In The Dark of the Night
by John Saul
Eric Brewster, Tad Sparks, and Kent Newell have been best friends since kindergarten. Now in their final year at
school, they are determined that they will spend the last summer together with their families. Due to Eric’s
mother’s nervousness, the Brewsters usually sweat out the summer in Chicago, while the other two families spend
theirs in rented houses at Phantom Lake. This summer it is going to be different, and the Brewsters take an old
19th century house called Pinecrest, which has only just been let. Seven years ago, its owner vanished and there
are stories about the place. When the boys unbrick a doorway and find a secret room filled with seemingly
ordinary things, their adventures would seem to be just beginning - or would nightmares be a better term?
You have got to hand it to John Saul. I’m not normally a big fan of horror fiction but I need to be prised
away from his books. He has the gift to write this type of thing perfectly, and he does it every time. I’m never
sure what I like best about his books, as there is so much to enjoy. Maybe it is his talent for building up
suspense, an atom at a time, or the way he contrasts the ordinary with the extraordinary. Or perhaps his
wonderful descriptions of places, that are enjoyable in themselves, the events notwithstanding. Or his plots,
imagination and ability to give his stories a gripping beginning, an exciting middle, and a cathartic end.
There is a lot in one of these books, so even if you think you don’t enjoy horror they are worth checking out.
Very highly recommended. |
The Book |
Pan (Macmillan UK) |
September 2007 |
Paperback |
9780230014831 |
Horror [Contemporary Wisconsin] |
More at Amazon.com
US||
UK |
Excerpt |
NOTE: Some violence and gory scenes |
The Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed 2007 |
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