Repitition

by C.L. Sidell

271 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 2020

About the author

A native Floridian, C. L. Sidell grew up playing with toads in the rain and indulging in speculative fiction. She holds a master of arts in both English and library & information science, moderates two creative writing groups, and has reviewed books for the Florida Library Youth Program. When she’s not busy working, she’s usually looking for ways to spoil her pets or stopping traffic to rescue animals. She dreams of traveling the world and hopes to someday revisit New Zealand. Her work has appeared (or is forthcoming) in 34 Orchard, 50 Haikus, 805 Lit, Apparition Lit, Dark Moments, diet milk, The Dread Machine, Frozen Wavelets, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Martian Magazine, Medusa Tales Magazine, opia, Orion's Belt, Quarantine Quanta, The Sprawl Mag, Strange Horizons, and others.

Reviews

[Heather Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have the pleasure of working with Crystal as a librarian at a Tampa library. Although paranormal is not my normal genre Crystal does a fabulous job weaving the realistic with the paranormal. Marche purchases a house that many in town believe is cursed, she fights to convince others this is not the truth, but can't deny the strange things that are happening around her. This is a captivating read.

There are some editing issues and Crystal does admittingly recognize these publisher errors. If you can get passed these, it is well worth the read. What a great debut novel, by a great person.

[Judy Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary!!!!!

I've never been so scared. Nothing like a ghost story on a stormy day to get you going. This is a mystery/ ghost story that will totally give you choose bumps!!

[Aaron Lebold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A descriptive and detailed suspenseful build-up helps you understand the characters and the origins of the story. This very well-written novel will keep you guessing as the history of an old house and it's former occupants unfolds. The more you learn, the more the pieces fit together, forming a picture of tragedy, phantoms, and obsession. C.L Sidell has a way with words that really helps paint the picture of every scene and place you directly into the plot.

[Elli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story with great and powerful ending, but lacks in the beginning. The pacing is really slow the first 2/3 of the book. Also needed another proof read.
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[Max Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Repetition' is a gem. Sidell is a devious tension-builder, as what seems like southern gothic lit dissolves almost imperceptibly into keep-you-up-at-night suspense. Her debut deftly walks the knife-edge between decadent, decrepit beauty, and page-turning horror. Recommended to fans of Capote, O'Connor, or early Stephen King--and anyone who enjoys a good, mysterious ghost story.

[Rowan Forrester · Rating 4 out of 5]

A newly widowed young mother, a sweet little girl and a new start in a new home - but something else may already be living there when they move in...

This book was a nice little read - a great book to add to your summer reading list, especially if you're going to get out and travel now that we're beginning to re-emerge post-pandemic. A page-turner that can be consumed over the course of a flight or a couple of days at the beach. I really enjoyed this author's knack for drawing memorable, strikingly human characters. She's got an uncanny ability to give them startlingly realistic quirks - the kind you can picture completely because you recognize them from people you've actually known. Add to that a good ol' fashioned ghost story in a good ol' fashioned haunted house, and you get a wonderfully modern twist on a tasty bit of scary tradition.

Don't think you'll be able to predict where all the skeletons are in this one, though. There are some sweet little turns in the story that make the read a lot of fun and consistently keep the interest piqued. If you're looking for a good read (and a good scare), I highly recommend this one.