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Solom #1

The Scarecrow

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When Katy Logan moves her troubled teen daughter Jett to the Appalachian community of Solom, she envisions a peaceful rural lifestyle on her new husband's farm.

But there's more to Solom than she ever imagined. Gordon Smith's first wife Rebecca died under mysterious circumstances, and Katy believes her spirit is still in the house. Gordon's great-grandfather was a horseback preacher who vanished while on a mission one wintry night, and local lore holds that he returns from time to time seeking vengeance. And Gordon teases Katy and Jett with a story about a wicked scarecrow that comes in from the fields at night to slake an unnatural thirst.

When the legends come to life, Katy and Jett discover the Smith family secrets cut deep. And they must face the supernatural menace together or become part of Solom's legends forever.

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2003

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About the author

Scott Nicholson

211 books767 followers
With more than 800,000 books sold worldwide, Scott Nicholson is an international bestselling thriller writer. He won the Writers of the Future Award in 1999 and was a Stoker Award finalist in 2003. His Fear series was published by Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint and 47North released the supernatural thriller McFALL.

He's also published a number of supernatural, paranormal, and fantasy books and stories, including the AFTER, NEXT, and ARIZE post-apocalyptic series, as well as children's books, comics, and screenplays. His 2006 novel The Home is in development as a feature film.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
Profile Image for Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin.
3,633 reviews11.6k followers
September 18, 2020
Holy crap on a saltine cracker!! I read this book for my Horror Group Challenge and it was a wee bit cray!



The thing loomed, seven feet tall, a lantern in one gloved hand that cast flickering shadows up into a face she couldn’t see because of the straw hat pulled low. It’s other hand held a darkly gleaming scythe.

"The scarecrow wasn’t always an outfit of clothing stuffed with straw,” Gordon said, returning to work. "In those days, a live man was tied in the garden."




And there are possessed goats. I love goats so much, but not possessed ones.



And we not only have the creepy scarecrow and possessed goats, we have a crazy preacher on a horse and a ghost!





Jett’s mom Katy married a nutcase man named Gordon. They moved out to his goat/corn farm and things go from worse to worse!!

I enjoyed this book but for a few things. I would definitely read it again.

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾🎃

BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....
Profile Image for Marie.
1,119 reviews389 followers
June 30, 2019
This was a spooky book featuring a haunted farm with a scarecrow, possessed goats, and a creepy shadow preacher!

Katy Logan and her daughter, Jett move out of the city and into the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains of Solom to live with Katy's new husband, Gordon. They move to a farm that has been in Gordon's family for decades. Everything seems peaceful at first and they all settle into the daily life on the farm.

As time goes on, things start happening in the house and shadows are seen moving about the farm including a scarecrow that seems to move from the cornfield to the barn. At first, Katy and her daughter think they are just imagining things. Katy starts hearing whispers of her name in the house and she will sometimes go into a catatonic state of mind as she does things around the house. Jett is fascinated with the barn and likes to go out there to explore, but then she comes into contact with a scarecrow that is hanging on the wall of the barn that looks like the one that is out in the cornfield. There are goats in the barn that seem to track every move she makes as she explores the farm.

Eventually the haunting in the house becomes more active as Katy thinks Gordon's dead wife Rebecca is the one haunting the house. Jett thinks the scarecrow in the barn literally walks from the cornfield to the barn every night. Also Jett sees a black shadow moving around the farm and doesn't know what to make of it.

Gordon weaves ghost stories about the scarecrow coming to life and that it is out for blood. He also tells them stories of his great grandfather who was a horseback preacher in that area. As Katy becomes more strange in the house, Jett becomes worried so she calls her father, Mark to let him know what has been going on. When her father gets involved, then the book escalates with haunting of the house and barn.

About the middle of the book forward the haunting of the farm ratchets up and I had a hard time putting the book down. I read this book with a couple of buddies and I literally had to put the book down as I would become so engrossed in the book that hours would pass before I realized that I needed to slow down so my buddies could catch up. This book was a supernatural thriller and kept me guessing almost all the way through the book. There was a twist at the end of the book that I wasn't expecting and it gave me a shock.

