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House of Reckoning

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 1,244 ratings · 135 reviews

For more than three decades John Saul has haunted the New York Times bestseller list–and readers’ imaginations–with his chilling tales of psychological suspense and supernatural horror. His instinct for striking the deepest chords of fear in our hearts and minds is unerring, and his gift for steering a tale from the light of day into the darkest depths of nightmare is at i...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published October 13th 2009 by Ballantine Books

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Jan 23, 2011 Dustin Crazy little brown owl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009, group-reads, disturbing, read-in-2011

I originally read this in the fall of 2009, soon after it was published. I read it right after reading Carrie and Duma Key by Stephen King so some similarities bothered me. I re-read this in January 2011 when it was chosen as a group read in the John Saul Lit Goodreads Group and the similarities to King story elements didn't bother me as much since considerable time had passed. The first half of the story bothered me because of the extreme attitudes of the characters and all the father figures s...more I originally read this in the fall of 2009, soon after it was published. I read it right after reading Carrie and Duma Key by Stephen King so some similarities bothered me. I re-read this in January 2011 when it was chosen as a group read in the John Saul Lit Goodreads Group and the similarities to King story elements didn't bother me as much since considerable time had passed. The first half of the story bothered me because of the extreme attitudes of the characters and all the father figures seemed to be basically the same. I enjoyed the second half of the story better this time around. I'd give the first half 1-2 stars and the second half of the book 3-4 stars.

John Saul did a great job of creating outrage at the way Sarah Crane is treated by the Garveys. Take for example this episode in chapter nine:

"You have no rights at all," she said, her cold eyes fixing on her. "You're here because you need to be brought up properly in a good Christian home, and that's exactly what we are going to provide. Your father is a sinner, and your mother did of sin, and you're headed in that same direction unless you straighten up and start working and praying for your own salvation. Now stop arguing and get back to work."

Sarah's fingers tightened on the knife and she struggled to keep her fury under control. "My mother did not die of sin," she said quietly. "She died of cancer."

"Same thing," Zach said, and reached over for a handful of carrots. It was all Sarah could do to keep from driving that kitchen knife right through his hand, pinning him to the cutting board.

"Cancer is evil made manifest," Angie said, draining the pasta into the sink amid a billowing cloud of steam. "All illness is caused by evil and sin, and if your mother had cancer, it was because she had fallen from God's grace. Hand me that bowl."

I also liked the following from Chapter 22 - it shows how John Saul mixes humor into his horror:
"Over the course of a decade, Tarbell had apparently married three young women and fathered five children; only the last wife and one of the children survived. Tarbell according to the notes, had eaten all the others."

Overall, I enjoyed the book once I got past the extreme characters. It was a good story with a fitting title. The ending had closure and the epilogue was humorous. (less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Abraham rated it 4 of 5 stars

John Saul's House of Reckoning

Plot:

After the untimely death of her mother and the arrest of her father for killing a man in a barroom brawl, fourteen year old Sarah Crane is forced to grow up fast. Left in the cold case of a foster family and alienated at school, Sarah befriends classmate Nick Dunnigan, a former mental patient still plagued by voices and visions, and the eccentric art instructor Bettina Phillips, a mentor eager to nurture Sarah's talent for painting. But within the walls of Bett...more John Saul's House of Reckoning

Plot:

After the untimely death of her mother and the arrest of her father for killing a man in a barroom brawl, fourteen year old Sarah Crane is forced to grow up fast. Left in the cold case of a foster family and alienated at school, Sarah befriends classmate Nick Dunnigan, a former mental patient still plagued by voices and visions, and the eccentric art instructor Bettina Phillips, a mentor eager to nurture Sarah's talent for painting. But within the walls of Bettina's ancestral mansion, Sarah finds that monstrous images from the house's dark history seem to flow unbidden from her paintbrush - images echoed by Nick's chilling hallucinations. It seems the violence and fury of long-dead generations have finally found a gateway from the grave into the world of the living. And Sarah and Nick have found a power they never had: to take control, and take revenge.

My Review and Thoughts:

This is a wonderful example of a heavy thick plotted book. I want to describe it as very meaty in it's approach. The book gives massive character development letting the reader become apart of the situation and just who the players of the story are. John Saul is a wonderful writer in giving detail and back-story and the rope like storyline that ties the book together in creating everything you need for a good spook filled book.

He plays the classic style, giving a lot of story and then popping in something weird to further capture the reader in wanting to know what is going on. He gives just enough tease at times that makes the reader turn the page all the more faster to read on into the thick story of characters and ordeals happening. Sarah and Nick grow on you as they become your friends, or family members, you feel close to them, relate to them and understand them, the quality of the writing and the building of there two characters is flawless as the story slowly starts to unfold.

The foster family and the whole dam town are nothing but quacks and medieval closed minded fools that don't really deserve to grace life itself and that is the emotions the reader grabs because of the flawless story telling, John Saul is able to capture the despicable reality of these people right along with the sanity of the characters you become apart of. The story comes together to create an old school Gothic like tale mixed with tons of mystery and suspense and being fogged over with the likes of the horror world that only John Saul can do.

A priceless little read of mixing the dark nature of the human mind with the twisted nature of closed minded fools that live off of hysteria and not facts. A perfect example of how horror stories where in the olden days, this is a classic little ghost tale, spooky and terror filled. The best way to describe this book is when your a kid you know something’s there in the closet or under the bed or did that door just move, I swear I placed that over there but now it's over here, that is how this book plays out.

The whole run, run, because something’s chasing you when you took the garbage out at night, and you have to run real fast to get back in the door because you know the boogieman is there. John Saul is able to capture that hair raising and nail biting type of writing reality with this book.

This is fun, spooky and downright classic style horror for any lover who enjoys the old school story telling of noises, and creepy old houses and secrets being kept. I really enjoyed this book, felt satisfied with it and would recommend it to horror readers.

Simple, fun, spooky and written in away the characters are flawless, the book flows with massive story and thick back-story to bring forth a perfect little horror read.
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Jan 18, 2012 jv poore rated it 4 of 5 stars

While I always find John Saul's work to be delightfully chilling, creepy and eerie; House of Reckoning had something extra. This book tells of a young girl whose life is shattered by the death of her mother, followed by the demise of her father. She is placed in a foster home in, what appears to be a quaint little town.

She quickly realizes that not only is the town not what it seems; but she also discovers that some of her dreams and visions are actually memories. As she tries to untangle realit...more

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Nov 25, 2010 Chibineko rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-vine

While I do like John Saul's work, this book just isn't the best thing he's put out. The book promises a lot of stuff, some of which is typical Saul fare: children in peril, human & supernatural evils run amok, & twisty plot turns. Unfortunately the book just couldn't live up to those promises, at least not entirely.

The plotline follows the character of Sarah, a young girl whose mother died when she was about 14. When her father is incarcerated for a barroom brawl gone murderous, not to m...more While I do like John Saul's work, this book just isn't the best thing he's put out. The book promises a lot of stuff, some of which is typical Saul fare: children in peril, human & supernatural evils run amok, & twisty plot turns. Unfortunately the book just couldn't live up to those promises, at least not entirely.

The plotline follows the character of Sarah, a young girl whose mother died when she was about 14. When her father is incarcerated for a barroom brawl gone murderous, not to mention accidentally running her over, it seems as if Sarah will never be happy again. These fears only grow stronger when her new foster family is barely hospitable to her & grows even less so by each passing day. Only her art class & a strange boy lifts Sarah's spirits, even as mysteries spring up around her & evils from the past mingle with the evils of the present.

Where do I begin with the critique of this book? While I did enjoy reading this book, I just felt as if the book took the easy way out of everything. The plotline was interesting, but it felt sort of... mechanical. Everything seemed to be a little rushed & none of the book's characters or plot progression seemed to be organic. It felt more like "plot point A leads to plot point B which leads to...". Don't get me wrong- this is an enjoyable read for a few hours, but I've read far better from John Saul in the past. This just came across as sort of a first draft of sorts. It just needed to be fleshed out more & have the rough edges smoothed out. The ending especially needs to be slowed down a bit- it just seems to go a little too fast for everything that has happened. (Maybe if some of the ending happened earlier in the book?)

But overall this book was ok. (Even when he's not at his peak, Saul's still a pretty entertaining read.) Die-hard collectors of Saul will undoubtedly get this to keep their hardback collections up to date & die-hard fans will rush out to get this as well. But for the average John Saul fan, I suggest waiting for the paperback or getting it from the library. And if you haven't read Saul at all, I recommend reading some of his earlier stuff first. This book isn't bad, but it's not his best.

(ARC provided by amazon vine)(less)

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Feb 12, 2010 Suspense Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not to say other titles haven’t fit a book well, but never has a better title been penned. This book was fascinating; the twists and turns the story took kept me turning, page after page. Although seeing this on the big screen would intrigue me—and unquestionably countless others—I’m sure; this book is the perfect example of why movies aren’t always as good as their literary namesakes. Sarah Crane is a strong, determined, brave young lady who faces countless obstacles in overcoming the raw deal...more

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May 17, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who haven't read "Black Creek Crossing"

Shelves: reviewed

Once, I read that “Saul has been criticized for writing the same type of story over and over but he really is the master at what he does.” This is a statement I couldn’t agree more with. The first John Saul book I’ve read was called Black Creek Crossing, which, quite frankly, is very similar to House of Reckoning. Two teenagers of opposite genders as protagonists? Check. Make both of the characters outcasts? Check. Add some extremely malicious bullies? Check. Drunken and abusive parents? Check....more Once, I read that “Saul has been criticized for writing the same type of story over and over but he really is the master at what he does.” This is a statement I couldn’t agree more with. The first John Saul book I’ve read was called Black Creek Crossing, which, quite frankly, is very similar to House of Reckoning. Two teenagers of opposite genders as protagonists? Check. Make both of the characters outcasts? Check. Add some extremely malicious bullies? Check. Drunken and abusive parents? Check. Main characters use the supernatural for their own justice? Check.

While reading this book, or any other John Saul book, it’s hard not to notice over-lapping similarities and it’s hard to avoid that feeling of Déjà vu. Whenever I pick up a new John Saul book, I always have a slight feeling of familiarity. I feel like I can somewhat know what to expect by his novels. However, this isn’t always a bad thing. John Saul really is a master at what he does.

He uses plenty of foreshadowing to keep the reader hooked on his prose. Like the other John Saul books I’ve read, this book has some very thrilling moments and it’s nearly impossible to put down. While reading this, I felt really connected to the two main characters and was constantly waiting for them to get their happy ending and for the villains to get their just desserts.

Here, the ghouls and ghosts don’t merely serve as another villain or evil spirit, but instead work as a supernatural force that drives the plot. House of Reckoning isn’t knee-deep in blood or packed with loads of gore. The majority of the novel focuses on the character relationships and doesn’t over-indulge in simply trying to scare the reader.

The only major flaw, aside from the aforementioned similiarities, was the fact that many characters seemed way too violent to be realistic. The fathers for each of the families seemed to be practically the same character.

While House of Reckoning is similar in story to many of Saul’s other works, it is also entertaining and exciting. Judging from the four John Saul books I have read, I can tell that he doesn’t think too much outside of the box, but rather, he sticks to what he does best. John Saul is an extremely consistent author and it seems that no matter what he writes is an extremely entertaining read.

I could probably give this book a lower score because of the Déjà vu feelings it gave me, but I’ll be honest and say that it’s pretty difficult for me to dislike a John Saul novel. Even if he isn't the most varied author, I feel that I can always turn to him for a good read.
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Jan 06, 2010 Laren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

Her mother is dead. Her father has been sent to prison for a drunken barroom fight after which he drove drunk and hit his own daughter with the truck. Now teenager Sarah is recovering from the accident and forced to live with a foster family who seem to think she is their slave. At school she has only one friend, Nick, who suffers from schizophrenic episodes and is also an outcast. She only likes one class, art, because she is good at it and the teacher, Bettina, is nice to her.

Of course, if yo...more

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Jan 15, 2010 Karen & Gerard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, suspense, teens

I liked The House of Reckoning by John Saul because it was so strange and gripping. It made me want to keep reading to see what would happen and drew me in right from the start. I immediately liked the main character, Sarah, a 14-yr. old who was plowed into by her drunk father on her way to the bar to bring him home and was put into foster care when her father was taken to prison for killing the man he fought with at the bar. She was befriended by a boy at school who was an outcast because he ha...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Donald Jodon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

One of two horror books that I read this October. (October is always hte month for horror novels for me, for obvious reasons) At any rate, this book was okay. Neither offending or great. Good characters who mostly act reasonably. But ultimately, the stoyr didn't offer that bite that you hope for. It was never creepy (which is disapointing since it is a "haunted house" book, which tend to creep me out usually. In the end the "house" was never threatening. Rather it "liked" the main characters and...more

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Feb 10, 2011 Drake rated it 3 of 5 stars

There was much to enjoy about ‘House of Reckoning.’ The beginning was particularly thrilling, immediately drawing my attention. The tragic scenario played out beautifully, the characters were heartfelt, and most of all, I adored that a schizophrenic was cast as one of the good guys, instead of being delegated into the crazy monster role of most horror tales.

However, as the story progressed, it devolved into a series of deus ex-machina plot devices, most involving supernatural events. Anytime one...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Maicie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Interesting. There are no ratings for this audio version. I'll be the first. I feel so empowered right now.

Finally finished. A good solid three stars. Story - good enough. Narrator - good. Listening ease - really good. Good enough to recommend listening to, or reading, at least once. So much for a good review.

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Feb 25, 2011 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was definitely creepy, but it could have been better. The main characters are definitely the most pitiful an author could think up, but the way these characters and the supernatural aspects relate to each other comes out of left field. Good Onc the main character Sarah is crippled and left with a foster family, her life only gets worse. The only thing that brings her happiness is when she meets Nick, who is the boy in town who hears voices. They and the "hated" art teacher have to come...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Shanon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-downloads, audiobook, dfc-2, 2010, stand-alone

Right from the start I liked the main character, Sarah. My heart went out to her as one tragedy after another was placed in her life. Secondary characters were also well developed and portrayed. I liked the story itself as well. The setting was superb and I would love to find more novels set in or about old insane asylums or hospitals for the criminally insane.

It's not too often I finish a book in just over 24 hours. On a whim I had put this on hold a couple of months ago with my online library....more

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Aug 05, 2011 Ellie79 rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was easy to read, and kept me captivated throughout the story. This story is full of evil characters, religious nuts, vengeful teenagers, wicked foster parents . . . everything you could ask for. The plotline follows the character Sarah Crane who is accidentally run over by her alcoholic father after the death of her mother. Nick Dunnigan, a former mental patient, still hears voices telling him to kill people as he sees violent images of the crimes the voices tell him to commit. Bettin...more

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Nov 13, 2009 Kim Smiley rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Mar 16, 2010 Tim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was a devoted Saul fan as a teen. But somewhere in college, I gave up. I read a couple when I discovered he was gay in the early 90's just to--well, just to support a sistah. <--tongue in cheek (He didn't come out until a few years after that & boy did the fans on his website attack when I suggested it...to them all I say: nyaa nyaa!)

The ones I read as an adult didn't match my remembrance of books past, but THIS sure did. Just as much fun as "Comes the Blind Fury" and "Punish the Sinner...more

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Jan 15, 2010 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading this quite a bit despite the hack writing and the obvious lack of sense at the end of the book. So what exactly was going on with the ghosts at the old Shutter's sanitorium? John Saul is a successful enough writer not to have to explain the incomprehensible ending.

The constant abuse of children in the book was disturbing but not enough to stop me from reading. The story of Sarah, a 14-year-old orphan, Nick, her classmate who hears voices and Bettina, the owner of the former San...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Summer Fenwick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, supernatural-paranormal

Would it be too shallow of me to say the reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because there were events that were all too 'convenient' for the story and the characters? - I like my horror with a little bit of openendness and mystery, but some of the plot elements tied neat little bows on things that honestly kind of disappointed me. That being said, there are a bunch of plot elements that really don't add up in the end but don't add to the atmosphere at all.

I liked the characters a lot eve...more

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Dec 03, 2009 Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story is good. Strange but good. Then John Saul seems to forget that consistency is important. In the first few chapters when Bettina Phillips gets home from work it says that it's no surprise her animals aren't there to greet her. They will come out eventually. Further on in the book Saul is describing Bettina's feeling that something is weird in her house. He says maybe it was only because her animals weren't there to greet her like they always were when she got home. There are other incon...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Heather Gessling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, thriller

Gotta love John Saul! Tragically Sarah losses her family in one fell swope...her mom dies of cancer & her father accidentally beats a man to death in a drunken,grieving rage and hits his daughter with his truck...all on the same night! The crux of it all...she forgives him..only in books does this happen!! After her recovery in the hospital she is placed with a struggling, creepy couple who think gimpy Sarah is a house slave to their family. Enter the art teacher..aka Sarah's savior/protago...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Suzi rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started off liking the book, but when the foster situation for Sarah, the protagonist, was described, it was too extreme for me to take seriously. I began to dislike the book at that point. However, rather unrealistic aspects of the foster situation faded into the background as the story moved on. I began to like the book again as I continued to read.

By the end of the book, I realized that I was engrossed in the story. It definitely turned into a page-turner for me. While it was certainly not...more

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May 11, 2013 Христо Блажев rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Миналото наказва грешниците: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/d...
В поредицата “Магика” излезе още едно жанрово заглавие от знаков хорър автор – Джон Сол, с когото досега не се бях срещал, но си купих преди няколко седмици от едни кашони неговата “Сенки”, която ще си чета лятоска на някой плаж. “Дом за разплата” е доста типично за жанра си произведение, което ще се хареса на феновете, но едва ли ще се понрави на странични читатели. Лично аз я поставям на средно ниво, точно около средняшките к...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grew up loving to read a new John Saul novel every summer. Nataniel was one of the first "adult" books I remember reading (that and Stephen King's Pet Sematary) and that led to reading all of Saul's books until my college years (which would have been around the time of Saul's books Shadows or Guardian). Sporadically read his novels since the mid-90s and they never really sparked any interest. House of Reckoning sparked my interest in Saul again but still does not live up to his early works. Ho...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Teri rated it 2 of 5 stars

read this book for by book club. Was excited, i really like John Saul. And while this book was a good, easy read, where you can stop if needed, but at the same time, it keeps you reading. It started off kinda...slow, or maybe a better word is non-interesting. By the middle, towards the end, it gets really good, everything will come together and your waiting for that twist that seems to be in alot of saul books I've read, you know, never a happy ending...well this book seemed to have lacked all o...more

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Nov 23, 2009 Daniel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Billed as “vintage John Saul” and a novel that recaptures the energy and power of Suffer the Children, the author’s first and best novel, House of Reckoning doesn’t succeed at living up to all of the hype. That being said, it is an absorbing and very good read. I don’t think Saul will ever get the respect he truly deserves in the horror community, but this man knows how to tell a story and excels at building the most sympathetic of characters. House of Reckoning isn’t a novel that’s going to sit...more Billed as “vintage John Saul” and a novel that recaptures the energy and power of Suffer the Children, the author’s first and best novel, House of Reckoning doesn’t succeed at living up to all of the hype. That being said, it is an absorbing and very good read. I don’t think Saul will ever get the respect he truly deserves in the horror community, but this man knows how to tell a story and excels at building the most sympathetic of characters. House of Reckoning isn’t a novel that’s going to sit around on the night table for days once you start reading it; you’ll want to finish this book in a matter of a few days. As much as I enjoyed this novel, though, a plethora of nagging questions remain unanswered or less than fully addressed after in the end.

When you pick up a John Saul novel, you know you’re going to be reading about good kids placed in horrible situations; the Saul pattern never really changes, a fact which his critics are more than happy to expound upon. Poor Sarah Crane may be the most sympathetic character of them all, though. Six months after her mother died of cancer, Sarah finds herself laid up in the hospital for weeks with a busted leg and hip (a tragedy suffered under some of the most tragic circumstances imaginable) while her father goes to jail for manslaughter. Once she’s able to leave the hospital, she is placed with a foster family who treat (and mistreat) her as nothing more than slave labor. As the new, crippled kid at school, she is immediately ostracized. Her only friends are Bettina Philips, a most sympathetic art teacher (whom everyone in town labels a witch) and the designated crazy kid at school, Nick Dunnigan, who hears voices in his head and sees horrible visions. When Sarah is around, though, the voices in Nick’s head are silent. The uncanny link between Sarah and Nick is also shared by Bettina – or, to be more precise, the old house in which she lives, which used to be an institution for the criminally insane.

Though never remotely frightening, House of Reckoning does have a share of intense moments, with a few sudden (albeit somewhat predictable) surprises thrown in along the way. Saul packages the whole thing in a tight and pretty bow, but various aspects of the ending just don’t ring true. Not only do several questions go unanswered, numbered among those are a couple of last-minute questions you wonder why Saul even raised in the first place. A religious aspect that Saul adds to the story also bothers me, as it is unclear what Saul’s point is supposed to be. Sarah’s foster family is supposedly ultra-religious in an Old Salem kind of way, but there is no evidence of this in their behavior and actions (especially in regards to Sarah). It’s unclear if Saul is attacking Christianity in and of itself (perhaps as a byproduct of his own homosexuality) or just trying to add some unnecessary spice to the story.

Despite all of my criticisms and the novel’s obvious weaknesses, though, I truly enjoyed reading House of Reckoning. It can be frustrating at times to be a John Saul fan, but the good almost always outweighs the bad.
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Jan 24, 2013 Brian Schwartz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

I would rank HOUSE OF RECKONING as one of Saul’s average works. One has to think that this book was written on autopilot or with software assistance. Saul has been successful reusing formulas in the past because he makes each setting different and creates distinctive, if not well developed characters. These characters are atypical of Saul’s work for their lack of distinction in their development.

Saul develops adolescent characters well and has honed his talent for it over the years. He makes his...more I would rank HOUSE OF RECKONING as one of Saul’s average works. One has to think that this book was written on autopilot or with software assistance. Saul has been successful reusing formulas in the past because he makes each setting different and creates distinctive, if not well developed characters. These characters are atypical of Saul’s work for their lack of distinction in their development.

Saul develops adolescent characters well and has honed his talent for it over the years. He makes his heroes incredibly sympathetic and their tormentors purely hateful. It is not through introspection that Saul develops these characters, but through actions. He doesn’t achieve that effect in this story.

We have absolutely no backstory to provide motivation for the chief antagonist, the sheriff’s son. We learn nothing of his personality, his upbringing, some prior grudge he might hold. Nothing seems to motivate him. The foster parents get slightly better treatment and are well developed as greedy, uneducated, lower middle class with a wide narcissistic streak. Their frequent conflicts with Sarah are the only effective character development in the book. Eric is developed through minimal introspection. In the narrative, we experience Nick’s frustration and torment with the voices that bedevil him, but we could have felt more sympathy for him had his torment been given more development through a little more backstory.

The chief failing of the book is the underdevelopment of Shutters. Saul tells wonderful haunted house stories and frequently uses a prologue to the story to develop whatever malevolent force inhabits the dwelling. With Shutters, there is no prologue to give us a hint of the evil. Having Bettina read to us from the uncovered manuscripts might have done a great deal to make the house more terrifying. Other than the recollections of what Bettina was told as a child, we are told scant little about the horrific events that played out in the home’s cellar that lead to the downfall of Sarah and Nick’s tormenters.

Finally, for a reason that is never explained, Saul lifts a few pages from Robert Marasco’s BURNT OFFERINGS as Shutters seems to repair itself a little with each event that transpires. The source of this rejuvenation is never revealed. It’s purpose never explained.

When Saul fails, it is usually because he leaves a lot of story on the table. There were so many subplots that could have been developed in this book. Nick doing battle with the voices, motivation for the sheriff’s son’s hatred of Nick, the evil history of the house. Saul touched none of it.

Saul has no lengthy tomes to his credit. His books average around 300 pages each. If he would free himself of this page constraint, there’s no telling how terrifying tale he could tell. (less)

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Jan 27, 2012 Anna Vizzini rated it 3 of 5 stars

House of Reckoning
By: John Saul
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction(Mystery)
Review By: Anna Vizzini

"House of Reckoning" ,by John Saul, is about a fouteen year old girl named Sarah Crane, who lives in Vermont. The book starts six months after the death of her mother, and her father begins to cope by consuming large amounts of alcohol. One night, her dad goes out to a bar, and after a few hours after he left Sarah wakes up from a reoccuring nightmare. She goes down stairs in the middle of the night to s...more House of Reckoning
By: John Saul
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction(Mystery)
Review By: Anna Vizzini

"House of Reckoning" ,by John Saul, is about a fouteen year old girl named Sarah Crane, who lives in Vermont. The book starts six months after the death of her mother, and her father begins to cope by consuming large amounts of alcohol. One night, her dad goes out to a bar, and after a few hours after he left Sarah wakes up from a reoccuring nightmare. She goes down stairs in the middle of the night to see her father is still out. She promised herself last time this happened that the next time, she would go get her dad and bring him home. She throws on a jacket, and runs out into the freezing cold night and hops on her bike. While Sarah is getting ready to go, Sarahs father, Ed Crane, accidently kills a man in a drunken bar fight in an alley near the bar. He gets into his car and drives down the same way Sarah is coming. Without noticing her, Ed crashes into Sarah, and shatters her hip. Sarah now has a replacement a hip, her father goes to jail, and she is placed in a foster home in a small town called Warwick. Her foster family is the Garvey family, which includes the mother Angie, the father Mitch, and their children Tiffany and Zach. The family treats her like a maid, and at school things are even worse. She has no friends and people think she is awkward. Then Sarah meets Bettina Phillips, the art teacher. Everyone in town calls her a "witch", and Angie forbids Sarah from talking to her outside of class. Sarah also makes friends with her and another awkward kid. His name is Nick Dunnigan, and he sees horrific hallucinations and hears voices. One day Sarah goes to Bettina's house and realizes it's the house from her nightmares, or a 200 year old mental hospital called Shutters. Together Nick, Sarah, and Bettina find out secrets they never knew about the house. They also find out even more secrets about eachother that no one would ever expect.
I believe that the theme of this book is to keep trying. If Nick, Sarah, and Bettina didn't keep trying to figure out the mystery connecting all three of the people i've talked about, the story would never make sense. Also, if Nick didn't keep trying to be freinds with Sarah, they would never figure out what caused Nick to hear the voices he heard. Lastly, if Sarah didn't try to talk to Bettina Phillips outside of class, she would have never found Shutters, or uncover it's secrets.
This book is great for people of all ages. It's not really good for younger children, but it is great for teens, and adults as well. It would also be interesting for people who enjoy reading suspenseful, mystery books. This book is a lot like other books I have read. I really enjoy mystery books, they are pretty much all I read. I love the suspense and drama in this book, and other people who enjoy books like that would too.
An interesting quote from the book is,
""So, what's it like visiting someone in prison?" Tiffany asked with an exaggerated innocence that immediately put Sarah on guard. She glanced over at Tiffany, who was now leaning against the doorjam, a Coke in her hand.
"It was kind of hard the first time," Sarah said, choosing her words carefully. She reached for another carrot.
"But I love seeing my dad."
"Your dad the murderer?" Zach asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway next to his sister. Sarah felt a twinge of anger at the emphasis he put on the last word.
"It was an accident," Sarah said quietly.
"I thought running you over was the accident," Tiffany said, "That's two too many accidents, if you ask me." Sarah's faced burned, but she said nothing, keeping her eyes on the carrot as she quickly sliced it into the exact pieces Angie demanded." This quote is from page 92, paragraph four. It shows how snobby and judgmental Sarah's foster family really is.
This book is really good! It's quite long for me, so im glad i finished it. I have never read any of John Saul's work before, but I hope i will be able to again. I can relate to this book because I feel like an outside sometimes, and so do a lot of other people. I'm not made fun of and judged like Sarah is, but everybody is viewed for their cover sometime in their life. This book makes me realize how bad some other teens' lives really are. I always complain, but my life is nothing compared to Sarah Crane's. She has pretty much lost everything she loves, which is terrible. I enjoyed pretty much everything in this story. All of the characters were very well developed, and everything was clear to me. It was suspenseful and mysterious, and very detailed. Like i said earlier, the book was a little long, but it was still a good read. I would reccomend this book to most of my friends, at least the ones that like to read longer books.

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Aug 27, 2010 Benjamin Thomas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, advanced-reading-copy

This is the first John Saul book I have ever read although I had listened to one in audio book format. That one had a great premise but seemed somewhat clumsy in its execution and even boring. The boring nature of it could have been a by-product of the audio book production as that does sometimes happen. So in my never ending search for good horror writing, I thought I'd give him another chance.

"House of Reckoning" has a fairly standard premise for a horror tale. A 14-year old girl named Sarah...more This is the first John Saul book I have ever read although I had listened to one in audio book format. That one had a great premise but seemed somewhat clumsy in its execution and even boring. The boring nature of it could have been a by-product of the audio book production as that does sometimes happen. So in my never ending search for good horror writing, I thought I'd give him another chance.

"House of Reckoning" has a fairly standard premise for a horror tale. A 14-year old girl named Sarah is hit by a drunk driver (who happens to be her father) and since her mother has already passed away, she is put into a foster home while her father has to go to jail. Sarah now has a disability and walks with a limp. We learn of her amazing artistic ability and we meet a fellow student of hers, named Nick who hears voices. Then there is Sarah's art teacher who lives alone in an old house that used to be an insane asylum. Of course all of this intertwines and we experience a pretty typical haunted house sort of story. These three characters must come together because everybody else in the town is a one dimensional, sterotypical character who delights in teasing a 14 year old girl with a limp and proclaiming the art teacher who lives in the old house, a "witch".

The story reads easily and the plot is straight forward and easy to follow. Definitely a quick read. Unfortunately, the novel abounds with problems. Chief among them is the way the charcters behave, especially the "bad" characters. Sarah's foster family makes Cinderella's step family look like angels. They treat Sarah like a slave, demanding total obedience in all things while they kick back with their feet up. They proclaim their Christianity and blame Sarah and the devil inside her for everything that goes wrong. How stereotypical can you get? The rest of the town includes the power hungry sherriff, his son who happens to be the school bully, etc. all of which make fun of Sarah the "gimp". The concept of the haunted house, itself, had potential as a great character in its own right, and it does take matters into its own hands, so to speak. I won't provide spoilers but suffice it to say that the great concept that the author begins never really pans out. When it comes time for the horror to shine through, it's rather dull. Events are wrapped up in a tidy manner, just so conveniently that one wonders if the author was approaching the word count limit.(less)

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Dec 25, 2010 Tahmeena rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story is pretty scary. Stories involving old mental institutions always creep the crap out of me and this was no exception. The characters seemed a little one-dimensional, but I felt that way about John Saul's "Midnight Voices" as well. I think this author appears more focused on scaring his readers than on character development so, for what it is supposed to be, the book is pretty good. This is the second book of the author's that I have read and I think I will continue reading his work.

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Nov 05, 2012 Brad Harkins rated it 4 of 5 stars

Liked it much. I think when kids are in horror books (and they're well written) it adds a different level of creepiness. Good story. I don't need everything wrapped up for me so if you don't mind everything not being explained and a sort of open ending then go for it. This was my last Halloween book and I think I enjoyed it the most. It was a quick and easy read but it kept me interested and wondering what would happen to the characters.

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About John Saul

John Saul was born in Pasadena, California on February 25, 1942, and grew up in Whittier where he graduated from Whittier High School in 1959. He attended several colleges—Antioch, in Ohio, Cerritos, in Norwalk, California, Montana State University and San Francisco State College, variously majoring in anthropology, liberal arts, and theater, but never obtaining a degree.
After leaving college, he...more John Saul was born in Pasadena, California on February 25, 1942, and grew up in Whittier where he graduated from Whittier High School in 1959. He attended several colleges—Antioch, in Ohio, Cerritos, in Norwalk, California, Montana State University and San Francisco State College, variously majoring in anthropology, liberal arts, and theater, but never obtaining a degree.
After leaving college, he decided the best thing for a college dropout to do was become a writer, and spent the next fifteen years working in various jobs while attempting to write a book someone would want to publish. Should anyone ever want to write a novel concerning the car-rental industry or the travails of temporary typists, John can provide excellent background material.

Those years garnered him a nice collection of unpublished manuscripts, but not a lot of money. Eventually he found an agent in New York, who spent several years sending his manuscripts around, and trying to make the rejection slips sound hopeful. Then, in 1976, one of his manuscripts reached Dell, who didn't want to buy it, but asked if he'd be interested in writing a psychological thriller. He put together an outline, and crossed his fingers.

At that point, things started getting bizarre. His agent decided the outline had all the makings of a best-seller, and so did Dell. Gambling on a first novel by an unknown author, they backed the book with television advertising (one of the first times a paperback original was promoted on television) and the gamble paid off. Within a month Suffer the Children appeared on all the best-seller lists in the country and made the #1 spot in Canada. Subsequently all 32 of his books, have made all the best-seller lists and have been published world wide. Though many of his books were published by Bantam/Doubleday/Dell his last fourteen books have been published by Ballantine/Fawcett/Columbine.

In addition to his work as novelist, John is also interested in the theater. He has acted, and as a playwright has had several one-act plays produced in Los Angeles and Seattle, and two optioned in New York. One of his novels was produced by Gerber Productions Company and M.G.M. as a C.B.S. movie and currently one of his novels is in development.

John served on the Expansion Arts Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. He is actively involved with the development of other writers, and is a lecturer at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference and the Maui Writers Conference and received the Life Time Achievement Award from the Northwest Writers Conference. John is also a trustee and Vice President of The Chester Woodruff Foundation (New York), a philanthropic organization.

John lives part-time in the Pacific Northwest, both in Seattle and in the San Juan Islands. He also maintains a residence on the Big Island of Hawaii. He currently enjoys motor homing, travel and golf. He is an avid reader, bridge player, golfer and loves to cook. (less)

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