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Eleanor Grimm #2
Grimm Reapings
Northwood, Massachusetts. It's been thirteen years since siblings Jennifer and Jackie Nailer nearly lost their very souls to the enchantments of Eleanor Grimm. The Victorian mansion where Eleanor once conjured her wicked schemes now belongs to Jen and her husband. The couple is converting the former mortuary into a bed and breakfast and artist colony to create a nurturing environment for the baby they're expecting—and hopefully to purge the house of its evil.
But although Eleanor's body has been laid to rest, her spirit still lingers in the mind of the youngest Nailer sibling, Steve. A mere infant when Eleanor was thwarted in her attempt to possess his body, Steve has now come of age—ripe for plucking and easily manipulated. With Eleanor guiding his every move, Steve is compelled to help her gather victims and perform the rituals that will place her soul into Jennifer's unborn child.
Only Jackie, tormented for years by nightmares of the horrors Eleanor inflicted upon him, is aware of his brother's possession. And only he knows what must be sacrificed if anyone in his family is to survive... Grimm Reapings.
But although Eleanor's body has been laid to rest, her spirit still lingers in the mind of the youngest Nailer sibling, Steve. A mere infant when Eleanor was thwarted in her attempt to possess his body, Steve has now come of age—ripe for plucking and easily manipulated. With Eleanor guiding his every move, Steve is compelled to help her gather victims and perform the rituals that will place her soul into Jennifer's unborn child.
Only Jackie, tormented for years by nightmares of the horrors Eleanor inflicted upon him, is aware of his brother's possession. And only he knows what must be sacrificed if anyone in his family is to survive... Grimm Reapings.
- GenresHorror
382 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 25, 2024
LOL what a wild witch tale. I was super pumped about this one and wasn't disappointed. 13 years ago a family defeated the evil witch at Grimm's Memorial. She was finished off in the crematorium. Now she is back in the body of young Stevie Wright. How will it end this time? Can the family successfully fight and overcome her? What about Ginny? A very entertaining modern interpretation of Grimm's fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. You have gory moments, wild eerie fantasy (e.g. the troll episode under the bridge or the midget Hell's Angels), characters mixed up between male and female. I would have liked to hear about more about the witch and how she became what she was. At parts the storyline was a bit too over the top. The ending didn't fully convince me either. Is it a cliffhanger to more season of the witch stuff to come? Well, maybe I should have started with book one but this one gave an excellent overview over this nasty shape and gender changing witch. Very 80s, very cheesy but overall very cool I daresay. Nostalgic 80s horror. Really recommended!
January 16, 2024
Nice follow up to Grimm Memorials, albeit with more humor; if you liked the first one, you will probably like this as well. Gates returns to Northwood, Massachusetts here, a fictional town in Western Mass, roughly 13 years following Memorials. Jennifer is now married and with her new hubby, buys the old Grimm mansion with the aim of turning into a B&B; it is a splendid old mansion for sure. Jackie, the battered 6 YO survivor of Eleanor Grimm's attempt to use an old spell book to achieve immortality, now goes to UMASS, Amherst. Meanwhile, Diana, the mother of Jen and Jackie, lives with Little Steve, who was born the day after the denouement of Memorials. Steve was supposed to be the new body for Eleanor via some soul transference, but Jackie ruined that right at the end; or did he?
We know pretty much right off the bat that Eleanor is back; while the spell to transfer her soul to Little Steve was incomplete (Jackie was the necessary 13th boy to be sacrificed to finish the spell), it seems some transfer happened, and was 'activated' when Little Steve achieved puberty. Yet, Eleanor is not quite herself; she cannot even remember all her nursery rhymes correctly! The 'machine', however, seems to be working (this is her name for her psychic 'web' she spins to induce people to do what she desires), albeit in fits and starts. Still, she has a plan, and that is revenge on Jackie and ultimately, a new body that really completes her soul transfer.
What kicks the novel off is a fictional story aired 13 years after the events of the first novel by Barbara Walters on Halloween, which recounts the events that took place at the Grimm mansion, and interviews Jackie. Little Steve has been kept in the dark his entire young life about what went down there, but he sees the program; right about the same time Eleanor makes her appearance in his brain...
While fun, Grimm Reapings follows the basic footsteps of its predecessor and hence lacks some of the novelty factor of the first. Gates does insert more tongue and cheek humor here, like Eleanor butchering nursery rhymes ("Jack jumped over the beanstalk? What, no matter.") as intros to the various chapters, and she is just so evil it hurts. This veered into lampoon territory, even the grizzly foo scenes were infused with dark humor. Still, a worthy sequel. 3.5 stars, rounding up!
