I enjoyed reading this book and until this day during fourth of July fireworks, i still look over my shoulder.

This books makes you wonder about what happenes to the weapons of past murderers and if their spirits remain in their weapons when they pass away.... Things that make you go hmmmmmm. This was a good book, but a bit sick. Where did John Saul get his imagination for this book, hmmmmmm. The reason I gave it 3 stars is because the ending could have been better, needed to be more explanatory of the prior events that happened in the book. It left the reader (myself) wanting to know more. Though a good read, this book was not detailed enough for me. It left me with questions that I looked forward to getting answered at the ending of the book, but was disappointed not to get them :(

Pretty solid entry in Saul’s catalogue. The thrills and chills were in moderate supply, but I did find there to be enough action to keep my interest.

The characters were well-defined, and the motivations were all believable. The resolution was acceptable, if not entirely spelled out. Over all, this was entertaining, but not the most memorable. It worked nicely as a beach read.

The Brewster family decides to have summer vacation this year at a lakeside mansion called Pinecrest. Sixteen-year-old Eric is happy because he will be able to spend time with his friends, Tad and Kent, who are vacationing at nearby houses with their parents. Soon after they arrive Eric does some exploring and finds an old carriage house on the property. He finds some strange items inside the carriage house and he eventually shows his friends. They also discover a secret room that has been bricked up, which they open up. They feel pulled and drawn to this room that contains some odd items that are all written down in a ledger. They are curious to know why the items are hidden away. The more they investigate, the more they start to act differently. They start having horrible dreams. People begin to turn up dead, or are they murdered? And what ever happened to the previous owner of Pinecrest, who disappeared seven years ago?

This was a really captivating and eerie read. I kept turning the pages, wondering what was going to happen next. The carriage room and its items were totally creepy. I liked the book's setting, a small resort town called Phantom Lake. The characters in the story were interesting. Some I liked, some I didn't.

Another enjoyable, atmospheric read by John Saul.

In the dark of the night is an enjoyable read. It gets more gruesome as the story goes along.

Review: In The Dark of The Night by John Saul.

This was a great book. I have read a few books from John Saul and he hasn’t let me down yet. They may be oldies but captivating. The writing was well written and the characters were well-developed. It didn’t take long for the horror and action to begin. The story could have had a more intriguing and creative ending.

School is out and summer has just started. Three families had become close friends over the years and have spent their vacations together at “The Pines” at Phantom Lake, a small resort town with a beach. Two of the families already had vacation places at the lake and the third family only stayed in the company of their friends off and on during the summer. Yet, this year they were looking to rent a place at the lake if they could find something within their range of financing. Well, this year they got lucky and found a place they could afford. The place they were going to rent was right next do to the other two families. It took some coaxing to get Merrill Brewster to agree because she was agoraphobic among other fears but they all new her condition and they all pampered her when needed.

The name of the small old Victorian house was Pinecrest. The place has been empty for seven years since the owner Dr. Darby mysteriously disappeared. Time had been long enough that the realtor could now sell the old home and the proceeds would go to the Dr. Darby’s extended family members. Everyone gets things packed with items they might need for the summer. All three families’ children were ecstatic but the three teenage boys were on cloud nine thinking of meeting some teenage girls. This was their year to explore the next step in coming of age stage….

Once the Brewster family got there and seen the house they were renting was spooky looking. Merrill, the mother and their young daughter, Marci wanted to go home but her son Eric thought it was cool. Eric couldn’t wait to get unpacked and join up with his other two friends, Tad and Kent and have a look around. Both mother and daughter were crying now but Dan the husband got them calmed down to the point of giving the vacation a try. What was going through Merrill’s mind was the fact that the husbands were going back home during the week to work…..Plus, their friends never mentioned the rumors they heard about Dr. Darby and that house….

The story goes on with the three teenage friends exploring the old carriage house most of their time at Pinecrest sorting through a collection of discarded objects stowed away in a hidden room behind a doorway of cemented bricks to keep someone out or in…. Some of the objects were a mystery, like a shade-less lamp, tables with missing legs, bladeless hacksaws, a headless axe handle along with a cryptic ledger that was whispering to them to put the puzzle pieces back together. As they stayed in that room things were starting to happen. All three boys were having the same deadly nightmares at night when they had spent time in that room…..There’s still plenty of scenarios, some creepy and some mischief for them and they haven’t even been to town yet…..or seen the fireworks on the 4th of July….

this book was ok. it could've been shorter.

I was pretty disappointed in this book and at first I wasn't sure why but now I think I know.
First off, he spent so much time building up the characters and their relationships with others to only drop it off at the speedy ending of the book. High Body Count does not = Scary. There were so many holes in the story and bouncing around that I had a hard time really putting the pieces together. I am still not sure if I have it all worked out. I do not expect stories to be neatly wrapped up for me but do not spend so much time with side stories and half ass explanations to only drop it in the end.

I hope John Saul's other books are better than this one since I am willing to give another one a chance.

This was a pretty creepy read!

Vacation has arrived for the Brewster family and they have decided to stay in the sprawling Pinecrest mansion for the summer. The previous owner of Pinecrest, Dr. Darby, disappeared seven years before. Once they get settled into the house, the son, Eric decides to go exploring the out buildings on the property which includes a carriage house.

The carriage house holds quite a bit of interesting artifacts within its walls so Eric gets his friends involved in checking the place out. When Eric and his friends start to tinker with the different tools and things in the carriage house, time stands still for the friends and voices whisper in their heads.

As time goes on the tools and artifacts that belonged to Dr. Darby take on a life of their own and things start happening in the town around Pinecrest. The haunting of Pinecrest weaves itself into the boys dreams turning them into nightmares where there is no escape.

What is haunting Pinecrest? Is it Dr. Darby? Do the boys find the answers they seek to the haunting? No spoilers here as you will just need to read the book!

Thoughts:

I really don't know how this book had slipped off my radar as I have read quite a few books by this author years ago, but this book just seemed to grab me from the get-go and kept me spooked for most of the story. Lots of haunting atmosphere within these pages and kept my insomnia fueled a couple of nights! Giving this book four "Haunted Nightmare" stars.

For more thoughts on this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/...

3.25-stars
IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT is neither the best nor worst John Saul book I've read, though it's closer to the latter than the former. It just wasn't a story that grabbed me. It strikes me as being pretty representative of the lower quality horror books that populated the best seller lists several years ago. This story is just for fans of that genre, in my opinion.

My first John Saul novel. I will definitely be reading another. I enjoyed this book all the way from start to finish, constantly wanting to know what is going to happen next. Recommend this for any horror fans.

Good 90s throw back horror