Lizard Wine

by Elizabeth Engstrom

Three drifters meet up with three coeds out looking for a good time. A snowstorm slams them together in a deserted campground high in the Cascade mountains. Over the course of the night, each is forced to take a long look at who they really are and where they are headed. Not all elect to survive. An internationally-acclaimed thriller.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Contemporary

300 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 1995

About the author

Elizabeth (Liz) Engstrom grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois (a Chicago suburb where she lived with her father) and Kaysville, Utah (north of Salt Lake City, where she lived with her mother). After graduating from high school in Illinois, she ventured west in a serious search for acceptable weather, eventually settling in Honolulu. She attended college and worked as an advertising copywriter.

After eight years on Oahu, she moved to Maui, found a business partner and opened an advertising agency. One husband, two children and five years later, she sold the agency to her partner and had enough seed money to try her hand at full time fiction writing, her lifelong dream. With the help of her mentor, science fiction great Theodore Sturgeon, When Darkness Loves Us was published.

Engstrom moved to Oregon in 1986, where she lives with her husband Al Cratty, the legendary muskie fisherman. She holds a BA in English Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing, a Master’s in Applied Theology, and a Certificate of Pastoral Care and Ministry, all from Marylhurst University. An introvert at heart, she still emerges into public occasionally to teach a class in novel or short story writing, or to speak at a writer’s convention or conference.

Reviews

[Plagued by Visions · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really jarring clash of outlandish circumstance and deeply humanistic emotion. What Engstrom seems to do best is embroil the reader in lives that are equal times dejected and infuriating.

The book starts as an idyllic story of apparent camaraderie and friendly banter, and then Engstrom sets to work at fraying and searing all joy and warmth in every single one of her characters. More than a few instances here felt like a gut punch.

I really cannot wait to get my hands on more of Engstrom’s work.

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Engstom’s writing style; she does third person omniscient perfectly. Written in the 1990s, this is a story that would never work in today’s world of cell phones and Internet. I think that’s partly why I liked it so much. It really amps up the feeling of claustrophobia and dread.

Six troubled and unlikeable characters collide on a snowy winter night. They were all kind of horrible, but by the end, I pitied them. It’s a bleak and gritty tale, with just a faint flash of hope here and there. In other words, exactly what I like.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncanny and greasy energy; an all-timer in the “party with atrocious vibes” genre.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the writing itself, and I thought there was excellent character development. I was especially surprised at the progressive queer representation in this novel. It’s especially surprising because this book is filled with very triggering other kinds of relationships (if you are triggered by sexual assault/pedophilia/incest, this book is not for you and frankly was a lot for me sometimes). However, my main complaint and reason to knock this to 3 stars was that the tension in this novel was completely unbelievable. A lot of people making mistakes that didn’t seem to come from any real motivation. The circumstance itself is framed as if it’s high stakes, but really, it’s a lot of waffling until an inexplicable crescendo.

[nethescurial · Rating 3 out of 5]

the infodump flashbacks were completely miserable and easily could have been solved thru introspection and character action with the framing of the "truth game", which seemed like the obvious thing to do. other than that this was good pulp horror with a very tense build up and generally enjoyable characters. read it in two big gulps

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing that stuck with me from Lizard Wine is how much it made me rethink my own routines. Elizabeth Engstrom doesn't preach, just lays out the evidence and lets you squirm a little. It runs long in the last third. Great for readers who like self-reflection with their reading, skip if you want pure escape.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. Elizabeth Engstrom might be the most underrated author I've ever come across. All 3 of hers I've read so far we're 5 stars, and each one ahead of its time. Give this a shot! 🙌

[Paul Vieraitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a quick wild read. Loved this book, super creepy, Engstrom is great

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kept me hooked in one sitting, and I didn't even notice the coffee went cold. Lizard Wine has that great low hum of tension, and Engstrom, Elizabeth never lets it drop. The ending is a touch abrupt, no lie. Perfect for a lazy Saturday, skip if you hate a quick wrap-up.

[Zander · Rating 2.75 out of 5]

a well written underwhelming mess

[Anne Russo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just meh for me. I didn't find any of the characters likeable and the story was too predictible for me. I know there was suppose to be larger message somewhere in this book, but the story seemed rather muddled for me and the ending kind of fell apart. Fairly enjoyable but not something that I would ever read again.