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The Killing Room
Once You Enter
Old houses have their secrets. The Young residence--a beautiful Maine mansion overlooking the Atlantic--is no exception. But the secrets here are different. They can kill. . .
The Only Way Out
Carolyn Cartwright, private detective and ex-FBI agent, has been hired by Howard Young to investigate a string of gruesome family deaths. The crimes are horrific, brutal, and senseless. And the time has come for the killing to begin again. . .
Is To Die
One by one, members of the Young family are chosen to die. Old and young, weak and strong, no one is safe from a killer with a limitless thirst for revenge. And the only way for Carolyn to uncover the shocking truth is to enter the room no one has ever left alive--and make herself the next target. . .
Praise for John Manning's debut All the Pretty Girls Are Dead
"Brilliantly executed. . .this one is not to be missed!" --Kevin O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author
"If you like Dean Koontz, you'll love John Manning!" --Wendy Corsi Staub, New York Times bestselling author
Old houses have their secrets. The Young residence--a beautiful Maine mansion overlooking the Atlantic--is no exception. But the secrets here are different. They can kill. . .
The Only Way Out
Carolyn Cartwright, private detective and ex-FBI agent, has been hired by Howard Young to investigate a string of gruesome family deaths. The crimes are horrific, brutal, and senseless. And the time has come for the killing to begin again. . .
Is To Die
One by one, members of the Young family are chosen to die. Old and young, weak and strong, no one is safe from a killer with a limitless thirst for revenge. And the only way for Carolyn to uncover the shocking truth is to enter the room no one has ever left alive--and make herself the next target. . .
Praise for John Manning's debut All the Pretty Girls Are Dead
"Brilliantly executed. . .this one is not to be missed!" --Kevin O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author
"If you like Dean Koontz, you'll love John Manning!" --Wendy Corsi Staub, New York Times bestselling author
414 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
78 people are currently reading
1091 people want to read
About the author
John Manning
14 books24 followersJohn Manning lives in Boston and Los Angeles and several points in between. A connoisseur of horror films, he especially loves the great made-for-television movies of the 1970s, where the devil always seemed to be lurking around the corner of a college dormitory or a suburban mansion.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
July 28, 2013
This novel was amazing and quite horrifying! I was hooked from the moment it began, trying to figure out what exactly was going on in the Young mansion. The novel was very well written and the ending was just as impressive as the rest of the novel. I'd recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys thriller and supernatural reads as The Killing Room was a real page turner!
November 16, 2012
Based on reviews and the book's description I had high hopes for this book. A decades long curse haunting an entire family for over 80 years in which the only way to appease it is to hold a lottery where one person is essentially sacrificed every ten years? Going against the rules of the lottery unleashes wholesale slaughter on the other family members? Interesting and twisted. I wanted to like this book. I gave it a three based on the premise and a few gruesome passages. If it weren't for that it would have gone into the 2 star category.
First off, the characters. They're all stuffy and stodgy. Every last one of them. Uncle Howard I can understand with his clipped and overly formal diction. He's in his 90s and is old money. As for the rest? They all read like rich academics. This was particularly frustrating with the main character. Carolyn. She's only 26 yet she reads like a 50+ year old socialite at court. You'll find plenty of dialogue like 'I surmised and intuit that the fiend....' etc etc....really. It reads more like something out of the 18th century most times.
There were a few other things that I found a bit annoying. Some inconsistencies. It's mentioned that Carolyn had dated who she found out later to be a murderer. He left her high and dry (prior to this story..this is just her back story) having cleaned out her savings account. Now, here's the thing. It's supposedly 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in investments and savings that this man stole from Carolyn. Yet, she was a fresh college graduate just working at the FBI at that time? Her mother gone and her daughter with a severe disability and having amassed a huge amount of medical debt? I'd like to get financial advice from her because not coming from money I'm curious how she managed a six figure bank account coming right out of college. There is a big emphasis on how most of the characters are rich in this book to the point of it being annoying.
Carolyn was also established as being a 'go to' agent when she was in the FBI prior to becoming a private detective (one again, she's only 26) when it came to paranormal cases. Go to..in the FBI..only working there a year or two? Just doesn't add up. The budding romance aspect also doesn't add up. One minute they know each other the next minute they're in love. Huh?
In the end it's an ok read if you can get past the stuffy dialogue and the stiff characters, but honestly those two things really kept an interesting premise from truly shining in my opinion.
First off, the characters. They're all stuffy and stodgy. Every last one of them. Uncle Howard I can understand with his clipped and overly formal diction. He's in his 90s and is old money. As for the rest? They all read like rich academics. This was particularly frustrating with the main character. Carolyn. She's only 26 yet she reads like a 50+ year old socialite at court. You'll find plenty of dialogue like 'I surmised and intuit that the fiend....' etc etc....really. It reads more like something out of the 18th century most times.
There were a few other things that I found a bit annoying. Some inconsistencies. It's mentioned that Carolyn had dated who she found out later to be a murderer. He left her high and dry (prior to this story..this is just her back story) having cleaned out her savings account. Now, here's the thing. It's supposedly 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' in investments and savings that this man stole from Carolyn. Yet, she was a fresh college graduate just working at the FBI at that time? Her mother gone and her daughter with a severe disability and having amassed a huge amount of medical debt? I'd like to get financial advice from her because not coming from money I'm curious how she managed a six figure bank account coming right out of college. There is a big emphasis on how most of the characters are rich in this book to the point of it being annoying.
Carolyn was also established as being a 'go to' agent when she was in the FBI prior to becoming a private detective (one again, she's only 26) when it came to paranormal cases. Go to..in the FBI..only working there a year or two? Just doesn't add up. The budding romance aspect also doesn't add up. One minute they know each other the next minute they're in love. Huh?
In the end it's an ok read if you can get past the stuffy dialogue and the stiff characters, but honestly those two things really kept an interesting premise from truly shining in my opinion.
June 11, 2010
Boy this has started out creepy - will be interesting to see where it goes.....
I got this book for free on B&N free ebook Fridays. It was a decent book - very readable and the story started out intriguingly. However, as it came to the end, it became more like a mediocre Cable movie of the week; culminating in a creepy, macabre, sappy and downright "Oh, no way" ending. The story involved 'supernatural' forces and while I'm not a total cynic, I think this story could've been a bit better in how it treated the supernatural - stuff like that can really be used to be creepy but entertaining. Also, without hopefully giving too much away, basically the 'bad' characters get what they deserved and the 'good' characters were left to. . .;)
I give it two stars simply for the ending and how it wrapped up - it could've been developed far differently and been a better book.
I got this book for free on B&N free ebook Fridays. It was a decent book - very readable and the story started out intriguingly. However, as it came to the end, it became more like a mediocre Cable movie of the week; culminating in a creepy, macabre, sappy and downright "Oh, no way" ending. The story involved 'supernatural' forces and while I'm not a total cynic, I think this story could've been a bit better in how it treated the supernatural - stuff like that can really be used to be creepy but entertaining. Also, without hopefully giving too much away, basically the 'bad' characters get what they deserved and the 'good' characters were left to. . .;)
I give it two stars simply for the ending and how it wrapped up - it could've been developed far differently and been a better book.
September 1, 2010
An impressive horror thriller with a haunted house, a few ghosts. greedy rich people and one scary room. The author has the talent for piling on the thrills that Dean Koontz used to have. Mystery fans may be disappointed since who-dun-it and why becomes obvious early on. Yet the joy is in the ride and there are lots of goosebumps along the way. A good effort from a writer to watch out for.
June 22, 2010
Eighty years ago maid was killed in the Young mansion. A few days later the family lottery began…Every ten years the Young host a family reunion in the family mansion and every adult member is eligible to participate in the lottery. And each and every member of the family hopes he or she won’t be the winner.
Because the prize isn’t a million bucks or a shiny new car. The winner has to spend a night in the basement room when the maid was murdered. And no one has ever emerged from that room alive…Until now, that is.
Ooh, what a nicely creepy, chilling, thrilling, and suspenseful story this was. The mansion and the sprawling grounds around it gave it a gothic atmosphere, which was only enhanced by the raging ghost and a pitchfork wielding apparition. The characterization was wonderful – the characters were varied, multi-layered, and nicely flawed, and I loved the family dynamics.
The paranormal investigator was a nice touch, providing a slightly romantic angle to an otherwise straight-laced horror/thriller story.
Yes, this was a horror/thriller mix, and it really was chilling, thrilling, and creepy. And the author’s “slow” narrative of past events, the constant feel of something being omitted, the secrets, half-truths, and outright lies made for an exciting and page-turning read.
Until the last few chapters, when this great story sunk into the realm of the bizarre. Without divulging any secrets and spoilers, to me such an ending seemed a bit amateurish, as if the Mr. Manning had no real clue how to end the story, so he decided to insert a horror cliché and watch was happened.
What happened was that this reader was extremely disappointed with that passage in the story.
Still, the resolution was satisfactory and all the secrets were revealed (though some of those were evident almost from the start), but that bizarre twist of events toward the end lowered the rating for me.
3 ½ - 4 stars
Because the prize isn’t a million bucks or a shiny new car. The winner has to spend a night in the basement room when the maid was murdered. And no one has ever emerged from that room alive…Until now, that is.
Ooh, what a nicely creepy, chilling, thrilling, and suspenseful story this was. The mansion and the sprawling grounds around it gave it a gothic atmosphere, which was only enhanced by the raging ghost and a pitchfork wielding apparition. The characterization was wonderful – the characters were varied, multi-layered, and nicely flawed, and I loved the family dynamics.
The paranormal investigator was a nice touch, providing a slightly romantic angle to an otherwise straight-laced horror/thriller story.
Yes, this was a horror/thriller mix, and it really was chilling, thrilling, and creepy. And the author’s “slow” narrative of past events, the constant feel of something being omitted, the secrets, half-truths, and outright lies made for an exciting and page-turning read.
Until the last few chapters, when this great story sunk into the realm of the bizarre. Without divulging any secrets and spoilers, to me such an ending seemed a bit amateurish, as if the Mr. Manning had no real clue how to end the story, so he decided to insert a horror cliché and watch was happened.
What happened was that this reader was extremely disappointed with that passage in the story.
Still, the resolution was satisfactory and all the secrets were revealed (though some of those were evident almost from the start), but that bizarre twist of events toward the end lowered the rating for me.
3 ½ - 4 stars
March 10, 2012
Dreading your next family reunion? Wondering if your next lottery ticket just might be the big one? In need of a really good scare? Let me introduce you to The Killing Room... part mystery/part horror and all around ghost story.
The Young family has a secret. Every ten years they have a family reunion and every ten years a lottery. One member is drawn to spend the night in a room, a dark one in the old servant quarters... Doesn't sound too bad... except this room, well, it kills. And in ways no one could imagine....
This book is definitely a good old fashion ghost story. It scares, it terrifies, and it makes all the tingles people want when reading a horror tale. Reminding me of something told around a campfire, The Killing Room is well written, though predictable at times. Its host of characters are easy to relate to, and make you like or hate them with just a few lines. The mystery behind the room holds the reader well, but for me, the clues were too often and had me solving it far before the end.
As a whole, this book is definitely not for the tender readers or children. I would be even careful with the young adult group. Strong language, scary moments, gore, and some sexual scenes were present, but it wasn't extremely graphic in nature, but blood as well as some violent deaths could keep those with weak stomachs from daring this story.
In truth, I liked The Killing Room. It was a great read for an afternoon and definitely worth the time of any ghost story enthusiast. Give it a try and toss your name in the lottery. Just don't ABANDON HOPE.
The Young family has a secret. Every ten years they have a family reunion and every ten years a lottery. One member is drawn to spend the night in a room, a dark one in the old servant quarters... Doesn't sound too bad... except this room, well, it kills. And in ways no one could imagine....