There are two more books in this series and I have put both of them on my radar for future reading. Giving this book four "spooky" stars!
Profile Image for Bill.
1,882 reviews132 followers
July 24, 2015
*Review for audiobook version*

Scarecrows are creepy…everybody knows that. Any town named Solom is creepy…everybody knows that too. Stepfathers are great. OK fine, I’m a stepfather, but must admit that they can be creepy, especially in horror novels.

I enjoyed everything about this one from the characters, to plot, to pacing, to the narration. It worked on all levels and provided an extremely entertaining listening experience. Had a bit of a Pine Deep vibe going on too. Scott Nicholson has got some serious writing chops and I have enjoyed everything that I have read from him and am looking forward to seeing where this series goes from here. Excellent and Highly Recommended.

*I received an edition of the audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review and this is it.
Profile Image for Latasha.
1,358 reviews435 followers
June 30, 2019
Creepy scarecrow and preacher men!

This book was a lot of fun. I read it with a couple of friends and we all liked it. I loved the setting and the folklore bits. The creepy scarecrow was great. I love the cover, created by PKB, he does great work. I will definitely read the next in the series.
Profile Image for Jon Recluse.
381 reviews310 followers
May 4, 2014
When it comes to regional horror, no one can match Scott Nicholson, and Solom: The Scarecrow is a good, old fashioned atmospheric spookfest, served Southern style, weaving rural folklore, solid storytelling and characters who will rent space in your head into a tale that will please any horror fan.
Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Kasia.
404 reviews330 followers
June 20, 2010
After reading Scott Nicholson's previous novel "The Home" I purchased a few of his other books right away because I was impressed with his writing philosophy and honestly the novels looked like a lot of fun. Boy was I wowed with his wit and dark humor that embedded itself masterfully into this horror novel about a haunted little town of Solom in North Carolina. The atmosphere was rich and haunting; the detail to the history and its inhabitants immaculate and the build up was long but tingling with anticipation of scary things to come.

The novel revolves around Kathy Logan and her twelve year old daughter Jett who have moved from Charlotte to live with Kathy's new husband Gordon in his beautiful rustic home. Country life starts off peaceful and quiet as Kathy is trying to fit in by doing housework and cooking from scratch for the first time in her life, trying to please the new husband since his deceased first wife ( Rebecca ) was an excellent home maker. Pretty soon Kathy feels like she took on more than she bargained for and feels that she starts to change in small ways. She smells lilacs which were Rebecca's signature scent and even feels like the woman is somehow present in the house. Is Kathy going crazy or is the house haunted and why is her husband cold to her, not embracing her in their bed, treating her daughter who used to indulge in drugs as a criminal and confusing Kathy with his first wife. Not only is her married life not as sweet as she expected but Jett starts acting strange, whispering about creepy things happening in the barn, the family goats acting on some bizarre carnivorous hunger and a mysterious dark stranger following her everywhere. Pretty soon the colorful inhabitants of Solom start to get entangled in the weird happenings and Kathy feels like her sanity is slipping away. When people start to vanish and death takes hold of Solom, she knows that nothing is more sacred than her family but finds it hard to fight when someone is trying to change her into the first lady of the house.

Nicholson scored too many cool points in my book with this story, especially with the great way he created Jett and her problems, making her look real and fresh even though she was a teenager with a rather large mouth, she was one of my favorite characters ever and I enjoyed the book tremendously even if it wasn't the scariest...sometimes chills and creepy things are more powerful than buckets of guts and gore and this was subtle but brimming with rich darkness that was quite enjoyable. I can't wait to read more from him, in my mind his talent stands out greatly in the vast seas of books. He's very real and intelligent and it shows in his work.
Profile Image for S. Wideman.
Author 0 books3 followers
March 7, 2014
Technically, it's 2.5 stars. Since each book has gotten marginally better, this one got better by .5 stars. Which is a leap from the first of his books I read. Now, I am not one to mince words. I am not a fan of Scott Nicholson's. I have read three of his books so far, and it's a safe bet that more will find their way on my kindle. Not a fan, but he does have a really bad habit of creating some interesting ideas that grab my attention. That would be a good thing, if he followed through. It took me three books to figure out what I don't like about him. It's not his writing. I think he's a good writer who has great ideas. It's the execution.

