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Nightcry
Set in the present in a Midwestern small town, Nightcry is about Grant Sykes who has returned to his hometown of Ilton to run the local paper. Soon, people start to die and fingers start pointing to him—it doesn’t help the evidence continues to pile up against Grant. He thinks it may have something to do with the supernatural being that killed his parents years ago, but the local Police Chief has other theories. Grant recruits the help of a ghosthunter to investigate the banshee while Grant figures out means to prove his innocence.
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First published March 3, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 31, 2014
This book answers the question can plants pick a perpetrator out of a police line up. Lot of typos. Not worth the 99 cents I spent on it. Someone picked it for our book club. Really a zero star book. Supposed to be a horror who done it.
August 3, 2014
I made it four chapters in. Done. This is horrible, in dire need of an editor and features a protagonist who is an order of magnitude more unlikable than the character he is trying to describe as an asshole.
April 21, 2011
Won this in a goodreads giveaway! Looking forward to checking it out!
The concept of this book was a great one. How does a person clear their name of murder, when the murder has supernatural implications?
In Nightcry, the protaganist, Grant Skyes, Grant's last name should have been of a recognizable Irish origin. He found only three web sites in his search. I tried it, not to dispute Grant's internet search ability, but to learn more about Banshees. I had 16,900,000 hits.
With that in mind, the author had the perfect opportunity to do some minor research and to introduce some tastily gruesome legends about Irish banshees. At the very least a definition could have been offered: an excerpt from Wikipedia- "she would sing the lament when a family member died, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come, so that the wailing of the banshee was the first warning the household had of the death."
Would have given more stars if Mr. Thompson had had a good editor. The use of present and past tense in the same sentence should have been corrected. It also seemed as if spell check was used and unrelated words were “dropped in” to correct spelling; inserting words that had no context in the sentence. These errors distracted from the story. I begin to think that English is not Thompson’s first language and therefore the translation is flawed. (He’s from Illinois?)
Gregory M. Thompson has a good imagination. I liked his story line. The antagonism between Grant and Bobby Hamilton is unrelenting. The in your face violence is not for shrinking violets. I have to admit that I didn’t see the ending coming.
The concept of this book was a great one. How does a person clear their name of murder, when the murder has supernatural implications?
In Nightcry, the protaganist, Grant Skyes, Grant's last name should have been of a recognizable Irish origin. He found only three web sites in his search. I tried it, not to dispute Grant's internet search ability, but to learn more about Banshees. I had 16,900,000 hits.
With that in mind, the author had the perfect opportunity to do some minor research and to introduce some tastily gruesome legends about Irish banshees. At the very least a definition could have been offered: an excerpt from Wikipedia- "she would sing the lament when a family member died, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come, so that the wailing of the banshee was the first warning the household had of the death."
Would have given more stars if Mr. Thompson had had a good editor. The use of present and past tense in the same sentence should have been corrected. It also seemed as if spell check was used and unrelated words were “dropped in” to correct spelling; inserting words that had no context in the sentence. These errors distracted from the story. I begin to think that English is not Thompson’s first language and therefore the translation is flawed. (He’s from Illinois?)
Gregory M. Thompson has a good imagination. I liked his story line. The antagonism between Grant and Bobby Hamilton is unrelenting. The in your face violence is not for shrinking violets. I have to admit that I didn’t see the ending coming.
June 6, 2012
I can't help but feel that this is still a work in progress. I know as well as anyone about how you can get sick to death of your manuscript, after writing and rewriting for months, or even years. You get to a point where you can't stand to be in the same room as your manuscript for ONE. MORE. SECOND. But that doesn't mean it's ready to publish. When published too early, it tends to come across as being amateurish. However, all that being said, I see a great amount of potential in this author, and given a little bit of time for growth (and editing), I imagine we'll see great things from Thompson.
The concept for this story is great. A small town journalist has become the main suspect in a series of murders. He struggles to clear his name, as he has his own suspicions about who the murderer is: a banshee. I'm sure the police chief will believe you. Really.
Now, I don't mean to sound sexist, but it's likely that more men than women will appreciate this book. Our protagonist, Grant, goes into great detail about his fantasies, not always portraying women in a flattering way. Although I wasn't overly thrilled to be reading particular scenes, it did create a very strong voice for the character. I got a very good feel for who he was, and for the way his mind worked. That being said, I didn't feel that some of his reactions were realistic, or particularly endearing. Hard to root for him, if I don't even like him very much.
I won't go into details, as I don't like to add spoilers to my review, but I will say one thing: If you intend to "quote" wikipedia, it would be best if you actually quoted them, instead of making up your own facts. Or maybe apologize to them in the acknowledgments that you misused their name. Or maybe, make up a fictitious webpage, with a similar sounding name - or a completely different name. Just saying.
The concept for this story is great. A small town journalist has become the main suspect in a series of murders. He struggles to clear his name, as he has his own suspicions about who the murderer is: a banshee. I'm sure the police chief will believe you. Really.
Now, I don't mean to sound sexist, but it's likely that more men than women will appreciate this book. Our protagonist, Grant, goes into great detail about his fantasies, not always portraying women in a flattering way. Although I wasn't overly thrilled to be reading particular scenes, it did create a very strong voice for the character. I got a very good feel for who he was, and for the way his mind worked. That being said, I didn't feel that some of his reactions were realistic, or particularly endearing. Hard to root for him, if I don't even like him very much.
I won't go into details, as I don't like to add spoilers to my review, but I will say one thing: If you intend to "quote" wikipedia, it would be best if you actually quoted them, instead of making up your own facts. Or maybe apologize to them in the acknowledgments that you misused their name. Or maybe, make up a fictitious webpage, with a similar sounding name - or a completely different name. Just saying.
September 20, 2011
Grant is the editor of his home town newspaper. One of only two people still here from his high school class; the other being Police Chief Bobby Hamilton. When people start dying and the evidence points to Grant, he must figure out what is going on in order to save himself. His investigation begins to point to a supernatural being, but how can he prove that?
I find myself very torn about this story. I liked the premise of the storyline, but I hated the main character and wasn't satisfied with full execution.
As a character, Grant was dispicable. He was rude, selfish and annoying. His constant, inappropriate inner monologue kept me from caring about him at all. I never understood his hatred of Police Chief Bobby Hamilton. Aside from the fact that Bobby was seeing Grant's ex-girlfriend, there was no explanation for Grant's hatred. Bobby never acted liked a jerk, and in fact, several times seemed to go out of his way to give Grant access to things he really shouldn't have.
The one character I liked was Mavis. He was interesting and unusual. I loved his background stories, even if they didn't really impact the main storyline. I'd love to hear more of his stories and experiences.
The ending had quite a big twist to it. I wasn't really satisifed with the explanations given though. They seemed incomplete and rushed. I'd love to have learned about and had the last two chapters expanded to really explore what was happening.
Overall, this was a creepy story with an uncommon paranormal element. It had great potential, but I couldn't connect with the main character, and felt some areas needed more detail.
I find myself very torn about this story. I liked the premise of the storyline, but I hated the main character and wasn't satisfied with full execution.
As a character, Grant was dispicable. He was rude, selfish and annoying. His constant, inappropriate inner monologue kept me from caring about him at all. I never understood his hatred of Police Chief Bobby Hamilton. Aside from the fact that Bobby was seeing Grant's ex-girlfriend, there was no explanation for Grant's hatred. Bobby never acted liked a jerk, and in fact, several times seemed to go out of his way to give Grant access to things he really shouldn't have.
The one character I liked was Mavis. He was interesting and unusual. I loved his background stories, even if they didn't really impact the main storyline. I'd love to hear more of his stories and experiences.
The ending had quite a big twist to it. I wasn't really satisifed with the explanations given though. They seemed incomplete and rushed. I'd love to have learned about and had the last two chapters expanded to really explore what was happening.
Overall, this was a creepy story with an uncommon paranormal element. It had great potential, but I couldn't connect with the main character, and felt some areas needed more detail.
July 29, 2014
Ok, I am sorry to say that I made it a whole 4 pages in to this book and had to contain my anger so that I didn't throw the e-reader across the room.
The second sentence reads, "She lied there arms out and legs open, as if interrupted while in the process of making dirt angels".
She LIED THERE??? Are you kidding me? Where was the mother-flipping editor?
I thought to myself, OK, I am being too harsh, I'll keep reading. "She rested face up and from what I could tell she was fifty or sixty--possibly older from the sag of her breasts." (Grumble. Grumble. Continue reading...). I made it to chapter two, and then read this little gem, "Now all he does was patrol the streets of Ilton and speak on the hazards of drugs at the local high school."
ALL HE DOES WAS??? I'm sorry, but if you can't bother to EDIT a book, I can't bother to read it.
The. End.
If I could give 0 stars here, I would!
The second sentence reads, "She lied there arms out and legs open, as if interrupted while in the process of making dirt angels".
She LIED THERE??? Are you kidding me? Where was the mother-flipping editor?
I thought to myself, OK, I am being too harsh, I'll keep reading. "She rested face up and from what I could tell she was fifty or sixty--possibly older from the sag of her breasts." (Grumble. Grumble. Continue reading...). I made it to chapter two, and then read this little gem, "Now all he does was patrol the streets of Ilton and speak on the hazards of drugs at the local high school."
ALL HE DOES WAS??? I'm sorry, but if you can't bother to EDIT a book, I can't bother to read it.
The. End.
If I could give 0 stars here, I would!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2011
Read my review at Read All Over
July 17, 2011
Review originally posted on my blog : http://killie-booktalk.blogspot.com/
The concept of "Nightcry" is an interesting one as Gregory H Thompson has attempted to mix suspense, mystery and horror together. The story follows the protagonist Grant Sykes, a man in his mid twenties and the editor of the local paper in a small town in the US Midwest. The book does get off the mark quickly with the discovery of a dead body in the first few pages and it continues at this fast pace as other deaths begin to occur around the town. The evidence begins to point to Grant being the murderer and soon the whole town is talking about how he may be responsible for the deaths. However, Grant has started to see and hear a supernatural being that he believes may be related to the deaths. He therefore bites the bullet and calls in a ghost hunter named Mavis to help him track down the apparition and hopefully solve the murders.
The story itself is rather enjoyable and I have to admit that I especially liked the ending. It was an interesting and clever plot twist that I wasn't expecting, although I do wish that there had been a greater explanation of why the murders had taken place. I had hoped the epilogue would have maybe done this but it closes out some of the other aspects of the story without actually touching on this.
The biggest issue I had with the novel was the number of grammatical errors that I noticed throughout. The most common issue that I saw was the incorrect use of past and present tense and at times it caused me to stop and pause mid-sentence as it affected my ability to easily read the book. I try not to really complain much about grammar as my own is pretty bad at times, however I felt that the various errors in "Nightcry" did cause me to get distracted from the story at times.
Other than this, I found that some of the back-story sections to be rather meaningless in regards to both Grant and Mavis. I will admit that they were actually quite interesting at times, but I don't think it actually added anything at all to the story and they more or less appeared to be filler. In regards to Grant specifically, I actually thought the back-story was being used to set-up some sort of reveal about why this was all happening to him. However, I don't think it ended up doing anything beyond telling us a bit about his family history.
Overall, I am finding it hard on what to really say about this book. I actually think it has a good premise and interesting plot at its core. In my opinion the delivery is not the best; even ignoring the grammar issues, I think the flashback sections could have been better incorporated and utilised in explaining some aspect of the overall story and that there had been some sort of decent reasoning at the end to why the murders had occurred. I believe doing that would have turned the novel from being an okay, yet enjoyable novel into something much better.
The concept of "Nightcry" is an interesting one as Gregory H Thompson has attempted to mix suspense, mystery and horror together. The story follows the protagonist Grant Sykes, a man in his mid twenties and the editor of the local paper in a small town in the US Midwest. The book does get off the mark quickly with the discovery of a dead body in the first few pages and it continues at this fast pace as other deaths begin to occur around the town. The evidence begins to point to Grant being the murderer and soon the whole town is talking about how he may be responsible for the deaths. However, Grant has started to see and hear a supernatural being that he believes may be related to the deaths. He therefore bites the bullet and calls in a ghost hunter named Mavis to help him track down the apparition and hopefully solve the murders.
The story itself is rather enjoyable and I have to admit that I especially liked the ending. It was an interesting and clever plot twist that I wasn't expecting, although I do wish that there had been a greater explanation of why the murders had taken place. I had hoped the epilogue would have maybe done this but it closes out some of the other aspects of the story without actually touching on this.
The biggest issue I had with the novel was the number of grammatical errors that I noticed throughout. The most common issue that I saw was the incorrect use of past and present tense and at times it caused me to stop and pause mid-sentence as it affected my ability to easily read the book. I try not to really complain much about grammar as my own is pretty bad at times, however I felt that the various errors in "Nightcry" did cause me to get distracted from the story at times.
Other than this, I found that some of the back-story sections to be rather meaningless in regards to both Grant and Mavis. I will admit that they were actually quite interesting at times, but I don't think it actually added anything at all to the story and they more or less appeared to be filler. In regards to Grant specifically, I actually thought the back-story was being used to set-up some sort of reveal about why this was all happening to him. However, I don't think it ended up doing anything beyond telling us a bit about his family history.
Overall, I am finding it hard on what to really say about this book. I actually think it has a good premise and interesting plot at its core. In my opinion the delivery is not the best; even ignoring the grammar issues, I think the flashback sections could have been better incorporated and utilised in explaining some aspect of the overall story and that there had been some sort of decent reasoning at the end to why the murders had occurred. I believe doing that would have turned the novel from being an okay, yet enjoyable novel into something much better.
June 17, 2011
The premise of Nightcry was a creative and imaginative one, suspense and horror combined with a supernatural element. The suspense begins with the opening scene and continues to grow throughout the story, with lots of twists along the way. As the story progresses, the fact that Grant himself could be the guilty party gave the story an edgy feeling. The author interjects Grant's somewhat disjointed, and sometimes inappropriate, thoughts in the midst of the text. While distracting, it is purposely so, heightening the idea that perhaps Grant is questioning his one involvement in the deaths. There is also a lot of backstory throughout the book, shared in the form of recollections from both Grant and Mavis, that explained some things from both of their pasts. I finished the book unsure, however, of what connection (if any) there was between Mavis' memories and the story at hand.
Grant was the center of the story, and I am not really sure how I felt about him is a character. As a character, he seemed to be a bit immature and a little emotionally stunted, although the latter could be explained by the backstories of his past. There were times when I was drawn to him and really felt for him as a character, but there were other times when I didn't really care about him one way or another. I think that as a reader, we never really got to know him as a person beyond the scope of the events of the moment.
I loved the ending in that it was completely unexpected, although I wish that a little more of the "why's" were answered. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I wish the reason the bad guy gave was more fully explored. The epilogue did a good job of wrapping up the more practical loose ends to the story, but I wish it had answered my "why's" and maybe tied together the backstories a little more for me.
My only real issue with this book was the sheer amount of errors. There were a lot of grammatical errors, and there were places where entire words omitted and at times those omissions completely changed the meaning of the sentence or paragraph. There were also places where random words appeared to have been placed within a sentence, words that seemed like maybe they were supposed to be corrections of misspelled words on spell-check, but were actually the wrong word. Most of the time, I try to overlook this sort of thing, but it really did affect the ability to read this book. I have the recently released second edition. In spite of that, the bones of the story were excellent and better editing could only enhance that. I gave it 3.5 stars.
Grant was the center of the story, and I am not really sure how I felt about him is a character. As a character, he seemed to be a bit immature and a little emotionally stunted, although the latter could be explained by the backstories of his past. There were times when I was drawn to him and really felt for him as a character, but there were other times when I didn't really care about him one way or another. I think that as a reader, we never really got to know him as a person beyond the scope of the events of the moment.
I loved the ending in that it was completely unexpected, although I wish that a little more of the "why's" were answered. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I wish the reason the bad guy gave was more fully explored. The epilogue did a good job of wrapping up the more practical loose ends to the story, but I wish it had answered my "why's" and maybe tied together the backstories a little more for me.
My only real issue with this book was the sheer amount of errors. There were a lot of grammatical errors, and there were places where entire words omitted and at times those omissions completely changed the meaning of the sentence or paragraph. There were also places where random words appeared to have been placed within a sentence, words that seemed like maybe they were supposed to be corrections of misspelled words on spell-check, but were actually the wrong word. Most of the time, I try to overlook this sort of thing, but it really did affect the ability to read this book. I have the recently released second edition. In spite of that, the bones of the story were excellent and better editing could only enhance that. I gave it 3.5 stars.
June 1, 2011
Grant Sykes recently returned to his small hometown in Illinois, after a three year absence, to become editor of the local paper. After finally settling in to his new/old life, people in town begin to die - and the victims are somehow tied to Grant. Almost everyone in town, including his old high school nemesis Bobby Hamilton (who happens to be Police Chief) believes Grant is responsible for the deaths - Grant believes they're connected to the supernatural being that killed his parents. This is the premise of Gregory M. Thompson's novel, "Nightcry".
I was very excited when I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads. However, I quickly began to struggle with both the dialogue and the main character, Grant. Grant is an extremely self-centered, immature 25 year old young man in the awkward position of being the major suspect in a series of murders in the small town on Ilton, IL. Overall, he just isn't a likable character - at least not by my standards; but far worse, I found that I really didn't care anything about him or what happened to him. In spite of the author's flashbacks and dream sequences, I just didn't read anything in the novel that gave me reason to connect to Grant and hope for a "happy ending". In addition, the author's use of flashback added valuable information to the background of the main character, but by the end of the book, there was no true connection - instead, it felt like bits and pieces of information all thrown together to provide "a reason" for the main character's situation, but it never really comes together. Finally, I found the ending extremely contrived - and again, there wasn't enough connection to any of the background information provided. Yes, I could "infer" a few things, but really didn't feel the need or desire to. When I read the epilogue,I really hoped the author would bring it all together - but it never happened. I found myself left with more questions than answers; unfortunately, I don't care enough to pursue it and overall, I was just glad it was over.
I was very excited when I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads. However, I quickly began to struggle with both the dialogue and the main character, Grant. Grant is an extremely self-centered, immature 25 year old young man in the awkward position of being the major suspect in a series of murders in the small town on Ilton, IL. Overall, he just isn't a likable character - at least not by my standards; but far worse, I found that I really didn't care anything about him or what happened to him. In spite of the author's flashbacks and dream sequences, I just didn't read anything in the novel that gave me reason to connect to Grant and hope for a "happy ending". In addition, the author's use of flashback added valuable information to the background of the main character, but by the end of the book, there was no true connection - instead, it felt like bits and pieces of information all thrown together to provide "a reason" for the main character's situation, but it never really comes together. Finally, I found the ending extremely contrived - and again, there wasn't enough connection to any of the background information provided. Yes, I could "infer" a few things, but really didn't feel the need or desire to. When I read the epilogue,I really hoped the author would bring it all together - but it never happened. I found myself left with more questions than answers; unfortunately, I don't care enough to pursue it and overall, I was just glad it was over.
July 30, 2012
This novel was worth reading. The characters were well written, accessible and their thoughts aligned with their actions consistently throughout the book. The story was complete from start to finish. The plot, which was unique enough to keep me guessing, also had that delectable mixture of tilted reality that provided a vista familiar enough to give me a false sense of security while ratcheting up the tension as it pulled me along. It was shorter than I had expected, but having read this book and given it time to simmer I can appreciate that the author told the story completely from start to finish without bloating the pages with useless exposition. It was well worth the purchase and provided me a good weekend read. I found it definitely worth reading.
June 11, 2011
Imaginative idea for a mystery novel, with a supernatural element.
The interplay among the characters was realistic.
The editing (Or lack thereof) was very distracting.
The interplay among the characters was realistic.
The editing (Or lack thereof) was very distracting.
December 26, 2012
I thought this was an interesting book. It is about Grant, a small town newspaper editor. I has some science fiction to it as it talks about banshees. There is one that is haunting Grant's life. He is being accused of murder. There is a surprise ending. I would recommeend this book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews