Sunday, February 22, 2009

Isolation by Travis Thatcher



With masterful storytelling, Travis Thrasher draws readers into a novel so gripping it cannot be put down.
James Miller is a burned-out missionary whose time on the mission field in Papua New Guinea left him exhausted and disillusioned. His wife, Stephanie, feels like she's losing her mind. After moving to North Carolina, Stephanie begins seeing strange and frightening things: blood dripping down the walls, one of her children suffocating. Premonitions, she's sure, of what's to come. As the visions and haunting images intensify, Stephanie asks her brother to come for a much-needed visit--but he's hiding secrets of his own that will prove more destructive than Stephanie can imagine.
Nine-year-old Zachary sees his family's move as an adventure, and as he explores the new house, he discovers every young boy's dream: secret passageways and hidden rooms. But what seems exciting at first quickly becomes altogether frightening. When a snowstorm traps the Millers, the supernatural dangers of their new home will test everything they thought they knew about each other, and about their faith.



My Thoughts



Thanks to Hachette Books for my copy of Isolation by Travis Thatcher. This arrived in a special win at Hallowe'en from another blog's contest.
This....was a creepy story and I enjoyed it. While not a difficult read it deals with difficult ideas. Unfortunately it glosses over the details of the Miller's past brush with evil and it seems that details are left out to add atmosphere as if the less said about the past creates tension and stirs up unease.
Some parts of it felt too slick though and the age of the son, Zachary, made me feel that his actions were not believable for his age. Despite all of this and the fact that I had guessed the climax...I still quite enjoyed it and it 'creeped' me out.

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