This book is definitely a good old fashion ghost story. It scares, it terrifies, and it makes all the tingles people want when reading a horror tale. Reminding me of something told around a campfire, The Killing Room is well written, though predictable at times. Its host of characters are easy to relate to, and make you like or hate them with just a few lines. The mystery behind the room holds the reader well, but for me, the clues were too often and had me solving it far before the end.
As a whole, this book is definitely not for the tender readers or children. I would be even careful with the young adult group. Strong language, scary moments, gore, and some sexual scenes were present, but it wasn't extremely graphic in nature, but blood as well as some violent deaths could keep those with weak stomachs from daring this story.
In truth, I liked The Killing Room. It was a great read for an afternoon and definitely worth the time of any ghost story enthusiast. Give it a try and toss your name in the lottery. Just don't ABANDON HOPE.
January 17, 2012
I'm of two minds about this book. Because the first half of it, I thought it was spectacular. The sort of creeping kind of horror story that has a lot of suspense and some real mystery to it. Manning managed to even build one of those race against the clock parts to push the pace. And even though the writing's on the plain side, the characters were fairly engaging and the mystery of it was enough have me eager to get to the end. But after such a great beginning, everything at the end just kind of fell flat for me. What was a fairly unique premise descended into cliche and every twist was telegraphed for ages before it happened. It's not that the ending was bad but more that I was expecting something more after how well done the first half of this story was.
March 26, 2011
If I had known this had zombies, I probably wouldn't have read it. It had a good premise, I guess, but at the end of it all, you just wonder why the perpetrator didn't just give himself/herself the heck up to 'appease' the evil spirits.
Again, I kind of liked the backstory and the cover-up, although the source of the malignant spirit by the end of the novel was... almost funny. Maybe I'm messed up, but the ending killed any fear that the rising action of the novel had created.
And there wasn't much gore for a horror novel, which was a nice change. That being said, there was a lot of gore. So overall, it wasn't too good, but neither was it a total waste of time.
Again, I kind of liked the backstory and the cover-up, although the source of the malignant spirit by the end of the novel was... almost funny. Maybe I'm messed up, but the ending killed any fear that the rising action of the novel had created.
And there wasn't much gore for a horror novel, which was a nice change. That being said, there was a lot of gore. So overall, it wasn't too good, but neither was it a total waste of time.
September 3, 2016
This book kept me reading with all the suspense. I just couldn't guess the ending and had to read on. Midway into the book, the story will start to unfold and the story will be told on how things became the way they were. The room just had so much suspense in it because the curse of the room was never really revealed until the end of the book. This was definitely a book that I couldn't let go until I had finished reading it.
June 1, 2010
read this over the last few weeks... certainly one that I could put down easily and almost didn't finish. Concept was pretty creepy...but way too predictable. I figured out "who done it" about 20 Kindle Clicks in...
scary for those of you with over-active imagintations who get scared easily by creep basements & ghost stories.
Me...eh...not so much.
scary for those of you with over-active imagintations who get scared easily by creep basements & ghost stories.
Me...eh...not so much.
July 27, 2016
I got this book as a free Kindle download and it sounded interesting enough. One by one the members of the family will die off when they enter a room in an old house. The main character's goal is to discover the curse and then find out how to stop it. At times the story felt slow and I feel the writing was not the best. Not bad for a free download though.
October 6, 2010
The perfect read for October! Very creepy!
Want to read
May 4, 2010Free book
August 28, 2018
Things I Liked:
* The overall premise of the story.
* The idea of the family curse and the story behind it.
Things I Didn't Like:
* The dialogue was stiff and read like something written decades ago.
* Some of the characters are very stereotyped. (Yeah, Chelsea, I'm looking at you.)
* The whole backstory with Carolyn's ex-boyfriend. Despite spending more time than necessary detailing Carolyn's tight financial situation, he managed to swindle hundreds of thousands from her. He also mysteriously appears at Howard's house before he sets that whole chain of events into action.
* Jeanette's miraculous appearance and the explanation for her "illness." It felt thrown in and forced into the story.
All in all, it was a decent read with an interesting plot that was let down by the characters.
* The overall premise of the story.
* The idea of the family curse and the story behind it.
Things I Didn't Like:
* The dialogue was stiff and read like something written decades ago.
* Some of the characters are very stereotyped. (Yeah, Chelsea, I'm looking at you.)
* The whole backstory with Carolyn's ex-boyfriend. Despite spending more time than necessary detailing Carolyn's tight financial situation, he managed to swindle hundreds of thousands from her. He also mysteriously appears at Howard's house before he sets that whole chain of events into action.
* Jeanette's miraculous appearance and the explanation for her "illness." It felt thrown in and forced into the story.
All in all, it was a decent read with an interesting plot that was let down by the characters.
September 6, 2019
This book was interesting. I liked the storyline itself but found that the constant change of POV was confusing and you didn't really get to know any of the characters in depth. I also thought that towards the end it read like a cheesy romance novel not a thriller, which I don't mind romance novels, but in their own books. There is a way to write a romance into a book like this without making it sugary sweet. I also realize the book is about love, a mothers love, a woman's love.. and how devastating it can turn..it was just the relationship between Carolyn and Douglas really irked me for some reason. It was like Carolyn turned from being this smart, capable and incredible investigator into a school girl with a crush. A bit annoying. Also, the Kindle version had several typos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2017
This was really, really good right up until the last 30 pages or so. The resolution just didn't make a whole lot of sense and the climax was disappointing. It was a 5 star book until then. very interesting plot and characters but all fell apart.
May 31, 2018
Very disappointed in this; the beginning held a lot of promise with its very intense prologue but it began to fall flat at the 30% mark and I found myself having to force myself to finish. Not only was it predictable but it wasn’t as entertaining as it should have been.
June 27, 2018
You know it is a great book when you are 8 months pregnant, your two kids are actually in bed and you are still up reading! Definitely a great page turner and I recommend to anyone who loves haunted house stories.
June 28, 2019
Will be keeping me up at night
It was not my favorite book. I felt like the ending was expected for awhile. It while keep me up at night though. I still felt the need to finish it and see what happens.
It was not my favorite book. I felt like the ending was expected for awhile. It while keep me up at night though. I still felt the need to finish it and see what happens.
February 26, 2025
Curses are a huge fear trigger for me, and this book was fantastically terrifying. I haven’t read much horror lately, and I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, horror, and suspense that drips from this book!
March 16, 2025
I loved this book! I picked up a copy at my local goodwill thinking it was a serial killer book and I was pleasantly surprised to learn it was ghosts! The book is well written, spooky, keeps you on edge and the end was fantastic!
August 20, 2025
This book is not what I expected. . . I’m not mad at it but I definitely thought this was going in a different direction. I am not a fan of paranormal stories and this is exactly what this book was. Good story. Good writing. Just not my vibe.
3/5 stars.
3/5 stars.
July 16, 2018
I've seen the movie of this book and it was just as good as the book scary and mysterious with a good ending
July 18, 2018
2 and 1/2 stars
An okay horror read. Enjoyed the setting and the first part of the book, but the family drama, predictable plot twists, and male gaze got tiring.
An okay horror read. Enjoyed the setting and the first part of the book, but the family drama, predictable plot twists, and male gaze got tiring.
December 2, 2018
Very good
Page turner, keeps you glued. Twists and turns, and moments of being scared silly. Great Read!!! Very good job Mr. Manning!
Page turner, keeps you glued. Twists and turns, and moments of being scared silly. Great Read!!! Very good job Mr. Manning!
September 15, 2019
Excellent read!!
November 11, 2019
Love wins out
I enjoyed the intense drama and mystery of the story. The characters were perfect for the story, a good mix of likable and unlikeable.
I enjoyed the intense drama and mystery of the story. The characters were perfect for the story, a good mix of likable and unlikeable.
July 5, 2020
It took a little bit to get into, but once I got through the first bit it made for a good read
January 22, 2022
Good supernatural mystery. I really enjoyed the story.
April 24, 2024
This book wasn’t bad. A bit lengthy but very good over all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews