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Crib
SHHHH. THE BABY IS ASLEEP...
Right from the beginning, Joni Lawrence and her baby had a strange and wonderful connection her husband could not understand and could not share. Somehow she could speak to six-month old Stephen without words...without sounds.
But Joni couldn't shake the feeling of dread, of waiting, and then suddenly one night, inexplicably, a mother's worst fear came alive in the lifeless body of her child.
The doctor's explanations gave no comfort. At night, Stephen's cries haunt her pleading for help. The doctors call it imagination, hysteria. But Joni knows it's something else, something more.
And then the shocking glimpse of her baby's crying face in the back seat of another woman's car...
Stephen is alive. Stephen is in need. Stephen is calling. And a mother must answer...
Right from the beginning, Joni Lawrence and her baby had a strange and wonderful connection her husband could not understand and could not share. Somehow she could speak to six-month old Stephen without words...without sounds.
But Joni couldn't shake the feeling of dread, of waiting, and then suddenly one night, inexplicably, a mother's worst fear came alive in the lifeless body of her child.
The doctor's explanations gave no comfort. At night, Stephen's cries haunt her pleading for help. The doctors call it imagination, hysteria. But Joni knows it's something else, something more.
And then the shocking glimpse of her baby's crying face in the back seat of another woman's car...
Stephen is alive. Stephen is in need. Stephen is calling. And a mother must answer...
293 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1982
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180 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 27, 2017
Someone's stealing dead Jewish babies! And Joni Krueger, formerly of the Femme Modeling Agency, is on the job, even though childbirth has ruined her bewbs (they look as if someone has “defaced a great work of art”). Turns out that solving the case of the Kosher Kiddie Kadaver Kidnapper might help Joni work through her own issues, since her husband just raped her, giving her multiple orgasms, and causing her to flash back to an incident of childhood sexual abuse, while the housekeeper screamed from the nursery because the baby is dead. Turns out her little one might still be alive today if Joni hadn't stayed in bed finishing her orgasms.
Features one of my favorite sentences of all time:
“Lottie sat opposite the washing machine, staring at her clothes. Like her mind, they were spinning round and round.”
Features one of my favorite sentences of all time:
“Lottie sat opposite the washing machine, staring at her clothes. Like her mind, they were spinning round and round.”
June 21, 2021
What a fun used bookstore find. The first third of this book was a total gut punch. Definite creeps and soul wrenching. I could not figure out what was going on and where this was heading. The last third kind of watched the wheels fall off with some of the worst policing ever put on paper, but overall, this was still a pretty cool read.
May 22, 2023
Hubboy. Another drunk uncle story masquerading as a vintage horror book coming through. This one boasting dead babies, dead babies, and just when you thought there wasn’t enough…more dead babies. Jewish babies at that, which adds that wtf pizzazz that gives horror from *checks* 1982 it’s “charm.” But that’s not all. They even threw in some evil stalking entities, the modeling shoot from hell, a hobo viking, and the scariest scene in the book (that still made me shudder)…a picnic of Burger King and champagne. THE HORROR. This one got a lot of bad reviews, even from Mr. Hendrix who included it in his Paperbacks from Hell for that captivating cover, but I’ve legit read worse. There were some surprisingly creepy moments & I was genuinely dying to see how the hell they were going to close this one out…and they did a pretty ok job with that. I wouldn’t recommend it for most, especially if you’re a parent because…well yeah. Just look at the cover & have fun flipping it back and forth to see the spooky scary skeleton inside. 💀
May 31, 2022
Dead babies. Dead Jewish babies, that is. Yep, you read that right. Not only are they dead and Jewish, but somebody is robbing their graves. So many things are wrong about this book that it hurts my face. Anti-semitism (if that wasn’t obvious already), infanticide, marital rape. The cover is truly the only high point. And that’s saying a lot.
October 5, 2020
More of a 3.5.
