Lullabye

by Patricia Wallace

Eight-year-old Bronwyn's mother has been in a coma for much of her daughter's young life, but soon she will rise to exact a horrifying revenge on those who have mistreated her through her many years of helplessness

Genres: Horror, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a medical thriller with horror elements that is set and was published in 1990. It's about a doctor whose pregnant wife goes into a coma after an accident, but their daughter is delivered successfully. He names the baby Bronwyn, and they settle in a small town where he works at a hospital where his wife is cared for, and after eight years lots of people start dying in strange and mysterious ways. There's an attractive young college student, the girl next door, who takes care of Bronwyn when the housekeeper who's been raising her goes on vacation for the summer. Something mysterious and not too clear happens, but then they all live happily ever after, unless you disapprove of big age gaps in romance. There are two types of Patricia Wallace novels from Zebra, those that have a skull on the cover and those that do not. This is one of the latter variety but could have gone either way. Good Halloween fare!

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll say that while this book is a typical Patricia Wallace Zebra (iykyk), it’s still better than the garbage that is The Children’s Ward and the even more terrible The Taint.

Unlike those atrociously awful novels, there is actually a story in Lullabye and it’s far more entertaining. Wallace’s ability to tell a (mostly) coherent story had definitely improved by 1990 by the time this one came out.

And yet, as always, this is the infamous Patricia Wallace we are talking about here. Somehow she always manages to take a compelling idea and turn into a garbled mess by the conclusion of the story. Despite its few good things, it still ranks somewhere in the 2 star category.

The main idea is interesting but the way Wallace had it all play out feels razor thin and lacking in any kind of explanation that makes sense. As is the case in all her books, things just happen and somehow get explained in some cheesy 3 sentence conclusion…which is always lackluster.

And, also par the course for her books, the characters are all cliched at best and dumb as a box of rocks at best. I’m not going to give away anything here but one character’s death was beyond stupid due to their absolutely unrealistic choices. Yeah, the way they died was kind of cool and clever but even then, no sane person with even an ounce of IQ would be dumb enough to act in such a way…and yet all the characters in this book continue to do asinine things.

In conclusion, as with all Wallace Zebras, Lullabye is a great collector’s item if you want all the books from Paperbacks from Hell, but you’re not gonna get anything redeeming out of actually reading it.

[Derek Hutchins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great cover. The cover and back cover description are misleading. The characters are great but this is not a story about a woman “ trapped in a twilight world of terror” or about a girl who learns that her coma mother is angry. Rather, it is about a series of murders that begin in the hospital (but not til nearly halfway through the book!) and a woman in a coma who appears to be responsible though it is unclear why or how she gained supernatural powers. This conclusion is made abruptly in the last few pages and never really explained. It’s a quick read with a lot of chapters about side characters we don’t really need or care about and their life in the hospital.

[Jake Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly this one was a bit of a dull and predictable read for me. Too much of a medical thriller to be a horror novel, and too much paranormal stuff to NOT be a horror novel. On top of having a genre identity problem, the side characters in this are all just assholes set up for fodder in the last 3rd of the book. Characters are also introduced and just forgotten about - even ones who lived.
The main three characters are fairly well realised but one of primary characters 'Wyatt' is pretty much a lifeless robot, with decisions and actions that really tested my appetite for incredulity. As a doctor, his willingness to accept everything and suddenly have the answer to the problem in the last 5 pages felt very silly to me.

🤷‍♂️

[Josh Huebner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not well designed, I would pass.

[Christian Mallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit of a slow burn but still a really good story! Patricia Wallace has definitely become a new favorite author for me!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I really enjoy Patricia Wallace's style of writing, I'm always left hungry for more and Lullabye is no exception. The problem with this book mainly lies that it does take a while for the horror action of the story to get going. It literally isn't until the last 75 pages. And for a resolution, I've never seen a story resolved so quickly 1/3 of a chapter. The resolution was too simple and it didn't feel like the epic confrontation it should have been. So why 3 stars? Well Wallace has some decent ideas in the story. It is almost as if you took a Robin Cook novel and crossed it with Final Destination/The Omen. I wanted more. I really came to enjoy the characters. Even characters she kills off her in story feel at least somewhat developed. That's a good thing! So while not perfect it still is enjoyable read and worth the time. At a mere 288 pages it goes lightning fast. I will be reading more of her novels in the future.

[Cath Stackhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was not one of those popular novels but I should say that it wasn't boring. It was full of emotions: love, fear, hatred. And I finished it as fast as I could because I can not wait for the shocking ending ❤ Lullabye Patricia Wallace

[krin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book about revenge, grief, and moving on. I liked the relationship between Wyatt and his daughter Bronwyn.