Julia Stone will remember, even if it kills her.
Dr. Pamela Forrest is determined to bring Julia's memories to the surface, hoping to heal Julia...
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reviews
Aug 27, 2011
Lou
rated it: 
Visceral and gripping thriller my first read from author Scott Nicholson, he creates a good atmosphere of fear and tension. The story is about one woman's battle to recollect a dark event from the past and her courage in finding out the truth behind what a brotherhood and satanism had to do with her and her father. A splendid treat of a dark tale.
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Aug 27, 2011
Cheryl
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Excellent - I look forward to reading more of his books!
The story takes place in Elkwood, North Carolina. When Julia was 4 years old, her dad disappeared. She has some kind of scars on her stomach, and she thinks it was part of a satanic ritual. She isn't sure how involved her dad would have been in this ritual. Also, Julia thinks she is being stalked by some kind of a creep. She is going to counseling with Dr. Pamela Forrest to try to help her. Dr. Forrest is trying to help Jul More...
The story takes place in Elkwood, North Carolina. When Julia was 4 years old, her dad disappeared. She has some kind of scars on her stomach, and she thinks it was part of a satanic ritual. She isn't sure how involved her dad would have been in this ritual. Also, Julia thinks she is being stalked by some kind of a creep. She is going to counseling with Dr. Pamela Forrest to try to help her. Dr. Forrest is trying to help Jul More...
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Aug 27, 2011
J.T.
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Friend and fellow author Scott Nicholson’s spanking new mystery/occult thriller The Skull Ring featuring Julia Stone is available for the Kindle. As a fan of Scott's work, I've already gobbled it up, so here's my two cents...
After surviving a horrible physical and emotional trauma, journalist Julia Stone flees the big city for a new job in the bucolic surroundings of the rural mountain town of Elkwood, North Carolina. There, with the aid of therapist, Dr. Pamela Forrest, Julia litera More...
After surviving a horrible physical and emotional trauma, journalist Julia Stone flees the big city for a new job in the bucolic surroundings of the rural mountain town of Elkwood, North Carolina. There, with the aid of therapist, Dr. Pamela Forrest, Julia litera More...
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Aug 27, 2011
Debbi
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At first glance, Julia Stone seems almost paranoid. She jumps at things that go bump in the night and seems to worry excessively. Then she comes home to find children's alphabetic blocks arranged on her coffee table, to spell out her name in the spooky way her father used to say it -- "Jooolia."
At this point, you start to feel the tingle of fear that runs up Julia's spine. The shadows in the house could easily hide creeps or demons. Thus, you're quickly pulled into Julia's More...
At this point, you start to feel the tingle of fear that runs up Julia's spine. The shadows in the house could easily hide creeps or demons. Thus, you're quickly pulled into Julia's More...
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Aug 27, 2011
Adam
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I am not traditionally a suspense/horror reader. The author of this book contacted me to see if I would like to review the book after finding my blog. I am always up for something different so I agreed.
The opening of the book is classic suspense. I was on the edge of my seat. The main character is scared to death of being alone in her home, because of past events and the author did a great job giving what seems to be unrational fears real life and meaning. This is a suspense, thro More...
The opening of the book is classic suspense. I was on the edge of my seat. The main character is scared to death of being alone in her home, because of past events and the author did a great job giving what seems to be unrational fears real life and meaning. This is a suspense, thro More...
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Aug 27, 2011
William
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Scott Nicholson's The Skull Ring is as tight and lean an examination of paranoia and fear as I've read in many a year. Its romp through Satanic cults and small town secrets reads like Stephen King meets Rosemary's Baby, but in some ways it affected me deeper than either, for it felt more grounded in reality than either King's down home style or Levin's sly humor. Nicholson's prose sucks you in, makes you cosy, then hits you with a whammy. You are right there with the protagonist, feeling her iso
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Jan 06, 2012
Misty
rated it:
Every once and a while my “little” obsession with the written word has perks. While devouring mythical tales or getting into the mind of the mentally disturbed is more often than not a joy of its own…there are still those bright shining moments in time when I get to do the reading before everyone else, or even better…I get to do it for free.
“Scott Nicholson” emailed me last week and asked me if I would like to check out his upcoming novel “The Skull Ring” and I’m not going to lie…while More...
“Scott Nicholson” emailed me last week and asked me if I would like to check out his upcoming novel “The Skull Ring” and I’m not going to lie…while More...
Sep 14, 2011
Webbweaver
rated it:
Julia has lived a tormented life. She can’t remember the things that happened to her as a child, and it is those very things she must find out in order to live a normal life. For as long as she can remember she has been followed by ‘Creeps. But, are they real or merely a figment of her paranoid imagination? Julia leaves the city and opts for a smaller town and a new doctor to help her get to the truth. But, as Julia will soon find out, getting closer to the truth always comes with a price.
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Dec 20, 2011
Katy
rated it:
Julia Stone’s father disappeared when she was four and was never found. She spent time in a series of foster homes and finally was adopted. When she was in high school, she met Mitchell, and after college she became engaged to him. But that’s when things started to fall apart – she started to have panic attacks, becoming nervous and edgy, and upon starting therapy, hidden memories started to come to the front. Deciding that living in Memphis was too stressful, she moved to the small town of
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Jan 03, 2012
Kellie
rated it:
Julia Stone has a good life in Memphis, she has a supportive and understanding fiance, a good job, and friends. All those things were making her happy until the paranoia and anxiety attacks starting to take over her life in the form of the memories of the trama she suffured when she was a child. On a suggestion from her therapist, Dr. Danner, Julia relocates herself to Elkwood and starts working with a new therapist, Dr.Forrest, to get to the bottom of these attacks and eventually "heal"
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Aug 27, 2011
~~*Julie
rated it:
Another great read by Scott Nicholson! This book is horror,thriller, mystery all in one. I was kept guessing all the way to the very end. Nicholson is such a great storyteller and I can't wait to pick up the rest of his books.
While reading this story you rely feel for the main character, Julie. Is she crazy or not. If not who is stalking her. There are so many twists and turns in this one! Can't say enough good things about this author----check him out!
While reading this story you rely feel for the main character, Julie. Is she crazy or not. If not who is stalking her. There are so many twists and turns in this one! Can't say enough good things about this author----check him out!
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Aug 27, 2011
Scott
rated it:
I am really pleased to now have this book available after a long road and a number of revisions--Julia Stone is piecing together childhood memories of the night her father vanished, but when she finds a strange silver ring, the past comes creeping back in the form of a sinister cult. I hope you give it a try--to me, it's an important journey of faith, romance, and suspense.
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Aug 27, 2011
Amanda
rated it: 
Crap. I figured out the plot of this book about 10 pages in. And Julia just needed to have the ever-living shit smacked out of her.
She has nightmares. She hears voices. Every man she comes across is a Creep...not a creep...a Creep. She sees a therapist. She moves out of the big city and begins going to another therapist who helps her bring out her 'repressed' memories. But she's still having nightmares, hearing voices, having panic attacks and seeing Creeps. No one can be t More...
She has nightmares. She hears voices. Every man she comes across is a Creep...not a creep...a Creep. She sees a therapist. She moves out of the big city and begins going to another therapist who helps her bring out her 'repressed' memories. But she's still having nightmares, hearing voices, having panic attacks and seeing Creeps. No one can be t More...
Aug 27, 2011
TC
rated it: 
This is the first of the author's books I have read, although he has several books. It is described as a psychological thriller which appealed to me. Scott is another author I have found thanks to kindle broadening my horizons.
Julia Stone has moved to a small Appalachian town to try and find some peace. She is haunted by the disappearance of her father when she was just 4 years old. With the help of therapist Dr Forrest she is uncovering disturbing memories of that night and is struggl More...
Julia Stone has moved to a small Appalachian town to try and find some peace. She is haunted by the disappearance of her father when she was just 4 years old. With the help of therapist Dr Forrest she is uncovering disturbing memories of that night and is struggl More...
Aug 27, 2011
Chryse
rated it:
This book blew me away. Without giving spoilers, I'll say that it's the story of a woman who is trying to get over abuse from her childhood...and whoa, if you think you had it rough, I'll respectfully disagree. As she is going through counseling, we never know quite what to believe because the main character never knows quite what to believe. She's paranoid. But she's got some pretty good reasons to be so nutty. Eventually, we discover the source of her abuse as she re-visits her abusers in a ne
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Aug 27, 2011
Crystal
rated it:
Why I read this: I have seen Scott Nicholson's books around for several years, starting with The Farm and kept meaning to read him, then I got away from the horror or supernatural thriller genre for awhile. Then I saw this one and some of his other books reviewed on a blog and saw they were relatively inexpensive for the Kindle and I had to have it. Since then I was contacted by Scott to participate in his blog tour (see the interview and giveaway post) and he sent me some of his other books
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Aug 27, 2011
Cheryl
rated it:
Even moving to a new town can’t stop Julia Stone from still having nightmares about an evil person known only as The Creep. Luckily for Julia, Dr. Forrest is helping Julia get over her fears of The Creep. As much as Julia appreciates Dr. Forrest’s help, strange things are happening to Julia. For example… Julia awakes to find the clock time always stops at 4:06 am. The nightmares that Julia keeps having don’t really seem like nightmares at all but images of events that are real. Will Julia ever f
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Aug 27, 2011
Simon
rated it:
Julia can’t remember what happened the night her father disappeared or what happened to her that night. That childhood trauma has followed her all the way into adulthood. Years of therapy have yet to help her unlock the secrets of the past. The unknown weighs heavily on her and she lives in a constant state of fear of everyone. She believes in one thing, her therapy and the therapist forcing her to face her demons. Now Julia has moved to the North Carolina to start over and break free of h
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Aug 27, 2011
Christa
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The young woman, Julia Stone, desperately tries to remember what happened to her at age four, when she became the victim of a terrible tragedy in the hands of a satanic cult, which left her with nightmares, panic attacks, and a deep distrust of everyone around her. In her quest for truth, she looks for support from two psychiatrists, her boyfriend, a cop, and a young man with an equally troubled past and a dubious reputation. It seems, however, that some of the people who profess to help Julia m
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Aug 27, 2011
Pamela
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Julia Stone is unsure of herself. She has disturbing, dark memories of her childhood-memories of what could be a satanic cult, and she has strange things happening all around her...or are they in her mind? Working with her therapist to uncover her past, she discovers she not only cannot trust those around her, but she cannot trust herself. In her new home, Elkwood, NC, she starts a journey to save her mind, her life and her soul.
I am not really sure how I feel about this book. T More...
I am not really sure how I feel about this book. T More...
Nov 13, 2011
D.L.
rated it:
I love being inside people's heads and this book gave me a real sense of Julia's fear throughout. At times I felt as if I was running in place - but that's what was going on inside her head so I was still intrigued. In fact I found the character more compelling than the plot. Or maybe that's the point - the character was the plot, and her confusion is what drove the story.
Nicholson's prose painted vibrant pictures of both setting and the characters' using fresh, original phrases that m More...
Nicholson's prose painted vibrant pictures of both setting and the characters' using fresh, original phrases that m More...
Aug 27, 2011
Vicki
rated it:
When she was four year old, Julia Stone's father disappeared. Now an adult, dark childhood memories continue to haunt her. "...everybody knew that monsters weren't real." Everybody except Julia.
Scott Nicholson's strong and vivid writing draws the reader deep into the story, but it's the writer's deft handling of pace that makes this a winner for me. As the tension ramped up, I often found myself holding my breath. Yet at other times, I couldn't help but smile at the gems of More...
Scott Nicholson's strong and vivid writing draws the reader deep into the story, but it's the writer's deft handling of pace that makes this a winner for me. As the tension ramped up, I often found myself holding my breath. Yet at other times, I couldn't help but smile at the gems of More...
Nov 21, 2011
Tammy
rated it:
The beginning and ending of this book almost seems like 2 novellas sandwiched together. I loved the beginning of the novel. The suspense was so thick that I was uneasy coming home to an empty house. I could feel Julia's anxiety and became physically uncomfortable at times.
Unfortunately, the ending fell a bit flat. Not only did the action seem drawn out, but I would have preferred to have Walter disappear over a cliff. It would have been a much more powerful ending if Jooolia had ca More...
Unfortunately, the ending fell a bit flat. Not only did the action seem drawn out, but I would have preferred to have Walter disappear over a cliff. It would have been a much more powerful ending if Jooolia had ca More...
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Oct 25, 2011
Ericka
rated it:
Although the beginning of this books wasn't as compelling as I'd like, I pressed through. By mid-book I was hooked and the ending was action-packed and engaging. I did guess the ending fairly early on, but it didn't spoil watching the heroine learn what I already suspected. I like that even though it was a horror title, there was a little romance thrown in for seasoning.
Jan 16, 2012
Bethica
rated it:
What a ride! This book deserves 6 stars without a doubt. What's real and what's not real? Who can you trust? There were so many twists and turns it left my head spinning all the way through the end. Truely and honestly spook-tacular!
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Jan 16, 2012
Catherine
rated it:
Pretty good book. I couldn't figure it all out until almost the very end. It keeps you reading, that's for sure.
Aug 27, 2011
Nate
rated it:
Nice quick little horror story. More a story about misdirection, which is always nice, especially when the possibility of what might have happened was so unsavory.
Ever read Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice? That will blow your mind when thinking of Satan vs God theology, but this book was lite in comparison--which is not an insult! There's some Satanists thrown in, but it's not fleshed out enough to really alter how you think about things.
Still, Scott Nicholson writes very w More...
Ever read Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice? That will blow your mind when thinking of Satan vs God theology, but this book was lite in comparison--which is not an insult! There's some Satanists thrown in, but it's not fleshed out enough to really alter how you think about things.
Still, Scott Nicholson writes very w More...
Aug 27, 2011
Gmr
rated it:
A creepy read that will keep you on your toes and certainly begs the light to be left on for those that easily fall under the spell of a book. For me, I wasn't fond of the main character as I felt a lack of connection and the narratives connecting the moments of action that drove the story forward were to numerous for my taste....but that doesn't mean it will have the same effect on you. Looking for a book that lands squarely in the horror genre....you found it...in spades.
Aug 27, 2011
Weston
rated it:
Great read. Scott does a superb job of putting us in the protagonists shoes, so much so that I found myself watching over my shoulder while sitting on the couch. I highly recommend it.
