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Winter Wake
When John Carlson moves with his wife and step-daughter Brianna back to his hometown, Brianna's friendship with schoolmate Audrey brings on a rash of bizarre occurences--for Audrey is the girl John Carlson murdered years ago
407 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1989
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242 people want to read
About the author
Rick Hautala
137 books125 followersAKA A.J. Matthews
Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.
A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.
A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.
Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.
Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.
A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.
A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.
Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 17, 2025
John, his wife Julia, their daughter Bri move back to Glooscape Island to take care of his elderly father Frank. They move in from Vermont. What started as a nice new beginning soon turns into full fledged horror. Who is writing those mysterious messages? What did John do in his past? Who was Abby? Why doesn't he get along so well with his former best friend Randy who stayed on the island? What about Audrey? Compelling and creepy old school banger that kept me hanging on the edge of the seat. The terror is seeping in like the coldness outside. Look at that cover. One of the best ever and the content was following... Ideal reading for winter evenings. This is chilling stuff. Highly recommended!
January 27, 2021
If you are looking for the right book to read on a cold day when there's nothing to do because the roads are ice and the wind is raging, this just may be the ticket. A classic ghost story from 1989 set on a frigid island off the coast of Maine during the fall and winter, this novel also delivers chills of the spooky kind. But fair warning, this is far from a perfect novel.
First, the positives. Though horror fans may expect more violence and gore in their vintage paperback pulps, "Winter Wake" is uncharacteristically lacking in that department except perhaps at the very end. The fear delivered here is more palpable and accessible to most readers. Something flits out of the corner of your eye. Strange noises in the night. A face peeping at you through the window. This book also is an early example of the raven-haired ghost girl trope so commonly associated with Japanese cinema. And if any of you are afraid of rats, beware, because this book will traumatize anyone with a healthy phobia of those pesky varmints.
So the creepy factor of this novel is dialed to 11. Interspersed with the scares is a genuinely sensitive and surprisingly accurate portrait of a middle-aged family. There's the husband John, out of shape with a little bit of beer gut who is convinced to move back to his hometown to take care of his father who just had a stroke, but he has some serious unresolved issues with his dad. His wife, Julia, is well-meaning and wants to see John reconcile with his father, but she also wants to have a baby, further putting stress on a marriage already struggling with the uprooting of their lives to be caregivers. The old man, Frank, is a grumpy old curmudgeon in a wheelchair who is used to "taking things the wrong way," but at heart is really a soft teddy bear and is easily the most nuanced and likeable character. The interaction between the family, their joys and challenges, are all very realistic and often heartbreaking. We watch them breaking their backs unloading the moving van and moving furniture around. We watch how John settles in to a new job. We see Julia trying to develop rapport with her estranged father-in-law. We feel the loneliness of their teenage daughter deal with a new school and a lack of friends. We are there for their first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year celebrations. All of this is done with respect and authenticity.
But here comes the problems. The book is very repetitive, frustratingly so. Characters are constantly experiencing the paranormal and responding accordingly, but then make feeble excuses for their behavior or just simply sputter "I--ahh...I--..." But more commonly, when encountering the spooky and unexpected, the characters act like a Bugs Bunny toon that just got bashed in the head with an avil, or Lou Costello when he knows a monster is behind him, making stupid nonsensical noises and pointing around at nothing. "Day! Duh! Doo! Dee! Doyee!!!!"
EVERYONE is seeing weird things and acting strangely, then why in over 200 pages does no one assume 2 and 2 make 4? I'll tell you why--because there would be no 400 page novel. I certainly appreciate a slow burn. A ghost story should start off with benign creeps, then advance to more ominous experiences that hint at the paranormal before dialing up the mayhem. But this is just way too much of the same. "Did I really see a human hand in the icy pond? Did I really see a person staring at me from my window? Did I really see a body hanging from the rafters? Did I really see a corpse rotting in the woods? Did I really hear organ music? Did I really see a woman staring at me from the surface of the ocean? Did I really see a note I tore up yesterday magically reappear? Did I really? Did I really? I--ahh..I--... Nah, it'll be fine!"