We know pretty much right off the bat that Eleanor is back; while the spell to transfer her soul to Little Steve was incomplete (Jackie was the necessary 13th boy to be sacrificed to finish the spell), it seems some transfer happened, and was 'activated' when Little Steve achieved puberty. Yet, Eleanor is not quite herself; she cannot even remember all her nursery rhymes correctly! The 'machine', however, seems to be working (this is her name for her psychic 'web' she spins to induce people to do what she desires), albeit in fits and starts. Still, she has a plan, and that is revenge on Jackie and ultimately, a new body that really completes her soul transfer.
What kicks the novel off is a fictional story aired 13 years after the events of the first novel by Barbara Walters on Halloween, which recounts the events that took place at the Grimm mansion, and interviews Jackie. Little Steve has been kept in the dark his entire young life about what went down there, but he sees the program; right about the same time Eleanor makes her appearance in his brain...
While fun, Grimm Reapings follows the basic footsteps of its predecessor and hence lacks some of the novelty factor of the first. Gates does insert more tongue and cheek humor here, like Eleanor butchering nursery rhymes ("Jack jumped over the beanstalk? What, no matter.") as intros to the various chapters, and she is just so evil it hurts. This veered into lampoon territory, even the grizzly foo scenes were infused with dark humor. Still, a worthy sequel. 3.5 stars, rounding up!
October 16, 2011
More of the same as the GRIMM MEMORIALS story follows the survivors into their young adult years, and things get just as wild and hairy as they did in the first book. And, once again, it's impossible to put it down as the writer explores all new gross-out lows and far-fetched highs. A good follow-up to its equally nasty predessesor.
November 12, 2010
Sequel to Grimm Memorials.
January 13, 2011
The sequel to grimm memorials was just as awesome (and gory) as the first. I guess you could say it was even more disturbing too. But that just adds to the book's character.
November 24, 2013
"Ill never forgive you for what you made me do,' Virinya whispered..... 'ill never let you out.Ill never let you get control and hurt anyone ever agian" The voice that spoken up inside her head was weak, but clear: "We'll see, dearie..We'll see..."
Oh my gooodness.. is it done? will there be more!? I need to know!
Oh my gooodness.. is it done? will there be more!? I need to know!
April 2, 2008
Another gory good time.
March 12, 2018
I'd say this one was a 2.5. There weren't nearly as many typos as there was in the first one, but this one to me just didn't seem to quite capture the spirit of the original. A lot of the kidnappings and murders felt watered down as opposed to the ones in the first book, and the lack of wonder and creativity in the death scenes sort of left me feeling "meh." Aside from that, it was a pretty decent sequel, if not a wee bit anti-climactic. I look forward to reading the third book.
November 19, 2019
An excellent Horror story. I loved this read so much I've read it several times and it doesn't get old. This author has written some of my favorite books, including the book thst precceds this one, and I am always on the look-out for more of their works.
May 21, 2018
Not really my type of book but if you are into possession and that type of thing this is probably a book you will enjoy.
July 19, 2020
I found this book for $1 in a used book store so I wasn’t expecting much. Definitely an awesome surprise! It was engaging from beginning to end the characters are dynamic and memorable.
August 6, 2021
Not NEARLY as good as its preceding novel, but it's okay.
July 26, 2022
Truly awful. No real plot. It feels more like a sequal that's been forced on the author than something he actually wanted to write. I had to force myself to finish it. It feels like the author just threw in as much horrifying/disgusting acts he could think of to get a word count goal. Then you get to the end and it suggests reading the prequel. Yeah don't think so.
Not near as good as the first book. Disappointed.
Not near as good as the first book. Disappointed.
January 13, 2015
This book gave a real thrill and it left with me a remnant of the events.
It calls for a desperation of saving the characters in the story that made it thrilling.
Though there are bumps in the lines and the way it was presented, this book made good of the bloody scenes with a mixture of lusty pleasures, and a dark environment where one possessed child created.
It calls for a desperation of saving the characters in the story that made it thrilling.
Though there are bumps in the lines and the way it was presented, this book made good of the bloody scenes with a mixture of lusty pleasures, and a dark environment where one possessed child created.
September 3, 2012
Gates does it again! He brought back his horror fairytale group of creepies to torment survivors of his Grimm Memorials infamy! Again, a book NOT for the squeemish, but DEFINITELY for those that love a good horror read! Cheers!
October 21, 2010
If you liked the first, then the second is just about as good.
Want to read
May 8, 2012on wl
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews