The Scarred Man

by Andrew Klavan

A ghost story forces a man to confront the darkest secret of his pastChristmas is lonely for a man with no family, and Mike North is grateful when his boss invites him to spend the holiday at his cabin upstate. But as a blizzard descends and conversation dries up, Mike regrets leaving New York City. Only the arrival of Susannah, his boss’s daughter, saves him from going mad with boredom. She is quick-witted and beautiful, a perfect antidote to snow-bound tedium, and he begins to fall in love. For Christmas night entertainment, Mike invents a ghost story. It goes all right until Susannah starts to scream. Something in his half-baked melodrama about a Chicago serial killer haunted by a man with a scarred face has touched a nerve. Unknowingly, Mike described a scene that matches Susannah’s nightmares. Soon, what had been a dream begins to intrude into reality. To understand her terror, Mike digs into his own memory, hoping to unearth the secret that gave birth to the scarred man.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1989

About the author

Reference for now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_K...

Reviews

[Otto Penzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost stories are fun until they become a reality. Most of us live life with the certainty that these terrifying impossibilities remain impossible. Mike North isn’t so lucky. During a perfectly innocent Christmas holiday at his boss’s cabin in upstate New York, a blizzard sets in and leads Mike and his boss’s daughter Susannah to start swapping stories. In his attempt to impress her with his creative storytelling, however, Susannah screams in utter terror. Apparently Mike’s story isn’t so made up after all.

Andrew Klavan has been nominated for and won the Edgar award multiple times. He is famous for several of his New York Time bestselling novels, many of which have been made into award-winning films (Don’t Say a Word starring Michael Douglas, and Clint Eastwood’s True Crime).

[Dorian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Klavan's wry wit and pulse-pounding suspense, and the romance between protagonists Michael North and Susannah McGill is as sexy as it is tender. It's one of those books that's so terrific, I wish I'd written it! :-) Highly recommended!

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one took me a while to get into but overall glad I stuck with it.

[Leonard Herman · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all this is not a John Wells story, although Goodreads lists it as so. So I was confused when I began reading this. Did Michael North work in a newspaper office so Wells could eventually appear. Anyway, I was confused for the first hundred or so pages and really disliked the book. Then somewhere after the first hundred pages the plot turned around and I couldn’t put it down.

I’m still unsure what Michael North did for a living. I thought he was a reporter since I thought it was a John Wells book. And he worked for Carl McGill who had been a reporter. And so throughout the book I couldn’t help thinking about the book Andrew Klaven would publish 13 years after this one: True Crime. In my mind the two books had one similarity: a white reporter tries to prove that a black convict who is about to be executed in a few days is innocent.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this was disappointing. Andrew Klavan is usually one of my go-to authors, but this one just didn't work for me. The story was good, but his writing style was much different than usual. I see he wrote it under the name Keith Peterson. I'm guessing he uses a different style when writing under that name. I'm not exactly sure what was wrong with it, I just didn't care for it. There was also a lot of repetition and people kept interrupting each other and they'd end up never hearing the important thing they should have heard. I didn't like Susannah either. I did like Charlie and the humor sprinkled throughout. So, it's a decent story with some pretty good twists, but the writing style kept me from enjoying it. 2.5 stars.

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly well written. I've watched a number of Klavan's videos, and I like him, but this is the first of his fiction I've read.

I'm not much of a crime novel expert, and maybe these features are just run-of-the-mill, but I was pleasantly surprised at the expertly placed twists in the story and at the humor laced throughout. I was also inordinately pleased that the love interest was another Susannah, affectionately called Susie or Sue, all of which I am called by my nearest and dearest.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Timeless Thriller

This book had it all: suspense, intrigue, mystery, a love story, and it was threaded throughout with Andrew Klavan’s subtle humor. I highly recommend for a summer ( or any other season) read.

[Scott Marks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible writing, clunky and childish. Plus the writer is a misogynist, anti-feminist and it comes across quite strongly in how he writes about women.
Red flags guys, avoid this novelists books.

[Joe Nicholl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A horror, crime fiction, psychological thriller...only fair. Not worth a full review...2.0 outta 5.0....

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to read a Klaven book as I’ve heard him on podcast interviews. Should have picked something other than a “ghost” story. I doubt this is one of his better mysteries. He writes well.

[Andrew Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually about 3.5 stars. It's a good story that doesn't have the polish of his later writing.

[Jazz · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters are very well written in only a few sentences, which is my type of tea. From the get go, the author establishes himself capable of accurate descriptions and the bigger picture. The overall start of the book was good, it kept me interested enough in the main character and absolutely love Charlie (the best friend of the main character). Very funny despite the boomer humor, which made a couple microaggressions towards people of color (The word Negro was used) and women (It seems as though every female in this book belonged in the kitchen), though really, what did I expect even in current times these microaggressions still exist.

The plot itself was lackluster though it was executed quite well. The plot twist was equally as lackluster but sadly, not executed quite well. There was a page in which the author seemed to get tired of describing things and filled at least a page full of this gibberish: He's coming. He's coming. I can feel it. In my bones. He's coming. I can't believe it. Through this door oh god oh no. He's-

Like YEAH, we get it. He's coming.

It is meant to give tension and suspense to the reader but it just sounds repetitive and annoying. I have seen others use this style in action/thriller style books such as in R.L Stine's work and it is quite successful. However, it just comes off as irritable used in this case. Other than that, the writing itself it okay. There are weirdly placed sentence though especially stuff like "I want to be inside of her" like... okay, can't you hint at foreplay without sounding like a creep?

That's my own opinion, probably not the writer's fault? But it comes off very weird and out of place in my opinion. The main female character also says some weird stuff- a typical manic pixie dream girl trope- that is suppose to be deep and mystical but again, just comes off as superficial and annoying.

The plot is quickly written and compelling. The characters are also well-developed. The writing has minor inconsistencies that either sounds stupid or racist or misogynist and out of place sometimes but the humor part of the writing is great. I would have given it a three star review if it wasn't for that weird part in the end about the guy coming. LIke it was already good why did you have to add that annoying part Mr. Kalavan? Honestly.

I can only roll my eyes at this book. Not the best book, not the worst either. The worst book I have read is The Eighth Day by John Case. I would burn it and myself if I have to read that again.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unusual, creepy story with surprising twists. Sometimes writing is a bit clunky.

[Sally Bisbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you read and it stays with you for days afterward. At least it was for me. I don't read many books like that. (The Watchers, Seeing Eye, The Ninth Configuration, this one to name a few). Here's a taste of what you're in for...

Michael North's life is irreversibly altered when he meets his employer's daughter during Christmas holiday. One night he tells a particularly scary ghost story abut a mysterious scarred man, and is amazed at the young woman's horrified reaction. It turns out the two of them have been experiencing similar nightmares for years. As they combine forces and discover more about their backgrounds, they become embroiled in an old murder case and must confront a menace from the past. Generally the writing is excellent, although Peterson overdoes the device of deliberately repeating certain words or phrases in subsequent sentences, and occasionally the poetic language seems self-conscious and distracting. However, readers who are tuned in to Peterson's style will find a tense climax and surprising resolution awaiting them.

Enjoy

[Vidya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crap!!!

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: reporter John Wells gets involved when two young people find they are haunted by a vision of a scarred man.

[Sylvia Alger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in one day

Terrific! Great plot! Keeps you guessing. Just when you think you have -bam- plot twist..if you like Andrew Klavan, You'll love this.