The Desperate Season

by Michael Blaine

It begins, as shocking events often do, with a simple lapse in judgment. A strange and brilliant young man slips out of a mental institution and takes his family hostage in the frozen isolation of the mountains. In a suffocating cabin, he demands the truth from Moira, the mother who admired and abandoned him; Nathan, the father who showered him with a dangerous, unconditional love; and Crissie, the younger sister who adored and betrayed him. At the center of this Rashomon-like tale are Moira, beautiful, deceptive, loving, and cold, and Vince, a stranger with a secret who finds himself drawn into the tense and explosive climax. A visceral, relentlessly compelling novel of true literary achievement, The Desperate Season captivates as it terrifies, with a psychological power that resonates long after its haunting conclusion.

Genres: Thriller

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think with some good editing, this book could have been great. The story is very interesting but the writing was very scattered. The author would switch to a new subject in the middle of a sentence. There were also a lot of characters introduced very quickly but not described very well.

[Jarad Sergent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me awhile to read this. It's dark. Nothing scarier than mental health. I found it really well written. Maurice is terrifying.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narration changes from 1st person to 3rd, back and forth, making the book difficult to follow at times; but the loosely followed REAL event was so shocking and tragic that I appreciate the author's interest in writing about the family. Very sad.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good debut novel by Blaine.

The story is about 17 year old Maurice diagnosed with schizophrenia, who is unjustly released from the asylum. Without his medication he is turning more psychotic and agressive when he heads for his hometown to his family, where situations get more grim by the minute.

Eventhough I found the story not as thrilling and psycological strong as I thought when reading the description it is certainly a moving suspense novel.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

..."captivates as it terrifies" pretty much sums up how I felt reading this novel. An enticing cover, a $2/bag book sale find, & having a basic curiosity about schizophrenia explains how I acquired this book---not the sort I would have selected and paid full price for, but an interesting read and adequately written enough to keep me turning the pages so I would give it 3.5 stars.

[Stephanie Macrinos · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first read the plot synopsis, I was so excited to read this book. Once finished with it, I was beyond dissatisfied. The author took two thirds of the book to get to the meat of the story, and though the changing perspectives were interesting, I felt they made the story hard to follow. It was as though not every character had enough insight to be included in the perspective changes.

[Zac · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really difficult to read. Too many story lines, in too many time periods combined with one story line of a schizophrenic makes things too difficult. Finding out at the end of the book this was once a short story explains a lot. It was probably great as a short story, as a novel - terrible.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my type of book, but it was interesting.

[Elien · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book looked very promising, but couldn't live up to my expectations. A bit of a disappointment.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book about an upstate New York town, downstaters, crazy people, and murders. Quick read, but not for the squeamish.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, very suspenseful. The son had mental issues (bipolar/schizophrenia)very interesting read. Couldn't put it down.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and eerie.

[Andrea Elkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

well-written, but I just couldn't identify with the characters