February 23, 2021
lol wut
I'm reading old, pulp horror novels. I have no expectations going in which means I can never be truly disappointed. I almost feel like this book had a reasonably strong start and then went off the rails about 1/3 of the way from the end.
Here's the thing. The beginning was hard. A lot of the time horror books are only supposed to trick us into being scared but let's face it. It's remarkably unlikely any of us are ever going to be menaced by a glowing, rainbow demon that gets carted around in a C-47 or a giant crab that can be defeated with pesticide from a helicopter or slutty ghosts (sorry). But the unexpected, tragic death of an infant is probably every parent's worst nightmare and the prologue starts off with with a chilling description of a minor episode of infant sleep apnea before going on to describe the death by SIDS of the main character's son.
In addition there's an episode of marital rape brought on by the husband's complete inability to adjust to the idea that he isn't the most important receiver of attention from his wife. He tries to play off his whiny, pouty insistence that his wife should only have time for him by accusing her of being "obsessed" with their new child. These are all real and uncomfortable issues and I kind of wanted to put the book down. I'm looking for escape not reality. And I'm quite impressed that in 1982 the author called it what it was, rape, and made it a nail in the coffin in the relationship.
I liked the main character. I thought she was pretty strong and level-headed. But that doesn't save it from the fact that it then devolved into a whole
We get some boring action at the end and a sort-of resolution and eh. But the beginning was just too close to things that have a real chance of happening.
I'm reading old, pulp horror novels. I have no expectations going in which means I can never be truly disappointed. I almost feel like this book had a reasonably strong start and then went off the rails about 1/3 of the way from the end.
Here's the thing. The beginning was hard. A lot of the time horror books are only supposed to trick us into being scared but let's face it. It's remarkably unlikely any of us are ever going to be menaced by a glowing, rainbow demon that gets carted around in a C-47 or a giant crab that can be defeated with pesticide from a helicopter or slutty ghosts (sorry). But the unexpected, tragic death of an infant is probably every parent's worst nightmare and the prologue starts off with with a chilling description of a minor episode of infant sleep apnea before going on to describe the death by SIDS of the main character's son.
In addition there's an episode of marital rape brought on by the husband's complete inability to adjust to the idea that he isn't the most important receiver of attention from his wife. He tries to play off his whiny, pouty insistence that his wife should only have time for him by accusing her of being "obsessed" with their new child. These are all real and uncomfortable issues and I kind of wanted to put the book down. I'm looking for escape not reality. And I'm quite impressed that in 1982 the author called it what it was, rape, and made it a nail in the coffin in the relationship.
I liked the main character. I thought she was pretty strong and level-headed. But that doesn't save it from the fact that it then devolved into a whole
We get some boring action at the end and a sort-of resolution and eh. But the beginning was just too close to things that have a real chance of happening.
October 13, 2015
I don't know that I will keep this title in my horror shelf. Looking at the cover and reading the sypnosis made me think it was a horror book. It ended up not really being what I thought but still made for a good story.
Read
September 7, 2019Something something SIDS something something stealing Jewish babies something something COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISREGARD FOR POLICE PROCEDURE something something WTF.
You know going in that cover is going to be the best part of this novel, but it was a fun distraction and I am glad I read it.
I think Jordan Peele could do wonders with it as a movie.
You know going in that cover is going to be the best part of this novel, but it was a fun distraction and I am glad I read it.
I think Jordan Peele could do wonders with it as a movie.
July 23, 2022
This book is insane. Absolutely ridiculous. The most bizarre plot and the most outlandish final reveal. And the gender politics are egregious.
…,But it’s enjoyable. It’s a really enjoyable read
…,But it’s enjoyable. It’s a really enjoyable read
April 2, 2024
The cover and stepback cover are wonderful, but the plot is just okay.
Greetings from the Paperbacks from Hell！
Greetings from the Paperbacks from Hell！
September 21, 2025
A random flea market find that was quite fun! I thought it was a paranormal but…. It’s not. 🤫
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews