Book Reviews: Joyland & Promise Not To Tell

Here’s a twofer. Buy one, get one free. BOGO.

Recently I’ve been racking up the books in my “read” column, which is great, because for a long time I felt like I had no time to read. It appears I’ve found that time, and I’m glad to have it back. The reason I’m reviewing both of these books together is, they’re both written in the first person and they’re both right around the same length.

First up was Stephen King’s Joyland.

I read some great reviews about this book at Horror Novel Reviews, and I can’t put it any better than they did. So if you want a great breakdown of the book, check those out.

As for me, I found the book to be perfect. What’s fascinating to me is how great of a storyteller Stephen King is, and how he’s not just a one trick pony. Sure, horror is his bread and butter, but when he goes off of that and into other areas, he seems truly at his best. Both of his Hard Case Crime books, this one and The Colorado Kid are amazing. The Eyes of the Dragon is another amazing story. All three are books I will read again, and I will get lost in again. All three have stuck with me, long after having finished them. More so than any of his other works.

Joyland, in particular, delivered on every level. When I absolutely had to put the book down, I was pissed. When it was over, I was pissed. This was something that ruled my day to day life while I was reading it. This is exactly how a first person story should be written. King took something as bland as a normal person’s day to day life and made it not only interesting, but riveting. It was like sitting with an old dude who had lived through it all and listening to him tell a story about his life. I still don’t want to believe this was fiction, it was told so well that SOMEBODY had to have actually lived it.

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. There’s very little horror involved, as this is true to Hard Case Crime’s status quo. It’s a murder mystery. Even that is placed on the back-burner through much of the story, which is just about a college kid and his summer working at an amusement park, and the people he meets and how he lives his day to day life. And it’s so amazing.

I give this one an easy 5 out of 5 stars.



Immediately after reading Joyland I was given Promise Not To Tell by Jennifer McMahon. I do believe this was her first book, but since then she has written quite a few. If the rest are as good as this one, I’m interested to read them all.

The only issue I had with this book is how it was written. The very first and last chapters are in third person, but the rest of the story is in first. Why she chose to write it like that is beyond me, and it’s confusing. Going from third to first in the beginning wasn’t so bad, but after reading the entire rest of the book in first and then going to third at the end was like hitting a speed bump on the highway. It kind of ruined the flow.

Other than that, the story is excellent, and the first person storytelling is just like Joyland, although much more creepy and horror based. Like Joyland, it tells a coming of age story, while incorporating a couple of murders, ghosts, possession, and a few other mysteries woven all around.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was hooked on it until the very end, which had me wanting more. After Promise Not To Tell, I’ll be checking out more by Jennifer McMahon.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.