All of the books I've read suffer from two diseases that can inflict even the best of stories: underdeveloped characters and jumping plot. This one didn't suffer too much from jumping plot since it only focused on two characters. The bigger the cast, the more he jumps. So, as long as he focuses on two or three main characters, it can be a good book.

I didn't feel like this was a first book. I felt like I was dropped in the middle of a book. The blurb I read did mention that Gordon tells Katy and Jett about the ghosts and the walking scarecrow and the horseback preacher, but we don't see it. Instead, by the time we join the story, they have been told this and it's knowledge to them, but not to us. In fact, we are told a lot of things I felt would be best if we saw it first. We are told that Katy never cooked before, but never really shown. We are told that she thought Gordon was a good man, but never shown this side of him. We are told that Jett doesn't always feel comfortable in her Goth persona, but never shown anything. I would have loved to see Katy before she became a Stepford wife, Gordon before he started acting like a cold-hearted bastard, or Jett hesitate before putting on her make-up.

And that is one of the reasons why I keep swearing off Scott's books. The characters need a lot of work. We either have underdeveloped characters (as I found in "Creative Spirits"), horrific stereotypes ("Drummer Boy"), or characters we are told about but never shown their development to give their decisions the impact he's going for. Half the stuff at school could have been chucked out in favor of a few scenes in the beginning of Katy's old life. The scenery was pretty always just the house or the barn, so really, all the school scenes could be cut. They offered nothing. Did we really have to see Jett in school to understand her character better? Well, since she didn't develop in the story, no.

I would have loved to have seen why Katy married Gordon. Seriously, he was like the worst choice for a husband, and I had no clue why she married him. We never saw any warmth from him. In fact, he reminded me of an old skit from this really old show "Mama's House" or something like that, that I caught on reruns as a kid. In the scene, this man is dating the grown up daughter of the title character, and he's always mentioning his dead wife (ironically also called Rebecca, but his was a throwback to the old Hitchcock film "Rebecca"). In many ways, I saw Gordon doing that, but not as funny. I never did figure out why Katy started to act and resemble Rebecca, especially since it was a Road to Nowhere. There was no payoff for it. It didn't tie in to the ending. It kinda dropped.

The scares weren't there because of the character jumping. We'd have a cliffhanger, but by the time we got back to the scene, I was no longer scared. Not that I was scared to begin with, but having to read a chapter between the action with a different character really pulled me out of what could have been a good scene. And it's really sad, because I have tried to like Scott's work, but I keep coming up against the same problems with each book. A great idea ruined by jumping from one POV to another per chapter, pulling me from any action or suspense in favor of getting someone else's POV shoehorned in. If he stuck to one POV for two chapters or so, especially during a scene he wants to put a scare in to, it would work out so much better.
Profile Image for Pamellia.
235 reviews
November 23, 2014
The Scarecrow: A Supernatural Thriller (Solom) by Scott Nicholson
Opened November 18, completed November 20, 2014
Horror Readers Group Read

From the beginning to the end this was an interesting and scary story of a young girl, coming of age, and deciding what her priorities should be.

The mother has divorced the young girl's father and Mom marries a rather odd college professor who lives in the small mountain town of Solom. With an abnormal interest in religions of all kinds, the professor runs his home as if Mom and our young hero are some sort of servants or even slaves.

The tension builds in this story from the beginning to the end. There are several times the story increases one's heart-rate with the excitement of the unknown and some known.