If everyone in the family had just been honest about their experiences, the book would have ended in half the length with the family wheeling grandpa out of that dreary town and relocating to sunny Florida. This is why readers feel the length of this novel. We've all read much longer and better stories that hardly seemed to require much time investment at all, and in fact, didn't seem long enough. But here, the reader grows weary of the same things happening over and over with no further dynamic changes, no payoff, no comic relief, no growth in the characters, no raising the stakes.
But overall, this will be an enjoyable book for many. And you Stephen King fans out there will be pleased to know that though this book takes place in Maine, there is not a single "Ayuh" in the whole narrative. Just in case you were wondering...
First, the positives. Though horror fans may expect more violence and gore in their vintage paperback pulps, "Winter Wake" is uncharacteristically lacking in that department except perhaps at the very end. The fear delivered here is more palpable and accessible to most readers. Something flits out of the corner of your eye. Strange noises in the night. A face peeping at you through the window. This book also is an early example of the raven-haired ghost girl trope so commonly associated with Japanese cinema. And if any of you are afraid of rats, beware, because this book will traumatize anyone with a healthy phobia of those pesky varmints.
So the creepy factor of this novel is dialed to 11. Interspersed with the scares is a genuinely sensitive and surprisingly accurate portrait of a middle-aged family. There's the husband John, out of shape with a little bit of beer gut who is convinced to move back to his hometown to take care of his father who just had a stroke, but he has some serious unresolved issues with his dad. His wife, Julia, is well-meaning and wants to see John reconcile with his father, but she also wants to have a baby, further putting stress on a marriage already struggling with the uprooting of their lives to be caregivers. The old man, Frank, is a grumpy old curmudgeon in a wheelchair who is used to "taking things the wrong way," but at heart is really a soft teddy bear and is easily the most nuanced and likeable character. The interaction between the family, their joys and challenges, are all very realistic and often heartbreaking. We watch them breaking their backs unloading the moving van and moving furniture around. We watch how John settles in to a new job. We see Julia trying to develop rapport with her estranged father-in-law. We feel the loneliness of their teenage daughter deal with a new school and a lack of friends. We are there for their first Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year celebrations. All of this is done with respect and authenticity.
But here comes the problems. The book is very repetitive, frustratingly so. Characters are constantly experiencing the paranormal and responding accordingly, but then make feeble excuses for their behavior or just simply sputter "I--ahh...I--..." But more commonly, when encountering the spooky and unexpected, the characters act like a Bugs Bunny toon that just got bashed in the head with an avil, or Lou Costello when he knows a monster is behind him, making stupid nonsensical noises and pointing around at nothing. "Day! Duh! Doo! Dee! Doyee!!!!"
EVERYONE is seeing weird things and acting strangely, then why in over 200 pages does no one assume 2 and 2 make 4? I'll tell you why--because there would be no 400 page novel. I certainly appreciate a slow burn. A ghost story should start off with benign creeps, then advance to more ominous experiences that hint at the paranormal before dialing up the mayhem. But this is just way too much of the same. "Did I really see a human hand in the icy pond? Did I really see a person staring at me from my window? Did I really see a body hanging from the rafters? Did I really see a corpse rotting in the woods? Did I really hear organ music? Did I really see a woman staring at me from the surface of the ocean? Did I really see a note I tore up yesterday magically reappear? Did I really? Did I really? I--ahh..I--... Nah, it'll be fine!"
If everyone in the family had just been honest about their experiences, the book would have ended in half the length with the family wheeling grandpa out of that dreary town and relocating to sunny Florida. This is why readers feel the length of this novel. We've all read much longer and better stories that hardly seemed to require much time investment at all, and in fact, didn't seem long enough. But here, the reader grows weary of the same things happening over and over with no further dynamic changes, no payoff, no comic relief, no growth in the characters, no raising the stakes.
But overall, this will be an enjoyable book for many. And you Stephen King fans out there will be pleased to know that though this book takes place in Maine, there is not a single "Ayuh" in the whole narrative. Just in case you were wondering...
January 24, 2008
Rick Hautala, Winter Wake (Warner, 1989)
During the eighties, Rick Hautala was touted by the in-crowd as the next Big Thing in horror fiction; Fangoria even predicted Hautala would be the next Stephen King. But Hautala's meteoric descent into obscurity as the decade turned could be predicted by anyone who knows the unwritten (until now) rule of horror fiction blurbs: the more obscure the previously-famous blurb writer for an author, the more likely it is that the blurbed will make the same descent. And the blurb for Winter Wake comes from John Coyne, second only to Frank de Felitta in seventies horror, and just as obscure by the time Winter Wake appeared in 1989.
The rule of horror fiction blurbs wasn't necessarily the only way to prophesy Hautala's downfall. Winter Wake suffers from the traps of many genre horror novels, specifically overdramatized writing and about ten times the number of necessary exclamation points. Neither of these things prevents an author from attracting a core audience and achieving longstanding fame, however, as the example of Brian Lumley shows us. And what beyond that may have erased Hautala's name from the bestseller list is something of a mystery. Winter Wake is not a bad book by any means, despite the shortcomings mentioned above. It's not a great one, either, but no one lined up to give the Pulitzer to Dean Koontz for Darkness Falls, either.
The story presents us with the Carlson family: father Frank, son John, son's wife Julia, and son's stepdaughter Bri. Frank has recently suffered a stroke, and his rehab is taking longer than usual, so John and his family move back to the homestead on a small Maine island to help Frank around the house. Frank and John have never gotten along too well, though, and while Julia and Bri start feeling affection for the old guy almost immediately, things just get worse and worse between father and son. To throw an extra monkey wrench into the works, the house seems to be haunted, and the haunting seems to point to a dark secret in John's past.
The encapsulation above seems to point to Russell Bank's Affliction, doesn't it? Frank Carlson is a lot more affable, and John Carlson isn't quite as dysfunctional, but there's something to be said for the comparison. A family disintegrating over the gradual uncovering of a secret. Hautala, though, doesn't have the deftness of foreshadowing that Banks uses throughout his work; often, there might as well be THIS IS IMPORTANT in foot- high neon red over certain passages in Winter Wake. And while the actual dark secret is somewhat different than what one would expect, Hautala chose to channel the dark secret into an avenue where the logical choices the reader could guess are limited enough that the revelations at the end are still somewhat predictable. The book also suffers from the same unaccountable mood swings that seem to pervade just about every piece of fiction I've been reading recently. John and Julia go from yelling at one another to laughing to sullen silences in the space of a few minutes without any real triggers that we can see. It makes things simple and moves the plot along, but there's a strong feeling of attempted emotional manipulation, and it's just a little too close to the surface. When you can see it, it doesn't work.
Whether Hautala deserves the obscurity in which he finds himself these days is an arguable point; lord knows hundreds of best-selling authors have the same, or far worse, flaws in their various stories than these. The problem is there's not enough here to really start any kind of revival movement. ** ½
During the eighties, Rick Hautala was touted by the in-crowd as the next Big Thing in horror fiction; Fangoria even predicted Hautala would be the next Stephen King. But Hautala's meteoric descent into obscurity as the decade turned could be predicted by anyone who knows the unwritten (until now) rule of horror fiction blurbs: the more obscure the previously-famous blurb writer for an author, the more likely it is that the blurbed will make the same descent. And the blurb for Winter Wake comes from John Coyne, second only to Frank de Felitta in seventies horror, and just as obscure by the time Winter Wake appeared in 1989.
The rule of horror fiction blurbs wasn't necessarily the only way to prophesy Hautala's downfall. Winter Wake suffers from the traps of many genre horror novels, specifically overdramatized writing and about ten times the number of necessary exclamation points. Neither of these things prevents an author from attracting a core audience and achieving longstanding fame, however, as the example of Brian Lumley shows us. And what beyond that may have erased Hautala's name from the bestseller list is something of a mystery. Winter Wake is not a bad book by any means, despite the shortcomings mentioned above. It's not a great one, either, but no one lined up to give the Pulitzer to Dean Koontz for Darkness Falls, either.
The story presents us with the Carlson family: father Frank, son John, son's wife Julia, and son's stepdaughter Bri. Frank has recently suffered a stroke, and his rehab is taking longer than usual, so John and his family move back to the homestead on a small Maine island to help Frank around the house. Frank and John have never gotten along too well, though, and while Julia and Bri start feeling affection for the old guy almost immediately, things just get worse and worse between father and son. To throw an extra monkey wrench into the works, the house seems to be haunted, and the haunting seems to point to a dark secret in John's past.
The encapsulation above seems to point to Russell Bank's Affliction, doesn't it? Frank Carlson is a lot more affable, and John Carlson isn't quite as dysfunctional, but there's something to be said for the comparison. A family disintegrating over the gradual uncovering of a secret. Hautala, though, doesn't have the deftness of foreshadowing that Banks uses throughout his work; often, there might as well be THIS IS IMPORTANT in foot- high neon red over certain passages in Winter Wake. And while the actual dark secret is somewhat different than what one would expect, Hautala chose to channel the dark secret into an avenue where the logical choices the reader could guess are limited enough that the revelations at the end are still somewhat predictable. The book also suffers from the same unaccountable mood swings that seem to pervade just about every piece of fiction I've been reading recently. John and Julia go from yelling at one another to laughing to sullen silences in the space of a few minutes without any real triggers that we can see. It makes things simple and moves the plot along, but there's a strong feeling of attempted emotional manipulation, and it's just a little too close to the surface. When you can see it, it doesn't work.
Whether Hautala deserves the obscurity in which he finds himself these days is an arguable point; lord knows hundreds of best-selling authors have the same, or far worse, flaws in their various stories than these. The problem is there's not enough here to really start any kind of revival movement. ** ½
October 23, 2020
Looking for a good ghost story? Winter Wake is a fun read, and it reminded me a bit of John Saul's work. The Carlson family-- John, his wife Julia and Bri (13), move back from Vermont to John's hometown in Maine to help take care of Frank, John's father, who recently had a stroke. John and Frank were never BFF by any means, and things quickly become tense. While John would have been happy to put his father in a resting home, Julia insisted that they take care of him, placing no small amount of stress on their marriage. Almost as soon as the family returns, however, strange things start to happen, and we quickly become aware that John has some deep, dark secrets from when he used to live in Maine. It seems John's high school girlfriend up and disappeared a few weeks before graduation and nothing has been heard from her since. John is loath to discuss the subject, but as the book progresses, we become aware that John perhaps had something to do with her disappearance and further, she may be haunting the family.
I will not go into the plot much except to say Hautala gives us a grade A pulp fiction ghost story! Hautala develops his characters well, but often falls prey to too much melodrama and utilizes an excessive amount of exclamation points! Is John losing his mind or is something really happening? This definitely fits into the slow burn category as we read about the family being slowly torn apart, with everyone keeping more and more secrets from one another as they cannot find a rational way to describe their strange experiences. While obviously a ghost story, I would characterize this more of a psychological horror novel. You kinda know what is going on from early on in the novel, so there are no real surprises (except the very end!), but the fun is reading about everything starting to unravel. 3.5 stars!!
I will not go into the plot much except to say Hautala gives us a grade A pulp fiction ghost story! Hautala develops his characters well, but often falls prey to too much melodrama and utilizes an excessive amount of exclamation points! Is John losing his mind or is something really happening? This definitely fits into the slow burn category as we read about the family being slowly torn apart, with everyone keeping more and more secrets from one another as they cannot find a rational way to describe their strange experiences. While obviously a ghost story, I would characterize this more of a psychological horror novel. You kinda know what is going on from early on in the novel, so there are no real surprises (except the very end!), but the fun is reading about everything starting to unravel. 3.5 stars!!
January 5, 2017
This was one long book, but that was ok by me. The writer did an awesome job at holding my interest. This book could have been a horror film. It is not gory or anything like that. Its the spook factor that makes the horror in this book. I totally loved the descriptions of the Island during Autumn and into winter.
Set on Glooscap island in Massachusetts. A man and his wife and daughter move in with his father. Things are rocky between the man and his father since he left as a teen. Coming back to this lobstering town is a big change for everyone in the family. Use to the city and suburban life. Instead of seeing skyscrapers each day, its the harbor, the fog, the townsfolk. An adjustment in itself, but whats more of an adjustment are the scratchings in the walls, the strange looks people give them as they walk by. The quiet murmurings. Shadows passing by the windows, voices in the night. People who are there one moment and gone the next..
Something from the past is coming back for retribution. This man should never have brought his family back to his hometown. The past should have stayed buried.
Set on Glooscap island in Massachusetts. A man and his wife and daughter move in with his father. Things are rocky between the man and his father since he left as a teen. Coming back to this lobstering town is a big change for everyone in the family. Use to the city and suburban life. Instead of seeing skyscrapers each day, its the harbor, the fog, the townsfolk. An adjustment in itself, but whats more of an adjustment are the scratchings in the walls, the strange looks people give them as they walk by. The quiet murmurings. Shadows passing by the windows, voices in the night. People who are there one moment and gone the next..
Something from the past is coming back for retribution. This man should never have brought his family back to his hometown. The past should have stayed buried.
December 12, 2022
A carefully crafted tale set on a wintry Maine island with holiday season moments. John and Julia Carlson return to John’s childhood home to care for his aging father, and dark and eerie events build around them and Julia’s teen daughter Bri. The setup is a bit slow, though that’s deliberate, and strange incidents are sprinkled liberally through the book’s opening half or so. It’s the intense final third or so that delivers the novel’s true wallop. Pages really turn in the final chapters. Readers might anticipate some details, but there are still scares and surprises not to be guessed. A hefty but worthy experience.
January 5, 2017
Rick Hautala is one of those authors I've always been aware of, but had never read. Growing up he was always known as "that other horror writer from Maine" as he resided in the shadow of Stephen King. I decided to introduce myself to the man's words through this copy of WINTER WAKE, and was not disappointed.
The tale of a haunting linked to events decades ago admittedly feels a bit like GHOST STORY in parts, but not in a way in which Hautala steals from Straub's work. It's simply the idea of past events finally catching up with characters seems to enter that terrain Straub's better-known novel mined so well. And Hautala does the same, squeezing his own tale for every fright it's worth and introducing us to a cast of characters that keeps us guessing as to what's taking place. Sure, the main 'twist' isn't much of a secret but there are a handful of red herrings thrown into the mix to make readers question whether what they're expecting is what's actually going to be the pay off.
And, one of the best things is Hautala keeps you on the edge right up until the last twenty pages. And, even then, he ends it on a note which will leave readers, well, haunted.
The tale of a haunting linked to events decades ago admittedly feels a bit like GHOST STORY in parts, but not in a way in which Hautala steals from Straub's work. It's simply the idea of past events finally catching up with characters seems to enter that terrain Straub's better-known novel mined so well. And Hautala does the same, squeezing his own tale for every fright it's worth and introducing us to a cast of characters that keeps us guessing as to what's taking place. Sure, the main 'twist' isn't much of a secret but there are a handful of red herrings thrown into the mix to make readers question whether what they're expecting is what's actually going to be the pay off.
And, one of the best things is Hautala keeps you on the edge right up until the last twenty pages. And, even then, he ends it on a note which will leave readers, well, haunted.
April 21, 2013
I read this book after learning of the recent death of the author as I had it downloaded for a while. I wish I had kept it downloaded. This was a big disappointment. Poorly written, overlong and cliché-ridden, with characters that are just plain annoying, it soon became a chore to finish. It read like it was written by a student trying to break into the business while employing a lesser version of every device they had ever come across while reading much better horror stories. On top of all that, the e-book version I read contained so many grammatical, punctuation and syntax errors that it only added to my dislike of the book. It gets two stars because it did start out well with promise and the author was clearly trying for some kind of epic ghost story. Alas, it was not to be. I can only hope that Hautala's later works vastly improved in both style and substance.
November 6, 2018
I remember loving this book when I originally read it as a kid, however, it did not hold up over the years. This was a tough one to get through. Not outright terrible, but man, this was a bit of a painful slog to get through, simply because the characters were all equally annoying and unlikable...also, there didn't seem to be valid reasons for most of the shit that happened in the book. Still, that cover art is pretty badass.
November 24, 2021
A family who moves from their home in Vermont to an island off the coast of Falmouth, Maine, so that they can help the grandfather after he suffers a stroke. Crazy things start happening to all of them. I didn't think it was a great horror story or a great read, so I'm glad it only took a couple of days to read.
December 6, 2019
If you want to read the equivalent of a bloated lifetime Halloween special in book form, complete with a 'spooky' ending this is it. Try something else unless you can buy it for one dollar at library sale as I did, anything more is highway robbery.
December 2, 2015
What's up with this author and his use of exclamation points!!! Not too bad of a book but it just took way too long to get to the conclusion which is easy to predict somewhat. Could have been about 100 pages shorter and tighter.
July 13, 2008
This book would make an awesome movie...
October 19, 2010
Move to Maine to care for Dad who had a stroke. Ghost of dead girlfriend haunts and kills them all? Bad ending - leaves everything hanging -
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2022
The author has an annoying way of continuously saying things like, "she felt as if" and "he felt as though" instead of just making it a painless simile. I must have read those phrases and others like them hundreds of times.
On the other hand, it's a ghost story and I usually love ghost stories. The premise was good but this is one talented ghost.
On the other hand, it's a ghost story and I usually love ghost stories. The premise was good but this is one talented ghost.
November 7, 2025
Wasn’t planning on reading this but I spotted it on my shelf and said, “Hell yes!”
I really enjoyed it, very much a classic kind of ghost story where you have a haunting mixed with family dynamics. It made it more interesting that the haunting was personal. I really like how Hautala writes and want to pick up more of his books
I really enjoyed it, very much a classic kind of ghost story where you have a haunting mixed with family dynamics. It made it more interesting that the haunting was personal. I really like how Hautala writes and want to pick up more of his books
July 9, 2025
Moving back to a invalid relative’a home on a small island in Maine, a young family find the ghost of old sins is not easily forgotten
A good read, but I did find it a bit slower than I expected it to be
A good read, but I did find it a bit slower than I expected it to be
October 27, 2023
Ending was weird and the foreshadowing was a little heavy for my taste. Otherwise not bad. A nice, cool weather, cozy read.
July 29, 2025
Had a blast w/ this classic Rick Hautala - a family returns to an island off the coast of Maine where a lot of history (for one of them) awaits
July 20, 2025
This flitted between a 2 and 3 for me. While I wanted to love this more (that cover!) I sadly found myself irritated at the wife/mom character. Literally 5 days after doing the deed she believes she is pregnant and while she and her 13 year old daughter's life are in danger, she is not thinking about her living daughter, but about the fetus in her uterus... ummm...like there are streams of thought but her lovely daughter in danger are not in those??? There were instances that were similar to this, as in, instances where a character's actions or thoughts didn't quite make sense and it threw me off.
The general run down is that a family moves to Glooscap Island, the man (can't remember his name) grew up there and never wanted to return but his wife makes him because his dad has a stroke. It was a good premise, but it meandered a lot.
That ending though? The best part. I'm glad I stuck with it, but another gripe I had was that this 400 page novel could have been told in half the pages. Lots of repetition.
The general run down is that a family moves to Glooscap Island, the man (can't remember his name) grew up there and never wanted to return but his wife makes him because his dad has a stroke. It was a good premise, but it meandered a lot.
That ending though? The best part. I'm glad I stuck with it, but another gripe I had was that this 400 page novel could have been told in half the pages. Lots of repetition.
September 19, 2016
This was my first try with this author. Story about a vengeful ghost seeking revenge against a man and his family when he returns to his childhood home to take care of his disabled father. One negative note, I solved this story within the first few chapters, so no surprises. But two positve notes. Mr. Hautala creates incredible characters. I really felt I knew these people and felt emotionally attached to them and their struggles. He is also very good at describing locations. I could visualize every place he described, and I know now I never want to live in Maine,,,,it's freezing...
January 18, 2017
The plot is simple and typical horror story - the family who moves into a haunted home on an islands with its old secrets (in poor words) - but the novel is so well written! Hautala lingers on each character's feelings and fears and masters suspense wonderfully. The setting then is haunting in itself, with the blizzard, the raging sea, the coldness and the isolated Maine little isle. It was good.
October 8, 2014
Not a bad story - follows the tried and trusted rules to a predictable conclusion, Just ghost stories do not float my boat, I prefer paranormal with no romance
November 2, 2012
Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews