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Black Lightning

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John Saul knows how to make the blood run cold and the heart race wild with fear. Now the author of the New York Times bestsellers Creature and The Homing delivers a chilling novel of a convicted serial killer sentenced to death—and hell-bent on revenge.

For five years Seattle journalist Anne Jeffers has pursued the horrifying story of a sadistic serial killer’s bloody reign, capture, trial, and appeal—crusading to keep the wheels of justice churning toward the electric chair. Now the day of execution has come. A convicted killer will meet his end. Anne believes her long nightmare is over. But she’s dead wrong. . . . 

Within days, a similar murder stuns the city. As the butcher stalks his next victims, creeping ever closer to her, Anne is seized by an icy unease, a haunting sense of connection to these unspeakable crimes. And, relentlessly, she hears the eerie echo of the dead man’s last words to “Today won’t end it. How will you feel, Anne? When I’m dead, and it all starts again, how will you feel?”

In Black Lightning, John Saul strikes with a novel as electrifying as a jagged bolt from a pitch-dark sky, proving once again his inimitable genius for suspense.

Praise for Black Lightning

“His most effective thriller to date . . . [a] compelling read.” — The Seattle Times

“Electrifyingly scary.” — San Jose Mercury News

“One of Saul’s best.” — Publishers Weekly

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

87 people are currently reading
2518 people want to read

About the author

John Saul

149 books2,831 followers
John Saul is an American author best known for his bestselling suspense and horror novels, many of which have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list. Born in Pasadena and raised in Whittier, California, Saul attended several universities without earning a degree. He spent years honing his craft, writing under pen names before finding mainstream success. His breakout novel, Suffer the Children (1977), launched a prolific career, with over 60 million copies of his books in print. Saul’s work includes Cry for the Strangers, later adapted into a TV movie, and The Blackstone Chronicles series. He is also a playwright, with one-act plays produced in Los Angeles and Seattle. In 2023, he received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. Openly gay, he has lived with his partner—also his creative collaborator—for nearly 50 years. Saul divides his time between Seattle, the San Juan Islands, and Hawaii, and frequently speaks at writers’ conferences, including the Maui Writers' Conference. His enduring popularity in the horror genre stems from a blend of psychological tension, supernatural elements, and deep emotional undercurrents that have resonated with readers for decades.

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5 stars
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88 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
Profile Image for Chris Berko.
484 reviews145 followers
December 6, 2021
Boring in the beginning. Slow and stupid in the middle. Nonsensical and horrible ending.
Profile Image for Richard K. Wilson.
750 reviews129 followers
January 9, 2021
Come on, a serial killer running loose in my home town of Seattle.....what's NOT to love!!!
One of my all time favorites by John Saul!


So, when this was published in 1996, I had already moved to California after my mother had passed away....but this still brought back all the memories of when the Green River Killer and even Ted Bundy was leaving dead bodies all over the city and state, not knowing when or where the next victim was going to show up!! Now, I am sure that Saul had taken so much 'inspiration' (is that a sick use of the word?) from both of these crazy assed men when he thought of the killer in this book. This being one of his most graphically gruesome in descriptions of the serial killers vitims is what makes it one of my favorites by him.

After spending more than 5 years writing about and following the murders of 'The Butcher' in Seattle, Anne Jeffers has been almost obsessed with his killings, but when the day comes that he is to be put to death, she realizes that upon hearing his voice tell her in a strange way; 'it will not be over Anne if you put me to death......' he asks her what is she going to to when the killings still happen after he it put to death? Well, that is all reality when they DO continue after he is executed!! But is there a connection to the Butcher and her own family? What does her husband; a celebrated contractor of some of Seattles most gorgeous buildings, face after having a near death heart attack and is hospitalized? Is he somehow attached to the butchers reign of terror and death? This book STILL makes me cringe while I read of both young men and women being slaughtered in my 'old stomping grounds......' and thinking that I was so lucky to have never been a victim of the Green River Killer or some other sick bastard while living a free spirited and and afraid of nothing life in the Emerald City!!! Get ready to meet 'The Butcher' and welcome to many sleepless nights!!!
4.5 🩸🩸🩸🩸 rounded up to 5!
Profile Image for Athena (OneReadingNurse).
970 reviews140 followers
May 4, 2023
Something about this book just absolutely failed to draw me in. Around page 350 I finally became more interested – just to be disappointed by an abrupt and sort of lame ending that left me with questions as to the future of the characters.

Towards the start a poor description of 90s CPR didn’t help. I don’t know the medical history of resuscitation that well but I’m pretty sure the EMTs would have killed Glen. The idea of the spark of life does make a good plot point. I think it’s one of the more interesting serial killer motivations I’ve read, despite the overall book falling short.

It wasn’t a bad plot though, it just never grabbed me. There wasn’t much police procedural or investigation. We get a lot of running around and gore while the characters figure out what is going on. Twisted family secrets and the cycle of abuse at the core of the plot. I didn’t dislike the characters but it was hard to have an opinion on them one way or another.

Black Lightning is fairly gory and descriptive of said gore, which I’ve learned was Saul’s go-to in his earlier books. Reading animal torture turns me off quicker than anything (not the book’s fault) but it didn’t help me stay immersed as I mostly flipped through the – gosh how long does it take to describe what he’s doing to an animal? *Shivers* no thanks. It all fits right in with Saul’s evil entity plots though.

The rating comes from the fact that I just never felt drawn in, until around page 350 when we start seeing … The things. And the stuff. And the connections. The ending was also incredibly abrupt and unsatisfying despite a decent and fast paced build up to the final scenes.

I think by reading reviews that Saul has written better work but I’ve got over 800 unread books here and based off Black Lightning, I boxed them all up to pass on 🤷‍♀️ I don’t really love paranormal thrillers or horror and I can’t take much scarier than King (who is terrifying) and early Patterson (pretty gorey stuff). I’m glad I gave Saul’s work a chance though.
Profile Image for Linda.
1,319 reviews52 followers
September 27, 2010
A serial killer is executed at noon in Seattle, and reporter Ann Jeffers is covering the highly controversial event. Across the country, at exactly the same moment, Anne's husband suffers an all but fatal heart attack, requiring multiple efforts at resuscitation. Anne flies home, relieved to discover that Glen will recover. When he's well enough to go home, Anne rejoices, but little by little, it becomes evident that this is not the man she married. The doctor reassures her that some personality changes are to be expected, but Glen sure is acting weird. Meanwhile, although the killer is now dead, there seems to be a copycat starting his own rampage, following the same MO. Did they execute the wrong man?

There are some very gruesome scenes in Black Lightening, and if grisly were all it takes to make a thriller, Black Lightening would be a winner. But much more is required, and this novel misses the mark. Yes, mutilated bodies are discovered, all people that the Jefferses know, and the police think the killings are carried out by more than one person. So far so good. But Saul stretches credulity to the breaking point, and doesn't do it well. Creepy does not equal suspenseful, and in sections, Black Lightening is almost laughable, especially at the end. Preposterous.
Profile Image for Jack.
7 reviews1 follower
July 30, 2013
Shmeh... an ok read that at one point reminded me of a silly online comic/graphic "novella" (?) i read once. A man is possessed by someone recently deceased. at some point someone actually says something like "I thought something like this would happen..." (REALLY? You entertained that thought?)

There were some interesting twists and explanations that were mentioned, provided entertainment and background in a productive way, which is bonus. The flow of the story is fairly well, until the end.



Anywho, the ending was rather weak and very unsatisfying. The protagonist's possessed husband dies, but that's okay, because he was no longer the man she married, and, oh, there's recently the divorced investigator there for the rebound. Just effing great.

Overall, a pretty good story (with some good stuff, not mentioned here)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for William.
621 reviews86 followers
March 7, 2011
I really enjoyed this book right up to the end and then found the ending very disappointing. I almost downgraded it to a three because of the ending. I found the premise to be pretty good but not original (serial killer executed at the same time a man dies and is revived from a heart attack.) There is lots of action and graphic description to please the not so faint of heart.
Profile Image for Ronnie.
677 reviews3 followers
March 16, 2023
When I first picked this book up, I was worried that it was going to be homophobic/racist/misogynistic, as so many mass market horror novels of the mid-nineties tended to be. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, john Saul seemed to go out of his way to show he wasn't homophobic, even if his efforts at it were clumsy at times.

As for the novel itself, it was fine. It was certainly entertaining, and I enjoyed reading it, for the most part. The prose is nothing special, and is, in fact, sometimes clunky, and occasionally throws in the odd $100-word, even when doing so completely disrupts the flow of the text and it has no right, contextually, to be there. The book had a habit of switching perspectives suddenly and, occasionally, confusingly. And there wasn't a single 'twist' in the story that I didn't see coming from a mile away.

But I had fun, and I think that's all that really matters in a book like this.
Profile Image for Phil.
2,433 reviews236 followers
April 5, 2020
Typical Saul. Loving family with teenagers being torn apart by supranational means? Check. Small animal bad mojo? Check. Somewhat of a surprise ending? Check. Saul is like Koontz-- never really wrote a great novel, but pretty consistent with three star efforts and this is no exception.
Profile Image for Nick.
443 reviews24 followers
April 30, 2021
I read this book a while ago and it was on my "re-read" list for a while so I decided to dive into it this week. I only have 2 John Saul books, this one and Manhattan Hunt Club.

I originally gave it 4 stars on here however I cant stick to that this time around. Im being honest when I say I only remembered a few things about this book and that is why this book was on my re-read list. Half way through the book I knew exactly where this was going. Glen's black outs and the cause behind them, the apparent copycat killer and the attention seeking little brother of Richard Kraven. ive seen it before and its been done before. Movies like Wes Craven's Shocker and Fallen come to mind for the spirit of Richard Craven. Little brother serial killers make me think of the sequals to Silent Night Deadly Night LOL. So, it was alittleeasy for me where this was going halfway through the book.

I like the character of Anne Jeffers. She is smart and driven and I think she acted real in the context she was in. I didnt like Glen. I would think someone who just suffered a major Heart Attack and suffering large mind gaps and blackouts would seek assistance from someone alot sooner than he did.
I also didnt like how they explained the body transfers at the end. It was a quick little antecdote regarding a Russian Ballet dancer that Kraven was a fan of.

Overall it was a decent read with alot of Gore. Tons of bodies and descriptive scenes showing the carnage of Kravens experiments. 3 out of 5
Profile Image for Jim C.
1,779 reviews35 followers
July 20, 2015
My rating is 2.5 stars.

Anne Jeffers is a journalist who has led a crusade against Richard Kraven who is a convicted serial killer. Richard receives the death penalty and Anne is a witness to his execution. The only problem is that his mode of killings has started up again.

This is a middle of the road book. There wasn't much to the mystery aspect of this novel as it was pretty easy to figure out what was going on. The thriller aspect and the supernatural aspect was there but was neither engaging or left me disinterested. If you looked up in the dictionary for an image of an average book, I believe this book would be its representative. Within a month I will probably forget about this book as it does not leave an impression. I never felt like I wasted my time reading this book but I never felt like I gained anything either.

There are better books out there in this genre and I would recommend them before this one. This wasn't horrible but it wasn't good.
482 reviews
August 7, 2017
Pretty dumb....after I got done reading this, I had this dual thought - this was a pretty dumb story, and I was pretty dumb for thinking it was going to go any other direction.

Can't go into much detail as the story is pretty much based around a few key machinations, but it combines a decent serial killer novel with some dumb supernatural piece parts, and it pulls the hated "all of a sudden it's over" sort of thing very oddly (and almost in a "we could have a sequel" sort of way which was even odder).

Left me pretty cold.
Profile Image for RalleyRagnarok.
218 reviews
February 24, 2022
Starts out interesting and gets intense pretty quickly. Due to the subject matter there is some intense violence and disturbing subject matter. I found myself trying to finish it quickly for my own mental health (bad dreams a go go) and to lesson the suspense that builds in the story. Definitly the most violent Saul I have read so far.
25 reviews1 follower
January 6, 2009
WOW! This was the first book I have read of John Saul's and I fell in love with his style. This book scared me! I love ghost stories and watching scary movies but to actually read something that was written so thrilling was chilling. This is a book I will read again and again.
Profile Image for Laura.
352 reviews15 followers
January 22, 2009
This book is pretty intense & scared the crap out of me. Do not read if you are alone in your house late at night. I higly recommend it!
Profile Image for Andrea.
240 reviews12 followers
February 13, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. Lots of twists and turns and it kept me turning the pages as fast as I could! :)
Profile Image for Kay Oliver.
Author 11 books197 followers
May 12, 2017
Not a terribly unique story, but certainly a good enough read with some very graphic and chilling scenes. The two stars are for the ending...... ick!
Profile Image for MJ.
52 reviews1 follower
February 11, 2023
Classic John Saul. This book was put together perfectly. Nothing wasted. Loved it.
Profile Image for Davidhealey.
20 reviews1 follower
June 13, 2020
Loved every page of this book, John Saul never disappoints. 🙌
Profile Image for S. Wilson.
Author 8 books15 followers
August 25, 2021
A bit hokey, as far as these kinds of books go. This is the first John Saul book I've read, and while it was a quick and enjoyable read, I really hope this isn't the best he's got. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a hokey horror story as much as anyone, and I don't mind the plot device being a little far-fetched, hard-to-believe, and never fully explained. But when the other characters in the book figure out the mystery that is so out there that the reader himself (that's me) doesn't buy it, that kind of ruins it a bit for me. Again, not bad, just a bit hokey. I think Dean R. Koontz did a better job with Hideaway. Did I mention that I thought it was a bit hokey? That's right. Hokey.
Profile Image for Stefan Schulz.
55 reviews2 followers
December 23, 2017
Sometimes blurbs do a fantastic job to a book, even if the real story is rather flat and turn out to be longish but boring. May be it’s the plot of John Saul’s Black Lightning, which has been told many times already. Right after the first chapter I was fairly sure how the book is going to end. I must admit, that Saul’s writing is good and it reads quite easy, so after some more chapters I was of hope that the book would surprise me and give an unexpected turn. Not so.

This is a decent read, but very predictable story.
Profile Image for Jamie Wyatt Glover.
659 reviews10 followers
February 15, 2012
I was really into this story at first. I thought the plot was interesting and that it had a lot of potential, but then that is all it had. Potential. I figured out the "twist", if you can even call it that, towards the beginning. I think Saul probably planned it that way, but to me it made it a lot less interesting than if he had had the reader try and figure it out. The ending was surprising either. Overall it was just an okay read.
153 reviews2 followers
January 30, 2022
John Saul is hit and miss with me. I always know what I'm getting into with one of his books, but this one I had figured out within the first few chapters. I freely admit I skipped to the end, read the last few chapters to see if I was right, and set it aside. The length of the book was too long for a plot I'd already figured out and the characters didn't hook me enough to invest any more time in this one.
Profile Image for Claudia.
2,986 reviews38 followers
April 26, 2021
A nice enough but not very original premise, which nevertheless could have done a better book.

There was never any explanation of the hows and the end was truly disappointing. Quite a bit of action and gruesome details and if you are looking for an easy, no-need-to-think book, this could, maybe, satisfy you. But it totally missed the mark with me :/

Profile Image for Carol Brannigan.
119 reviews8 followers
February 7, 2011
The premise itself was good. It was lacking in some of the hows. I had the book figured about half way through and kept hoping for the how which never came. I liked the book but its not the best by the author.
Profile Image for Frederick Bodine.
53 reviews
April 23, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. The ending leaves you with a little bit of a decision on how you want to take it and that is just fine because it can be different takes for different readers. I enjoyed it enough to want to read another by John Saul and I just so happen to have one! All Right!
Profile Image for Summer.
709 reviews26 followers
June 26, 2017
Grisly, yes. Good characters, yes..... but at the price of a ridiculous plot and incredulous ending. Just a "meh" from me.
Profile Image for Spellbind Consensus.
350 reviews
Read
July 16, 2024

"Black Lightning" by John Saul is a gripping psychological horror novel that delves into themes of vengeance, supernatural forces, and the depths of human darkness. Here's a detailed summary of the book:


Introduction

The story begins in the small town of Silverdale, where the execution of a notorious serial killer, Nicholas Stroud, sets off a chain of eerie and horrifying events.
Anne Jeffers, a determined and curious journalist, becomes deeply involved in the case, drawn to the mystery surrounding Stroud's crimes and his final moments.

The Execution and Unexplained Phenomena

As Stroud is executed in the electric chair, a violent thunderstorm erupts, and a strange black lightning strikes the prison.
This event is witnessed by Anne, who feels an inexplicable connection to the phenomenon. Stroud's last words are a chilling promise of revenge, which Anne finds deeply unsettling.

Anne’s Investigation

Intrigued and disturbed by what she witnessed, Anne begins to investigate Stroud's past and the strange occurrences following his execution.
Her research leads her to uncover disturbing details about Stroud's life, his victims, and the possibility that his evil might not have died with him.

The Black Lightning

The black lightning becomes a recurring motif, symbolizing the supernatural force that seems to have been unleashed by Stroud's execution.
People connected to Stroud's case, including those who prosecuted and judged him, begin to experience mysterious and deadly incidents.

The Return of Evil

As Anne delves deeper, she discovers that Stroud's malevolent spirit might be inhabiting the bodies of others, continuing his murderous rampage from beyond the grave.
The supernatural events grow more intense, and Anne finds herself targeted by this dark force.

Personal Struggles and Revelations

Anne's personal life becomes increasingly strained as she obsesses over the case. Her relationships suffer, and she starts to question her own sanity.
She uncovers that the black lightning is a conduit for Stroud's spirit, allowing him to possess and control others to carry out his vengeance.

Themes and Symbolism

Vengeance and Justice: The novel explores the thin line between seeking justice and becoming consumed by vengeance.
Supernatural Horror: The black lightning symbolizes the pervasive and uncontrollable nature of supernatural evil.
Human Darkness: Stroud's character is a representation of the deep-seated darkness that can exist within humans.

Style and Tone

John Saul uses a suspenseful and eerie tone throughout the novel, keeping readers on edge with unexpected twists and chilling descriptions.
The narrative combines investigative journalism with supernatural horror, creating a unique blend that intensifies the sense of dread and anticipation.

"Black Lightning" is a compelling and chilling tale that delves into the horrors of both the supernatural and the human psyche. John Saul masterfully crafts a story that keeps readers enthralled from start to finish, questioning the nature of evil and the possibility of its eternal presence.

Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews

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