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The Woods of Red Hill
Like most towns, Ridgeware has a dark history. Its inhabitants know of the history, apart from newcomer Gary Strand. Strand has recently moved from London to experience the "quiet life" and finds there is more to the town than meets the eye.
David Dawson is a family man, and like other residents, knows of the dark history surrounding Ridgeware and the woods, and the infamous story of Killer Kelly.
To the adults, Killer Kelly was a character from years back that massacred his family. To the children, Killer Kelly is a ghost that is still present and lives in the same shack where he killed his family, which is situated on the common hill, between Ridgeware and the woods.
This thriller is written as seen through the eyes of an adult, and also that of the three children, Alan, Neil and Steven Dawson, David Dawson's son.
Packed with developing eerie stories, innocent friendship, and scenes of terror, "The Woods of Red Hill" dissects each character and tells the reader how they have been affected.
This story comes to a dramatic and bloody conclusion, and is not for persons under the age of 18.
https://sites.google.com/site/whittin...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Woods-Red...
David Dawson is a family man, and like other residents, knows of the dark history surrounding Ridgeware and the woods, and the infamous story of Killer Kelly.
To the adults, Killer Kelly was a character from years back that massacred his family. To the children, Killer Kelly is a ghost that is still present and lives in the same shack where he killed his family, which is situated on the common hill, between Ridgeware and the woods.
This thriller is written as seen through the eyes of an adult, and also that of the three children, Alan, Neil and Steven Dawson, David Dawson's son.
Packed with developing eerie stories, innocent friendship, and scenes of terror, "The Woods of Red Hill" dissects each character and tells the reader how they have been affected.
This story comes to a dramatic and bloody conclusion, and is not for persons under the age of 18.
https://sites.google.com/site/whittin...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Woods-Red...
378 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2012
33 people are currently reading
383 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 9, 2014
I liked the pre-note in this novel about the not-so-subtle differences between US English and UK English. I thought that this would be a promising start. Unfortunately, I was most mistaken. The only horror was the sheer horror that was reading it - I don't mean as in genre, I mean as in nightmare getting my head round how badly it was written.
From the start, this novel really needed a lot more commas than were present. The sentences are way too long, and with no dictated pauses, the emphasis within is quite hard to work out. The author often uses his few commas where semi-colons would be more appropriate, and the very rare use of the semi-colon is where colons should be used.
The grammar is pretty bad; I hoped it would only irk, and not be enough to spoil, but with phrases like 'Mark had once saw a documentary', 'behind the house was acres of land' and 'the woods was so condensed with trees', this was not so. It was distracting and annoying, verging on distressing (for an administrator, who corrects this kind of error for a living, trying to relax!).
Tenses jump around, not just within the novel but within sentences themselves - 'the shed looked to be in better condition...the windows look tinted', 'Sheeba had now disappeared...he becomes even more concerned'.
The author displays NO knowledge of the possessive apostrophe (he uses it in every incorrect way possible, and even omits it in a lot of words), and doesn't appear to have mastered the connective apostrophe too well either.
A few nice bits of vocabulary thrown in do not excuse the glaring mistakes such as confusing to and too, wondered and wandered, passed and past, they're and there - in fact, after reading the sentence 'He tried to run through the pain, but every time he breathed in the smarting became shoddier', I decided it was a lot like a 14 year old discovering a thesaurus for the first time, and he just substituted any word with any alternative, no matter how contrived it sounded.
The style of writing is very colloquial; the writer quite often puts 'on a Saturday', 'you use to work for' or 'would of loved', where 'on the', 'you used to' or 'would have' is more technically correct.
Lots of repetition and redundant bits of sentences have not been edited out, such as 'he never spent that much time in his garden because of the effluvium [thesaurus alert!] coming from the week old dog faeces in the garden'. While on the subject of dog excrement, the writer also references Sheeba, the Labrador bitch, making headway for a tree to urinate and Mark 'followed Sheeba's example of urinating up a tree' - Female dogs DO NOT urinate up trees, leg-cocking is reserved for the male of the species.
All of this criticism is really quite unfortunate, because the story itself and indeed the concept of the novel are actually rather good. It is just more than unfortunate that this author did not employ a proof reader or copy editor (or even a ghost writer - that was what was needed, to be honest), all of which can be readily found for reasonable fees, which would have made this book a five star novel, rather than a two star mess.
From the start, this novel really needed a lot more commas than were present. The sentences are way too long, and with no dictated pauses, the emphasis within is quite hard to work out. The author often uses his few commas where semi-colons would be more appropriate, and the very rare use of the semi-colon is where colons should be used.
The grammar is pretty bad; I hoped it would only irk, and not be enough to spoil, but with phrases like 'Mark had once saw a documentary', 'behind the house was acres of land' and 'the woods was so condensed with trees', this was not so. It was distracting and annoying, verging on distressing (for an administrator, who corrects this kind of error for a living, trying to relax!).
Tenses jump around, not just within the novel but within sentences themselves - 'the shed looked to be in better condition...the windows look tinted', 'Sheeba had now disappeared...he becomes even more concerned'.
The author displays NO knowledge of the possessive apostrophe (he uses it in every incorrect way possible, and even omits it in a lot of words), and doesn't appear to have mastered the connective apostrophe too well either.
A few nice bits of vocabulary thrown in do not excuse the glaring mistakes such as confusing to and too, wondered and wandered, passed and past, they're and there - in fact, after reading the sentence 'He tried to run through the pain, but every time he breathed in the smarting became shoddier', I decided it was a lot like a 14 year old discovering a thesaurus for the first time, and he just substituted any word with any alternative, no matter how contrived it sounded.
The style of writing is very colloquial; the writer quite often puts 'on a Saturday', 'you use to work for' or 'would of loved', where 'on the', 'you used to' or 'would have' is more technically correct.
Lots of repetition and redundant bits of sentences have not been edited out, such as 'he never spent that much time in his garden because of the effluvium [thesaurus alert!] coming from the week old dog faeces in the garden'. While on the subject of dog excrement, the writer also references Sheeba, the Labrador bitch, making headway for a tree to urinate and Mark 'followed Sheeba's example of urinating up a tree' - Female dogs DO NOT urinate up trees, leg-cocking is reserved for the male of the species.
All of this criticism is really quite unfortunate, because the story itself and indeed the concept of the novel are actually rather good. It is just more than unfortunate that this author did not employ a proof reader or copy editor (or even a ghost writer - that was what was needed, to be honest), all of which can be readily found for reasonable fees, which would have made this book a five star novel, rather than a two star mess.
September 19, 2013
I'm only halfway through this book, and I have to say, I don't know if I can finish it. first, the grammar is shit. I'm no grammar nazi but jeeze, get your shit together man. Characters were also an issue for me. Normally I do like multiple protagonists, but Whittington over does it. Entire chapters are dedicated to a single character who could actually be erased completely, and wouldnt affect the story much.
Not to sound prude, but do the british just sit around all day and drink? If not, take it up with the author. Alcohol is such a major theme in this novel, it might as well have it's own character in the story.
This book also follows what I like to call "Kingitis". The story drags on, (I'm only 75% through) and seems like its suddenly going to climax and be resolved (much like Stephen King's books)
its also made out to be horror but is really just suspense (sort of). I don't recommend this book but who cares, I'm just a stupid american anyway
Not to sound prude, but do the british just sit around all day and drink? If not, take it up with the author. Alcohol is such a major theme in this novel, it might as well have it's own character in the story.
This book also follows what I like to call "Kingitis". The story drags on, (I'm only 75% through) and seems like its suddenly going to climax and be resolved (much like Stephen King's books)
its also made out to be horror but is really just suspense (sort of). I don't recommend this book but who cares, I'm just a stupid american anyway
February 15, 2016
Time for a bit of honesty: this book really could have been much worse than other reviews suggest it to be. I confess, it is very far from being a best-seller, but it is not the complete catastrophe that I feared it would be.
Are there errors in this book? Yes. Could it have done with a better proof reading session? Yes. Did I go all grammar Nazi on it? Yes, at points, although I did not have the mental breakdown I was fearful of. Sometimes you can overlook the errors, sometimes you cringe a little inside. If you’re enjoying the read they do not bother you quite as much the further in you get. Am I saying this is okay? No. I get it that there will be errors, but I do expect some kind of standard and this book does fall below it in terms of errors.
Nevertheless, the story is an interesting one. I admit that too much time is spent detailing the past – yes we want backstory, but not that much – and that the characters do seem to be much the same, however the premise itself is a good one.
