Helpful Score: 3
"All the right scares in all the right places. Tension and terror....A suspense-filled and logical tale."
Helpful Score: 3
If the killer has been executed, why are the murders continuing? The journalist who attended the execution can't forget his words to her. Why did he believe it wouldn't end with his death? Because the murders have begun again. Scary stuff!
Helpful Score: 2
A bit hokey, as far as these kinds of books go. This is the first John Saul book I've read, and while it was a quick and enjoyable read, I really hope this isn't the best he's got. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a hokey horror story as much as anyone, and I don't mind the plot device being a little far-fetched, hard-to-believe, and never fully explained. But when the other characters in the book figure out the mystery that is so out there that the reader himself (that's me) doesn't buy it, that kind of ruins it a bit for me. Again, not bad, just a bit hokey. I think Dean R. Koontz did a better job with Hideaway. Did I mention that I thought it was a bit hokey? That's right. Hokey.
Helpful Score: 2
Fast pacing and skillful narrative misdirection make this supernatural thriller one of Saul's (The Homing) best?and one of his few not to focus on children in peril. Richard Kraven, the novel's heavy, is as nasty as they come: he eviscerates his victims before they die, in the misguided hope of learning the mystery of life. He also seems to be extending his murder spree after his execution in the electric chair. At least that's what reporter Anne Jeffers tries to prove to the incredulous Seattle police as the killings strike ever closer to her home and family, apparently in retaliation for her help in putting Kraven behind bars. Saul ratchets up the suspense by intercutting chapters told from the points of view of Anne, detective Mark Blakemoor and a serial murderer who thinks of himself as "The Experimenter." He complicates matters by introducing another murderer and by raising suspicions about Anne's husband, Glen, who suffered a heart attack at the moment Kraven died and now experiences blackouts that coincide with the killings. Saul depends on remarkably unobservant cops and a contrived occult explanation to tie all the subplots together, but he sustains the mystery of the killer's identity and motives throughout.
Helpful Score: 1
I adore John Saul and all of his work, but this book was below par. A bit too cheesy and unrealistic for my tastes.
Helpful Score: 1
A very predictable tale. By Chapter 3 I had figured out the who and the what. They Why was somewhat disappointing.
Helpful Score: 1
For five years Seattle was seized in the terrifying grip of a monster as black as evil itself. A sadistic serial killer methodically lured his victims to grisly deaths in order to satisfy a twisted passion for life, leaving a trail of mutilated bodies across the nation.
For five years journalist Anne Jeffers stuck to this gruesome story like a shadow through the killer's capture, trial and appeal doggedly keeping the wheels of justice churning toward the electric chair, despite the prisoner's reasoned claims of innocence.
Then came the day of execution. The police and the public, especially Anne, thought the five-year nightmare was over.
But it was just beginning...
Someone or something is murdering again, mirroring a sociopath's lurid desire to hold life in the palms of his hands. Despite mounting doubts, Anne Jeffers is determined to prove that the guilty man was indeed executed. Yet what she finds is a sinister, powerful force that defies even death. Now pure evil has taken a new form, and it longs for Anne....
In Black Lightning, John Saul strikes with a novel as electrifying as a jagged bolt from a pitch-dark sky, proving once again that he is a genius at both nail-biting suspense and the spine-tingling macabre...http://www.johnsaul.com/
This story was an edge off your seat fasinating story. A story I will read again and again.
For five years journalist Anne Jeffers stuck to this gruesome story like a shadow through the killer's capture, trial and appeal doggedly keeping the wheels of justice churning toward the electric chair, despite the prisoner's reasoned claims of innocence.
Then came the day of execution. The police and the public, especially Anne, thought the five-year nightmare was over.
But it was just beginning...
Someone or something is murdering again, mirroring a sociopath's lurid desire to hold life in the palms of his hands. Despite mounting doubts, Anne Jeffers is determined to prove that the guilty man was indeed executed. Yet what she finds is a sinister, powerful force that defies even death. Now pure evil has taken a new form, and it longs for Anne....
In Black Lightning, John Saul strikes with a novel as electrifying as a jagged bolt from a pitch-dark sky, proving once again that he is a genius at both nail-biting suspense and the spine-tingling macabre...http://www.johnsaul.com/
This story was an edge off your seat fasinating story. A story I will read again and again.
Helpful Score: 1
excellent
Helpful Score: 1
Journalist Anne Jeffers has followed the story of a sadistic serial killer for five years. The killer is sentenced to death and executed and in days a similar murder takes place. Could a copycat know the gruesome details of the killers modus operandi that were never made public? A good fast paced book.
it takes awhile to get moving but once it does it's hard to put down. If you like a build up, this does just that and then takes off.
all of his books are good and scarey
Journalist Anne Jeffers has followed the story of a sadistic serial killer for five years, and is present when the killer is executed, but in days a similar murder takes place. Could a copycat know the gruesome details of that were never made public or did they execute the wrong man????
Keeps you on your toes
Keeps you on your toes
Richard Kraven, the novel's heavy, is as nasty as they come: he eviscerates his victims before they die, in the misguided hope of learning the mystery of life. He also seems to be extending his murder spree after his execution in the electric chair. At least that's what reporter Anne Jeffers tries to prove to the incredulous Seattle police as the killings strike ever closer to her home and family, apparently in retaliation for her help in putting Kraven behind bars. Saul ratchets up the suspense by intercutting chapters told from the points of view of Anne, detective Mark Blakemoor and a serial murderer who thinks of himself as "The Experimenter." He complicates matters by introducing another murderer and by raising suspicions about Anne's husband, Glen, who suffered a heart attack at the moment Kraven died and now experiences blackouts that coincide with the killings. Saul depends on remarkably unobservant cops and a contrived occult explanation to tie all the subplots together, but he sustains the mystery of the killer's identity and motives throughout.
Excellent serial killer book,great twist!
Good scare but not his best.
John Saul is an excellent thriller author and will have you at the beginning - he kinda writes like Stephen King (a little easier to follow) and Dean Koontz - happy to share with all
i love all of his books.
For five years Seattle journalist Anne Jeffers has pursued the horrifying story of a sadistic serial killers bloody reign, capture, trial, and appealcrusading to keep the wheels of justice churning towards the electric chair. Now the day of execution has come. A convicted killer will meet his end. Anne believes her long nightmare is over. But shes dead wrong
Within days, a similar murder stuns the city. As the butcher stalks his next victims, creeping ever closer to her, Anne is seized by an icy unease, a haunting sense of connection to these unspeakable crimes. And, relentlessly, she hears the eerie echo of the dead mans last words to her: Today wont end it. How will you feel, Anne? When Im dead, and it all starts again, how will you will?
Within days, a similar murder stuns the city. As the butcher stalks his next victims, creeping ever closer to her, Anne is seized by an icy unease, a haunting sense of connection to these unspeakable crimes. And, relentlessly, she hears the eerie echo of the dead mans last words to her: Today wont end it. How will you feel, Anne? When Im dead, and it all starts again, how will you will?
Another great book by John Saul.
This is the 2nd book I have read by Saul and I intend to read more-good author.
Bestseller. If you like thrillers, you will like this one. Scary!
Leaves you wanting another John Saul book.
Another good one from John Saul!
For 5 years Seattle journalist Anne Jeffers has pursued the horrifying story of a sadistic serial killer's bloody reign, capture, trial, and appeal - crusading to the wheels of justice churning towards the electric chair. Now the day of execution has come. A convicted killer will meet his end. Anne believes her long nightmare to be over. But she's dead wrong...
Another Saul great
Fast pacing and skillful narrative misdirection make this supernatural thriller one of Saul's (The Homing) best?and one of his few not to focus on children in peril. Richard Kraven, the novel's heavy, is as nasty as they come: he eviscerates his victims before they die, in the misguided hope of learning the mystery of life. He also seems to be extending his murder spree after his execution in the electric chair. At least that's what reporter Anne Jeffers tries to prove to the incredulous Seattle police as the killings strike ever closer to her home and family, apparently in retaliation for her help in putting Kraven behind bars. Saul ratchets up the suspense by intercutting chapters told from the points of view of Anne, detective Mark Blakemoor and a serial murderer who thinks of himself as "The Experimenter." He complicates matters by introducing another murderer and by raising suspicions about Anne's husband, Glen, who suffered a heart attack at the moment Kraven died and now experiences blackouts that coincide with the killings. Saul depends on remarkably unobservant cops and a contrived occult explanation to tie all the subplots together, but he sustains the mystery of the killer's identity and motives throughout. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection; major ad/promo; simultaneous Random House AudioBook; simultaneous release of The Homing in mass market paper.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW
I love John Saul. This is one of his best!
good read
Its a paperback book but it has the hardbacks cover. Just wanted to point that out.
A murder mystery with an unusual ending.
Good Book, typical John Saul.
This is a thriller, written by a master of the genre. Anne is present when a killer is executed, after he tells her that the killing won't end with his death. Sure enough, they start again. This is a read-to-the-end novel, one I enjoyed.
I did not feel this was a typical Saul work. I believe the plot was a little bit on the simple side and was redundant at times.
Anne and Glen Jeffers find themselves trapped in a nightmare that seems to have no end. A serial killer seems to be haunting them from the dead. Anne and her husband are taken on a whirlwind of a ride.