So if you like a good scary story with several things going on, you will want to read The Scarecrow: A Supernatural Thriller (Solom)

5 Stars

Recommended
Profile Image for Dana.
91 reviews4 followers
March 7, 2014
Solom , The Scarecrow. I know when I pick up a book by Author Scott Nicholson I will Not be disappointed. And I wasn't ! Solom is a small farming town In the mountains of North Carolina with lots of superstitions and legends. I Love the way Scott Nicholson writes. His Imagery takes you there! You can see the colors of the corn stalks,the gold sprinkles of dust shining thru the cracks of light in the attic. You will Smell the lilacs and want to sneeze when, Katy, (Mom to Jett and new wife Gordon) or Jett walk into the barn. You smell the bacon and coffee when Mark takes his daughter (Jett) to the local general store for breakfast and you can see the books and relics in Gordon Smith's (the very odd new husband's) study. When Katy marries Gordon and her and Jett move into "The Smith house" Strange things start to happen. why is the smell of lilacs so great? What is the deal with all the scarecrows MOVING ? who is the strange being in the black suit and hat ? is he real ? and the goats!!! they are nuts! Could Gordon's dead wife be haunting the home? And Katy is changing too much ... Jett is a teenager scared and brave at the same time. When you find out what is really going on you will gasp and your heart will race as you read faster and faster to see what happens! Are you brave enough to step into the mind of Scott Nicholson? You should be!! I give this book 5 hungry goats .. yep you have to read it to find out
Profile Image for Peter.
381 reviews27 followers
December 29, 2013
Katy Logan and her daughter Jett are moving to the Appalachian Mountains to the town of Solom. Katy has remarried a religion professor Gordon Smith. Katy is being ignored in their marital relationship. Katy is competing with his dead wife Rebecca. Katy hears voices in the house and is convinced that it is Gordon first wife Rebecca. It seems that Rebecca died under mysterious conditions and she still haunts the house that she once lived in. Once reason that Katy and Jett left Charlotte was Jett drug problem. Once the move was made, Jett promised her mother that she would never do drugs again. Gordon has strict rules that Jett must follow or pay the consequences. Jett cannot take the pressure of living with this man and his rules. She goes back on her word and acquires some pot. Jett starts hallucinating about the goats that are trying to eat her, she also sees a man in a black coats that hangs around the barn at night. Jett also thinks that she catches a glimpse of the scarecrow that is hanging in the barn move. Katy is also drawn to the barn to look for her daughter. Katy also see the scarecrow move but refuse to believe it. Jett calls her dad and plead with him to come to Solom. She said that there is a lot of unexplainable things happening on the Smith farm. Can Mark save his family from the monsters that inhabit the farm? This is the first book of a trilogy.
Profile Image for Amanda.
373 reviews22 followers
July 22, 2014
Following the breakdown of a marriage haunted by drugs, and a teenage daughter succumbing to the same, Katy starts a new life for herself and daughter Jazz in Solom. A new marriage to a professor, Gordon and life becomes very scary, very fast.

In this book Scott Nicholson continues to add to his Appalachian storytelling with a fantastically creepy novel. In fact for me, the character Gordon was one of the most horrible characters in a book, and really got under my skin. The fact that Nicholson can write characters that well is what makes his writing so very, very good.

This year I have discovered Nicholson and have already encountered a number of excellent 5 star reads, with this book I have added another to the list.
Profile Image for Jon Von.
580 reviews82 followers
June 10, 2022
Scarecrows, ghosts, and goats. This southern-fried spook house has a couple of creepy ideas and sticks to them. The writing was engaging up until about the 40% mark, then became a real slog until it picks back up again around 75%. If they’d cut a hundred pages off of this thing it would be a lot better. But numerous spooky goat and scarecrow scenes are not without merit. One of the lead characters is a pot-addicted twelve-year-old goth girl which… seems kind of weird. There’s almost a lot of Reefer Madness drug panic here that seems awkward for the tone. But, hey, at least the taste in music is good; name dropping The Replacements, Robyn Hitchcock, and XTC. Not unenjoyable but bloated to excess. My first Nicholson and I think he’s probably got a better one in him.
Profile Image for Justin.
Author 28 books260 followers
February 6, 2017
This is the first book I've read by Scott Nicholson whom I've heard great things about including from Scott Nicholson himself. So typical Scarecrow story right? Well whatever that actually means the answer would be no. I'm not one for spoilers but I'll fill you in on this one, there's no mentioning of cornfields until the end of the book so if that doesn't tell you this book isn't a cliche scarecrow book then I don't know what will. A quick synopsis on the book. A woman named Katy takes her daughter Jett to a small remote town of Solom where she moves in with her new husband Gordon, a religious scholar who is all for his families heritage. The daughter starts seeing a scarecrow that Gordon puts out move and it stalks her. There's a ton more but obviously I don't want to give too much away but there's the basis.

So what did I think of the book? Well the author definitely knows how to write that's for sure. His ability and note for detail is spot on whether it's for sight, smell or sound. He tells a great vivid visual of the town of Solom which if it exists I want no part of. I felt the story line while a bit slow at times was solid and thorough. One thing I found interesting was the small use of characters. There's only about six characters in the book four important and two sub characters. Despite the lack of characters the author does a wonderful job of making sure each had their own unique personalities and making them fit into the story. I found Jett to be the best character as she was young enough to come off as innocent but at the same time mature enough to know what was going on and be able to rationalize. She is a teenager who rebels but you feel for her because of all that goes on and you just hope her mom realizes her struggle. My least favorite character was probably the one no one liked, Gordon. The author made sure Gordon was unlikable as he was religious to a tee, boring, proper and an overall dull guy who believed in way too many rules. The funny part about Gordon is by the time I found him to show a little personality and to be interesting his part in the book had come time to pass.

One thing I felt was dragged out was the scarecrow. When you first he about him you think okay his presence will be an impact throughout the book from beginning to end but it's not. I felt he got lost in translation in the middle of the book however when he is in the book is presence is felt and heard through whisper and off in the distance. I liked this book because I envisioned scenes in my head as though I were watching a movie. Whether it was Katy cooking in the kitchen, Jett in her room listening to music way too loud, Gordon preaching the good word even though no ones around to hear him and the scarecrow slowly preying in the shadows. I really felt as though every scene I read I was watching a movie within my head, that is some great writing. I actually liked Jett's dad Mark, I felt he was a lovable loser druggy who you knew was trying his best to clean up his act and I bought it and I routed for him, I don't know why but I just felt as though such a character should be a hero. Also because Gordon was so dull I found Mark's personality to be a breath of fresh air.

So to the good part. The suspense is a big draggy but by the time it gets really good it gets good! Aside from the scarecrow there's also a spirit wandering around and get this...a tribe of flesh eating goats( I literally looked up what to call a group of goats). There's a bit of foreshadowing with the goats in the beginning which I didn't pick up on until it started playing out. I enjoyed this book for all that made it. The story line, the characters, the scarecrow our main attraction and everything else. I felt the scarecrow while the title of the book, it's the other title Solom that is really more recognized and shown in full detail. He definitely kept me hooked at times but also never kept me bored or wanting the book to be over as I read it to be enjoyed with each page. The only thing I didn't like aside from it being slow was toward the end with Gordon. I won't spoil things but I found certain things with him to be out of no where or rushed with no explanation other than him looking like a Lifetime dad who finally needed his part in the book to be recognized and appreciated. Other than that I pretty much liked all the book is.

If you like horror, a solid story telling with strong can-do characters, planned out suspense and a scarecrow that just won't quit then I strongly recommend this book. There's two more in the series and I definitely plan on checking them out. 4 Stars and I will definitely be reading my next Scott Nicholson book soon, if not the 2nd of this book then for sure something else.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
399 reviews51 followers
October 9, 2015
A scarecrow, a bunch of man eating goats, a preacher ghost who died over 100 years or more ago, a small town called Solom, a little country store, a haunted water mill, some good country folk and a Goth girl named Jett along with her mother, Katy, have just moved in with a man to start a new life, a new family.
Its Autumn, Halloween is coming and so is the Circuit Rider. A town legend. A deranged, Methodist preacher from another time who comes to claim a soul for his Harvest. Its been that way for years. However, this year the preacher has some competition and more souls will be required this time around to satisfy the town's evil. Who is the mysterious scarecrow that walks the hills with a bunch of blood loving goats. Who is the strange man who rides atop a spectral horse, a man who seems omnipresent.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great one for this time of year. This is Book one in the Solom series. The title has an alternate called, "The Scarecrow". Its the same story, not sure if its because of Uk/USA editions. Book 3 called, "The Preacher", just came out in July of this year, 2015. Its tough to find, at least it was for me. There was one copy on Amazon in print version. Of course it is available on Kindle as well.

I highly recommend this series, you wont want to set it down. I look forward to the rest of the series. If I can find them in print, that is!
Profile Image for Theresa.
423 reviews53 followers
January 23, 2014
I'm not a much for gore in horror stories. I like the ones that make my skin crawl, the hair stand on the back of my neck and make me jumpy while reading them. Scott Nicholson does all that for me with Solom! Taking place in the back hills of the south, the remoteness and the religious aspect is enough to creep anyone out, but when Scott adds a girl and her mother on a remote farm, a new creepy husband/stepfather adds a few scarecrows, a circuit preacher, goats and a ghost, he creates a new way to make my skin crawl.

This page-turner kept me occupied through a bout with the flu and had me so engrossed that I forgot I was even feeling miserable. I was soaring through e-pages and found myself finishing the book in the wee hours of the morning, leaving me a bit disturbed and shaken.

As much as I loved the book, I did have problems with the amount of reference about drug usage. Yes, there was a point to be made, but it seemed to be overdone and I found myself thinking "Really? Not this again!!"

Outside of that, Solom was a great book! I am eager to read more of Nicholson's work.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Quentin Wallace.
Author 34 books178 followers
July 1, 2021
I am a fan of Scott Nicholson's writing, especially his Appalachian settings, but this one didn't really grab me.

The new marriage the MC was in just seemed doomed from the start and I never got the feeling it was a real marriage. But maybe that was the point? Also, while there was some creepiness going on I never quite put together everything cohesively. It seemed like a long build without much of a payoff.

This wasn't bad by any means, just never quite reached the level I expected. My expectations may have been a little high as the whole scary preacher combined with evil scarecrow in a Nicholson Appalachian setting just sounds too great to pass up.

I will be checking out the rest of the series.
9 reviews1 follower
March 5, 2014
Stephen King or Dean Koontz? Seriously?!

I was pretty shocked to read on the author's page that he says his writing has been compared to my two favorite authors--is he serious?? I can't understand how this book received so many 5 star ratings. This is a book that perhaps a 12 year old might enjoy--the author tries too hard to appear cool, and doesn't pull it off. I won't be purchasing the sequel.
Profile Image for Shawn Thornton.
99 reviews41 followers
October 21, 2015
This was more of a 3.5 for me I really enjoyed it but wanted more of the creepy scarecrow. I suppose I will have have to read more in the series to get this. A good October read.
Profile Image for Amit.
771 reviews3 followers
December 11, 2020
Holly Jesus Christ!

Honestly I didn't expect that. Thought that would be somehow a good quality horror read but what I just finished I have to admit this was fabulous. No f***ing regret obviously...

But frankly speaking I found the story quite slow from beginning. Gradually the story developed and then there's just no going back from there. Spooky, Goosebumps, Full of Tension and little bit of Frustration too with all of these emotions you would have to deal the devil inside of this tale...

Katy Logan divorced from her 1st Husband Mark moving alongside her teen daughter Jett in the solom to live a expected happy with her new husband Gordon Smith. The farm was all she could care and leading a new story of her life. While everything seems perfect Katy couldn't shake off the feelings but becoming stranger in the place. Her daughter Jett experienced the first oddness of the farm when she was with those creepy looking goats. There's lot of them. And of course that Scarecrow. Jett didn't like that either. Katy couldn't differences anything that strange sounds occurred in her house while everyone was out of sight. But the more day went by so the more thing began to happen. Katy in one morning finding a secret attic and following it discover something about Gordon's dead wife Rebecca & that's the moment from when everything changed. She became someone else and couldn't concentrate to herself. Jett could too see the obvious change in her mom's character but she had no power to do anything about that. In the final stage it was chaos and because of Jett it was worth reading as if it was not her the ending might be something else. The ending part made the story more ideal and I just couldn't stop reading to know the final fate of the story. Absolutely mind blowing read. 100% going to read and finish the series of it...

