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Aug 02, 2009

Rowena rated it:

I like cozies. I might as well be honest about that. Also happy ever afters. Further, in the interests of full disclosure, you should know that I read AFRAID by Jack Kilborn (with a view to a review) because Joe Konrath dared me to do so.He has a thick skin, and a strong stomach... and anyone who reads AFRAID needs both.

This is not a book to take on a fishing trip, especially if you've left your loved ones at home, alone. In fact, this book ought to come with a free membership of the More...

12 comments like (15 people liked it)

Mar 16, 2009

Ophelia rated it:

Jack Kilborn knows that a small town in America's heartland is the perfect place to set a horror thriller: remote, surrounded by shadowy woods, and sparsely populated by residents who still live by an unlocked-door policy. After reading this book, residents of small towns everywhere will be locking their doors with deadbolts and going to bed with .357 Magnums under their pillows. I know I would.

The evil that descends upon this town, literally, in a helicopter, is motivated by the w More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Mar 21, 2009

Joe rated it:

One word describes the first novel from author Jack Kilborn: relentless. Much like the works of Jim Butcher and David Morrell, Kilborn’s premiere work, AFRAID, is non-stop tension. Each section break, while short, somehow manages to ratchet up the suspense to the point that you wonder how much more you can take. You won’t want to put the book down once you start it and a small part of you will wonder what possessed you to pick it up in the first place. The story is a non-stop horror ride…on More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 12, 2010

Rusty rated it:

Rarely has Wisconsin been so intersting. I kid, Wisconsin - you know how I feel about you. From the opening sequence, when the intruder responds to the old lady's question: "what are you going to do to me?", this book is brutal, and it never lets up. Kilborn does a great job of creating atmosphere (mostly of dread) and the characters are likeable and/or interesting. A special forces unit of unknown origins is dropped into a small town in Wisconsin, and they systematically spread th More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 27, 2009

Patricia rated it:

Afraid means filled with fear or apprehension and is much too mild a word to describe the feelings of the residents of Safe Haven, Wisconsin when five men invade the town. These five men are members of a Red-Ops group. The five all have backgrounds of violent behavior. The group have been specially trained and programmed to kill. Now the five want an answer to one question.

No one in the town seems to be able to answer the question so the residents die and no one dies an easy d More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2009

Bobbie rated it:

Afraid
Written By: Jack Kilborn
Published By: Grand Central Publishing, 2009, First Edition, 384 pages, mass market paperback
ISBN 978-0446535939

Afraid is a fantastic book; I just couldn’t put it down! The fast-paced plot and emotion-driven story is very convincing; it’s so fiendishly nauseating that it makes your skin crawl! The suspense is palpable and the atmosphere is rife with tension and fear; just what you would expect from a book with a title as simple yet as p More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2009

Mike rated it:

“Afraid” written by Jack Kilborn is one hell of a ride. No not a ride, more like an express elevator to hell. It starts fast and only picks up speed. It is relentless with enough horror, gore, action and twists to keep even the most hardcore adrenaline junkies satisfied. These are very bad people doing very bad things. You’ll have a toe sucking good time. Don’t worry, you’ll figure out the reference. Kilborn is the pseudonym for JA Konrath writer of the “Jack Daniels” series of books. Do More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Karin rated it:

After reading AFRAID it is very easy to see why “Jack Kilborn prefers not to share personal details about his life. He could be living anywhere.” Of, course he doesn’t want THEM to know where he lives. He knows too much! Only someone who is very aware of the secrets of our government could have written this book. That’s why Jack likes to “stay off the grid”. He knew that the “Red-ops units didn’t crash here accidentally”. Of course they might run JA Konrath’s car off the road in hopes t More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2009

Carmen rated it:

I decided to read Afraid based on the fact it was written by Jack Kilborn, AKA J.A. Konrath. I’m a big fan of his Jaqueline "Jack" Daniels series, so I figured it was a safe bet that Afraid wouldn’t suck. However, I was apprehensive. I just never enjoy any book or movie about covert ops, government/military cover-ups, rogue soldiers/scientists, or the like. Yawn-o-rama. OK...full disclosure is over.

Afraid was incredible! Gripping, fast-paced, absolutely frightening, and be More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2009

Connie rated it:

I gave this five stars because for the horror genre, I think it's excellent. This book was scary from page one until the final chapter. I get goosebumps thinking about particular scenes (a man panting like a dog, the popcorn throwing scene) which is a good way to judge how functional a horror novel is in scaring the daylights out of someone...I mean, I'm still thinking about it. And....I burned the midnight oil just to finish it. Exactly the sort of thing that one needs in a good horror nove More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2008

J.A. rated it:

Awesome debut. I wish I'd written it...

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 22, 2011

Marvin rated it:

At the end of this book is this "About the Author" blurb...

Jack Kilborn prefers not to share personal details about his life. He could be living anywhere. Possibly near you

Considering what he writes, that is a very scary thought.

Fortunately, I do know where he lives. He resides in the body of author J. A. Konrath. During the day he is harmless. But at night, he sneaks out and makes Mr. Konrath write these deliciously disgusting little books.

Or at least t More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2011

Debra rated it:

This was like watching SAW; pretty gruesome torture scenes, although the author doesn't go into many gory details. However, there is plenty of shocking stuff through-out the book. I don't love that kind of stuff, but it's like watching a train wreck; I just had to keep turning the pages because the story was so good! I really cared about the characters and was rooting for the small group of people (and scene-stealing Woof) fighting the evil that had come to their town. Nothing supernatural g More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 06, 2009

Robert rated it:

This one has pretty much nonstop action and takes place over the course of five or six hours. The book is just begging Hollywood to come and screw up the movie. My biggest quibble is the name of the town in which all the carnage ensues -- Safe Haven -- a bit too much of a cutesy oxymoron, don't you think?

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 06, 2009

Chris rated it:

Just finished this last night. This is such a great summer book: a horror/thriller that is well-written with likable characters...well, the ones that don't kill you, anyway.
Can't wait to read his next one, Trapped, coming out next year.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 14, 2010

WilowRaven added it

A true thriller of a book. In one suspenseful night an entire town is virtually destroyed. Told from the point of view of several different characters, including the members of the killing squad, the story progresses along at a good pace. There is no fluff to this story. NOT for the faint of heart! I found the blood and guts of the story so to speak to be very graphic but appropriately so. Kilborn could have very easily taken this story into the realm of sexual sadism which would have ruined it. More...

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Mar 27, 2009

Harry rated it:

This is a book from JA Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels series (she is a Chicago cop with a penchant for going head to head with serial killers). This novel had alot of great advance praise and it actually lived up to the adjectives that were thrown around about it. It is suspensful, taut, fun, action packed, gore soaked and more. It is a roller coaster ride from start to finish. This ride straddles the line between action novel & horror novel, and it straddles it well, dipping in and out of More...

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Mar 27, 2009

Tdewhirst rated it:

A plane crashes outside of the small town of Safe Haven, Wisconsin and unleashes a horrifying string of events brought to life in a truly spectacular way by Jack Kilborn.

Kilborn conveys an emotion that could be mildly called terror in a beautiful economy of words that sucks the reader in right from the start. This reader – who can be callous in the extreme when reading – teared up during the first kill – a scene so cleverly diabolical and sadistic that I think I can say Kilborn has a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 10, 2012

Michael rated it:

Transhumanism is the idea that human life can be made better with the help of technology. Now imagine controlling the human brain by electrical stimulation and making it function more like a computer. Forget years of study and practice, simply download information directly into a person’s brain and, depending on the program, anyone can have any skill set desired. In Jack Kilborn’s Afraid, "transhumanistic neuropathology" is the underlying concept behind the development of his modified More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 07, 2011

Dawn rated it:

Ever since Jack Kilborn / J.A. Konrath switched to e-publishing, it's been increasingly hard to find his titles in print (and sadly there was no e-reader under the tree for me this Christmas.)

I picked up Afraid at a used book sale, a major score since it's been on my TBR list for almost the entire year. Though I've read only one other book by this author - Whiskey Sour (J.A. Konrath) - the hype surrounding Afraid has kept my interest piqued.

It didn't disappoint.

As J More...

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Jun 29, 2011

William rated it:

4 AND 1/2 STARS

Jack Kilborn, aka JA Konrath, has created a fantastic book with "Afraid", blending numerous genres into a truly thrilling ride. Part horror, thriller, action, and a touch of science fiction, this book literally has someone in danger on every page. Kilborn/Konrath doesn't go the Hollywood route either, writing a very R-rated story that has characters dying and being brutalized in every way imaginable. Like author Richard Laymon, Kilborn/Konrath uses mini clif More...

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Feb 02, 2011

Naomi rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2011

Paul rated it:

If you are "Afraid" do not read this book.

This book ranks up there with the best of them. It reminded me a lot of David Morrell's book "Creepers". If you like scary I highly recommend this book.

"Afraid" is classified as mystery, but in all honesty it really should be classified as horror. There is a mystery, but definitely contains MORE horror.

I talked to the author and he told me not to get attached to any of the characters. More...

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May 11, 2010

Cherie rated it:

A helicopter crash just outside the small town of Safe Haven, Wisconsin has unleashed a group of terrifying fighters on a mission. These top-notch special forces mercenaries have government training, a strong thirst for murder, and even stranger, brains that have actually been chemically altered to allow them to be controlled by outside influences. The mayhem they release on this small Wisconsin town is the stuff that nightmares are made of! Though this book may tend to get a bit gory at time More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 20, 2010

Nicola rated it:

Reason for Reading: The plot intrigued me.

Summary: A small town in Wisconsin which has so far only needed a sheriff and a drunk tank to keep the peace is going to find itself sorely lacking in defences. A helicopter crashes into the backwoods and unleashes a terrible horror that absolutely no one in town is safe from. It unrelentlessly attacks in the method it knows best: Isolate, terrorize, annihilate. The town is cut off from the rest of civilization but a few find out that the ter More...

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Jun 12, 2009

Kelly rated it:

In the nice quiet little town of Safe Haven, Wisconsin the peace and solitude is shattered when a helicopter crashes nearby. Suddenly the sleepy little town, with only one road in or out, and no full time police force is a struggle for its survival. Contained within the helicopter and unleashed by the crash is a force bent on the total annihilation of the entire population of the town. People in the town begin to die violent and gory deaths and it’s on the shoulders of a single mom waitress, a f More...

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May 15, 2009

Robin rated it:

Review of AFRAID by Jack Kilborn. Afraid says it all! A small town in Wisconsin, (South Haven) has a top secret arsunal of soldiers descend on the town after a crash. The whole town will soon pay dearly for this unfortuante accident. Only a few people are the ones able to fight to the very end of this fast paced, terrifying, action packed, no holds barred novel. I guarantee, you CANNOT put this book down! It grips you from the first page all the way to the last. Be prepared for details - albiet More...

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May 14, 2009

Glen rated it:

Afraid is the first horror novel from Jack Kilborn, aka thriller writer, JA Konrath. While this novel is touted as horror, I see it more of a horror/action hybrid that travels at an unrelenting pace, and is inhabited by likeable heroes and vile villains. Set during one harrowing evening, Afraid pits the citizens of the sleepy Wisconsin Northwood's town of Safe Haven against a special forces unit programmed (with implanted computer chips and chemical enhancements) to torture, maim and kill who More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 11, 2009

Dana rated it:

"Afraid" by Jack Kilborn is self-branded as a horror novel. I typically don't enjoy horror novels. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid reading them, unless they're written by Stephen King. It's not just because I don't like to be scared, it's also because I read as a method of relaxation; being all torqued up over who's going to be brutally, graphically murdered next is not conducive to my idea of relaxation.

That said, "Afraid" is definitely a horror novel, and More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 20, 2009

Lisa rated it:

Because I like to read and also get free things, I signed up to receive a free copy of the horror novel Afraid by Jack Kilbourn in exchange for posting a review online. I don’t read horror novels. I’ve never even read a Stephen King novel. But I’m making an effort to read outside the genre I write in, and this fit the bill.

I have to say I had no idea what the book was about, even after reading the back cover and lots of marketing materials. This was on purpose and effective, because More...

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