In all honesty, this could have been a four star read if only a ghost writer (one who, unlike the author, does not use the thesaurus in the hope of making things sound smarter when such is not necessary) had been used. I know I sound somewhat harsh, but I was let down in the end. It wasn’t the worst I have ever read, but it is enough to leave me unwilling to approach more books by this author in the future.
Are there errors in this book? Yes. Could it have done with a better proof reading session? Yes. Did I go all grammar Nazi on it? Yes, at points, although I did not have the mental breakdown I was fearful of. Sometimes you can overlook the errors, sometimes you cringe a little inside. If you’re enjoying the read they do not bother you quite as much the further in you get. Am I saying this is okay? No. I get it that there will be errors, but I do expect some kind of standard and this book does fall below it in terms of errors.
Nevertheless, the story is an interesting one. I admit that too much time is spent detailing the past – yes we want backstory, but not that much – and that the characters do seem to be much the same, however the premise itself is a good one.
In all honesty, this could have been a four star read if only a ghost writer (one who, unlike the author, does not use the thesaurus in the hope of making things sound smarter when such is not necessary) had been used. I know I sound somewhat harsh, but I was let down in the end. It wasn’t the worst I have ever read, but it is enough to leave me unwilling to approach more books by this author in the future.
October 23, 2012
Reviewed for Freebookdude for Oct. 20-review to be posted Oct. 20
“The Woods of Red Hill” centers in the small British towns of Ridgeware and Red Hill, sleepy neighboring communities divided by “the Woods,” where lovers go to romance in the car park at the base of the forest, and local children build camps and scare themselves silly with taunts about “Killer Kelly,” a family murderer of local renown. As it turns out, “Killer Kelly” (who hasn’t been alive for a couple of decades) is the least of the worries in these woods.
While a young couple are taking time to get closer, a real estate agent walks his dog Sheeba, three young boys construct a camp near the brook-a psychotic mental patient escapes from the local private asylum, threatening to kill anyone who violates the Woods. Before very long, blood is spilled, terror mounts, and most of the adults involved make unwise decisions, leading to their own injury or worse. One staunch father keeps his head, though, while another loses his.
A couple of unexpected secrets, some plot twists, and a very frightening and inimitable killer keep suspense going to the end.
“The Woods of Red Hill” centers in the small British towns of Ridgeware and Red Hill, sleepy neighboring communities divided by “the Woods,” where lovers go to romance in the car park at the base of the forest, and local children build camps and scare themselves silly with taunts about “Killer Kelly,” a family murderer of local renown. As it turns out, “Killer Kelly” (who hasn’t been alive for a couple of decades) is the least of the worries in these woods.
While a young couple are taking time to get closer, a real estate agent walks his dog Sheeba, three young boys construct a camp near the brook-a psychotic mental patient escapes from the local private asylum, threatening to kill anyone who violates the Woods. Before very long, blood is spilled, terror mounts, and most of the adults involved make unwise decisions, leading to their own injury or worse. One staunch father keeps his head, though, while another loses his.
A couple of unexpected secrets, some plot twists, and a very frightening and inimitable killer keep suspense going to the end.
November 19, 2012
despite reading some other review at how bad this book was written in terms of grammar Nazi out there, it was actually a good read. makes a nice change to read UK English and some of the thing one review commented on - clearly didn't read the sentence or the book correctly for that matter!
the first half of the book is all about building up tyre characters so you know their part in story, the rest of the book is gritty and I didn't expect what happened to happen. I was reading it in the dark, and remembering my childhood roaming the woods near my house - freaked me out!
the first half of the book is all about building up tyre characters so you know their part in story, the rest of the book is gritty and I didn't expect what happened to happen. I was reading it in the dark, and remembering my childhood roaming the woods near my house - freaked me out!
January 21, 2014
Pitiful
I forced myself to complete the first chapter. The editor of this book needs to find another profession!!!!! I got so distracted by the run on sentences, misspellings, and the ridiculously descriptive writing that I hardly got what I was reading. The chapter could easily have been half the length. Don't bother reading!!!!! Unless, you don't mind editing while you read. It didn't deserve the rating I gave it.
I forced myself to complete the first chapter. The editor of this book needs to find another profession!!!!! I got so distracted by the run on sentences, misspellings, and the ridiculously descriptive writing that I hardly got what I was reading. The chapter could easily have been half the length. Don't bother reading!!!!! Unless, you don't mind editing while you read. It didn't deserve the rating I gave it.