It's 5 from me and already going off to read the 2nd part...
Profile Image for BookLoversLife.
1,838 reviews9 followers
September 10, 2015
This is one of my favourite of Scott Nicholsons books that I have read so far. This is him at his best!!!

When Katie remarries, her and her daughter Jett, move to Solom to live with Gordon. Solom is a small town in the middle of no where, so Jett thinks anyway! Right from the start, weird things start happening, Katie turns into a housewife and cooks meals from scratch, this is super weird to Jett because her mother struggled to microwave things before coming here. Katie also starts to wear weird dresses and saying strange things. Jett has no idea what is happening to her mother, add in the freaky ass goats, the extra creepy scarecrow that keeps turning up in different places in the barn and a step father who gives her the creeps and you have a creepy, chilling and scary read.

I have to say that, to me anyway, scarecrows have always been creepy things. Just seeing one gives me the shakes, so I knew straight away that this would creep me out! I still looked forward to diving into though, and I'm so glad it lived up to it. This had so many of the right elements that make a great book. We have an old house where someone died, we have a scary barn, that you wouldn't catch me walking into at any time!!! We have a freaky scarecrow, a small tight knit town, and can I mention the goats. Ugh, they chilled me more than the scarecrow ;) All these make for a great book.

I loved everything about this book, from it's super creepy setting, to it's well written plot and from it's captivatingly chilling scarecrow to it's complex and engaging characters. Right from the start, I was grabbed and taken on thrilling journey. I flew through this and found it hard to take off my headphones because I needed to see what happens to Katie and Jett. This is definitely one of Scott Nicholsons books everyone should check out. And I can't wait to read more in this series!!

What can I say about Teri Schnaubelt other than bravo! Her narration never fails to grab me and bring the story alive. She has such a way with her tones that suit this type of book. She can make chills rise with her tones and gives her all to the performance.

* I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Profile Image for SammieSue .
507 reviews15 followers
December 22, 2013
There is a short Blurb that I had to go on for this book: When Katy remarries and brings her teen daughter Jett to the rural Appalachian town of Solom, they discover a dark legend lives in the hills and farms.

This sounds intriguing to me. As I’m reading this I’m forming a lot of my own opinions. Wondering where the book is going. Now mind you This was such an AWESOME book. It keeps you on your toes! Katy meets and marries Gordon. Why? I have no clue. Mark the ex is a screw up, but is now trying to change. Jett is not even trying to fit in at her new School in Solom. There is a boy in School that likes her but does the classic pick on the girl that you like. Meanwhile, Jett is being stalked by a creepy Scarecrow guy with a Scythe. And a creepy Scarecrow preacher man.

Katy on the other hand is being ignored in marital regions by Gordon. Stalked and at times possessed by the dead ex wife. Jett tries to tell Mark what is going on but he is not sure if he should believe her, but does not want to take the chance of not believing her and something happening to her and Katy.

This book is so creepy and has so much going on it reminds me of one of my favorite scary movies. Something right up there with Children of the Corn. (Which is Mentioned). I got chills reading it and I could not put it down. I kept talking to my husband about every time something happened and he would just shake his head at me. I would definitely recommend this as a must read!
Profile Image for Samantha Woods.
167 reviews27 followers
February 8, 2014
There is a short Blurb that I had to go on for this book: When Katy remarries and brings her teen daughter Jett to the rural Appalachian town of Solom, they discover a dark legend lives in the hills and farms.

This sounds intriguing to me. As I’m reading this I’m forming a lot of my own opinions. Wondering where the book is going. Now mind you This was such an AWESOME book. It keeps you on your toes! Katy meets and marries Gordon. Why? I have no clue. Mark the ex is a screw up, but is now trying to change. Jett is not even trying to fit in at her new School in Solom. There is a boy in School that likes her but does the classic pick on the girl that you like. Meanwhile, Jett is being stalked by a creepy Scarecrow guy with a Scythe. And a creepy Scarecrow preacher man.

Katy on the other hand is being ignored in marital regions by Gordon. Stalked and at times possessed by the dead ex wife. Jett tries to tell Mark what is going on but he is not sure if he should believe her, but does not want to take the chance of not believing her and something happening to her and Katy.

This book is so creepy and has so much going on it reminds me of one of my favorite scary movies. Something right up there with Children of the Corn. (Which is Mentioned). I got chills reading it and I could not put it down. I kept talking to my husband about every time something happened and he would just shake his head at me. I would definitely recommend this as a must read!
Profile Image for Michael Brookes.
Author 15 books211 followers
July 2, 2015
The blurb contains a reference to Stephen King from a review and I agree with some of the sentiment from that statement. The author develops the characters well and with the sort of detail that King provides for even his minor characters. It has the downside that it stretches the story out more than it probably needs, but doesn't really matter because there's joy in getting to know the characters. It also meant that before things really get going you're aleady inside their heads.

The story is solid, although it does follow a traditional theme of scarecrows and harvest sacrifice. While I did find the main plot a bit predictable there's some nice twists along the way to keep things interesting. I did enjoy the goats - they deserved a bigger part!

The writing is good and accessible,it conjoured up plenty of atmosphere. The pacing also worked well with a gradual build up in the tension and horror until reaching the conclusion. Most of the pieces fit into place along the way and cocludes in a satisfactory way. There were a few details I would have liked to have learned more about, like the old preacher for example.

Overall this is a solid horror read and one worth checking out for horror fans and I've ordered the second book in the series to see what happens next.
Profile Image for ~~*Julie Kawalec-pearson.
169 reviews5 followers
October 10, 2013
I have read part 1of Solom. Can't wait for the rest of the story. I really like the characters in this... Pretty we'll developed already.. I can't wait to see where he takes this.
I love the character of Jett. I can't wait to read about her coming into her own. Nicholson has a talent for description and creating the fearful suspense I usually only get by watching a scary movie! I kept looking behind me..... And turned on the lights!

Scott Nicholson is one of my favorite authors.. Great creepy story teller!
Profile Image for Deedra.
3,932 reviews39 followers
March 4, 2016
Teri Schnaubelt does a wonderful job narrating this book.Solom is a town in Appalachia.Katy moves her troubled teenaged daughter there with her new husband to start a new life.This country life should be peaceful,but it isn't.There is a scarecrow,he moves,he walks.Jett sees this but is afraid to admit it.Katy has a ghost haunting her.She is also afraid to mention it until it is nearly too late.This is an old fashioned monster horror book.It is similar to a few other books and movies,but,I loved it!
This audiobook was provided to me at no cost for a fair and honest review
821 reviews2 followers
May 6, 2014
Katy Logan was anxious to get her teenage daughter Jett away from drugs and bad influences. She marries Gordon Smith, a college professor and Katy and Jett move to his family home in the mountains of North Carolina. Katy is haunted by Gordon's first wife. But when fall comes and it is time to take the scarecrow down and store it in the barn things really start to happen. Everything I have read by Scott Nicholson has been good! This is no exception.
Profile Image for Scott Thompson.
19 reviews1 follower
October 1, 2014
More of the excellent Nicholson supernatural. Loved it. Right on par with the Red Church and Drummer Boy. Can't believe I waited this long to read it. Already started on the sequel. Get his book, download it or whatever. You won't regret it.
Profile Image for Anthony.
267 reviews11 followers
July 7, 2022
Nothing special. Got a bit confusing with all the characters. The best parts were about the goats and the goth girl.
Author 17 books24 followers
May 3, 2019
Just not very good. Every chapter seemed to be "Character saw a scarecrow twitch" or "heard something". There is a ghost, but that doesn't seem to amount to anything. The final reveal confrontation just felt underwhelming and disappointing.
Profile Image for Gigi.
282 reviews5 followers
August 18, 2024
The Farm. It was okay. Kind of creepy, but overall, disappointing, especially the end.
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