The Amusement Park

by P.D. Smarslok

Funland Amusement Park was a very popular theme park until one sunny afternoon when three teens tragically died on three different rides. The park closed and was vacant for five years until Blake Maxwell and his wife Myrna purchased it. Had they known what was in store for them, they would have reconsidered.

355 pages, Paperback and eBook

Published October 18, 2020

About the author

As a lifelong accountant, some may find it odd I'm writing books about aliens and the paranormal.

However, I've always had bizarre stories floating through my head and hoped to one day put them on paper, and I did.

For those of you who have read my books, thank you I truly appreciate it.

Reviews

[Mitzi Lafitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A page turner

Interesting read. I liked it. One point though...... A bit more of hinting at the reason for the plot, dropping tiny explanations would help throughout the story, then maybe the bomb at the end. Thanks

[April Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome, gruesome, horrific

Very good read if you like a good horror book. Interesting storyline and characters, not your typical monsters, witches and vampire book. Very hard to put down once you get into the story.

[Raegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Tying the idea of amusement park and paranormal together was a fabulous idea. We all know there is something undoubtedly terrifying about mishaps on amusement rides. The beginning was a fast past read because the author was very detailed on explaining the accidents so I was quite intrigued! The novel had very few grammatical errors, which is something I always appreciate it. The only thing that had me remove a couple stars is the countess aspect of it. “Vampires” and living forever are 100% impossible, but deadly rides and paranormal are very much realistic possibilities. IMO, horror books, movies, etc are more impactful when a reader can actually see themselves experiencing those scary scenes in real life. A couple tweaks to the storyline and it would’ve been perfect.

All in all I enjoyed this book and will continue to read more from this author!

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw this on Kindle Unlimited and took a chance on it. The beginning of the book has a questionable setup; to my knowledge nobody buys an abandoned theme park on a whim, but once you get past that the story begins to pick up. There's a lot of moving parts here and they all function well in maintaining reader interest. What really kept this from being three stars was the ending; it's fairly complicated and is a complete curveball, and not in a good way. As others have noted the book also suffers from a lack of editorial polish. Overall, it's a pretty impressive showing, especially in the world of self-publishing, it definitely won't be the last title I read from Smarslok.

[Heather Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read- lots horror, some fun twists, and a plot that went somewhere wild (I don’t want to spoil it!). However, there were a LOT of spelling and grammatical errors, changed names, and sentences with mixed tense that really took me out of the story. This could have been so much better with a good editor. However, I did really enjoy the story. Just don’t read it before visiting an amusement park! Four star story, but I had to take off a star because it read almost like a rough draft.

[Liz Marnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting addition to theme park horror

I’ve read a lot of theme park horror and this story is right in line with the sub genre. The boo stars off with a bag but I thought the tone changed a bit after that and took the reader in a direction not initially promised. The only thing that keeps this from being 5/5 was the many instances of grammatical mistakes that jarred me out of the story.

[Cari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't care for the "first person omniscient" writing style. It was a bit off-putting, hearing things from different POV in the same paragraphs. I found myself skipping ahead toward the end just to reach the conclusion. A bit shorter and a writing style change (3rs person or 1st person of just ONE character would be nice) and it would have been a great story. As it is, the 3* "it's ok" is a perfect review in my opinion.

[michelle e. medeiros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaking Awesome !

I love horror fiction and this is one of the best I've read by far . Can it get any better ?! Haunted amusement park , mutant attendants , vampires and ghosts ! Hold on to your hat this ones a going to leave you afraid to even set a foot inside an amusement park ! Carries gone wild in a wicked fashion !

[Kayla Bullock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel. It was creepy and in my opinion, minus a few paranormal aspects, could happen in real life. I am gun shy to go to an amusement park now!

[Christine Cazeneuve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

First book I have read by this author and won't be my last. Good storytelling and characters with the right amount of creepiness.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusal

I love spooky amusement park horror stories,. This one delivers in spades. Most unusual paranormal twist to add gruesome details. Don’t ride the Dragon!

[Matthew · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a roller coaster enthusiast and fan of horror literature, I couldn’t be more disappointed in this pointless novel.

[Andrea obannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book but

Felt the twist at the ending was meh i was more confused it came out of no where And it didn’t make any sense

[Scott Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book. I was hooked immediately by the title alone. This is the first book I’ve read from this author. He did not disappoint.

[Kristy Eubanks]

Gripping read

Hooks you from the very first word. You almost think you know how the book will read.. but then there are twists. What a great book.