SYNOPSIS:
When family man Joe Crawford confronts a young mother abusing her toddler, he has no idea of the chain reaction he’s setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members? When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the fanatics begin their mission of terror. Soon the cult leaders will summon their deadliest hunters―and a ferocious supernatural evil―to make Joe pay for what he’s done. They want Joe’s blood and the blood of his family. And they want their child back. This is an intense book, to the point where I had to stop myself from growling at the characters and then having to explain to the kids why. 😄 I love that it starts off in high gear (in the hardest scene in the book to get through), stays tense the whole way through, and then somehow manages to kick it up even more at the end. Hell of a book, and I'm absolutely spending my @flametreepress coupon on more Janz stories. Notes I took while reading! -- How much do I want to be able to physically fling Angie and her mom into the sun? "It's called discipline!" YOU ASSHOLE I WILL... -- "Isn't that a bit...extreme? Can't Angie go to classes? You know, become a better mom?" No it isn't 'extreme' she was beating her kid in a parking lot wtf is wrong with you -- "How can they do that?" "Do what?" Michelle made a vague gesture. "Take her child away. Permanently, I mean." Because. She. Beat. Him. And now she and her equally creepy mom have been stalking you guys for a week. You want a kid to go back to that house? -- oh god the self-immolation scene is creepy as HELL -- "But Sharon...she lost her daughter, her house. She probably won't get custody of her grandson." Because she defended her daughter for abusing the kid and viciously attacked the people who tried to protect him. HOW IS THIS HARD TO GRASP. Once is understandable, twice is worrisome, three times and I'm suspecting Michelle is actually part of the cult. -- "It just seems right that we should pay our respects." "I don't have any respects." GOOD -- Joe why are you at the funeral you were doing so well -- My love for Darrell is eternal -- okay so Bridget and Mitch are clearly creepy cultists moving in next door to keep an eye on them -- "You have a daughter of your own, don't you, Joe Crawford?" "My daughter is none of your business." "I'll decide what she is." Ohhhh no either kill her right now or move to Alaska maybe both because this isn't gonna end well -- "You're not using my silverware for that." *snerk* -- DO NOT DRINK THE WINE IF THE MARTINS GAVE IT TO YOU -- I'm loving Janz's writing style. I'm gonna buy all of his stuff assuming Little Stevie and Lily live through this (I am still not over Gage from Pet Sematary dangit) -- "You're a real asshole," Joe said, "but I'm not gonna kill you." this is a mistake joe -- ugggggh I *knew* Gentry was a creeper -- "He's better off without her." "You're probably right about that." "Damn right I am." There we go, Michelle! -- the way Darrell dealt with Gentry = GOLD -- "Lily napped and I worked on the computer." "That sounds rough." JOE. You are gonna get your butt kicked and rightly so. -- Why are you exploring the house alone Joe this is exactly how people die in horror movies -- I honestly thought when he opened the car door and realized the cult had left something for him that it was gonna be the remains of the couple's dog and I was gonna be traumatized forever -- Stop it you two you are not allowed to go into the creepy church when nobody knows where you are -- Darrell noooooooooooo -- WICKER MAN FLASHBACKS -- HECK YEAH MICHELLE I'M SORRY I EVER DOUBTED YOU -- I may well get '"Now ladies. You don't want to--" His forehead disintegrated' as a tattoo because ICONIC. -- "To get my son." I'm not tearing up you're tearing up -- 'The first cult member impaled himself like an energetic hors d'oeuvre' **cackling** -- 'He'd be damned if this scrawny psychopath would put a hole in his head with something Joe had purchased at Sears' <3 <3 <3 -- also Joe is never going to hire anyone for his construction business ever again -- From my kidlet: "Mom! Time for bedtime story!" noooooo mommy is 20 pages from the end of the book go play -- SHARON I STG -- 'The boy didn't smile, but he didn't look afraid. And that was something, Joe thought. That was something.' darnit Janz quit making me cry All in all, an incredible book. I love the supernatural tinges, but that it wasn't *so* supernatural that you were left with the feeling that Lily was irrevocably doomed. Angie's actions were more of a self-fulfilling prophecy than a supernatural decree, and since Little Stevie and Lily are growing up in a loving home, that cycle is going to be broken. It's my favorite kind of horror novel: dark and terrifying, but with hope left at the end. Wholeheartedly recommend.
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A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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