Published: June 14, 2010
Words: 65273 (approximate)
Language: English

Ebook short description

What interesting dolls the undertaker's daughter has... In this novel of horror and suspense, Andrew learns of his mother’s sadistic past through an aunt he’s only just met. When he meets Mae's strange neighbors, he quickly learns that his mother’s savage adolescence was only the seed for a series of awful events unfolding in the present. Will he be able to stop them before it's too late?

Extended description

Oh, what interesting dolls the undertaker's daughter has to play with...

Andrew Byrd figured his mother had been over-protective; the way she stood in his doorway at night, watching him fall asleep, the way she'd call him her baby doll, even after he was much too old for that sort of thing.

...Sometimes madness is buried deep...... (Read more) Oh, what interesting dolls the undertaker's daughter has to play with...

Andrew Byrd figured his mother had been over-protective; the way she stood in his doorway at night, watching him fall asleep, the way she'd call him her baby doll, even after he was much too old for that sort of thing.

...Sometimes madness is buried deep...

But after an accidental meeting with Mae Stone, an aunt he'd never known, he learns of his mother's sadistic past, and the awful things she'd done.

...buried in the psyche for many years...

He learns of another aunt as well - one who played an old drum to drown out the screams coming from the basement, an aunt who didn't survive his mother's torments.

...waiting...waiting...for just the right moment...

When he meets Mae's strange neighbors - the beautiful redhead Natalie and her father Hector - he realizes that his mother's horrible past has not entirely disappeared.

In fact, it has merely lain dormant, waiting for something - or someone - to bring it raging back to the present.

And now...how will they drown out the screams?
(Less)

Adult-content rating:

This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages. For more information, see the Support FAQ.

Tags

thriller, horror, suspense, family drama, cemetery, rural, psychological suspense, minnesota, small town life, drumming, graveyards

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Reviews

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Review by: Erickson Sue on Sep. 30, 2011 :
WOW!!! You have quite the imagination!! Well done, can't wait to read more of your work.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Tiffany Harkleroad on Aug. 29, 2010 :
Andrew was unlucky, because he wrecked his car in the middle of nowhere. Turns out nowhere was actually pretty close to where his long lost Aunt Mae lives, so the cops help him connect with her, and she takes him in for a few days while his car gets repaired. While he is there, he stumbles across a local cemetery, some strange neighbors, a dead cat, and some pretty deeply buried family secrets. Andrew is forced to face up to a sick, twisted side to his family, which he never knew existed before now.

From the opening scene of this book, I was hooked. The prologue was not an easy thing to read, it was clear from the get go, this was going to be an extremely dark novel, and in the hands of an unskilled writer, it could have easily careened into campy, cheesy, fluff. Thankfully, it did not. Joel Arnold has written a novel that would make King fans not only proud, but thoroughly satisfied.

I found the story to be very well developed, and the storytelling quite vivid. As Andrew enters the old family home, and begins unearthing its secrets, I felt as if I was there with him. I really loved the development of Mae's character, and found her to be quite sympathetic. Edna, on the other hand, is not fully developed until closer to the end of the book, which I find appropriate, and I love the turns her character takes. I found the book full of surprising and unusual plot twists, and I was interested right up to the very end. I dare you to read this book without the hairs on your arm standing completely on end.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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