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Widowmaker
Terror in the Trees, the latest uber-low budget slasher flick is slaying people... literally. But is it all hype or is there an evil force behind the supposed deaths? Special Agent Bolder had best find out before the President attends the Hollywood premiere...
172 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 24, 2011
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138 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 9, 2018
The actual writing was good. Characters pretty well fleshed out, background info portrayed as a part of the story (not an info dump),
The plot was stupid.
The plot was stupid.
June 21, 2012
When I read the unique summary for this story, I just had to read it. I am a horror movie buff which I'm sure does not surprise anyone who reads my reviews. Not only was this story promising the horror i love, it also combined the two mediums I use to get my horror fix; books and movies. What could possibly go wrong?
Well not much did go really wrong, the story read well and was fast paced; it did indeed provide a unique plot that had me wondering what the hell was going on and had copious amounts of gore. Gore!
Before I go further, here is the summary from the book; Terror in the Trees, the latest uber-low budget slasher flick is slaying people... literally. But is it all hype or is there an evil force behind the supposed deaths? Special Agent Bolder had best find out before the President attends the Hollywood premiere...
We start the story in line to see Terror in the Trees. The line is long and the first group of movie-goers are already down in the theater watching. Three friends waiting for their turn are listening to the screams from the audience and bouncing with excitement while exchanging horror movie tidbits and trivia when suddenly hell breaks loose in the theater. People are busting out the windows, bleeding and screaming. Chaos erupts as police and medics arrive and try to help. A great beginning as far as I'm concerned. It speaks to the creepy side of my personality that enjoys unexpected chaos and doom in my entertainment.
Enter our main characters. The FBI agent who chose white collar crime after a horrific experience as an undercover agent. The woman who left him at the alter years ago who is now the chief PR agent with the movie studio that bought the rights to Terror in the Trees and a college student working on his Masters in cinema who has a theory as to why this movie has caused so much bloodshed.
They become unlikely allies as the try and stop the movie from premiering with and audience of celebs and even the President.
As I hinted earlier, I did enjoy much of the read but found I only connected/liked one character, I also found the underlying 'cause' of the violence to be way over the top and a few scenes were just ridiculous. Even for horror.
All in all I will recommend this to horror buffs. It is bloody fun. I also really like Elena Gray and other works from her. This was a bit different from her usual but i appreciated it.
Well not much did go really wrong, the story read well and was fast paced; it did indeed provide a unique plot that had me wondering what the hell was going on and had copious amounts of gore. Gore!
Before I go further, here is the summary from the book; Terror in the Trees, the latest uber-low budget slasher flick is slaying people... literally. But is it all hype or is there an evil force behind the supposed deaths? Special Agent Bolder had best find out before the President attends the Hollywood premiere...
We start the story in line to see Terror in the Trees. The line is long and the first group of movie-goers are already down in the theater watching. Three friends waiting for their turn are listening to the screams from the audience and bouncing with excitement while exchanging horror movie tidbits and trivia when suddenly hell breaks loose in the theater. People are busting out the windows, bleeding and screaming. Chaos erupts as police and medics arrive and try to help. A great beginning as far as I'm concerned. It speaks to the creepy side of my personality that enjoys unexpected chaos and doom in my entertainment.
Enter our main characters. The FBI agent who chose white collar crime after a horrific experience as an undercover agent. The woman who left him at the alter years ago who is now the chief PR agent with the movie studio that bought the rights to Terror in the Trees and a college student working on his Masters in cinema who has a theory as to why this movie has caused so much bloodshed.
They become unlikely allies as the try and stop the movie from premiering with and audience of celebs and even the President.
As I hinted earlier, I did enjoy much of the read but found I only connected/liked one character, I also found the underlying 'cause' of the violence to be way over the top and a few scenes were just ridiculous. Even for horror.
All in all I will recommend this to horror buffs. It is bloody fun. I also really like Elena Gray and other works from her. This was a bit different from her usual but i appreciated it.
June 4, 2012
If you're ready for a good scare but it's not quite hot enough where you live to seek out the cool dank atmosphere of a movie theater, here's a great place to start: Widowmaker: A Thriller for Horror Buffs by Carolyn McCray and Elena Gray. This was a great fun read that starts with an idea that's been around before - a movie that can kill - but then twists itself into something altogether original and entertaining. Here's the story blurb from Amazon:
Terror in the Trees, the latest uber-low budget slasher flick is slaying people... literally. But is it all hype or is there an evil force behind the supposed deaths? Special Agent Bolder had best find out before the President attends the Hollywood premiere...
The blurb really doesn't do the story justice. There's just so much more to it. It has all the elements of a campy horror movie mixed with well developed believable characters, humor, nail biting suspense, conspiracy and a completely unpredictable ending. The story wasn't the only part of the novel with such a surprise ending either; the endings for several characters were highly creative (and of course, sometimes rather gory). But getting back to the ending - wow. I really couldn't have predicted that one.
When it comes to horror suspense novels, there's very little to complain about in this one. I recommend it. Particularly if you're a horror movie fan looking for something a little unexpected. The pace is fast. The characters are fun (Mitchell was my favorite). A lot of characters die, including some of the more appealing ones. But yes, I will admit that the Baxter brothers are kind of two dimensional as far as characters go - it just makes them fit the story better.
I first read this novel back in January and the copy I had was an earlier version that had formatting issues on my reader. In places it was difficult to read. I am happy to say that this updated linked version doesn't share those issues. It's a very good deal at its current price of $0.99 on Amazon, but I would pay more and feel it was money well spent. Five stars.
Reviewed by: E. Bard
Terror in the Trees, the latest uber-low budget slasher flick is slaying people... literally. But is it all hype or is there an evil force behind the supposed deaths? Special Agent Bolder had best find out before the President attends the Hollywood premiere...
The blurb really doesn't do the story justice. There's just so much more to it. It has all the elements of a campy horror movie mixed with well developed believable characters, humor, nail biting suspense, conspiracy and a completely unpredictable ending. The story wasn't the only part of the novel with such a surprise ending either; the endings for several characters were highly creative (and of course, sometimes rather gory). But getting back to the ending - wow. I really couldn't have predicted that one.
When it comes to horror suspense novels, there's very little to complain about in this one. I recommend it. Particularly if you're a horror movie fan looking for something a little unexpected. The pace is fast. The characters are fun (Mitchell was my favorite). A lot of characters die, including some of the more appealing ones. But yes, I will admit that the Baxter brothers are kind of two dimensional as far as characters go - it just makes them fit the story better.
I first read this novel back in January and the copy I had was an earlier version that had formatting issues on my reader. In places it was difficult to read. I am happy to say that this updated linked version doesn't share those issues. It's a very good deal at its current price of $0.99 on Amazon, but I would pay more and feel it was money well spent. Five stars.
Reviewed by: E. Bard
January 22, 2012
Wow. Lots going on in this book. I'm not sure where to start. There's a nice college kid working on his thesis and an FBI agent with a chip on his shoulder. A broken romance and many gruesome deaths, a peek at the business of promoting movies and an extremely b**chy boss. Sociopaths, stoners, and innocent bystanders. Creatures from horror movies and an ancient god of the forest. I'm not sure how Elena Gray managed to pull all of this together, but she did - with style and lots of humor. Is this an earth-shattering novel that will change lives? Nope. But it IS a really fun book to read, especially if you're a horror movie fan and enjoy some tongue-in-cheek humor.
May 26, 2013
Este livro prometia imenso - um filme de terror cuja visualização leva os espectadores à loucura e à morte. Infelizmente se a ideia base é boa, a escrita não o é. As autoras não se conseguem decidir se estão a escrever uma comédia ou um livro de terror. Em quase todas as situações há injecções de humor quase a "martelo", com críticas constantes a toda o estilo de vida de Hollywood e à maneira como os grandes estúdios se comportam. O livro acaba por se transformar numa salgalhada de piadas (o leitor quase que imagina as autoras a piscarem o olho uma à outra e a rirem-se com o que escreveram) com muito sangue, druidas e um rolo de fita de filme assassino. Não percam tempo com este.
June 12, 2012
This book was a trip to read. What a different concept for a horror story! I absolutely loved this book. It really took you in directions you would not expect. It had everything humor, love, scared s*&^less, that jump up and say "yeah" you deserved that B*&ch! This is a fast paced, well thought out, turning the corners, off the rails story. I loved it. I hope to read more from this author. What an imagination and ability to put it all together where it makes sense. It scared me! Thank you
August 28, 2012
It's been awhile since I was so into a book I didn't want to put it down!!!! I love horror movies and if they are campy even better. This book had suspense, comedy, and romance. Twist and turns and kept me hooked, and page turning. I don't like to do reviews with spoilers so I will just say the twist was quiet entertaining being of a different faith/spirituality myself. If you love horror flicks, Dracula, mummies, zombies, Twilight-zone and Hitchcock you'll enjoy this book as much as I did... so GO READ IT!
April 11, 2013
Not bad at all. I was fascinated by the idea of a 'horror movie come to life'. I not really partial to zombies and monster cockroaches, so that just grossed me out....but the thought of something grabbing at you from the screen made me shudder. I'm sure the whole idea is not quite new.....as I recall, in that funny freakshow, 'Scary movie', they actually had Samarra from 'The Ring' climb right out of the television screen and come to think of it...wasn't 'The Ring' actually ABOUT a killer movie? Anyhow....'Widowmaker' is a good enough read to satisfy those who crave a good dose of horror.
March 8, 2012
I thought it was really good - the only reason it doesn't get the full five stars is because my copy was really wonky which made it hard to read. I hate to ding something because of formatting - but really - it was annoying so I could only give it four and a half stars. But it was a really good horror read with a very original and nearly impossible to guess ending.
October 6, 2012
I found this story to be more comedy than horror. It reminded me of an old comic book. The story is well written and the characters are fairly 3-dimensional, but I was disappointed at the lack of true horror. There are some very funny bits. The ending was subpar and corny.
If you're looking for horror, keep looking because this isn't it.
If you're looking for horror, keep looking because this isn't it.
August 13, 2012
This is the script for a B movie, I'm sure of it. It's complete with cheesy one-liners and plot thickeners that made my eyes roll so far back into my head I could see my IQ dropping.
But hey, it was free.
But hey, it was free.
Want to read
May 30, 2012Kindle free download 5/30/12
June 7, 2012
This book is for anyone who likes cheesy horror films, because that's exactly what it felt like. The book made me laugh and get scared and roll my eyes. A fun read!
July 24, 2012
Loved it. Very creative. Great read!
August 10, 2012
Liked it a lot. I wasn't sure I would but I've found reading "horror" isn't as bad as watching it for me.
October 1, 2012
Horror and humour, I like it. Characters I could relate to in too many ways. Liked it.Would definitely read more of her/their work.
August 30, 2013
just finished this and wow what a good horror book. Fantastic great story. Gory and scary highly recommend it!
September 1, 2013
I liked this one and thought there were great twists and turns everywhere in this book.
I have to review this one soon.
I have to review this one soon.
September 20, 2013
Readable but not really sure how I feel about it.
Very cheesy with lots of typical horror movie characters. Totally unbelievable story but entertaining enough I suppose
Very cheesy with lots of typical horror movie characters. Totally unbelievable story but entertaining enough I suppose
January 13, 2015
This was a great read. It pulled me in with the first chapter. The characters were well developed. Liked the whole concept of the book. If you like scary, funny, and a little gore, I recommend this.
April 30, 2016
Aside from the obvious errors this is an enjoyable, learning to like sci-fi or horror fic type of entertainment.
June 13, 2012
Amusing fast paced romp with a good premise and a nod to all horror tropes.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews