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Deathwatch

Lisa Mannetti (Goodreads Author)

4.06 · Rating details · 34 ratings · 10 reviews

In Dissolution, Stuart Granville is a would-be medical student from the South who's been expelled for drinking and believes he's heading north to Hyde Park, New York to tutor twin girls. Instead, he discovers that his charges, Abby and Eleanor, have never been to school of any kind. They are also Siamese twins and their father, a doctor with grandiose dreams, means to sepa ...more

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Published December 17th 2010 by Shadowfall Publications

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Average rating 4.06 ·

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· 34 ratings · 10 reviews

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Aug 03, 2011 Lou rated it it was amazing

Dissolution Review
The Horror Writers Association generally know a good novel the nominees and winners of Bram Stoker awards have nearly always proven to live up to their awards. Lisa Mannetti's name has been up there in their awards and her work has been long overdue for a read, and oh boy can she write a chilling, shocking, eerie tale of horror. Think of those movies like Exorcist, The Shinning and Psycho and then you have the right feel of the story you will be reading in this story Dissolutio ...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Jason rated it did not like it

Shelves: e-books, read-2011

Dissolution

1.5 Stars

This, being my second foray into the nightmarish worlds created by Mannetti, i had high expectations for a great ride. This novella however, simply did not work for me. There are too many similarities between this story and Mannetti's great novel The Gentling Box to keep your interest. Where the full length novel worked, and was truly a great read, this short story does not. Her stories take their life from their settings, from their backstories, and from their time periods. ...more

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Nov 18, 2015 Shane Douglas Douglas rated it it was amazing

Every now and then I’ll read a book that is so freaky good I’m almost too intimidated to review it. Lisa Mannetti’s DEATHWATCH is a prime example of this. It’s so well written I find myself wondering what I might have to say that will do it the justice it deserves. I started reading it at 1:00 AM on a sleepless night and didn’t end up sleeping–or doing anything else–for the rest of the night. From the first word of the Bram Stoker Nominated novella “Dissolution” to the last word of the Author’s Every now and then I’ll read a book that is so freaky good I’m almost too intimidated to review it. Lisa Mannetti’s DEATHWATCH is a prime example of this. It’s so well written I find myself wondering what I might have to say that will do it the justice it deserves. I started reading it at 1:00 AM on a sleepless night and didn’t end up sleeping–or doing anything else–for the rest of the night. From the first word of the Bram Stoker Nominated novella “Dissolution” to the last word of the Author’s Note at the end of the book, I was mesmerized by Mannetti’s lyrical prose and hopelessly glued to the pages.

I’ve read in other reviews that “Dissolution” was the standout novella, or, conversely, it was “Sheila Na Gig” that was the better story. I can’t agree with either position. The two companion novellas complement and enhance each other beautifully and, while either work can stand on it’s own merit, they each benefit from the inclusion of the other, a fact that isn’t readily apparent until the surprising connection is made at the end of “Sheila Na Gig.” That said, I’m not going to spend a lot of time rewriting the synopsis. Instead, I’m going to talk about the things that make DEATHWATCH, and Mannetti herself, special.

In her author’s note, Lisa says she’s “in love with voice and character”, a fact that is immediately obvious in the first few paragraphs of “Dissolution”. She has a passion for the art of story that shines through in her work. Her voice is captivating, her language musical, and her characters fully realized and easy to empathize with. And her villains are delightfully terrifying. In “Dissolution” there’s Regina, a sadistic, vengeful ghost who delights in the fear and anguish she visits upon her victims, even her own daughters. On the other hand, in “Sheila Na Gig”, Rose is a very human, hideously cruel witch who controls and torments her family through the use of her witchcraft and an evil artifact known as the Sheila Na Gig.

I had not previously read Mannetti’s work but, after reading DEATHWATCH, it’s easy to see why she’s won the Bram Stoker award for her novel THE GENTLING BOX, and has received multiple nominations for her other work, including “Dissolution”, which is currently in development for film by director Paul Leyden. Both of the novellas in DEATHWATCH are intelligent, sensual, and genuinely horrifying stories that left me yearning for more. Much more. Lisa Mannetti is a master wordsmith and now one of my favorite authors. I will be reading and reviewing her newest novella, THE BOX JUMPER, in the next few weeks and will read everything she publishes in the future. If you haven’t read Lisa’s work yet, go get DEATHWATCH and discover what you’re missing. ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Chris McMillan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I wish this site offered half-star ratings, as I wanted to rate it a bit higher. This collection of two novellas is well written and very engaging, but the opening tale just didn't work for me.

Dissolution follows a disgraced medical student in the late 1800s traveling to an isolated home under the pretense of being a tutor twin girls. Instead, he becomes involved in a medical procedure, performed by the girl's father, to separated the two, who are conjoined at the hip. Unfortunately, a supernatu I wish this site offered half-star ratings, as I wanted to rate it a bit higher. This collection of two novellas is well written and very engaging, but the opening tale just didn't work for me.

Dissolution follows a disgraced medical student in the late 1800s traveling to an isolated home under the pretense of being a tutor twin girls. Instead, he becomes involved in a medical procedure, performed by the girl's father, to separated the two, who are conjoined at the hip. Unfortunately, a supernatural presence is waiting for the procedure to be completed.

It's an intriguing tale, full of characters haunted by their past failings, and the presence that takes advantage of their feelings of guilt and remorse. But my complaint is the main character just is so weak willed, his ultimate fate, and the fate of the others, just didn't matter to me. I know the narrator is intended to be flawed, but he barely resists his fate, even as he knows what's happening. And it's never explained why he doesn't just leave, except that the house has a hold on him. And even when he tries to stand up against the presence, his efforts are weak, to say the least.

But the second novella, The Sheila Na Gig, is terrific. A young boy, living on a farm in Ireland during (I assume) the very early 1900s, deals with a family that is falling apart, due to his father's desire to write and his grandmother's supernatural power to make his father's dream a reality and insure her immortality.

The protagonist in this tale, as in the first, finds it difficult to resist the forces pit against him. But he's a twelve year old boy, battling forces beyond his comprehension and feelings within himself that his grandmother is able to exploit, due to his youth. I found this much more engaging and I became very involved in the protagonist's struggle to find a way out, while protecting his sister, who has been targeted by the grandmother as the next to help her son write his novel.

And yes, you can see this as an allegory to the creative process at times, and the toll it can take upon those around the artist. But it's still a great supernatural tale, full of despair and helplessness fighting against overwhelming forces.

You know, after writing this review, I'm upping my rating to four stars. Despite my inability to engage with the protagonist in the first novella, it's still a damn good story. Fans of slow burning supernatural tales will be well advised to check this one out.

One word of warning, however. Both novellas deal with sexual content involving children and, especially in the first tale, might be considered too taboo, or possible triggering, to some readers. ...more

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Jan 05, 2016 Stephanie added it

Shelves: reviewed

I found both novellas in this book to be well-written with purposefully-developed characters and intriguing storylines. The style of writing kept everything smooth and comfortable to read without any awkward lapses in pace or voice. I think that both stories are so multidimensional that any reader would feel a bit of trepidation about all of the “ends” being tied by the end. (They are and are not. It might all depend on your own interpretation as a reader.) Beyond that, I'm electing to review t ...more

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Mar 22, 2015 Bill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What an engrossing and beautifully written collection this is! Consisting of two exceptional novellas, Dissolution and The Sheila Na Gig , it grabs you from the fist few pages and never lets go.

In the first selection, Stuart Granville, a young medical student who has been tossed out of school for drinking, is hired by a reclusive doctor, supposedly as a tutor for his two young daughters. Once he arrives at his destination in Hyde Park, however, he discovers the truth about the girls, thei ...more

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Dec 22, 2013 D. Ward rated it really liked it

Every so often, a novel or novella comes along that just gets me excited about horror again. Not that there aren't tons of great and innovative things going on by talented authors but Mannetti's DEATHWATCH and particularly the opening novella, Dissolution really struck a chord with me. I found it phenomenal and I suspect it will be lingering with me for a good while.
Both beautiful and disturbing, terrifying and gripping, the two novellas in DEATHWATCH, Dissolution and The Sheila Na Gig pair wel ...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Jo Anne B rated it did not like it

I loved Lisa Mannetti's The Gentling Box but I had to stop reading this one. It is very similar to The Gentling Box in that a guy lusts after a woman that isn't whom she appears to be. The lines between hallucinations and reality are once again blurred. However, I was disgusted and couldn't continue to read about an adult male having sex with a 13 yr old girl and describing her body in sexual ways. It seemed like child porn or pedophilia and illegal. Gross! ...more

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Jan 21, 2015 Michael rated it it was amazing

I rarely give 5 stars to something I've read. It simply has to blow me away, and Lisa Mannetti succeeded in doing just that. Dissolution is a warped tale similar in fashion to The Turn of the Screw and Saki's The Open Window, only darker and more twisted. The Sheila Na Gig is a heart-breaking tale, no less dark, rooted in Irish folk lore. Both of these tales will haunt you for a long time. ...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Heidi Ward rated it liked it

Shelves: horror, twins, magic, ghosts-and-hauntings, 21st-century, novella, ireland, very-disturbing, psychological-fiction, possession

Reviewed along with The Gentling Box, here: http://battyward.blogspot.com/2012/09... ...more

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Jun 13, 2016 Lisa Mannetti rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

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About Lisa Mannetti

Lisa Mannetti

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Lisa Mannetti’s debut novel, The Gentling Box, garnered a Bram Stoker Award and she has since been nominated four times for the prominent award in both the short and long fiction categories: Her story, “Everybody Wins,” was made into a short film and her novella, “Dissolution,” will soon be a feature-length film directed by Paul Leyden. Recent short stories include, “Esmeralda’s Stocking” in Never ...more