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Dead Soul Mary
DEAD SOUL MARY is a literary horror novel in the traditions of Richard Matheson, Clive Barker, and Stephen King.
(From the back of the book) Megan Bauer, a spirited seventeen-year-old high school student, didn’t know souls could become sick. She didn’t know souls could die while the host lives on, unaware. But she’s going to find out. Within M.J. Winn's chilling horror novel, DEAD SOUL MARY, Megan must save good people from brutally turning against one another in unprovoked, bloodthirsty rages. But is there time? For she must first defeat her own demons before taking on the utterly terrifying one that is incubating an evil, supernatural virus. Can Megan stop the plague of violence before it becomes unstoppable?
Out of print.
(From the back of the book) Megan Bauer, a spirited seventeen-year-old high school student, didn’t know souls could become sick. She didn’t know souls could die while the host lives on, unaware. But she’s going to find out. Within M.J. Winn's chilling horror novel, DEAD SOUL MARY, Megan must save good people from brutally turning against one another in unprovoked, bloodthirsty rages. But is there time? For she must first defeat her own demons before taking on the utterly terrifying one that is incubating an evil, supernatural virus. Can Megan stop the plague of violence before it becomes unstoppable?
Out of print.
602 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2004
12 people are currently reading
979 people want to read
About the author
M.J. Winn
8 books13 followersMichael can be contacted at michaelwinnauthor@gmail.com
Michael James Winn writes heartfelt Christian fiction, smart psychological thrillers, edgy literary horror, and masterful short stories. His style combines craft and character, humor and humanism, with unique insight and wit . Expect fully-formed people, quality prose, backstory, subtext, metaphor, and allegory. If you only read for plot, don't read him. Michael Winn won't be upset and you'll be happier hooking-up with someone else.
His latest books,
THE CURING ROOM
and
THE BOOK OF JOE B: A LOVE STORY
have been getting rave reviews. Check the books out if you get the chance.
Michael James Winn writes heartfelt Christian fiction, smart psychological thrillers, edgy literary horror, and masterful short stories. His style combines craft and character, humor and humanism, with unique insight and wit . Expect fully-formed people, quality prose, backstory, subtext, metaphor, and allegory. If you only read for plot, don't read him. Michael Winn won't be upset and you'll be happier hooking-up with someone else.
His latest books,
THE CURING ROOM
and
THE BOOK OF JOE B: A LOVE STORY
have been getting rave reviews. Check the books out if you get the chance.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 30, 2014
I am an avid reader with a insatiable appetite for books. I usually don't write reviews because they slow my reading, but I finished Dead Soul Mary by M.J. Winn about one week ago and I can't stop thinking about it. So, I thought I jot a few thoughts now to tell others about this amazing book. First off, I have to say that I can't believe this novel is an indie book. The prose and character development is incredible. This book is as good (or maybe even better) than the best fiction coming from any of the large publishers. My jaw dropped (in a good way) while reading this novel. The writing is astounding. There is a depth in character and theme I usually only encounter in top-notch literary fiction and rarely come across in popular fiction. Dead Soul Mary is a contemporary tale of real people with real emotions, flaws, good qualities, and hang-ups thrown in to a truly frightening set of circumstances. At times the story is insightful and surprisingly humorous. There is a lengthy build up, but this time is well spent. When the peril to the characters finally comes, it hits hard. The book almost unbearably suspenseful and chilling. Dead Soul Mary may not be to everyone's liking, however. The book pulls no punches. It is very raw and politically incorrect and offers no apologies. It was almost like the novel was written without the intent of anyone ever reading it. And this is why I enjoy reading indie books. I imagine they are not bound by commercial interests of the business publishing. Dead Soul Mary takes chances that pay off very big, and the reader is the one who profits. I highly recommend this book, but only to people who need more from a book than the typical recycled characters and plots. This was a unique novel that really got under my skin. And now that I wrote about it, I can move on with my life. Much thanks to the author for a providing a full reading experience! am looking forward to reading more of M.J. Winn's fiction.
May 26, 2014
I got this as a free e-book, so my expectations for it were not that high, but the idea behind it, that there exist diseases which touch the soul, was too intriguing to pass up. I'm so incredibly glad I put it at the top of my (colossal) to-read list.
It may feel, at the start, like more of a classic suspense/thriller story, but do not be fooled, there is pure heart-of-darkness horror stuff coming along behind and it isn't pretty. What it is though is well-written. So well that I was surprised to find that it was a debut novel. While I don't feel like I need to throw a synopsis in here, I will say that this is a very tight, strong, character-based story, and in the end is a tale of redemption, except when it isn't.
It may feel, at the start, like more of a classic suspense/thriller story, but do not be fooled, there is pure heart-of-darkness horror stuff coming along behind and it isn't pretty. What it is though is well-written. So well that I was surprised to find that it was a debut novel. While I don't feel like I need to throw a synopsis in here, I will say that this is a very tight, strong, character-based story, and in the end is a tale of redemption, except when it isn't.
June 1, 2014
Well written and page turning
I enjoyed this book immensely. Not only is Winn able to keep your interest throughout the book, but manages to also keep your mind on the story after you've put the book aside. A very well thought plot allows the author to guide the reader through various storylines, and still bring them full circle in the end. Not so much a thriller, as it is anectodal of everyday life in a big, small world way.
I would recommend this book to anyone who craves a good story with an end that encourages self-reflection.
I enjoyed this book immensely. Not only is Winn able to keep your interest throughout the book, but manages to also keep your mind on the story after you've put the book aside. A very well thought plot allows the author to guide the reader through various storylines, and still bring them full circle in the end. Not so much a thriller, as it is anectodal of everyday life in a big, small world way.
I would recommend this book to anyone who craves a good story with an end that encourages self-reflection.
March 30, 2014
Diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body. A quote attributed to Cicero, it is how the author introduced his story in the epigraph to Dead Soul Mary, a novel by M.J. Winn, and published by Janday Publishing.
Dead Soul Mary is not your ordinary story. It is a chilling horror crafted by author M.J. Winn which will keep you wide awake at night. It is the story of a Korean-American teenager Megan Vauer who comes to the realization that souls could die while the host lives on. In this truly original story, a spirited seventeen-year-old high school student races against time to save herself from a supernatural virus that is incubating an evil inside her. Known as “Mary Typhoid,” this unnatural virus is affecting the soul instead of the body. It is a virus spread by a delusional sociopath Desmond.
Megan must save the people from violently turning against one another in wanton and senseless, vicious outrages. But will she have the courage to save herself and stop the plague of violence before it becomes unstoppable? This character-driven story which unfolds in between 1968 - 2003 could be a modern-day real horror story. Author Michael James Winn who is a police officer living in Long Island, NY with his wife and two children writes a superb and edge of the seat but most improbable story during his spare time. In addition to fiction writing, he enjoys reading, chess playing, and whiskey drinking, sometimes engaging in all of these pursuits at the same time. Dead Soul Mary is Michael’s first full-length novel, and it is a novel not to be missed!
Dead Soul Mary is not your ordinary story. It is a chilling horror crafted by author M.J. Winn which will keep you wide awake at night. It is the story of a Korean-American teenager Megan Vauer who comes to the realization that souls could die while the host lives on. In this truly original story, a spirited seventeen-year-old high school student races against time to save herself from a supernatural virus that is incubating an evil inside her. Known as “Mary Typhoid,” this unnatural virus is affecting the soul instead of the body. It is a virus spread by a delusional sociopath Desmond.
Megan must save the people from violently turning against one another in wanton and senseless, vicious outrages. But will she have the courage to save herself and stop the plague of violence before it becomes unstoppable? This character-driven story which unfolds in between 1968 - 2003 could be a modern-day real horror story. Author Michael James Winn who is a police officer living in Long Island, NY with his wife and two children writes a superb and edge of the seat but most improbable story during his spare time. In addition to fiction writing, he enjoys reading, chess playing, and whiskey drinking, sometimes engaging in all of these pursuits at the same time. Dead Soul Mary is Michael’s first full-length novel, and it is a novel not to be missed!
August 8, 2014
Wow, okay. Clearly I am not with the other readers, here. First let me say, thank heaven I only paid 99 cents for this piece of trash. Second, let me say that in all fairness, I did not finish the book. I think this is the first time I haven't finished a book in a decade, and I read a LOT. Like, a LOT. I will read almost any old thing if I don't have anything else. I don't need my books to be fine lit-ra-cha.
I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume that the sexist, racist protagonists are part of being "soul sick" or whatever. I have a big beef, though, which is that the errors and typos in this book were so damn frequent and distracting that I decided if the author and the editor didn't care enough about this book to make sure it was free of commom errors, then I didn't care enough to finish reading it.
From "aneurysm" being spelled once correctly and once incorrectly, the use of the word "scoffing" when the author clearly meant "scarfing," mis-spelling "preceed" meaning "precede" and a host of others. Seriously, did this book even have an editor? Was it self-published? I'm really not the grammar police, most of the time I don't care, and I don't correct anyone except people who I know would like me to and my kids. I'm not even that great myself, or I would have used "whom" just now! But please, author and editor, pay me the respect of sending your book out without typos and wrong word choices.
I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and assume that the sexist, racist protagonists are part of being "soul sick" or whatever. I have a big beef, though, which is that the errors and typos in this book were so damn frequent and distracting that I decided if the author and the editor didn't care enough about this book to make sure it was free of commom errors, then I didn't care enough to finish reading it.
From "aneurysm" being spelled once correctly and once incorrectly, the use of the word "scoffing" when the author clearly meant "scarfing," mis-spelling "preceed" meaning "precede" and a host of others. Seriously, did this book even have an editor? Was it self-published? I'm really not the grammar police, most of the time I don't care, and I don't correct anyone except people who I know would like me to and my kids. I'm not even that great myself, or I would have used "whom" just now! But please, author and editor, pay me the respect of sending your book out without typos and wrong word choices.
May 18, 2014
Really enjoyed this supernatural horror that fulfilled all expectations. I did guess who the ghostly 'boy' was, but not the main demon. Glad that Megan found the strength to overcome her own soul sickness. I would love to read more from this first-time author: Dead Soul Mary: A Novel
April 22, 2024
I kept reading because I wanted to know where it would go. It was interesting, however, there were so many dream descriptions that took away interest and many unfinished thoughts/story lines that I think maybe too much was put into it and as the old adage says... When accessorizing take the last thing off... It may have been better had the author taken out the last storyline added. I can see potential in this book,though. Others may like it more so than I.
May 12, 2022
Excellent book!!!
August 15, 2017
I haven't read much horror in a long time. Of course, I was excited to read this book. DEAD SOUL MARY is a book that deals with the evil in us all.
First off, I have no idea why there is MARY in the title. The "DEAD SOUL" part does come up, but later in the book. However, there is no one named Mary in the book. The only thing I could come up with is the spirituality or religious undertone this book has. It isn't overly religious, there is no one shoving their beliefs down the reader's throat, but there is the underlying thought of kindness is strength that is important. Being the loving and compassionate mother of God, the Virgin Mary could be the influence to the "MARY" part of the book, but this is purely speculation in my part.
The book is slow going at first. There is a lot of character development in the beginning and the writing doesn't really change pace until about 14% in. It then changes again around 50% and again in 80%. Each change makes you excited to the point where you may be at the edge of your seat come 80%(which I was).
That said, I had no idea what was going on until the ending. What I mean by that, is that I had no idea where the book was going. Which can be a good or bad thing. In this case, I liked where it ended even though I wish it had some predictability. The absence could put off a reader, but with the changes of pacing, the reader should want to keep going.
The characters are not brilliant. I disliked Megan in the beginning and it wasn't until the 80% that I really began liking her. She is selfish and thinks too much about sex and strange sexual fantasies for my taste. By the end though, I found great promise in her and am happy with who she becomes. Drew is another character I didn't like nor really dislike. He just was. He seemed too much of a pushover and nothing to resemble a backbone. He is caring though and in a see of chaos and selfish characters, Drew is a beacon of hope.
And then there is Desmond. I LOVE Desmond. He was both sympathetic, but dangerous. I am scared of that man and wouldn't want to cross paths with him at any time, but because of the flashbacks you get about his family background, you do end up having some sympathy for him. He is brutal though. Absolutely brutal and disturbing. The methods he kills people are far worse than the methods of the other crazy murders that happen in the book.
I would have liked this book better if there was less sexual thoughts. It makes sex look like a preverted expression of selfishness instead of something that could be wonderful. For certain scenes I understand why the sex or fantasies need to come up, but there was no need to delve into the sexual fantasies of Megan or the FBI agent. I think that less of their thoughts and keeping the perversions from the flashbacks and certain characters would have made a bigger impact at the evilness in us all. As such, by having the main characters' fantasies displayed alongside the other sex stuff, the effect was downplayed.
That said, with all of that, I liked the book. It probably didn't need to be as long as it was, but I really liked the ending and the underlying message that was brought up in the midst of the chaos.
First off, I have no idea why there is MARY in the title. The "DEAD SOUL" part does come up, but later in the book. However, there is no one named Mary in the book. The only thing I could come up with is the spirituality or religious undertone this book has. It isn't overly religious, there is no one shoving their beliefs down the reader's throat, but there is the underlying thought of kindness is strength that is important. Being the loving and compassionate mother of God, the Virgin Mary could be the influence to the "MARY" part of the book, but this is purely speculation in my part.
The book is slow going at first. There is a lot of character development in the beginning and the writing doesn't really change pace until about 14% in. It then changes again around 50% and again in 80%. Each change makes you excited to the point where you may be at the edge of your seat come 80%(which I was).
That said, I had no idea what was going on until the ending. What I mean by that, is that I had no idea where the book was going. Which can be a good or bad thing. In this case, I liked where it ended even though I wish it had some predictability. The absence could put off a reader, but with the changes of pacing, the reader should want to keep going.
The characters are not brilliant. I disliked Megan in the beginning and it wasn't until the 80% that I really began liking her. She is selfish and thinks too much about sex and strange sexual fantasies for my taste. By the end though, I found great promise in her and am happy with who she becomes. Drew is another character I didn't like nor really dislike. He just was. He seemed too much of a pushover and nothing to resemble a backbone. He is caring though and in a see of chaos and selfish characters, Drew is a beacon of hope.
And then there is Desmond. I LOVE Desmond. He was both sympathetic, but dangerous. I am scared of that man and wouldn't want to cross paths with him at any time, but because of the flashbacks you get about his family background, you do end up having some sympathy for him. He is brutal though. Absolutely brutal and disturbing. The methods he kills people are far worse than the methods of the other crazy murders that happen in the book.
I would have liked this book better if there was less sexual thoughts. It makes sex look like a preverted expression of selfishness instead of something that could be wonderful. For certain scenes I understand why the sex or fantasies need to come up, but there was no need to delve into the sexual fantasies of Megan or the FBI agent. I think that less of their thoughts and keeping the perversions from the flashbacks and certain characters would have made a bigger impact at the evilness in us all. As such, by having the main characters' fantasies displayed alongside the other sex stuff, the effect was downplayed.
That said, with all of that, I liked the book. It probably didn't need to be as long as it was, but I really liked the ending and the underlying message that was brought up in the midst of the chaos.
May 22, 2014
Dead Soul Mary. In fact, the early pages of the book read more like a drama than any other genre. For me personally, the book was a little slow starting, and seemed to jump from one person to the next in a way that didn’t quite make sense. However, the further I read into the book, the more interesting it became, and the threads that linked the characters became much more evident.
While this novel might start off like a drama, it certainly doesn’t stay that way. Instead, Dead Soul Mary really does belong to the horror genre, and the way that the writing transitions to this is fascinating and engaging. I found that the book drew me in more and more the further I got into it although there were certainly instances where the narrative and story were unsettling, but also thought provoking. While this might not be my favorite genre, I loved the writing style and the characters, and found myself wanting to know what happened next. This is definitely one to look into if you like the horror genre at all.
While this novel might start off like a drama, it certainly doesn’t stay that way. Instead, Dead Soul Mary really does belong to the horror genre, and the way that the writing transitions to this is fascinating and engaging. I found that the book drew me in more and more the further I got into it although there were certainly instances where the narrative and story were unsettling, but also thought provoking. While this might not be my favorite genre, I loved the writing style and the characters, and found myself wanting to know what happened next. This is definitely one to look into if you like the horror genre at all.
October 30, 2014
Uneven. As other reviewers have noted, some language is hateful, racist, misogynistic and homophobic, and seems superfluous, as well as shocking and not true to the characters. It does exist for a reason, but that purpose could have been served with a more subtle touch. Character development was a little off, too. Some characters were very well drawn. Others did and said strange things that were totally unbelievable. The last third of the book was quite good, and I might have gone up to four stars had the moral not been spelled out so bluntly. All in all, there was too much using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
I had some issues with strange comma placement in the first half of the book, but didn't notice it as much in the second half when the action smoothed out and sped up -- or maybe I got accustomed to it.
I had some issues with strange comma placement in the first half of the book, but didn't notice it as much in the second half when the action smoothed out and sped up -- or maybe I got accustomed to it.
May 23, 2015
I enjoyed the story but not any of the characters. I did not like Megan although I am not sure the author wanted me to. I think Drew was where he belonged, didnt see him protecting and serving. But the ending I did not like what happened with these two character's story line. Maybe they were still sick. If you like demons, supernatural, dreams, soul sickness meaning people act out of character then you should enjoy. I went back and forth between 3-4 stars.
May 31, 2015
This was the first book I couldn't finish.mi was around page 220. Of the author is to wordy, worse than Stephen king or Anne rice. There is so much stuff that could have been taking out or changed. Like I don't care about the main character and her stuffed dolphin. Almost every character that appears on the page gets their own back story that has no relevance at all to the main story. Almost like someone with a.d.d. wrote. May came back later. Who knows
May 14, 2014
Not my cup of tea.
About half-way through Dead Soul Mary, I started skipping through just reading what was going on with Megan, the one still-living character I cared about.
I like horror and I like any well-written book. The further into this book I got, the more it read like a snuff-movie and that is the part that is not my cup of tea.
About half-way through Dead Soul Mary, I started skipping through just reading what was going on with Megan, the one still-living character I cared about.
I like horror and I like any well-written book. The further into this book I got, the more it read like a snuff-movie and that is the part that is not my cup of tea.
August 30, 2014
WHile I enjoyed the story, and the writing was well done, this book didn't need to be 623 pages long. I found myself skimming many pages of location descriptions so that I could get back to the actual story. Overall though, I enjoyed it, and the idea that a person's soul can become sick, resulting in something worse than a physical disease.
Read
October 7, 2014This thing took forever. I think I was at about 75% when I just couldn't take it anymore. I kept on though and powered through the remaining pages. The epilogue did a nice job of tying things up but for Pete sake did it have to take that many pages to get there.
April 24, 2015
Not quite sure how I felt about this book. Parts of it were very intense, very good read, but I felt conflicted emotions - not necessarily a bad thing. I finished it sometime in 2014, but was not sure what to say about it. I think I'll read more from this author in the future though.
May 15, 2014
Good book
I enjoyed the concept which made it different from most horror books. The book was a little wordy in the beginning for me, but, maybe not for others.
I enjoyed the concept which made it different from most horror books. The book was a little wordy in the beginning for me, but, maybe not for others.
May 21, 2014
Different
this book was slow starting but good. Definitely takes you on a ride. well written. I think to all give this a chance.
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this book was slow starting but good. Definitely takes you on a ride. well written. I think to all give this a chance.
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August 25, 2014
I tried and tried to get into this book because of the reviews, I got about half way and had to give up. It did not catch my attention at all and was pretty much boring!
October 7, 2014
Book took way too long to get to the point.
November 26, 2014
Took a LONG time to get going and build up the characters but once that got going it went pretty quick. Pretty suspenseful. Overall a good book for this author's first.
February 11, 2015
got through 90% and had to stop. It just never went anywhere
January 8, 2015
Couldn't even make it halfway through. BORING! Actually fell asleep trying to pull myself through character development.
July 26, 2015
I felt that the book was okay. Not a breakthrough but interesting.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews