Mouth to Mouth

by Michael Kimball

On a beautiful summer day in Destin, Maine, Ellen Chambers watches helplessly as her beloved teenage daughter Moreen marries the possible man.  Ellen -- whose own marriage is crumbling, and who is desperately in need of a friend -- knows her new son-in-law has violent tendencies and is certain to make Mo's life hell.  As she wonders wistfully in silence if it's possible to get away with murder, a handsome young stranger, an uninvited wedding guest, leans in to her and whisper's, "Anything's possible ."

Genres: Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Crime, Mystery

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Tracey]

This was a great thriller. The story is centred around Ellen and her husband, Scott, and opens at their daughters wedding where Ellen, in particular, is struggling to accept their daughter's choice of husband. A mystery guest at the wedding is revealed to be Scott's nephew, Neal, who hasn't been heard of since a family tragedy 12 years prior.

Neal weaves his way into becoming an integral part of the family, helping to build a new barn on their farm and becoming a confidante and more to Ellen. Ellen and Scott's marriage is struggling and Neal plays this to his advantage as it is discovered he is not quite the loving family member they were lead to believe he was.

The daughter, Moreen, seems to be on a course of self-destruction and Ellen is desperate to help her. She starts to rely on Neal until tragedy strikes and she begins to see his true colours emerge.

A story of revenge, family, loyalty, lies, truth and forgiveness.

[J. Ewbank]

When I started reading this book I would that it was very different from other books I have read. At first I did not like it but then as I read further it was easy to get caught up in tyhe story and I thought it was a good read.

A strange book, but one that will catch you and bring you into the action fi you don't watch out.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

[Nessa Borealis]

If I had to summarize this book in a word, I'd say taut. And unnerving. People swirling around each other with malintent, bad things happening, and sexual tension yanking it all together. As with Mike's other books, Maine is a living, breathing character here.

[Evelyn]

Ellen and Scott Chambers's nephew returns to the small Maine town of his father's suicide for vengeance on those he thinks are responsible.

Wow! A real page-turner! Darkly psychological with lots of plot twists. Great characterizations. Keeps you guessing. Highly recommend.

[Gloria]

This author does a great job of creating a rather sickening feeling throughout. You simply know evil is present and that events will collide in a cataclysmic finale. One particularly erotic seen, but otherwise just steady suspenseful tension.

[Debra]

Stephen King recommended book. He says: "The sort of book you think about during the day and can't wait to settle back into at night. It's sly, sexy, suspenseful and very, very moving."

[Karen]

A taut, dark thriller, the books opens at the wedding of 17 year old pregnant Moreen, to Randy a 27 year old drug dealer and muscle for a local loan shark, which her mother Ellen is not happy about. Ellen and Scot do not have a great marriage and she wants better for her daughter. An uninvited guest, Neale, Scot’s nephew, who has not been since his father hung himself 12 years beforehand, sends a thrill of excitement through the wedding guests. He offers to stay and build Ellen a barn in 12 days. Ellen does not trust him and is terrified for herself and her family. This was a dark novel about obsession and revenge.

[Jeff Lyon]

Michael Kimball's villain in Mouth to Mouth will haunt me long after I write this review. When a family member turns out to be so vile and vindictive, it's terrifying to think who might be lurking in your own family tree. Granted, all the members in the story's starring family have severe mental issues and horrible skeletons in their closets.

Kimball's scenes are clear, crisp visions, and at times physically painful. The surprisingly despicable twists revealed at the end of the story are gut-wrenchingly fantastic. If you crave a good mystery with a diabolical and hard-to-kill antagonist, your search is over with Mouth to Mouth.

[Maddie Farnan]

This was one of those books where I had to finish it only because I wanted to know what happened in the end.

Side-characters are un-likable and the additional story lines outside of the main relationship between Ellen’s family and her nephew, Neal, are SO random.

Had potential but then just turned into one of those stories where the killer doesn’t stop killing people & I was like alright I get it!

[Elizabeth Kennedy]

Not my favorite. This book seemed to go on and on and on, and even in the end there were things left unresolved. I did like the plot and the writing contained a lot of smart word choices, which I appreciated. Took a long time to read because of all the things that have happened in my life so far this year.

[Missy Neiswander]

This book was a RIDE! Once you get past the weird almost-but-not-really incest thing…it’s quite a suspenseful but enjoyable read. You’re literally watching a psychopath develop. You’re constantly living in the same fear and frustration that the main character is living in, as flawed as she is. It speaks a lot to unresolved trauma and the toll it can take on a mind when untreated.

[Genevieve Roots]

This book was way too long and all of the main characters are just awful people, so much so that I didn't care about any of them at all. The romance/intimacy scenes were also full of awkward dialogue and just did not read naturally either. In short, this book started off interesting enough but very quickly went downhill. Would not recommend.

[Alaa]

Definitely an interesting read . I loved the plot , and the way the story built up. Even though it bored me along the way , and I know this is a shorter review but to sum everything up . I'd say this book was average.

[Katie]

I didn't like any of the characters, and it was pretty unbelievable, but it was ok

[Elaine]

Bit long winded,but an ok read

[Barbara]

I enjoyed this … kept me up late. Second time reading as read 24 years ago when gifted to me.

[Kathie]

Creepy. Quite a tangle for all that’s happened in the past and what is happening and the current motivations. Really intriguing

[TraceyB]

It was like one of those horror movies—you think the worst is over, but then more things go wrong. Not my usual genre, but good for a change!

[Hege]

Lest på norsk: Svart vann

[Dawn]

I really couldn't get into this book and it took me until I was more than halfway through it to figure out why. It's because I couldn't stand any of the characters! They are all jerks -- especially Moreen. I wasn't sympathetic toward any of them and I actually found myself rooting for the killer. Although he was kind of ridiculous and was written almost as a caricature. I just don't think this was a well-written book. I hated everyone in it. Some things were left unexplained. It wasn't much of a mystery (not hard to figure out what's going to happen when the bad guy is "dead" and you still have 100 pages left). It probably only deserved one star, but I got it for free so I was generous.

[Julie Bauer]

3 complaints about this book.

1) The characters live on the coast of Maine. They do not sound or act as though they do.

2) The daughter is an important figure, but it is impossible to get a sense of her personality or to understand why so many people are devoted to her.

3) We all know what happens when the bad guy seems to be dead but there are 5 more chapters....

Three stars anyway because the writing is a notch above most books of its kind. Not a great hand with dialogue, though.

[Danielle]

I picked up this book at the library because it sounded intriguing - a woman hates her new son-in-law and just met someone who might be willing to take of her problem for her. I read the first few chapters and it seemed promising at first - turns out the handsome stranger is her nephew and his father (her brother-in-law) committed suicide under mysterious circumstances. But the more I read, the less I liked it - just too violent and kind of icky. I couldn't seem investing the time to get to the bitter end.

[Gillian Bc]

The plot has plenty of twists and the characters are great. Did keep getting mixed up between two of the female characters though as their names both started with 'M'. There are graphic sex scenes in it that just didn't seem to fit in this book. I'm happy to read such stuff in a Jackie Collins type plot, but I think it would have been better to leave those bits to our imagination. I think this would make an excellent film.

[Mariacarolyn Mendoza]

I find this book so destructive, so i will not recommend this book to any of my friends to read.if u are a hopeless romantic and u have so much respect in family affairs, don't read this book.Anyway our opinion differs, so its up to u if want to read it or not.

[Jim]

No, no, no! A man writing from a woman's POV? A difficult trick to pull off, and Kimball failed to manage it. Plus his main characters weren't particularly likeable, his villains weren't menacing enough and the plot just plodded. Disappointing.

[Siobhan]

This just wasn't my type of book

[Rosie]

cant recall :(

[Rod Zemke]

3.75

[Jen Roe]

I thought this was a good book

[Rick Bayko]

Bad stuff happening in the state of Maine. Adultery, guilt, deceit, revenge, and murder. Not all in the family, but most of it. Aren't you glad that you're not one of them?