February 9, 2016
Another Example of Free Crap This read like a very poorly-written soap opera. Poorly developed characters, poorly written plot, and sentence structure with as many potholes as a bumpy, backwoods road. This was supposed to be a horror, but the only scary thing about it was the atrocious spelling and grammar.
There are too many poorly developed characters to even bother caring with any of them, and they all seemed to come from the same cliches, only the author has given them different names, and different, though exceedingly boring, backstories.
There are too many poorly developed characters to even bother caring with any of them, and they all seemed to come from the same cliches, only the author has given them different names, and different, though exceedingly boring, backstories.
November 12, 2017
This book tells the story of a small town with a history of malice and secrets which continues through generations. This time the tale involves an escaped patient from the local institution who provides a great cover for a father trying to do right by his family
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May 3, 2021This book was horrible. The grammar was so hard to read through it was just painful. I’m surprised this author has more books but I would never read them. Just because you have an idea for a book doesn’t make you an author. I hope he hired an editor for his other books. What a waste of time!
August 1, 2019
Meh. I couldn't get past the first 3 chapters. This book drags things out so ridiculously, and the main character is disgusting...
January 20, 2014
The mistakes in this book make it hard to read. I'm not just complaining about the misuse of apostrophes and bad spelling, it's actually really hard to try to work out what the author is trying to say. It doesn't flow well and sounds kind of like an awkwardly written script.
Almost all of the men in the story seem to be dirty old perverts/ molesters inside, no matter how young the character is supposed to be, and the women are all promiscuous cheaters. I almost felt like every character was the same character, there wasn't much change in the way the author writes their inner dialogue. They all sounded like the same 50 plus year old English dude.
Despite what some other reviewers thought, I felt like the overly detailed and repetitive "background" section of the book in no way paid off. I felt like it took up 80% of the book, then the remaining 20% that actually had some action was just disappointing.
Almost all of the men in the story seem to be dirty old perverts/ molesters inside, no matter how young the character is supposed to be, and the women are all promiscuous cheaters. I almost felt like every character was the same character, there wasn't much change in the way the author writes their inner dialogue. They all sounded like the same 50 plus year old English dude.
Despite what some other reviewers thought, I felt like the overly detailed and repetitive "background" section of the book in no way paid off. I felt like it took up 80% of the book, then the remaining 20% that actually had some action was just disappointing.
August 16, 2013
Two and a half stars.
The story itself is interesting and has a great idea behind it, but this book drove me nuts for a variety of reasons.
This book is in dire need of a good proofreader. I am usually very forgiving of such things but there is a limit. I do understand the added expense of a proofreader but it is necessary.
My real issue with this book was how long the story took to develop. Building suspense is good, but there does come a point where you just need the story to /happen/. I found myself constantly wishing the author would just get the hell on with it.
It was frustrating because you can see and sense a great story under the plodding.
Some people onviously will make it through this fine but if you like well paced books with few errors you will want to avoid this novel until it has been through the hands of a proofreader, and I think, an editor.
The story itself is interesting and has a great idea behind it, but this book drove me nuts for a variety of reasons.
This book is in dire need of a good proofreader. I am usually very forgiving of such things but there is a limit. I do understand the added expense of a proofreader but it is necessary.
My real issue with this book was how long the story took to develop. Building suspense is good, but there does come a point where you just need the story to /happen/. I found myself constantly wishing the author would just get the hell on with it.
It was frustrating because you can see and sense a great story under the plodding.
Some people onviously will make it through this fine but if you like well paced books with few errors you will want to avoid this novel until it has been through the hands of a proofreader, and I think, an editor.
November 27, 2013
I so wanted to give this book a better rating than 3 as the story was quite different than most English thrillers I've read with an real twist at the end that I didn't see coming! To start their seems to many characters with only basic description making it a challenge to understand and be pulled into the story, the grammar and Hit and miss punctuation is rather annoying as well and wouldn't be surprised if many give up to soon because of this! But persevere if you can, I reasoned that the grammatical errors could be characterisation (the punctuation I'm used to seeing on social networks etc) so whilst annoying could be slightly over looked!
I'm glad I got this as a free download as wouldn't be too happy with buying something that hasn't been proof read, and whilst I would love to read another of his books to compare the writing I'm not willing to pay for 1!
I'm glad I got this as a free download as wouldn't be too happy with buying something that hasn't been proof read, and whilst I would love to read another of his books to compare the writing I'm not willing to pay for 1!
February 1, 2013
Having read mixed reviews about this book I was a little unsure of what I would make of it but in all honesty I rather enjoyed it. Shaun Whittington does a grand job of introducing all the characters in the first half of the book, I can see why some people find this rather tedious but it worked. This added tension to the book, as sense of unease that builds up slowly and wonders where it will leave you. The ending was not what I expected at all and the author did a great job of leading you in one direction but changing it last minute.
Yes there are some grammatical errors and spelling errors but that aside it's a well written story with an ending you won't see coming. Give it a read!
Yes there are some grammatical errors and spelling errors but that aside it's a well written story with an ending you won't see coming. Give it a read!
August 14, 2013
Ok....not one to normally write a review but this book just screamed for one! I am far from a grammar Nazi but this book drove me out of my mind with its mistakes. There were times that I had to go back and reread sentences for some semblance of understanding it was so bad. And the first part of the book seemed a little longer than needed with its character development. However, the overall concept of the book was good and the twist at the end was a shocker for me so try to finish it if you can!
October 29, 2012
Took a while to get into it, seemed to drag on for the first 50% of the book, but realised that this is so that you get to know all the characters and their backgrounds, so that at 51% the story really starts to pull itself together. There are a good few twists and turns and a good ending. It wasnt fantastic, but wasnt rubbish either. If you can get through the first 50% then its worth the patience.
December 20, 2013
This book began as torture for me, I'm not going to lie. Talk about the desperate need for an editor! I don't believe it ever saw the likes!
That being said this book started off at an agonizingly slow pace, but at about the half-way point, I noticed I was having trouble putting it down, in a quest to find out "whodunit." So it did redeem itself in that regard.
I am not going to give anything away here, but if you do read this one, be prepared to expect the unexpected.
That being said this book started off at an agonizingly slow pace, but at about the half-way point, I noticed I was having trouble putting it down, in a quest to find out "whodunit." So it did redeem itself in that regard.
I am not going to give anything away here, but if you do read this one, be prepared to expect the unexpected.
May 31, 2013
I tried so hard, but I just couldn't finish this book. It is a grammar Nazi's nightmare, and it slows to an almost stop in numerous places. I really wanted to like this book, though, because the story's premie was pretty interesting. It might make a good read for someone more patient than I am, though
September 5, 2013
Yes, I enjoyed the story, the fast pace, the believable characters and how the tale built up gradually giving insight to the hows, whys and wheres etc.
Although the book needs attention regarding grammatical issues, spelling and typos, overall it was a good read.
A cleverly built mystery with a satisfying end.
Although the book needs attention regarding grammatical issues, spelling and typos, overall it was a good read.
A cleverly built mystery with a satisfying end.
April 7, 2013
A weird book. I was so confused through most of it with the huge jumble of different characters. Nothing became clear until the very end which turned out to be a bit of a surprise. Glad to be done reading this book.
May 6, 2013
A decent read but far too many spelling errors which really ruined it for me. Also too many of the male characters were sexual predators which made me instantly dislike them. And the language of some of the 'professional' characters was too unrealistic.
June 16, 2013
This book was amazing. As I started to read the book, it was a little slow as each chapter was about each character. As I got to know the characters, I couldn't stop reading. What a surprise ending!
June 30, 2013
A good storyline, but shocking grammar, spelling and syntax. It nearly ruined the book...if it was for storyline alone I would have given it 3 stars, but the poor writing style was unfortunately just too distracting.
October 31, 2013
I skimmed through this book just to find out the end...horrible editing, numerous words used incorrectly, awkward conversations, etc. I see why it was free on Kindle. Plus the plot line was completely predictable, no real twists and turns, and like I said, I only skimmed through it!
January 20, 2015
Over halfway through the book they were still introducing new characters and I couldn't keep track. Because of all of the new characters the story did not progress. I was unable to finish reading this book.
September 8, 2013
The twist was unexpected.
January 13, 2013
Got this as a freebie on my kindle - will deffo be looking for more books by this author
January 28, 2013
Brilliant i loved this book so captivating with alot of twists i have read it a couple of times now would recommend to everyone
February 19, 2013
Some spelling and grammar mistakes, but really liked the story and plot.
July 1, 2013
This book was challenging to start with the numerous characters and their back stories, but the twisted ending will make you stop and say "whoa!".
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews