This is merely an expression of the cold, fucked up side of life. With a great storyline, a sharp tongued narrative, no nonsense dialogue and complex likeable - whilst at the same time hateable - characters, I for one enjoyed it immensely.
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