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Black Ice
ONCE THERE WERE...
THREE LITTLE GIRLS
...who died horrible deaths in the churning waters of a Connecticut lake...sisters linked by an act of unspeakable violence who carried the secret of their brutal murders into their watery graves.
THREE LOST CHILDREN
...whose tormented souls cried out for justice. No one heard their keening wails—except one young boy. Given up for brain-dead after nearly drowning, eight-year-old Jess McCall miraculously survived...in body. But his mind now belonged to his three new friends who urged him to join them in their underwater playground...for all eternity.
THREE TWISTED SOULS
...bound by a legacy of murder, madness and black magic—exacting their chilling vengeance on the town that had betrayed them. And not even Jess's mother Cassie could save her son from the blood lust of this unholy trio as they rose up to drag their victims down...down...down into the hideous depths where hate ruled—and death lived...
BLACK ICE
(1993 paperback cover description)
THREE LITTLE GIRLS
...who died horrible deaths in the churning waters of a Connecticut lake...sisters linked by an act of unspeakable violence who carried the secret of their brutal murders into their watery graves.
THREE LOST CHILDREN
...whose tormented souls cried out for justice. No one heard their keening wails—except one young boy. Given up for brain-dead after nearly drowning, eight-year-old Jess McCall miraculously survived...in body. But his mind now belonged to his three new friends who urged him to join them in their underwater playground...for all eternity.
THREE TWISTED SOULS
...bound by a legacy of murder, madness and black magic—exacting their chilling vengeance on the town that had betrayed them. And not even Jess's mother Cassie could save her son from the blood lust of this unholy trio as they rose up to drag their victims down...down...down into the hideous depths where hate ruled—and death lived...
BLACK ICE
(1993 paperback cover description)
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
1 person is currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Pat Graversen
10 books10 followersBorn in West Virginia, Pat Graversen published her first novel, INVISIBLE FIRE, with Fawcett Books in 1981; THE FAGIN came out in hardcover from A&W Publishers in 1982. After a hiatus during which she concentrated on raising her family, she published DOLLIES in 1990 and STONES in 1991, both through Zebra Books.
Graversen then signed a five-book contract with Zebra. Under its terms, the publisher brought out SWEET BLOOD and a paperback edition of THE FAGIN in 1992, and both BLACK ICE and PRECIOUS BLOOD in 1993.
A short story by Graversen, "Ups and Downs," appeared in DARK SEDUCTIONS, an anthology of erotic horror put out by Zebra in 1993. She collaborated with her son Paul Erik on two young adult novels, GHOST TRAIN (published by Zebra,) and YIN-YANG. Her final novel was GRAYTHINGS, the last under her five book contract.
Graversen grew up in West Virginia, which she recalled as a "mystical, wonderful place," and traveled extensively before she married and settled in Toms River, New Jersey. Two of her children had entered school before she first considered writing fiction.
"When I took the kids to the park, I would bring along a notebook and write there," she recalled.
That first year, she turned out almost 40 short stories. She sent them to small magazines, and most were rejected. Finally, in 1979, Nuggett published "Lenny Sent Me," a "psycho story" about an ex-con who hunts down the sister of a man he befriended in prison.
She then completed her first book manuscript, INVISIBLE FIRE, and connected with an agent who sold it to Fawcett. Although the novel had a few plot elements in common with Stephen King's FIRESTARTER, it was no imitation; her book actually came out first.
Her next publication, THE FAGIN, featured a villain who kidnapped small boys for a Satanic cult. Graversen began to develop a specialty --child-in-peril plots, usually involving the supernatural.
DOLLIES drew upon her brief stint as a real estate agent. "I showed one house that scared me," she said. "When I took the people downstairs, there was a room in the basement with all these dolls in it. There was also a light swinging from the ceiling, as if someone else had just been down there.
"Sometimes it's only a small thing that gives you the idea. When I get one, I write it down in my idea book. It could be a name, or a sentence I hear."
STONES tells the story of a mother and her adolescent daughter who are menaced by the spirit of an ancient fertility goddess. More than Graversen's previous books, it incorporated a large dose of offbeat sexuality, as the innocent young girl takes on the personality of the female demon.
The author stated that she got the idea from a dream. "I saw a small woman made of stone, with greenish skin. I stayed scared by that all one summer."
She based BLACK ICE on the true story of a child who drowned in a lake near her home. Many readers told her that book was their favorite, because it was a "good, old-fashioned ghost story."
Pat also authored a large volume of published poetry, and three romance novels. One of her romance novels, HEART ON TRIAL (NAL Rapture Romance, 1982) sold to several foreign markets.
Graversen founded the Garden State Horror Writers in 1989 to encourage others in New Jersey who aspire to work in her genre. She also belonged to the Authors' Guild, the Authors League and the Horror Writers Association.
Because she appeared to be such a typical middle-class wife and mother, people assumed she wrote something more conventional, such as romance. She also sensed a condescending attitude from some men in her profession, but said, "I don't believe in being held back because I'm a woman."
"I've liked the women horror writers I've read. They've been ignored in the past, but they're catching up. Ten years ago, there were hardly any. Now you can at least name a half-dozen. Women are getting good contracts now, too," she pointed out, using her own five-book
Graversen then signed a five-book contract with Zebra. Under its terms, the publisher brought out SWEET BLOOD and a paperback edition of THE FAGIN in 1992, and both BLACK ICE and PRECIOUS BLOOD in 1993.
A short story by Graversen, "Ups and Downs," appeared in DARK SEDUCTIONS, an anthology of erotic horror put out by Zebra in 1993. She collaborated with her son Paul Erik on two young adult novels, GHOST TRAIN (published by Zebra,) and YIN-YANG. Her final novel was GRAYTHINGS, the last under her five book contract.
Graversen grew up in West Virginia, which she recalled as a "mystical, wonderful place," and traveled extensively before she married and settled in Toms River, New Jersey. Two of her children had entered school before she first considered writing fiction.
"When I took the kids to the park, I would bring along a notebook and write there," she recalled.
That first year, she turned out almost 40 short stories. She sent them to small magazines, and most were rejected. Finally, in 1979, Nuggett published "Lenny Sent Me," a "psycho story" about an ex-con who hunts down the sister of a man he befriended in prison.
She then completed her first book manuscript, INVISIBLE FIRE, and connected with an agent who sold it to Fawcett. Although the novel had a few plot elements in common with Stephen King's FIRESTARTER, it was no imitation; her book actually came out first.
Her next publication, THE FAGIN, featured a villain who kidnapped small boys for a Satanic cult. Graversen began to develop a specialty --child-in-peril plots, usually involving the supernatural.
DOLLIES drew upon her brief stint as a real estate agent. "I showed one house that scared me," she said. "When I took the people downstairs, there was a room in the basement with all these dolls in it. There was also a light swinging from the ceiling, as if someone else had just been down there.
"Sometimes it's only a small thing that gives you the idea. When I get one, I write it down in my idea book. It could be a name, or a sentence I hear."
STONES tells the story of a mother and her adolescent daughter who are menaced by the spirit of an ancient fertility goddess. More than Graversen's previous books, it incorporated a large dose of offbeat sexuality, as the innocent young girl takes on the personality of the female demon.
The author stated that she got the idea from a dream. "I saw a small woman made of stone, with greenish skin. I stayed scared by that all one summer."
She based BLACK ICE on the true story of a child who drowned in a lake near her home. Many readers told her that book was their favorite, because it was a "good, old-fashioned ghost story."
Pat also authored a large volume of published poetry, and three romance novels. One of her romance novels, HEART ON TRIAL (NAL Rapture Romance, 1982) sold to several foreign markets.
Graversen founded the Garden State Horror Writers in 1989 to encourage others in New Jersey who aspire to work in her genre. She also belonged to the Authors' Guild, the Authors League and the Horror Writers Association.
Because she appeared to be such a typical middle-class wife and mother, people assumed she wrote something more conventional, such as romance. She also sensed a condescending attitude from some men in her profession, but said, "I don't believe in being held back because I'm a woman."
"I've liked the women horror writers I've read. They've been ignored in the past, but they're catching up. Ten years ago, there were hardly any. Now you can at least name a half-dozen. Women are getting good contracts now, too," she pointed out, using her own five-book
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 26, 2017
According to Goodreads, I read this 256 page book in about 6 days. Felt like 6 months. It started out with good intentions: kids up to no good, occult worship, a legend about three ghost girls in a lake. Enticing ingredients that culminate into a stale mess of bad characterization and repetitiveness.
January 9, 2021
What could have been SUPER creepy and scary.....never took off. Eh.
What started as a scary 'being pulled down to drown by a skeletal hand.......!' story, just fizzles to a saturday afternoon Hallmark Channel ghost story. For the 258 small print pages, this was a waste of time, skip it. That is it for this review.....
2🔪🔪🤦♂️
What started as a scary 'being pulled down to drown by a skeletal hand.......!' story, just fizzles to a saturday afternoon Hallmark Channel ghost story. For the 258 small print pages, this was a waste of time, skip it. That is it for this review.....
2🔪🔪🤦♂️
July 25, 2009
I personally loved this book.
It's great if you're in the mood for something dark, mysterious, and twisty.
It's great if you're in the mood for something dark, mysterious, and twisty.
October 29, 2016
Despite this being a book ostensibly about three undead girls in a lake, the girls themselves get about half a page of screentime in 256 pages. The rest is given over to their niece, the incredibly annoying protagonist, Cassie.
Cassie is a lot like Shelley Duvall in The Shining: easily startled, not very bright, slightly suspect on the parenting methods. Her son actually falls through the ice when he wanders away to be spared the sight of Cassie boning the roofer working on her house:
WOULD THAT WE ALL COULD WALK INTO THE WOODS AT THIS POINT.
("'Make Cassie happy,' she purred, and the young man obliged her." Make me stop vomiting.)
The roofer winds up saving Jess from nearly drowning, so Cassie grows irrationally angry at him and terminates their relationship, snottily and without thanking him for saving her son. When Jess does survive his near-drowning, Cassie gets religion for 39 full seconds, then inexplicably decides she must bring her abusive father home from hospice to live with them -- and she means now, Buster -- thus inconveniencing everyone around her. This is kind of Cassie's m.o. -- if it's not about Cassie, it's not worth it.
Later, she conveniently ignoring her son's PTSD / demonic possession.
If you're wondering where the three undead girls from the lake are, YOU'RE NOT ALONE.
They basically do a few walk-ons halfway through, then get whisked back into the lake at the end when Cassie makes her doctor-paramour figure out what they want. There's some hand-wringing about Satanic rituals, everyone somehow ignores the fact that a dude slaughtered his parents and Cassie splits her time between jumping every time the phone rings and ignoring her father's store, having the old woman who used to work there part time go full-time so she can ponder such new-fangled ideas as an answering machine. She's. Awful.
I can see Zebra horror books l working as a transition from John Bellairs' middle grade tales to adult horror novels, but for the love of little green apples there are better Zebras than this one.
Cassie is a lot like Shelley Duvall in The Shining: easily startled, not very bright, slightly suspect on the parenting methods. Her son actually falls through the ice when he wanders away to be spared the sight of Cassie boning the roofer working on her house:
She lay down on the blanket and Corey threw himself down on top of her. She tried to catch Jess' eye, to let him know that it would be all right, but he turned away and walked into the woods.
WOULD THAT WE ALL COULD WALK INTO THE WOODS AT THIS POINT.
("'Make Cassie happy,' she purred, and the young man obliged her." Make me stop vomiting.)
The roofer winds up saving Jess from nearly drowning, so Cassie grows irrationally angry at him and terminates their relationship, snottily and without thanking him for saving her son. When Jess does survive his near-drowning, Cassie gets religion for 39 full seconds, then inexplicably decides she must bring her abusive father home from hospice to live with them -- and she means now, Buster -- thus inconveniencing everyone around her. This is kind of Cassie's m.o. -- if it's not about Cassie, it's not worth it.
Later, she conveniently ignoring her son's PTSD / demonic possession.
If you're wondering where the three undead girls from the lake are, YOU'RE NOT ALONE.
They basically do a few walk-ons halfway through, then get whisked back into the lake at the end when Cassie makes her doctor-paramour figure out what they want. There's some hand-wringing about Satanic rituals, everyone somehow ignores the fact that a dude slaughtered his parents and Cassie splits her time between jumping every time the phone rings and ignoring her father's store, having the old woman who used to work there part time go full-time so she can ponder such new-fangled ideas as an answering machine. She's. Awful.
I can see Zebra horror books l working as a transition from John Bellairs' middle grade tales to adult horror novels, but for the love of little green apples there are better Zebras than this one.
September 11, 2024
Good lord, I thought this book would never end! I now understand why it was never reprinted. Full of satanic panic and dead, raped kids. I couldn't stand the main character, Cassie; Gibby's insta-love was nauseating; and the echoes of the crimes the West Memphis Three were accused of enraged me. This is definitely a case of the memory being better than the reality. The one star is for that truly fantastic cover that stayed with me through the years.
**********
Y'all, sometimes dreams do come true!
When this was a newly printed book, and I was a middle schooler with permission to borrow books from the high school library, I ill-advisedly took this gem home with me. Unfortunately, it was the same weekend my mom decided to camp ON Beaver Lake on the Pontoon. I don't remember anything about the book or the trip other than laying on my pallet, staring at the boat railing, waiting for these three girls from the cover to come over the edge for me. I've wanted to reread it for YEARS, but the going rate on Amazon, eBay, and the like has averaged $60-$150, and I'm not paying that for a 90s paperback with a 3-star average rating. Enter the fantastic Canadian seller on AbeBooks who sold me this baby for twelve Canadian dollars after shipping! Please excuse me while I revisit my self-inflicted childhood trauma.
**********
Y'all, sometimes dreams do come true!
When this was a newly printed book, and I was a middle schooler with permission to borrow books from the high school library, I ill-advisedly took this gem home with me. Unfortunately, it was the same weekend my mom decided to camp ON Beaver Lake on the Pontoon. I don't remember anything about the book or the trip other than laying on my pallet, staring at the boat railing, waiting for these three girls from the cover to come over the edge for me. I've wanted to reread it for YEARS, but the going rate on Amazon, eBay, and the like has averaged $60-$150, and I'm not paying that for a 90s paperback with a 3-star average rating. Enter the fantastic Canadian seller on AbeBooks who sold me this baby for twelve Canadian dollars after shipping! Please excuse me while I revisit my self-inflicted childhood trauma.
September 23, 2013
I can't remember the last time I so badly wanted to shake a main character. For someone who showed occasional flashes of gumption, she could really be a spineless idiot at times. Not the worst thing I've read, but far from the best.
March 8, 2022
First off, this book was good and kept my attention. However, it was all over the place! It almost felt like reading 4 different books at a time. It also spent way to much time on non important moments.
December 22, 2025
Not terrible, but it honestly didn't feel like the author knew what the book was supposed to be. The plot is TV movie of the week fodder, but it lacks enough focus to be effective. The ending is also a sloppy mess of out of nowhere twists. Not one of Zebra's best.
September 28, 2012
Lord help me, how have this many people praised this book? this was one of the worst books I have read in a long time. : ( to start off, the main character is so detestable that it makes the book harder to stick with. A blatantly loose chick with a serious attitude problem, who should have her kid removed by CPS because of her rotten parenting. It's not even a situation where you "love to hate" the character. The writing style was irritating for me. The reasoning behind the kids "problems", and his actions, were laughable. Dark? Full of twists?? Forgive me for saying it was more unintentional COMEDY than horror. Ive never been so eager to finish a book. I want my 75 cents back. Seriously.
September 22, 2023
first real slightly adult read and i couldn't put it down!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews