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The Messy Man #3
The Messy Man
Ellen Marx sees ghosts. Her mother Rita just wants her to be a ‘normal’ eleven-year-old kid. But that’s tough to do when you receive a birthday card from your dead father.
Following a trail of breadcrumbs left by her dad, Ellen sets out on a journey to unravel the mystery surrounding her father’s disappearance and ends up unearthing secrets best left buried.
The third and final book in the haunting trilogy, The Messy Man brings to a close the story that began with The Nightmare Room and The Hungry Ones.
Following a trail of breadcrumbs left by her dad, Ellen sets out on a journey to unravel the mystery surrounding her father’s disappearance and ends up unearthing secrets best left buried.
The third and final book in the haunting trilogy, The Messy Man brings to a close the story that began with The Nightmare Room and The Hungry Ones.
316 pages, Paperback
Published October 12, 2020
55 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
May 19, 2021
Have you read The Nightmare Room and the Hungry Ones? Yeah?! Then you’ll want to jump right into The Messy Man. No? Do something good for yourself and add them to your reading list because I think this trilogy will work best when read in order and you may spoil surprises and reveals if you read them out of order. But also, you can do whatever you want 😹
This story manages to take elements from the previous two books and merges them into a story set in two storylines. At first, I was like what the? How is this going to work? What happened again way back in book one? And also in book two? My brain can’t handle this, haha because it is faulty on a good day but fortunately the author very kindly adds a little memory jogger for both books at the end of the book. I recommend reading them before tackling this one if your memory isn’t quite so great or if you’ve read hundreds of books in-between. I know I referenced back a time or three.
So this time we travel back in time and meet up with Ellen Marx on her 11th birthday. We also get to meet her shitty, impatient, and selfish mother. Ellen’s dealing with the loss of her dad and the awfulness that is her mother - not to mention the fact that she sees and hears ghosts and no one believes her. When a surprise birthday card from her deceased (missing?) dad arrives, and she’s haunted by the words “Blind Rock”, she takes it upon her 11-year-old self to follow the clues wherever they may lead.
I’m not going to lie here, I wish Ellen had been a few years older. I loved meeting the young Ellen but her adventures and sleuthing and powers of investigation and her overall wiliness would’ve read more realistic had she been 13 or 14. That’s my only complaint. The story is well crafted and brings in elements from the previous books and wraps up some loose ends. It also has some very vivid creeptastic moments and I appreciated the fact that Ellen’s mom wasn’t a very nice person. Some parents aren’t that great, it’s true. It’s comforting to see them portrayed in books this way rather than having them be completely absent or disgustingly supportive and perfect.
The other storyline features Peter but I can’t say too much about that without spilling all the things you should discover on your own. At first, I wondered how the two storylines were ever going to come together in a coherent way but no worries - the author pulled it off.
And my favorite quote comes from Ellen who is a little bit of all of us when she says:
“When I grow up, I won’t have a living room or a dining room or a guest bedroom. I’ll turn them all into libraries.”
Same Ellen. That’s the goal!
Anyhow, this is a fantastic trilogy and I think all of you should give it a read. I can’t wait to see what this writer comes up with next.
This story manages to take elements from the previous two books and merges them into a story set in two storylines. At first, I was like what the? How is this going to work? What happened again way back in book one? And also in book two? My brain can’t handle this, haha because it is faulty on a good day but fortunately the author very kindly adds a little memory jogger for both books at the end of the book. I recommend reading them before tackling this one if your memory isn’t quite so great or if you’ve read hundreds of books in-between. I know I referenced back a time or three.
So this time we travel back in time and meet up with Ellen Marx on her 11th birthday. We also get to meet her shitty, impatient, and selfish mother. Ellen’s dealing with the loss of her dad and the awfulness that is her mother - not to mention the fact that she sees and hears ghosts and no one believes her. When a surprise birthday card from her deceased (missing?) dad arrives, and she’s haunted by the words “Blind Rock”, she takes it upon her 11-year-old self to follow the clues wherever they may lead.
I’m not going to lie here, I wish Ellen had been a few years older. I loved meeting the young Ellen but her adventures and sleuthing and powers of investigation and her overall wiliness would’ve read more realistic had she been 13 or 14. That’s my only complaint. The story is well crafted and brings in elements from the previous books and wraps up some loose ends. It also has some very vivid creeptastic moments and I appreciated the fact that Ellen’s mom wasn’t a very nice person. Some parents aren’t that great, it’s true. It’s comforting to see them portrayed in books this way rather than having them be completely absent or disgustingly supportive and perfect.
The other storyline features Peter but I can’t say too much about that without spilling all the things you should discover on your own. At first, I wondered how the two storylines were ever going to come together in a coherent way but no worries - the author pulled it off.
And my favorite quote comes from Ellen who is a little bit of all of us when she says:
“When I grow up, I won’t have a living room or a dining room or a guest bedroom. I’ll turn them all into libraries.”
Same Ellen. That’s the goal!
Anyhow, this is a fantastic trilogy and I think all of you should give it a read. I can’t wait to see what this writer comes up with next.
October 27, 2020
4.0 Stars
The Messy Man series is now complete! I am happy to report that this final installment lived up to my very high expectations.
As a reviewer, I have been very publicly open with my praise of this supernatural horror series. I particularly loved the first book, The Nightmare Room, which has earned a place among my favourite horror novels. This latest entry, The Messy Man, was one of my most anticipated horror novels of the year and it did not disappoint.
While the first two books revolved around haunted buildings, this one fully shifted into paranormal horror, focusing on a young protagonist with supernatural abilities. Personally, I have an affection for this particular subgenre and was immediately drawn to this precocious young heroine.
Without giving away too the plot, I will let potential readers know that this was a very satisfying conclusion to the series. The author did a fantastic job bringing it all back around to the beginning while raising the stakes of the larger story.
As the third book in the Messy Man series, I would definitely recommend starting back at the beginning with The Nightmare Room. Without reading the first two books, readers will be missing some much needed backstory. Readers who previously read and enjoyed the first two entries in this horror series will certainly be satisfied by this epic conclusion.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author.
The Messy Man series is now complete! I am happy to report that this final installment lived up to my very high expectations.
As a reviewer, I have been very publicly open with my praise of this supernatural horror series. I particularly loved the first book, The Nightmare Room, which has earned a place among my favourite horror novels. This latest entry, The Messy Man, was one of my most anticipated horror novels of the year and it did not disappoint.
While the first two books revolved around haunted buildings, this one fully shifted into paranormal horror, focusing on a young protagonist with supernatural abilities. Personally, I have an affection for this particular subgenre and was immediately drawn to this precocious young heroine.
Without giving away too the plot, I will let potential readers know that this was a very satisfying conclusion to the series. The author did a fantastic job bringing it all back around to the beginning while raising the stakes of the larger story.
As the third book in the Messy Man series, I would definitely recommend starting back at the beginning with The Nightmare Room. Without reading the first two books, readers will be missing some much needed backstory. Readers who previously read and enjoyed the first two entries in this horror series will certainly be satisfied by this epic conclusion.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author.
December 18, 2021
I enjoyed this book about Ellen and her discoveries and travel but it suffered from the same thing book 2 did. I think it could easily be confusing. It also deals with souls splintering and other dimensions but fewer. Overall, for the trilogy, I liked it and enjoyed the time I spent with the messy man. I would read or listen to more from this author.
October 20, 2020
Full review to follow on Kendall Reviews.
A superb conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. I did struggle with pacing initially and the age of Ellen may have been better written a little older.
Minor criticisms really as this is a very clever and well written sequel. How Sorenson has merged timelines and characters into a cohesive work is incredible.
A solid tale that across three books chilled, thrilled and brought a tear to my eye.
A superb conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. I did struggle with pacing initially and the age of Ellen may have been better written a little older.
Minor criticisms really as this is a very clever and well written sequel. How Sorenson has merged timelines and characters into a cohesive work is incredible.
A solid tale that across three books chilled, thrilled and brought a tear to my eye.
November 29, 2020
Chris Sorenson made a believer out of me. The opening salvo of the trilogy, The Nightmare Room, was one of the first "haunted house" stories I read and actually enjoyed. It's a trope I don't particularly care for. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I devoured it's sequel, The Hungry Ones, even though I was skeptical how the author could even do a sequel, never mind a trilogy of books. Sorenson knocked that out of the park, too. So color me surprised, although I shouldn't be, that The Messy Man is another great read.
Multiple threads are at play here. This time we follow a child Ellen Marx on adventure that starts off with a card from her dead father. Another thread running parallel to this, is the continuation of Peter and where we left him off in the previous iterations of the series.
I really enjoyed following both of the threads here. Sorenson mentions in the author note having trouble getting this one down due to the pandemic, but reading this one you wouldn't be able to tell. This is a book that manages to both feel tied to the series, yet carves it's own identity. If I had to nitpick, I did feel it took a while to get going, and there were times when Ellen acted her age, and other times she acted in ways that didn't seem true to an eleven year old. Other than that, this is an excellent cap to the previous books and fans will be delighted to have one last go with the messy man.
Multiple threads are at play here. This time we follow a child Ellen Marx on adventure that starts off with a card from her dead father. Another thread running parallel to this, is the continuation of Peter and where we left him off in the previous iterations of the series.
I really enjoyed following both of the threads here. Sorenson mentions in the author note having trouble getting this one down due to the pandemic, but reading this one you wouldn't be able to tell. This is a book that manages to both feel tied to the series, yet carves it's own identity. If I had to nitpick, I did feel it took a while to get going, and there were times when Ellen acted her age, and other times she acted in ways that didn't seem true to an eleven year old. Other than that, this is an excellent cap to the previous books and fans will be delighted to have one last go with the messy man.
December 27, 2020
Whoa! I have got to think about this for a bit as this story is so complicated.. I’m not sure I entirely understand what just happened? I think my time between stories is the problem as I’m missing important connections which this story does not offer to the reader (oh right? I remember now from the last book type hints). You are thrown into a new story with a young girl Ellen with a domineering mother, and still mourning her late father. Ellen begins getting hints from beyond and her father to find a place where a horrific massacre took place, Blind Rock. Her adventure slams into Peter and Hannah’s past in a whirlpool of ghosts, past and present. The existence of Whisper and other oddities all tied into this one horrible historical event. So give me a bit to think about it and maybe clean up this review. Hmmm... interesting and perplexed that I feel as I missed something in the prior stories that may have led to this story. I’m onto some research! In the meantime, don’t start with this book if you’re new to the series. Start with The Nightmare Room, then The Hungry Ones and read them all back to back. Let me know what you think!
October 17, 2020
"The Messy Man" is a fantastic read, full of tension and chills—at the same time, it is surprisingly moving. Sorensen has a knack for bringing a depth of humanity to his characters. Ellen Marx, in particular, is wonderfully portrayed. This book weaves together different plots and time periods from the pervious books and I am astonished how the author managed to seamlessly bring everything together in a nail-biting climax. A fitting conclusion to this series.
October 30, 2020
One of the aspects of Chris Sorensen's The Messy Man series I most strongly recall is my own cynicism over how much potential there could actually be in a trilogy of ghost books that seemed to have almost fully resolved its own central ideas by the close of its own introduction in The Nightmare Room.
Thankfully, the second book, The Hungry Ones dashed any such doubts I had almost immediately. Sorensen upended whatever preconceived expectations I'd had by smartly flipping the script and pulling a Law & Order on readers by rotating out his central cast of characters with fresh eyes and ears, and in brand-new settings no less. He established himself as an author with a much grander vision, one that was more than worth following along with, and almost when it seemed like Book Two was going to be a standalone adventure connected to the series at large by concepts and themes, Sorensen then started to weave in those various dangling threads left over from Book One.
Book Three, The Messy Man, is a natural outgrowth to those various storytelling seeds. It, again, feels like its own story, while also being very much a part of what came before (meaning, if you haven't read the previous two installments in this trilogy, you better get yourself straight before attempting to read this series capper). While The Messy Man focuses heavily again on Peter, if you recall the ending of the second book, it's a very different Peter than the man we met way back in The Nightmare Room. Sorensen also gives us a really meaty story for Ellen Marx, the paranormal investigator from the previous two books, but - yet again -, the author is not content to follow conventional logic or expectations.
The Messy Man is predominantly set in 2003, which means the Ellen Marx we're following here is an 11-year-old kid, stuck with her rotten mom in the wake of her father's death. Quite a far cry from the Ellen we've grown accustomed to! Then again, so is Peter, who finds himself struggling to recall his former life with wife Hannah and the trauma led that led him to be where he's currently at.
Over the course of this series, Sorensen's played with some high-concept ideas you don't typically find in haunted house stories, and even then, he approached those ideas at an oblique angle. While there are demons and poltergeists up the wazoo, Sorensen's been keenly focused on the storytelling potential of the astral plane, temporality, and second chances. And while these concepts don't come across as scientifically heady or as hardcore as they would be in a Blake Crouch book, they're recognizable elements nonetheless, and their ground-level approach is handled with smooth finesse.
The Messy Man series became must-read releases straight off the bat with the release of The Nightmare Room, and book two washed away whatever measure of skepticism I had about the direction this series would take. Book Three left me with a welcome dose of hope and optimism, which in 2020 is no small gift at all. It also further solidified Sorensen as a gifted author and creative powerhouse well worth following. But I kinda already suspected as much anyway...
Thankfully, the second book, The Hungry Ones dashed any such doubts I had almost immediately. Sorensen upended whatever preconceived expectations I'd had by smartly flipping the script and pulling a Law & Order on readers by rotating out his central cast of characters with fresh eyes and ears, and in brand-new settings no less. He established himself as an author with a much grander vision, one that was more than worth following along with, and almost when it seemed like Book Two was going to be a standalone adventure connected to the series at large by concepts and themes, Sorensen then started to weave in those various dangling threads left over from Book One.
Book Three, The Messy Man, is a natural outgrowth to those various storytelling seeds. It, again, feels like its own story, while also being very much a part of what came before (meaning, if you haven't read the previous two installments in this trilogy, you better get yourself straight before attempting to read this series capper). While The Messy Man focuses heavily again on Peter, if you recall the ending of the second book, it's a very different Peter than the man we met way back in The Nightmare Room. Sorensen also gives us a really meaty story for Ellen Marx, the paranormal investigator from the previous two books, but - yet again -, the author is not content to follow conventional logic or expectations.
The Messy Man is predominantly set in 2003, which means the Ellen Marx we're following here is an 11-year-old kid, stuck with her rotten mom in the wake of her father's death. Quite a far cry from the Ellen we've grown accustomed to! Then again, so is Peter, who finds himself struggling to recall his former life with wife Hannah and the trauma led that led him to be where he's currently at.
Over the course of this series, Sorensen's played with some high-concept ideas you don't typically find in haunted house stories, and even then, he approached those ideas at an oblique angle. While there are demons and poltergeists up the wazoo, Sorensen's been keenly focused on the storytelling potential of the astral plane, temporality, and second chances. And while these concepts don't come across as scientifically heady or as hardcore as they would be in a Blake Crouch book, they're recognizable elements nonetheless, and their ground-level approach is handled with smooth finesse.
The Messy Man series became must-read releases straight off the bat with the release of The Nightmare Room, and book two washed away whatever measure of skepticism I had about the direction this series would take. Book Three left me with a welcome dose of hope and optimism, which in 2020 is no small gift at all. It also further solidified Sorensen as a gifted author and creative powerhouse well worth following. But I kinda already suspected as much anyway...
November 22, 2020
Now this is the way to cap off a chilling trilogy! Ellen Marx has become one of my favorite characters in horror. I devoured The Messy Man and was blown away by the way everything tied together. There are shades of Clive Barker magic within these pages that had me grinning from ear to ear. An excellent read.
December 18, 2020
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
When Chris Sorensen sprung ‘The Nightmare Room‘ on an unsuspecting horror world a few years back, it caught a lot of us by surprise.
For me, that opening chapter of a young boy, down in his room, was one of the most frightening moments I’d read in some time. We learned some of the story that young, but Chris held some back.
Book Two followed, introducing us to a new group of characters, one being Ellen Marx.
Now the finale in the trilogy has arrived, and within we get to learn the details/arrivals of a few characters.
What I liked: The Messy Man acts as both a sequel and a prequel of sorts. At the start, Sorensen kindly states that a detailed synopsis of Books One and Two can be found at the back. I highly suggest reading these to refresh your memory, as Chris peppers the story with details from both books.
The book bounces between Ellen Marx and a different timeline. I’ll leave the other timeline vague-ish for spoiler prevention. Ellen is trying to come to terms with her dads passing, dealing with her moms downward spiral. She sets off on a journey to follow some clues.
I really enjoyed the way Chris weaved the stories back and forth and how they came together at the end. The other timeline is filled with some fascinating characters, and when we find out the reasons, it is heartbreaking. Excellent historical story here.
The ending is very sweet. A nice way to wrap things up and some closure for readers and Ellen as well.
Chris writes with such easy prose that the story sucks you in and his writing voice is a familiar one. It’s enjoyable to step back into his worlds.
What I didn’t like: At first I was concerned we were running out of real-estate and page count for Sorensen to deftly wrap it up, but he does so and really well. Saying that, for those wanting immediate answers, you just won’t get those.
Why you should buy this: This trilogy has been such an amazing ride. Three incredibly well-done stories, solid characters and fantastic storytelling. If you’ve read Book One or Book One and Two, you’ll absolutely need to see how this ends. If you’ve not read any – dive in. You won’t be disappointed.
When Chris Sorensen sprung ‘The Nightmare Room‘ on an unsuspecting horror world a few years back, it caught a lot of us by surprise.
For me, that opening chapter of a young boy, down in his room, was one of the most frightening moments I’d read in some time. We learned some of the story that young, but Chris held some back.
Book Two followed, introducing us to a new group of characters, one being Ellen Marx.
Now the finale in the trilogy has arrived, and within we get to learn the details/arrivals of a few characters.
What I liked: The Messy Man acts as both a sequel and a prequel of sorts. At the start, Sorensen kindly states that a detailed synopsis of Books One and Two can be found at the back. I highly suggest reading these to refresh your memory, as Chris peppers the story with details from both books.
The book bounces between Ellen Marx and a different timeline. I’ll leave the other timeline vague-ish for spoiler prevention. Ellen is trying to come to terms with her dads passing, dealing with her moms downward spiral. She sets off on a journey to follow some clues.
I really enjoyed the way Chris weaved the stories back and forth and how they came together at the end. The other timeline is filled with some fascinating characters, and when we find out the reasons, it is heartbreaking. Excellent historical story here.
The ending is very sweet. A nice way to wrap things up and some closure for readers and Ellen as well.
Chris writes with such easy prose that the story sucks you in and his writing voice is a familiar one. It’s enjoyable to step back into his worlds.
What I didn’t like: At first I was concerned we were running out of real-estate and page count for Sorensen to deftly wrap it up, but he does so and really well. Saying that, for those wanting immediate answers, you just won’t get those.
Why you should buy this: This trilogy has been such an amazing ride. Three incredibly well-done stories, solid characters and fantastic storytelling. If you’ve read Book One or Book One and Two, you’ll absolutely need to see how this ends. If you’ve not read any – dive in. You won’t be disappointed.
August 30, 2023
Wow! This was a wild ride.
Like the first two books in the Messy Man trilogy, this book is best read in the context of the series. As a standalone, it would be very difficult to follow and you miss out on the best parts of this book: the payoffs. So many images, themes, and timelines that felt random in the first couple books are resurrected and finally explained. I was absolutely thrilled to recognize what I thought were insignificant moments circle back as major plot points.
Personally, I feel that books in a series should be able to stand alone to some degree. While I am so excited that I stayed along for the whole ride, I worry that many readers may not be willing to wait multiple books for many of the twists to pay off. I would recommend this book as well as the trilogy as a whole to readers who are okay with waiting for that satisfaction. If you are looking for a light read, this series may not be your thing. And you MUST read them in order for the full effect!
Thank you again to Sorensen for allowing me to check out the Messy Man Trilogy for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord and will be compiling a trilogy review for that edition.
Like the first two books in the Messy Man trilogy, this book is best read in the context of the series. As a standalone, it would be very difficult to follow and you miss out on the best parts of this book: the payoffs. So many images, themes, and timelines that felt random in the first couple books are resurrected and finally explained. I was absolutely thrilled to recognize what I thought were insignificant moments circle back as major plot points.
Personally, I feel that books in a series should be able to stand alone to some degree. While I am so excited that I stayed along for the whole ride, I worry that many readers may not be willing to wait multiple books for many of the twists to pay off. I would recommend this book as well as the trilogy as a whole to readers who are okay with waiting for that satisfaction. If you are looking for a light read, this series may not be your thing. And you MUST read them in order for the full effect!
Thank you again to Sorensen for allowing me to check out the Messy Man Trilogy for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord and will be compiling a trilogy review for that edition.
December 20, 2020
Chris Sorensen has saved the best for last! “The Messy Man” is a thrilling, mind bending conclusion that somehow is a prequel and sequel all in one. Ellen Marx explodes off the pages in this one and is a character you definitely want more books about. She’s so damn cool. “The messy man trilogy” has been a freaking blast to read! I don’t know how he comes up with this stuff, but I envy his brain. While not as scary as the first two, this one is a tighter narrative, and edge of your seat exciting as the pacing is fantastic. These three books gave me a horror story unlike any I have ever read and I highly recommend picking up this trilogy!
May 30, 2024
In keeping with the theme of many of the reviews, my overall feeling is “confused”. Couldn’t put it down but also wasn’t quite sure what was happening. Ellen reminds me of Stephen King’s Holly character in the Mr. Mercedes series. In summary: good but don’t expect to understand what happened.
December 26, 2022
All I can say is that I'm sad there are no more books in this series. Please continue to write, Chris Sorensen!
November 14, 2023
I loved how this book tied the other two together. An amazing writer and narrator. This was exactly the story that was needed and gave an amazing character a spectacular story.
December 4, 2020
I have read this entire series now and love the concept and execution. Honestly, aside from Stephen King, I don't read much horror, but this series was really scary and, ultimately, a lot of fun. And the endings are far better than almost all of King's books. (Dark Tower excepted)
The first in the series is heartbreaking and horrifying, but the characters are so well developed and interesting that you can't help but like and root for them.
The second book, (tbh, my fave) is such a satisfying twist that I won't even begin to give it away... and just a great ride.
The third, while difficult to know where it is going sometimes, it ties up the series in a most original and satisfying way. Stick with it, you won't be disappointed.
High marks for you Mr. Sorenson.
The first in the series is heartbreaking and horrifying, but the characters are so well developed and interesting that you can't help but like and root for them.
The second book, (tbh, my fave) is such a satisfying twist that I won't even begin to give it away... and just a great ride.
The third, while difficult to know where it is going sometimes, it ties up the series in a most original and satisfying way. Stick with it, you won't be disappointed.
High marks for you Mr. Sorenson.
December 21, 2020
If you are reading this review and haven't read the first two books in the series, stop and read them immediately.
Book 1 - The Nightmare Room was a fantastic opening novel. A haunted house story that pulls you in right from the beginning.
Book 2 -The Hungry Ones, was another haunting "building" story, but with a twist. I had a little more difficulty getting into the rhythm of this book, but Mr. Sorensen's writing style is outstanding, and I had no problem piecing together my own gaps, and reading this novel quickly.
Last, but definitely not least, Book 3 - The Messy Man, takes us on a paranormal journey that ties the entire series together. Again, Mr. Sorensen's narrative style is completely addicting, and keeps the reader involved at all times throughout the book. I loved how this novel took us back in time and blended the stories with Peter and Ellen together. The characters were believable, the dialogue was engaging, and the way the story wrapped up the series in a neat little bow, was completely...satisfying.
Thank you, Mr. Sorensen for sharing your stories with us. I look forward to reading more of your books in the near future.
Book 1 - The Nightmare Room was a fantastic opening novel. A haunted house story that pulls you in right from the beginning.
Book 2 -The Hungry Ones, was another haunting "building" story, but with a twist. I had a little more difficulty getting into the rhythm of this book, but Mr. Sorensen's writing style is outstanding, and I had no problem piecing together my own gaps, and reading this novel quickly.
Last, but definitely not least, Book 3 - The Messy Man, takes us on a paranormal journey that ties the entire series together. Again, Mr. Sorensen's narrative style is completely addicting, and keeps the reader involved at all times throughout the book. I loved how this novel took us back in time and blended the stories with Peter and Ellen together. The characters were believable, the dialogue was engaging, and the way the story wrapped up the series in a neat little bow, was completely...satisfying.
Thank you, Mr. Sorensen for sharing your stories with us. I look forward to reading more of your books in the near future.
February 25, 2021
What a delightful end to this series! The first two books, The Nightmare Room and the Hungry Ones, are each very unique and have their own style. This third installment is the same, and could (sort of) be taken by itself. But I do love how Sorensen wraps the story around itself and brings us to a wonderful conclusion.
This was my favorite book of the series as we get to see more about the characters, the origins and explanations of the entities, and travel between different generations as they all deal with the balance between light and dark.
I don't want to say too much more, as nobody wants to ruin the plot of a trilogy! But if you enjoyed the other two books, this will make you very happy.
This was my favorite book of the series as we get to see more about the characters, the origins and explanations of the entities, and travel between different generations as they all deal with the balance between light and dark.
I don't want to say too much more, as nobody wants to ruin the plot of a trilogy! But if you enjoyed the other two books, this will make you very happy.
October 26, 2020
Sorensen continues his horror/thriller trilogy with this great ending to his series. Even though my favorite genre is cozy mysteries this was a nice change and perfect for Halloween being just around the corner- I just couldn’t read it at night or had to leave the hall light on haha. Ellen Marx’s story really helps wrap up the trilogy. Sad to see the series end but felt satisfied with the way it wrapped up. As always was another great page turner!!!!
Read
October 15, 2020Review to come on Sci Fi and Scary later today. I think I might read all three of these again very soon.
June 21, 2024
[tl:dr]
No spoilers
All in all, and with all my complaints (I just don’t understand some of the decisions made for this book) I have to say The Messy Man is a very creepy, heartwarming, well-written and successful trilogy. It’s not scary, at all; but it succeeds at being engaging, having interest characters and lore, having great imagery and having very tense moments packed with action.
As a trilogy I give it 4/5 stars.
I will definitely be reading it again.
[Full Review]
Contains Spoilers
3.5 stars.
It’s definitely the weakest of the three books but it’s not bad at all. Once the action starts it doesn’t let you go. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I think what plays against it is how different it is from the previous two entries in the trilogy. This is not a haunted house story. It is not about Michael (I honestly thought the three books would be about saving Michael), and it’s not linked to the plot of the previous two books. In the sense that both The nightmare room and The Hungry ones happen in the same window of time. I expected to see a grown up Ellen finding out she had to help save the Larsons through her psychic abilities.
But that’s not what it is.
It is the .. ‘origin story’ of Peter (?) it gets very timey wimey.
Questions I have after finishing this trilogy
1) Who is sister ? And what is her relationship to Whisper? ( I get she’s one of the creatures attached to the people of Blind Rock, and she needs to feed of others because…? But she’ not a creature! In book 2 it is established that she once was human? And why is Whisper afraid of her?)
2) Why should I the reader be scared of Whisper ? (Like, I get it; he’s not actually evil. But in the first book he’s set up to be the big bad of the series. I think that was the most confusing part for me in the whole trilogy)
3) what was the relevance of Willa? Why did she have to be Peter’s mother? It is never addressed.
AND
4) books 1 and 2 we have Peter sobbing about how much he misses Michael and how much he loves his son and then no mention of the kid in book 3 ?! Yes he loves Hannah and I love their relationship, but for me it would’ve made more sense to have Michael be the memory Peter is trying to recover. It just makes more sense.
It always makes me very anxious when a character has to do something in a limited amount of time. Like Ellen having to take the bus to see her aunt. I was always thinking “Hurry up, girl! You need to catch the bus!”
Which reminds me there were some “problems” that made no sense. Like when Ellen decides she doesn’t want to continue investigating Blind Rock and suddenly she has to tell her mother she lied to her? Five minutes before she had a perfect plan to get to her aunt without any of them knowing she took a detour to Maple City, what happened to that? Why her not wanting to investigate anymore affects the plan? ALSO when Pat tells her he’ll talk to her the next day at 7:30 am… baby, you can use a phone to call. Your aunt has a phone. Just ask the man for his number and tell him you won’t be able to physically be there, but that you’ll call. I just 😤 These problems were so dumb.
“The Messy Man” but this is not really about the messy man. By the begging of the book Peter is Peter and Whisper is Whisper; they’re not mixed anymore.
(The way this book could be read as a stand alone - except of course because you need the back story- but it is so detached from the first two books)
[EDIT]
But wait… Fallow IS the messy man, right? Cause, it’s no longer with Whisper, but he is still an amalgamation of Peter and the creatures he consumed! Okay okay.. I’ll give you that one, Mr Sorensen.
But I really liked the book. Ellen was a very nice character to follow, Chris Sorensen is very good at writing engaging characters and relationships.
The Blind Rock massacre was incredibly interesting and sad.
The kids with their abilities: Awesome !
Fallow was a very interesting character (until the big reveal). I loved how Sorensen made him warm and nice but still managed to make you feel he was not to be trusted.
Riggs appearing in all three books was a great choice. I love him.
I grew incredibly fond of Whisper, though he is barely in this book.
All in all, and with all my complaints (I just don’t understand some of the decisions made for this book) I have to say The Messy Man is a very creepy, heartwarming, well-written and successful trilogy. It’s not scary, at all; but it succeeds at being engaging, having interest characters and lore, having great imagery and having very tense moments packed with action.
As a trilogy I give it 4/5 stars.
No spoilers
All in all, and with all my complaints (I just don’t understand some of the decisions made for this book) I have to say The Messy Man is a very creepy, heartwarming, well-written and successful trilogy. It’s not scary, at all; but it succeeds at being engaging, having interest characters and lore, having great imagery and having very tense moments packed with action.
As a trilogy I give it 4/5 stars.
I will definitely be reading it again.
[Full Review]
Contains Spoilers
3.5 stars.
It’s definitely the weakest of the three books but it’s not bad at all. Once the action starts it doesn’t let you go. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I think what plays against it is how different it is from the previous two entries in the trilogy. This is not a haunted house story. It is not about Michael (I honestly thought the three books would be about saving Michael), and it’s not linked to the plot of the previous two books. In the sense that both The nightmare room and The Hungry ones happen in the same window of time. I expected to see a grown up Ellen finding out she had to help save the Larsons through her psychic abilities.
But that’s not what it is.
It is the .. ‘origin story’ of Peter (?) it gets very timey wimey.
Questions I have after finishing this trilogy
1) Who is sister ? And what is her relationship to Whisper? ( I get she’s one of the creatures attached to the people of Blind Rock, and she needs to feed of others because…? But she’ not a creature! In book 2 it is established that she once was human? And why is Whisper afraid of her?)
2) Why should I the reader be scared of Whisper ? (Like, I get it; he’s not actually evil. But in the first book he’s set up to be the big bad of the series. I think that was the most confusing part for me in the whole trilogy)
3) what was the relevance of Willa? Why did she have to be Peter’s mother? It is never addressed.
AND
4) books 1 and 2 we have Peter sobbing about how much he misses Michael and how much he loves his son and then no mention of the kid in book 3 ?! Yes he loves Hannah and I love their relationship, but for me it would’ve made more sense to have Michael be the memory Peter is trying to recover. It just makes more sense.
It always makes me very anxious when a character has to do something in a limited amount of time. Like Ellen having to take the bus to see her aunt. I was always thinking “Hurry up, girl! You need to catch the bus!”
Which reminds me there were some “problems” that made no sense. Like when Ellen decides she doesn’t want to continue investigating Blind Rock and suddenly she has to tell her mother she lied to her? Five minutes before she had a perfect plan to get to her aunt without any of them knowing she took a detour to Maple City, what happened to that? Why her not wanting to investigate anymore affects the plan? ALSO when Pat tells her he’ll talk to her the next day at 7:30 am… baby, you can use a phone to call. Your aunt has a phone. Just ask the man for his number and tell him you won’t be able to physically be there, but that you’ll call. I just 😤 These problems were so dumb.
“The Messy Man” but this is not really about the messy man. By the begging of the book Peter is Peter and Whisper is Whisper; they’re not mixed anymore.
(The way this book could be read as a stand alone - except of course because you need the back story- but it is so detached from the first two books)
[EDIT]
But wait… Fallow IS the messy man, right? Cause, it’s no longer with Whisper, but he is still an amalgamation of Peter and the creatures he consumed! Okay okay.. I’ll give you that one, Mr Sorensen.
But I really liked the book. Ellen was a very nice character to follow, Chris Sorensen is very good at writing engaging characters and relationships.
The Blind Rock massacre was incredibly interesting and sad.
The kids with their abilities: Awesome !
Fallow was a very interesting character (until the big reveal). I loved how Sorensen made him warm and nice but still managed to make you feel he was not to be trusted.
Riggs appearing in all three books was a great choice. I love him.
I grew incredibly fond of Whisper, though he is barely in this book.
All in all, and with all my complaints (I just don’t understand some of the decisions made for this book) I have to say The Messy Man is a very creepy, heartwarming, well-written and successful trilogy. It’s not scary, at all; but it succeeds at being engaging, having interest characters and lore, having great imagery and having very tense moments packed with action.
As a trilogy I give it 4/5 stars.
December 3, 2022
I am pretty impressed with how all the elements of this trilogy was brought together and concluded in a pretty satisfying way in this final book. Time-travel, parallel universes and soul fragmentation are not easy to write, but somehow Sorenson managed to tie all these messy (hehe) tropes together in a somewhat coherent fashion. I liked both our lead protagonist: Ellen and OG Peter and their respective arc and how they all come together. (tho, my favourite was Ellen with her quirky personality and the way her powers are depicted.) Once again we see a lot of reoccurring characters in different phases of their life, and it is always a pleasure to read about them.
Overall a really solid horror series and definitely worth read! 10/10 will recommend.
With that said, minor nitpick time:
This book did feel like the weakest entry in the series... I feel like Ellen and OG Peter's stories felt like two unrelated plots that conveniently crossed-paths rather than having an emotionally weighted reason for the two of them to actually meet and interact. OG Peter has interacted with adult Ellen before, but in this case his memories are too fragmented and Ellen (who is still a child) hasn't met Peter before. So when they met in the high stress climatic scene, it feels a bit meh.
It just felt like Ellen randomly fumbled into the climax of the book and did random-Ellen things to make the situation better. It didn't feel like she had a real special reason to meet Peter, Peter's mom or any of those other kids. Like, I think the intention was to meet her dad in the flesh... but like... she could talk to her dad in Ghost form anyways...? Was an adventure to a dangerous life-treating situation in a parallel universe REALLY needed?
Also, I wish the book had actually flesh-out Peter's mom a bit more. She was the one who spurred this entire series by binding Mr Tell to Peter. She has the badass superpower and all the mystery (HOW ON EARTH did she settle for Albert? That guy was so obviously AWFUL. Also after all the timey-whimy non-sense DOES she still end up with Albert? I sure hope not, but we will never know as the book never really addresses this.) So I was really excited to read about her in this book. Unfortunately, she felt pretty underwhelming and kind of a blank slate. Which is disappointing, since the author is clearly really talents at developing characters in a short span of time.
These is a lot going on with all the superpower kids, OG Peter, and then Santa-Peter and cults, by the end I was just glad Ellen and OG Peter actually ended in there respective timelines somewhat happy.
Despite my nitpicks, I think I was still engaged and pretty excited to find out how OG Peter's story ends and how Ellen became who she is in the future.
Overall a really solid horror series and definitely worth read! 10/10 will recommend.
With that said, minor nitpick time:
This book did feel like the weakest entry in the series... I feel like Ellen and OG Peter's stories felt like two unrelated plots that conveniently crossed-paths rather than having an emotionally weighted reason for the two of them to actually meet and interact. OG Peter has interacted with adult Ellen before, but in this case his memories are too fragmented and Ellen (who is still a child) hasn't met Peter before. So when they met in the high stress climatic scene, it feels a bit meh.
It just felt like Ellen randomly fumbled into the climax of the book and did random-Ellen things to make the situation better. It didn't feel like she had a real special reason to meet Peter, Peter's mom or any of those other kids. Like, I think the intention was to meet her dad in the flesh... but like... she could talk to her dad in Ghost form anyways...? Was an adventure to a dangerous life-treating situation in a parallel universe REALLY needed?
Also, I wish the book had actually flesh-out Peter's mom a bit more. She was the one who spurred this entire series by binding Mr Tell to Peter. She has the badass superpower and all the mystery (HOW ON EARTH did she settle for Albert? That guy was so obviously AWFUL. Also after all the timey-whimy non-sense DOES she still end up with Albert? I sure hope not, but we will never know as the book never really addresses this.) So I was really excited to read about her in this book. Unfortunately, she felt pretty underwhelming and kind of a blank slate. Which is disappointing, since the author is clearly really talents at developing characters in a short span of time.
These is a lot going on with all the superpower kids, OG Peter, and then Santa-Peter and cults, by the end I was just glad Ellen and OG Peter actually ended in there respective timelines somewhat happy.
Despite my nitpicks, I think I was still engaged and pretty excited to find out how OG Peter's story ends and how Ellen became who she is in the future.
November 11, 2022
A strange way to end the trilogy... But obviously a compelling read, I blew through it in a day.
Since time is fluid in the world of these books there is one storyline that is following the events of the previous book, but the main heart of the story is a prequel following the childhood version of Ellen, the magical deus ex machina character from the previous two books, and these two storylines converge. It has the dark atmosphere of the first two books but doesn’t have quite the same sense of dread or horror or even compulsive momentum that they had. There were some stand-out moments, but it is strange for a story to slow down in its final third. I do like that, continuing with the way he trusts his audience in the first two books, Sorensen doesn't "resolve" every single thing, there are still mysteries and connections that remain unexplained, and a different author might have chosen to shoehorn in some clunky exposition ot give answers to things that are better left up to the reader to wonder about.
If the first two books were about hauntings and being haunted (or traumatized), this turns in a different direction, following the "outcast-young-kid-with-a-supernatural-ability" genre. So in many ways it just feels out of place in the trilogy, and almost more like a middle book of a trilogy than a final one (in terms of feel, not in terms of plot or content). However, it wove itself in and out of the existing story in exciting ways, it was well-written, and very neatly paced. As the closer of this particular trilogy I would give it four stars, since it does feel quite different than the first two books, and yet just on its own in terms of writing and character and story and overall vibes I would give it five stars. Definitely worth reading if you have found yourself invested in the stories of the other two books, and a lot of fun at that. I *almost* wonder what it would be like to read the stories out of order, because the Easter eggs are so well-sprinkled throughout that reading this first might actually be a really interesting path into the first book. Since time is so fluid in this world, with the supernatural entities existing outside of time and/or in multiple times simultaneously, it wouldn't be *wrong* to read them that way. Which is all to say that Sorensen has managed to tell a complete and circular kind of story across the expanse of these three books that doesn't feel repetetive but instead feels like each entry is fleshing out a different part of the world, interlocking pieces that don't travel in a straight line but still tell a complete story.
Since time is fluid in the world of these books there is one storyline that is following the events of the previous book, but the main heart of the story is a prequel following the childhood version of Ellen, the magical deus ex machina character from the previous two books, and these two storylines converge. It has the dark atmosphere of the first two books but doesn’t have quite the same sense of dread or horror or even compulsive momentum that they had. There were some stand-out moments, but it is strange for a story to slow down in its final third. I do like that, continuing with the way he trusts his audience in the first two books, Sorensen doesn't "resolve" every single thing, there are still mysteries and connections that remain unexplained, and a different author might have chosen to shoehorn in some clunky exposition ot give answers to things that are better left up to the reader to wonder about.
If the first two books were about hauntings and being haunted (or traumatized), this turns in a different direction, following the "outcast-young-kid-with-a-supernatural-ability" genre. So in many ways it just feels out of place in the trilogy, and almost more like a middle book of a trilogy than a final one (in terms of feel, not in terms of plot or content). However, it wove itself in and out of the existing story in exciting ways, it was well-written, and very neatly paced. As the closer of this particular trilogy I would give it four stars, since it does feel quite different than the first two books, and yet just on its own in terms of writing and character and story and overall vibes I would give it five stars. Definitely worth reading if you have found yourself invested in the stories of the other two books, and a lot of fun at that. I *almost* wonder what it would be like to read the stories out of order, because the Easter eggs are so well-sprinkled throughout that reading this first might actually be a really interesting path into the first book. Since time is so fluid in this world, with the supernatural entities existing outside of time and/or in multiple times simultaneously, it wouldn't be *wrong* to read them that way. Which is all to say that Sorensen has managed to tell a complete and circular kind of story across the expanse of these three books that doesn't feel repetetive but instead feels like each entry is fleshing out a different part of the world, interlocking pieces that don't travel in a straight line but still tell a complete story.
September 6, 2023
The third book in the Messy Man trilogy starts out with us meeting 11-year-old Ellen Marx. We have met the adult version of Ellen in the previous books, a socially awkward, sassy, paranormal investigator, with special powers that have saved the day multiple times. Now we take a jump back in time to Ellen’s 11th birthday. Ellen sees ghosts. Ellens's mother Rita just wants her to be a normal kid. Rita has no time or patience for Ellen, money is tight, and she is also more interested in her male ‘friend’ than having Ellen hanging around being weird and dysfunctional.
So when Ellen receives a birthday card from her dead father, with money and a cryptic note, she hatches a plan to take a trip to try to figure out the mystery that surrounds her dad's disappearance. Convincing her mother that she is going to visit her grandmother, she sets off on a journey to uncover secrets, that she is not quite sure she is ready for. Meanwhile, we are getting glimpses of Peter, who is struggling to remember his wife. Which Peter is this?
When I started reading this book it felt like a total switch from the first two in the series. What was linking them together? Where was the need to continually refer back to characters, where was the link to timelines, the need to see how all the threads were continually connecting? As the story progressed and Ellen started to unearth her mystery, unearthing her own threads, we start to see how they link into the bigger picture. We see how Ellen came to be later in life, and how she became formed as a person. It is a bit unbelievable that an eleven-year-old could pull off what she does in this book, but I am going to park my scepticism on that one, considering all else that happens in the story!
As we progress in our read, the tale weaves in elements from the previous books, and we start to how everything becomes fully interlinked. The seemingly divergent storylines, timelines, and astral planes, all start to converge into a seamless focal point, and all of the madness swirling in our heads boils down to a whopper of an ending.
*I received this book from BookSirens for review, but all opinions are my own.
So when Ellen receives a birthday card from her dead father, with money and a cryptic note, she hatches a plan to take a trip to try to figure out the mystery that surrounds her dad's disappearance. Convincing her mother that she is going to visit her grandmother, she sets off on a journey to uncover secrets, that she is not quite sure she is ready for. Meanwhile, we are getting glimpses of Peter, who is struggling to remember his wife. Which Peter is this?
When I started reading this book it felt like a total switch from the first two in the series. What was linking them together? Where was the need to continually refer back to characters, where was the link to timelines, the need to see how all the threads were continually connecting? As the story progressed and Ellen started to unearth her mystery, unearthing her own threads, we start to see how they link into the bigger picture. We see how Ellen came to be later in life, and how she became formed as a person. It is a bit unbelievable that an eleven-year-old could pull off what she does in this book, but I am going to park my scepticism on that one, considering all else that happens in the story!
As we progress in our read, the tale weaves in elements from the previous books, and we start to how everything becomes fully interlinked. The seemingly divergent storylines, timelines, and astral planes, all start to converge into a seamless focal point, and all of the madness swirling in our heads boils down to a whopper of an ending.
*I received this book from BookSirens for review, but all opinions are my own.
April 27, 2021
2.5
This is not how I wanted this series to end. I want to put the blame for my low rating solely on the year long gap between reading The Hungry Ones and The Messy Man but I know it is more than that.
My feelings really start with having to listened to this as a audiobook since I couldn't get my hands on a physical copy. Normally I'm very interested in listening to a story from the author themselves but I didn't much care for the voices Sorensen gave most of his characters. Perhaps if this had been a joint effort with a female narrator my feeling would have been different. As it stands an adult male providing the voices of multiple women, including an 11 year old just didn't work for me.
I also went back and forth between disliking Ellen's parts and being deeply uncomfortable during them and not in the desired horror way. Even excusing the death of her father and her poor relationship with her mother Ellen was unbearably rude to nearly everyone she came into contact with and under no circumstances could I accept not one but two men helping out an unknown child in the ways they did.
To save this from being a fully negative review I can say that Sorensen did include elements from The Hungry Ones that I enjoyed and with the way he's crafted these books I feel safe that I can at least reread that one some day as a sort of stand-alone.
This is not how I wanted this series to end. I want to put the blame for my low rating solely on the year long gap between reading The Hungry Ones and The Messy Man but I know it is more than that.
My feelings really start with having to listened to this as a audiobook since I couldn't get my hands on a physical copy. Normally I'm very interested in listening to a story from the author themselves but I didn't much care for the voices Sorensen gave most of his characters. Perhaps if this had been a joint effort with a female narrator my feeling would have been different. As it stands an adult male providing the voices of multiple women, including an 11 year old just didn't work for me.
I also went back and forth between disliking Ellen's parts and being deeply uncomfortable during them and not in the desired horror way. Even excusing the death of her father and her poor relationship with her mother Ellen was unbearably rude to nearly everyone she came into contact with and under no circumstances could I accept not one but two men helping out an unknown child in the ways they did.
To save this from being a fully negative review I can say that Sorensen did include elements from The Hungry Ones that I enjoyed and with the way he's crafted these books I feel safe that I can at least reread that one some day as a sort of stand-alone.
June 10, 2021
I cannot believe how good this series is. I was afraid this final entry couldn't possibly live up to the sheer strength of the previous books, but it absolutely does.
This books focuses on Ellen and Peter and jumps between the two of them. Occasionally, this would be a little frustrating as I found myself far more concerned about what was happening to Peter, but then the BEST character, Riggs, was heavily featured in Ellen's story so I was quickly appeased. (NOTE: I love Riggs so much, it's not even funny. He is just such a fun character to read about in a book that can get rather dark; I can't describe him as anything other than delightful.) All the characters are great and feel like real people. I cared a lot for them, so much so that I actually had to put the book down for almost a week because I was too afraid to see anything bad happen to them, particularly Whisper. Who knew the creepy demon in book one taunting the child about coming into his punishment-room would be so endearing to me in book three?!
Before I ramble on any longer, I will conclude by saying, if you want to read a good horror series with interesting characters and a rather intricate and well thought-out plot, you NEED to read these books.
This books focuses on Ellen and Peter and jumps between the two of them. Occasionally, this would be a little frustrating as I found myself far more concerned about what was happening to Peter, but then the BEST character, Riggs, was heavily featured in Ellen's story so I was quickly appeased. (NOTE: I love Riggs so much, it's not even funny. He is just such a fun character to read about in a book that can get rather dark; I can't describe him as anything other than delightful.) All the characters are great and feel like real people. I cared a lot for them, so much so that I actually had to put the book down for almost a week because I was too afraid to see anything bad happen to them, particularly Whisper. Who knew the creepy demon in book one taunting the child about coming into his punishment-room would be so endearing to me in book three?!
Before I ramble on any longer, I will conclude by saying, if you want to read a good horror series with interesting characters and a rather intricate and well thought-out plot, you NEED to read these books.
February 20, 2024
Zoinks Velma! It's your Dad?... or my ***1/2 star review of The Messy Man
I'm going to admit something here.... I am soooooo bad with character names. As I was going back thinking about this final book in this trilogy I JUST realized that Ellen, the Scooby Do Velma person I mentioned in the book 2 The Hungry Ones, is supposed to be the 11 year old girl(who also sees dead people, not the girl I was referring to in my "joke title" for that book) Anyway, the beginning of the final book follows an eleven year old Velma, I mean Ellen....(You know... I wondered why she wasn't in this last book ..duh!)
So we start with this precocious young girl who always wears an orange sweater and pleated skirt, just kidding, we do start with a eleven year old girl who 'sees dead people'. After the....... death of her father the mother retreats into her own selfish world of recovery basically losing track of the pre-teen. So when she tries to explain that her father is trying to contact her it's an easy dismissal, allowing the young girl to go off on her own to follow clues seemingly left by the ghost of her father.
Again, I was not completely comprehending the overlapping timeframe of this one, since objectively in time, this starts as a prequel to the first novel. But it's with this overlapping parallel timeline that the author is finally able to tie all the loose ends together, although again in what's essentially a multiverse setting in the supernatural world, the term "being tied together" means a slightly different thing here.
But we visit the audiobook narrator's family again and the supernatural being beyond a simple ghost entity is finally confronted, aka The Messy Man . So it's pretty satisfying ending, especially, in the way, all three really stand on their own in such a way a lot of book series don't. So again this may have been my least favorite of the three even though Ellen was technically still a character this novel, it suffered without her adult self, but I'm boosting it a half star just for being part of a good trilogy.
-DCO
I'm going to admit something here.... I am soooooo bad with character names. As I was going back thinking about this final book in this trilogy I JUST realized that Ellen, the Scooby Do Velma person I mentioned in the book 2 The Hungry Ones, is supposed to be the 11 year old girl(who also sees dead people, not the girl I was referring to in my "joke title" for that book) Anyway, the beginning of the final book follows an eleven year old Velma, I mean Ellen....(You know... I wondered why she wasn't in this last book ..duh!)
So we start with this precocious young girl who always wears an orange sweater and pleated skirt, just kidding, we do start with a eleven year old girl who 'sees dead people'. After the....... death of her father the mother retreats into her own selfish world of recovery basically losing track of the pre-teen. So when she tries to explain that her father is trying to contact her it's an easy dismissal, allowing the young girl to go off on her own to follow clues seemingly left by the ghost of her father.
Again, I was not completely comprehending the overlapping timeframe of this one, since objectively in time, this starts as a prequel to the first novel. But it's with this overlapping parallel timeline that the author is finally able to tie all the loose ends together, although again in what's essentially a multiverse setting in the supernatural world, the term "being tied together" means a slightly different thing here.
But we visit the audiobook narrator's family again and the supernatural being beyond a simple ghost entity is finally confronted, aka The Messy Man . So it's pretty satisfying ending, especially, in the way, all three really stand on their own in such a way a lot of book series don't. So again this may have been my least favorite of the three even though Ellen was technically still a character this novel, it suffered without her adult self, but I'm boosting it a half star just for being part of a good trilogy.
-DCO
May 4, 2022
3.5
The Messy Man is the creepy and unsettling conclusion to The Messy Man trilogy. The first two books are focussed more around the haunted house aspect of the story, whereas this one delves deeper into the more supernatural elements at play. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the new direction this book was taking, but, I found as it went on, I liked it more and more.
As unusual as this is, I still think that the second book is my favorite in the series. However, this is still a fantastic offering, and provides a satisfying conclusion to a brilliant horror series. I can't say too much without spoiling some rather major plot points, all I can really say is please, give this series a go, you won't be disappointed.
The Messy Man is the creepy and unsettling conclusion to The Messy Man trilogy. The first two books are focussed more around the haunted house aspect of the story, whereas this one delves deeper into the more supernatural elements at play. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about the new direction this book was taking, but, I found as it went on, I liked it more and more.
As unusual as this is, I still think that the second book is my favorite in the series. However, this is still a fantastic offering, and provides a satisfying conclusion to a brilliant horror series. I can't say too much without spoiling some rather major plot points, all I can really say is please, give this series a go, you won't be disappointed.
October 6, 2021
Empecé a leer esta novela poco después de terminar la anterior (The Hungry Ones). Pensé que me ayudaría a no perderme. Me equivoqué. Si con The Hungry Ones hubo un punto a partir del cual me perdí, en The Messy Man no hay punto, como mucho una coma.
Recomiendo leer la trilogía del tirón y tomando nota. Esto es como leer un mapa pero al revés. Si queréis evitar confusiones, leed solo The Room, que es una historia cerrada (que se puede expandir con las otras dos novelas, pero no es imprescindible). Ojo, al contrario no funciona, hay que pasar por la primera para entender las otras dos.
Recomiendo leer la trilogía del tirón y tomando nota. Esto es como leer un mapa pero al revés. Si queréis evitar confusiones, leed solo The Room, que es una historia cerrada (que se puede expandir con las otras dos novelas, pero no es imprescindible). Ojo, al contrario no funciona, hay que pasar por la primera para entender las otras dos.
February 13, 2023
Great trilogy, my only slight gripe is that this doesn't really follow on 100% from the previous book and delve into the demons as I expected, especially the character of Sister.
However, it's a brilliant prequel that ties the story up nicely.
Massively underappreciated trilogy!
I really.hooe Sorensen writes more horror.
However, it's a brilliant prequel that ties the story up nicely.
Massively underappreciated trilogy!
I really.hooe Sorensen writes more horror.
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