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Epitaph
He sucked in a deep breath full of that strange smell he couldn't identify. He trailed his hands across the satin beneath him and to both sides of him and, when he raised his hands, above him too. He knew why it was so dark. He understood why he could see nothing. He realized why he was lying down. He was in a coffin.
A distraught couple thinks you've killed their daughter and they want a confession. If you say you did it, they'll kill you. If you say you didn't, they'll leave you to die. It seems hopeless but there is one way out...
What would you do?
A distraught couple thinks you've killed their daughter and they want a confession. If you say you did it, they'll kill you. If you say you didn't, they'll leave you to die. It seems hopeless but there is one way out...
What would you do?
343 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2010
5 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Hutson
113 books534 followersBritish horror novelist, including horror and urban thriller novels.
His novella Slugs was made into a movie, although Hutson didn't like the movie. He also appeared in two horror movies himself.
Hutson is a Liverpool F.C. fan.
His novella Slugs was made into a movie, although Hutson didn't like the movie. He also appeared in two horror movies himself.
Hutson is a Liverpool F.C. fan.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 23, 2016
SPOILER ALERT! An interesting and fairly well written and descriptive novel by Mr Hutson who has come a long way since his "slugfest days. However I felt there were loopholes and gaps that should have been filled in, the little girl's story could have been expanded a bit more and not in terms of descriptions of what happened to her, but it did seem rather abrupt and what was the point of Tish? Ok I understand that Hutson didn't want to mention Gina as it would have given the game away as to the real reason Paul had been abducted, but those wasted words could have been used to enhance another part of the story. I remembered the clue Hutson had put in earlier about Gina beimg observed when she left the hotel, it had to have been Frank. It didn't take too long to put all the pieces together and realise that all three characters were connected.I found myself both empathising AND despising all three characters at different stages. Naturally anyone would feel more sympathy for the parents, but towards the end I found myself despising them for what they had done, especially the husband who realistically I should have pitied the most. The tension was quite unbesrable at times and I felt like shouting "For goodness sake just get him out of the bloody coffin! It did make me question my morality, because I was actively rooting for Paul to escape from the coffin and wreak some sort of revenge on Gina and Frank and being a parent I could empathise with their pain anguish, but they both sickened me at the end and even though I could not imagine having any empathy for someone like Paul in reality,I wanted him to escape and have his second chance.
October 16, 2010
Epitaph by Shaun Hutson isn’t for the faint hearted! An incredibly faced paced horror-thriller. Epitaph is a story of revenge, child abuse and murder – a most heinous murder.
Eight year old Laura Hacket is on her way home from school, the final day of the summer term – she has seven weeks of holiday ahead and so much to live for. Unfortunately for Laura, she won’t get to enjoy her break, she won’t get to see her parents again and she won’t get to play with her friends. Laura is abducted and killed.
Thirty Six year old Paul Crane has everything he could ever wish for, a steady and rewarding job as a talented copy writer, money and a loving partner Amy. He has spent the last 15 years going on exotic holidays, staying at five star hotels and travelling first class – money has never been an issue – until now.
When we are first introduced to Paul Crane, the copy writer has returned home from work after being made redundant from “Meyer and Banks” and is at risk of losing everything he has worked for. With a volatile economy and a market where no one is hiring, the outlook is bleak.
After a night of drinking alone in his flat, a flat he can no longer afford – festering in his misery; Paul awakes in a dark and confined space. His mind in overdrive as his hands hit an unfamiliar obstacle, he suddenly realises he is in a coffin.
Full Review on the Blog :- http://www.milorambles.com/2010/10/16...
Eight year old Laura Hacket is on her way home from school, the final day of the summer term – she has seven weeks of holiday ahead and so much to live for. Unfortunately for Laura, she won’t get to enjoy her break, she won’t get to see her parents again and she won’t get to play with her friends. Laura is abducted and killed.
Thirty Six year old Paul Crane has everything he could ever wish for, a steady and rewarding job as a talented copy writer, money and a loving partner Amy. He has spent the last 15 years going on exotic holidays, staying at five star hotels and travelling first class – money has never been an issue – until now.
When we are first introduced to Paul Crane, the copy writer has returned home from work after being made redundant from “Meyer and Banks” and is at risk of losing everything he has worked for. With a volatile economy and a market where no one is hiring, the outlook is bleak.
After a night of drinking alone in his flat, a flat he can no longer afford – festering in his misery; Paul awakes in a dark and confined space. His mind in overdrive as his hands hit an unfamiliar obstacle, he suddenly realises he is in a coffin.
Full Review on the Blog :- http://www.milorambles.com/2010/10/16...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2015
It was alright.....
Have read others by Hudson and felt this was by comparison predictable, slow and just meh.
Good character development but it didnt make up for the ending.... feel a little dissapointed.
Still an easy enjoyable read. Would be more impressive if i hadnt read others by Hudson.
Have read others by Hudson and felt this was by comparison predictable, slow and just meh.
Good character development but it didnt make up for the ending.... feel a little dissapointed.
Still an easy enjoyable read. Would be more impressive if i hadnt read others by Hudson.
October 14, 2018
Wow, did not expect it to end that way at all. Going to have to actually have to try to pick up some of his other stories sometime.
November 9, 2019
2.5
This book was a lot longer than it should have been. Overall I enjoyed the book. The story was fine, kind of predictable and slow but fine. There are a handful of great chapters/scenes that really kick things into high gear but they end just as rapidly as they start which left me wanting more from the story. I wanted to feel something other than, meh.
One of my biggest knocks against the book is that the story is itself. There's no deeper meaning, no character-building or anything to take away after you finish. It's a basic story with one semi-likable character, some plot holes and a lot of extra, unnecessary, pages. That's not even mentioning the fact that there are only two real settings in which the story takes place. Most of the story is cut down to dialogue and flashbacks which really threw the pacing off. Overall, the book is meh, and the story is meh. The ending was rushed and unsatisfying and there was one major plot hole that never got solved (very annoying).
One small thing I should mention that was good is the author's ability to create a capitvating image for pain. Anytime the main character experienced pain, emotional or physical I could really picture it clearly and I very much appreciated that small attention to detail.
This book was a lot longer than it should have been. Overall I enjoyed the book. The story was fine, kind of predictable and slow but fine. There are a handful of great chapters/scenes that really kick things into high gear but they end just as rapidly as they start which left me wanting more from the story. I wanted to feel something other than, meh.
One of my biggest knocks against the book is that the story is itself. There's no deeper meaning, no character-building or anything to take away after you finish. It's a basic story with one semi-likable character, some plot holes and a lot of extra, unnecessary, pages. That's not even mentioning the fact that there are only two real settings in which the story takes place. Most of the story is cut down to dialogue and flashbacks which really threw the pacing off. Overall, the book is meh, and the story is meh. The ending was rushed and unsatisfying and there was one major plot hole that never got solved (very annoying).
One small thing I should mention that was good is the author's ability to create a capitvating image for pain. Anytime the main character experienced pain, emotional or physical I could really picture it clearly and I very much appreciated that small attention to detail.
January 7, 2020
Finished reading! I quite enjoyed reading this book even though some of it was a bit sick because of the themes of the story. I kinda expected who was going to be in the coffin but I won't spoil it for anyone who might want to read this book at some point. Four out of five stars ✨ for Epitaph by Shaun Hutson.
January 27, 2019
Odd story, some ending predictable but punishment not appropriate.
April 9, 2020
Well written but somehow disappointing at the end.
April 14, 2023
this is the only shaun hutson book i did not enjoy
May 3, 2012
Nice if not terribly original premise, horrible -horrible!- execution.
The characters, ALL of them, are unidimensional, they don't grow and they aren't likeable. They spend the time bitching, moaning and wallowing in self pity (I was fed up with Paul right from the start).
The plot was predictable.
There was no tension, no true conflict. I think the main problem of this novel was the main character's POV. Had it been hidden, had I read how the story unfolded without knowing what the character was thinking, maybe, just maybe there would have been a much bigger emotional impact, I could have sympathize and empathized, but that didn't happen.
Worst of all? The repetitions, oh the repetitions! Hutson's tendency to write the same thing over and over and over again pulled me out of the story almost frmo the start. True, that could have been a stylistic choice, but the way it was executed lead me to believe it wasn't. On more than one occasion, I wondered if this book was ever edited. Edit it down to short-story length and it would have worked. Maybe.
The characters, ALL of them, are unidimensional, they don't grow and they aren't likeable. They spend the time bitching, moaning and wallowing in self pity (I was fed up with Paul right from the start).
The plot was predictable.
There was no tension, no true conflict. I think the main problem of this novel was the main character's POV. Had it been hidden, had I read how the story unfolded without knowing what the character was thinking, maybe, just maybe there would have been a much bigger emotional impact, I could have sympathize and empathized, but that didn't happen.
Worst of all? The repetitions, oh the repetitions! Hutson's tendency to write the same thing over and over and over again pulled me out of the story almost frmo the start. True, that could have been a stylistic choice, but the way it was executed lead me to believe it wasn't. On more than one occasion, I wondered if this book was ever edited. Edit it down to short-story length and it would have worked. Maybe.
June 8, 2013
Though the plot has the rather pleasing pace of most other Hutson stories, it is the characters that are hard to follow as non of them at worthy of sympathy.
I could understand why they felt the way that they did but their choices just made them into people I really couldn't care about.
I guessed what would happen in the ending, I suppose this type of story needed a twist so it was easy to work out what was going to happen.
So, to sum up, easy to read, held no surprises, had unlikeable characters (that's an understatement) and had an ending that I couldn't care less about. To rinse this one out of my eyes I'll have to read Hybrid which was the first book by Hutson I ever read and made me wanting more.
Skip it, unless you could read out in one sitting then, nah - still not worth it.
I could understand why they felt the way that they did but their choices just made them into people I really couldn't care about.
I guessed what would happen in the ending, I suppose this type of story needed a twist so it was easy to work out what was going to happen.
So, to sum up, easy to read, held no surprises, had unlikeable characters (that's an understatement) and had an ending that I couldn't care less about. To rinse this one out of my eyes I'll have to read Hybrid which was the first book by Hutson I ever read and made me wanting more.
Skip it, unless you could read out in one sitting then, nah - still not worth it.
December 10, 2014
'What would you do?'
A decent read. A reminder of why I have enjoyed reading Shaun Hudson in the past.
The short chapters worked a treat to build the tension as the story progressed, and chopping and changing from everyone's point of view and the flashbacks (something that more often than not bugs me in books) made for easy reading and bought the story together nicely.
My only major gripe with it would be that one last ridiculously obvious sentence any the end of a lot of the chapters. I just felt it unnecessary and killed any chance of upcoming suspense.
But all in all, a good quick read for fans of Hudson, or anyone starting out reading him.
A decent read. A reminder of why I have enjoyed reading Shaun Hudson in the past.
The short chapters worked a treat to build the tension as the story progressed, and chopping and changing from everyone's point of view and the flashbacks (something that more often than not bugs me in books) made for easy reading and bought the story together nicely.
My only major gripe with it would be that one last ridiculously obvious sentence any the end of a lot of the chapters. I just felt it unnecessary and killed any chance of upcoming suspense.
But all in all, a good quick read for fans of Hudson, or anyone starting out reading him.
May 4, 2011
This book was a bit of a drag to begin with and I put it one side for a while partly for this reason. But on finishing it just 15 minutes ago I have to say I'm glad I picked it up again. I wouldn't say it was one of Shauns best but it gripped me enough to want to know how it ended. It wasn't predictable, things could have gone either way really and as usual with Shaun, he threw in a bit of gore, and a bit of sex. I also found it disturbing when reading about the main subject which let's face it makes for a 'goodread'. So read it.
September 21, 2012
well its been a long time since i have read a hutson book and i remember them being thrilling chilling scary and horror but then i was also a lot younger.
this waa all just a bit tame and relatively predictable however not a.bad read really.
this waa all just a bit tame and relatively predictable however not a.bad read really.
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December 23, 2010Shaun you are getting stale
March 22, 2012
Not one of hos better books.
June 28, 2012
A good read with an interesting and unexpected twist. Written in a way that makes it easy to read too.
January 29, 2013
Short story of betrayal and revenge.
November 9, 2013
the story finishes unended in my opinion with no clear answers
December 14, 2017
I guessed the ending quite early on which was disappointing! The switching pov's make it easy to read as it's in short chunks. It's an easy read - but not one of his best by far.
May 28, 2015
One of the first books by Shaun that I have read. Was fairly enjoyable, I like the short chapters and how he writes the "thoughts" of his characters so you get an idea of how they feel
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews