With no exaggeration here, I have read every novel that Saul has ever written (as of 2014) and own all but a couple. This is my favorite. It has all of the elements that make Saul's novels campy good fun.

A man's mother is dying, and he visits home for the first time in 16 years. His mother is a cantankerous old woman with a cruel streak, particularly toward the man's badly crippled ex-ballerina sister. The story is essentially about the toll taken be an incredibly twisted family dynamic.

People who love twisted, dark-family-secret types of horror will love it.

There is some imagery in this novel that is creepy and unforgettable. The mother and sister are extremely memorable characters as well. I have read this particular book at least 6 times. Even after knowing the secrets, it is a fun ride.

Saul is a hack horror writer who incorporates many elements that I like in the genre. The settings and character types are winners for me. If you like one or two of his novels, you will like most of the others because they all follow the same type of pattern and have similar elements (a 100 year old curse, for instance, appears in many many novels). He does not write literary masterpieces, but they are fun paperbacks that I find engaging.

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Created Oct 30, 2014 at 8:31pm • Submit your own review...