What do you think?
Rate this book
Chain Letter
The paper was yellowed with age and edged in black. The spidery words were elegantly penned:
Whosoever possesseth this letter and dares to break this chain shall suffer disaster and death…
Abby and Brian knew what they had found. A chain letter. But it was unlike any chain letter their friends had ever gotten. This one was evil—they knew it in their souls. They dared not break this chain. They would send the letter to their special friends. And they would know who had broken the chain—by who had died…
Whosoever possesseth this letter and dares to break this chain shall suffer disaster and death…
Abby and Brian knew what they had found. A chain letter. But it was unlike any chain letter their friends had ever gotten. This one was evil—they knew it in their souls. They dared not break this chain. They would send the letter to their special friends. And they would know who had broken the chain—by who had died…
382 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1987
14 people are currently reading
553 people want to read
About the author
Ruby Jean Jensen
39 books211 followers
Ruby Jean Jensen
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 15, 2023
Brian and his friends Abby, Shelly and the dog Barbara find a mysterious chain letter (torn in half) in a derelict Nursery Home (extremely spooky). Soon people are missing, start to die and families are breaking apart. Is there a curse on this letter? Who wrote them and what kind of inmates were in that location? Ruby Jean Jensen comes up with an extremely haunting tale on a chain letter and complicated family relations. Her evil/possessed child motif reminds me a bit on John Saul but this one was quite unique and compelling. Really enjoyed this uncanny classic chiller. One of the eeriest covers ever. Highly recommended!
January 11, 2025
3.5 stars
June 16, 2023
Zebra horror, kids in peril novel. It all starts with a trip to the corner store for treats and cream. Three young pre-teen kids want to get something sweet to eat. They take along one kids dog. A kid convinces them to take a short cut through some woods and hills. They come upon an old, abandoned nursing home. One wing, unbeknownst to them was a mental institution during WWII. They find half of a chain letter inside and then loose one of the girls and the dog. Search parties never find the two. Terrible things start to happen to all three kid's families.
All through out, the boy who lost his dog and friend starts seeing bad things going on all around. The other girl starts to get mean and hear voices. The boy figures out that the letter is the root of all the evil and tries to stop it by sending more letters out. That has the reverse effect. He then tries to find the other half of the letter to find the secret.
This was a pretty nice book. The middle of it sort of lags and turns a little dull. It gets moving again thanks to the kids trying to return to the nursing home and return the letter. Not a heavy body count, but a really creepy atmosphere makes up for it. Maybe Ruby's best book? I got a few more to read, but I will pick this one so far.
All through out, the boy who lost his dog and friend starts seeing bad things going on all around. The other girl starts to get mean and hear voices. The boy figures out that the letter is the root of all the evil and tries to stop it by sending more letters out. That has the reverse effect. He then tries to find the other half of the letter to find the secret.
This was a pretty nice book. The middle of it sort of lags and turns a little dull. It gets moving again thanks to the kids trying to return to the nursing home and return the letter. Not a heavy body count, but a really creepy atmosphere makes up for it. Maybe Ruby's best book? I got a few more to read, but I will pick this one so far.
May 29, 2022
3.5 rounded up to 4 for Goodreads. This book was very atmospheric, and I loved the very end. But the story did drag at times. Overall, it definitely could have been tightened up. However, I did find parts effectively creepy and eerie, and I am ultimately glad I gave this one a read.
August 29, 2024
Very underrated Zebra horror paperback. Ruby jean jensen was the queen over at zebra. almost all her covers either have a skeleton or a baby. this is the first book I read by her and I loved it so much I had to pick up every book she wrote and I have almost all the physical copies (shes out of print so they are very hard to find, most of them are under 5 on Kindle though).
zebra/leisure/pinnacle.. that's what I grew up on. leisure had the best quality horror in my opinion but zebra had the best covers. not gonna lie zebra printed some junk back then..its nice to find a diamond in the rough like chain letter though.
Abby and Brian really had it rough in this book! lots of interesting family drama and kids these days could not even fathom what a chain letter is. I suppose now in the modern day and age it would be an email. this book strongly reminded me of Richard laymons in the dark. if you like this book or that one I recommend trying the other. this story is thrilling and I loved these characters. the book is so atmospheric of the times and I miss those days.
take me back.
zebra/leisure/pinnacle.. that's what I grew up on. leisure had the best quality horror in my opinion but zebra had the best covers. not gonna lie zebra printed some junk back then..its nice to find a diamond in the rough like chain letter though.
Abby and Brian really had it rough in this book! lots of interesting family drama and kids these days could not even fathom what a chain letter is. I suppose now in the modern day and age it would be an email. this book strongly reminded me of Richard laymons in the dark. if you like this book or that one I recommend trying the other. this story is thrilling and I loved these characters. the book is so atmospheric of the times and I miss those days.
take me back.
January 27, 2016
I'm a mega-Jensen fan. After reading the back cover, fearing it was another chain letter type plot, I still whipped it up and plunged in the first day.
Fortunately not just another chain letter book, the story is primarily through the eyes of the protagonists Brian and Abby, two kids who dare to take the plunge of uncovering the mysteries of the letter. It begins with Brian's dog, Babs, going missing. The poor animal wanders in the old, abandoned Hawthorne Hill nursing home. There three children - Brian, Abby, Shelly - find a piece of the letter. Predictably tragedy soon strikes, but not just through deaths, but in how the children change.
I noted immediately this book is not as cruel int one as Jensen's others. It's lighter and more young adult, maybe dished out quickly, or else when she was in an off mood. The atmosphere is still unsettling, Jensen could never write a book that wasn't, even though the tone is told through the children much of the time. The kiddies themselves aren't annoying. Brian's an adorable (yes, I really said that) little kid who is all innocence with a big heart. He's fun to read through and sympathize with. All other characters are likeable - although I wanted to know more on the bearded "man."
The story starts out a little slow but it's never dull. Jensen's writing style is to par with the best of them . Her choice of wording is, frankly, beautiful and I love the analogues she uses. The writing doesn't get too stuffy, where it crams the rhythm aside.
Chain letter is what it says it is, a little more. It is more complex than the back of the cover lets on. In fact, cover blurb is a little misleading, as it doesn't play out much like the words suggest. Sadly it loses focus in the end, being abrupt and cheesy. I guess they were proposing a 'shocking' moment, but with a revelation like this it was sooo 80's. (not in a good way this time). Overall Chain Letter took me two days to read - if it weren't for distraction like work, food, and humans to take care of, I would have finished it much sooner. With flaws by still worth a read.
Fortunately not just another chain letter book, the story is primarily through the eyes of the protagonists Brian and Abby, two kids who dare to take the plunge of uncovering the mysteries of the letter. It begins with Brian's dog, Babs, going missing. The poor animal wanders in the old, abandoned Hawthorne Hill nursing home. There three children - Brian, Abby, Shelly - find a piece of the letter. Predictably tragedy soon strikes, but not just through deaths, but in how the children change.
I noted immediately this book is not as cruel int one as Jensen's others. It's lighter and more young adult, maybe dished out quickly, or else when she was in an off mood. The atmosphere is still unsettling, Jensen could never write a book that wasn't, even though the tone is told through the children much of the time. The kiddies themselves aren't annoying. Brian's an adorable (yes, I really said that) little kid who is all innocence with a big heart. He's fun to read through and sympathize with. All other characters are likeable - although I wanted to know more on the bearded "man."
The story starts out a little slow but it's never dull. Jensen's writing style is to par with the best of them . Her choice of wording is, frankly, beautiful and I love the analogues she uses. The writing doesn't get too stuffy, where it crams the rhythm aside.
Chain letter is what it says it is, a little more. It is more complex than the back of the cover lets on. In fact, cover blurb is a little misleading, as it doesn't play out much like the words suggest. Sadly it loses focus in the end, being abrupt and cheesy. I guess they were proposing a 'shocking' moment, but with a revelation like this it was sooo 80's. (not in a good way this time). Overall Chain Letter took me two days to read - if it weren't for distraction like work, food, and humans to take care of, I would have finished it much sooner. With flaws by still worth a read.
January 6, 2015
I love anything by Ruby Jean Jensen. This book was even autographed. Though the author has passed away, her legacy of being the Queen of horror novels lives on! Mostly her books are about dolls or toys coming back to life or evil and strange children doing ugly things. Loved this book and all the others.
January 13, 2012
Chain Letter is an example of Ruby Jean Jensen at her best, and is actually probably the best book she has ever written. Rarely will I give a story a third or fourth read, and this one is one of the few.
When the children find part of a cursed chain letter in the old asylum they send it on, keeping the terror alive!
When the children find part of a cursed chain letter in the old asylum they send it on, keeping the terror alive!
July 13, 2025
This was a real piece of shit. Not scary. Poorly written. The story was nonsensical. The chain letter was an afterthought that kept being reintroduced. Seemed more like a book written because of a book title rather than a story formed into a book and then given a corresponding title. I could say more but I’ve wasted enough time reading the damn thing to start with.
October 27, 2022
Three kids go to an abandoned old folks home. One goes missing and one finds part of a chain letter that the other feels has cursed the town.
This wasn’t terrible, but it often felt like there was no direction and the chain letter idea was tacked on to a story about a small town dealing with the shadow of trauma. Too many chapters about a sad housewife convinced her husband was having a affair or the kids going back to the hospital over and over again. It was entirely based around the fear kids have of shadows but really didn’t have anything beyond that. The whole possessed kid thing came on way too late and there were lots of times where the plot seemed to be coasting while the writer filled pages and figured out what to do next. Hardly worth paying big $ for or tracking down at all really. Just meh.
This wasn’t terrible, but it often felt like there was no direction and the chain letter idea was tacked on to a story about a small town dealing with the shadow of trauma. Too many chapters about a sad housewife convinced her husband was having a affair or the kids going back to the hospital over and over again. It was entirely based around the fear kids have of shadows but really didn’t have anything beyond that. The whole possessed kid thing came on way too late and there were lots of times where the plot seemed to be coasting while the writer filled pages and figured out what to do next. Hardly worth paying big $ for or tracking down at all really. Just meh.
September 21, 2019
Once they came across the old letter, the children seemed to be rapidly swept up by events out of their control. What a quandary! To send the letter to your friends, then wait to see what happens? They could never predict the result. Ruby Jean again captures and holds your attention as you struggle with decisions along with the children.
July 1, 2022
Overall, this one was pretty good. We follow a trio of children as they stumble across a chain letter (remember those!) that may bring bad things to those that don’t send it on to someone else. These kids experience some pretty brutal things due to this chain letter. I felt this was a bit long, could have been shorter and still have been a compelling story but it was a pretty good time.
April 14, 2008
This was actually pretty spooky! I left it at m mom's house years ago, then she read it, and told me about it... My grandpa actually bought this book for me from a garage sale (I know this sounds unlikely to my family, but it's true), and it's signed!
April 10, 2009
I read this book during adolescence and I remember being scared out of my mind. So the review is based on 20+ years ago!
September 21, 2017
Good story, a little uneven, and the ending was rather ambiguous. Has a nice, spooky edge to it.
August 6, 2024
A chain letter that brings death and destruction to those that don't send it forward, sounds like a grand slam story for a 1980s horror boom paperback, right? Like bang, out the park? Not so much here in this novel. Ruby Jean Jensen delivers more like a grounder base hit. Which isn't terrible!
The story has a very weird prologue, in fact, I have picked up this book, read the prologue, and then put the book back on the shelf many times over the past few years. It wasn't until I recently read Ruby Jean's absolute banger of a horror novel "Wait and See" that I was like "ok, I need to read everything by her"! While not as good as "Wait and See", this is a decent horror novel. Like many of it's horror boom ilk, it really would have benefitted from a good pruning. There is ALOT of padding. I found myself kind of forcing my way forward in the meandering middle section. That said, the final hundred pages or so race by as the book hurtles towards it's conclusion. The conclusion is pretty satisfying and made me feel okay about the book, padding and all.
Maybe not Mrs. Jensen's best effort, but I am glad I read it. And that cover is amazing!
The story has a very weird prologue, in fact, I have picked up this book, read the prologue, and then put the book back on the shelf many times over the past few years. It wasn't until I recently read Ruby Jean's absolute banger of a horror novel "Wait and See" that I was like "ok, I need to read everything by her"! While not as good as "Wait and See", this is a decent horror novel. Like many of it's horror boom ilk, it really would have benefitted from a good pruning. There is ALOT of padding. I found myself kind of forcing my way forward in the meandering middle section. That said, the final hundred pages or so race by as the book hurtles towards it's conclusion. The conclusion is pretty satisfying and made me feel okay about the book, padding and all.
Maybe not Mrs. Jensen's best effort, but I am glad I read it. And that cover is amazing!
October 14, 2024
I'm a sucker for the child trope in horror. Jensen does not disappoint in this novel where three kids, Abby, Shelly, and Brian, find part of a chain letter in an abandoned nursing home. In their effort to comply with sending the chain letter along, misery ensues. This was my first introduction to Ruby Jean Jensen back when I was 12 years old. I've been a fan ever since.
June 27, 2018
Love all Ruby Jean's books and this one is no exception...what a great ride!!
May 1, 2020
Took awhile, but NOT because it wasn't an interesting read, i just haven't been in the reading mood the last few months.
May 23, 2022
Unfortunately, this is a Ruby Jean Jensen book that just didn't cut it. Ordinarily, I enjoy her writing. She's cliche and cheesy, and there really isn't any substance to her writing, but they're fun, especially if you're in the mood that flavor of horror. But right from the start, I wasn't sure if I'd like this one. I started reading RJJ's books because she wrote stories about creepy dolls. So I was a little reluctant to start one that had nothing to do with creepy dolls. But seeing as her books are a little harder to find and I already had it, I figured I might as well give it a try.
Let me start by saying this wasn't bad. But since it already wasn't something I was interested in, this one easily fell short for me. I just wasn't feeling it, which is why I stopped reading it. I left a bookmark in it thinking that I'd one day return to it, thinking it just wasn't the right time, but its been five years and I realize I will likely never go back. Thing is, I can see the appeal in this one. It's just not what I want out of a RJJ book. We all remember chain letters. And while this one is more of its time, I remember being a young middle schooler going on the internet, and every single youtube video seemed to have one of those spam chain letters sitting in the comments. Or my friends would send them to me via text, and I'd never have enough people to send them to in order to stave off whatever bad fortune might have befallen me if I did not. And at that age, a tiny little part of me wondered, "Well, what if these ARE true?" even though I knew that they were not deep down. So yeah, I can see the appeal. But it's not really a plot I want to read about in a book, you know? I could see a movie faring better than a book with this sort of plot, but hey, I think others would like this.
Like I said, it's not a bad book. But it's not what I wanted out of a book from this author, so there really wasn't any point in pursuing it.
Let me start by saying this wasn't bad. But since it already wasn't something I was interested in, this one easily fell short for me. I just wasn't feeling it, which is why I stopped reading it. I left a bookmark in it thinking that I'd one day return to it, thinking it just wasn't the right time, but its been five years and I realize I will likely never go back. Thing is, I can see the appeal in this one. It's just not what I want out of a RJJ book. We all remember chain letters. And while this one is more of its time, I remember being a young middle schooler going on the internet, and every single youtube video seemed to have one of those spam chain letters sitting in the comments. Or my friends would send them to me via text, and I'd never have enough people to send them to in order to stave off whatever bad fortune might have befallen me if I did not. And at that age, a tiny little part of me wondered, "Well, what if these ARE true?" even though I knew that they were not deep down. So yeah, I can see the appeal. But it's not really a plot I want to read about in a book, you know? I could see a movie faring better than a book with this sort of plot, but hey, I think others would like this.
Like I said, it's not a bad book. But it's not what I wanted out of a book from this author, so there really wasn't any point in pursuing it.
January 21, 2025
In many ways, this book reminded me of something one might expect from the Goosebumps series. Like many of Jensen's books, the theme of children facing supernatural trouble is present but in unlike other books, the story is mostly focused on them and their point of view.
October 15, 2011
it has it's moment of fear but this book is geared more 4 the middle-school crowd. I'd probably would've had nightmares if I'd read in my youth
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews