I had a difficult time with this book. I did not know anything about it and was expecting it to be a mystery...which it was, but I don't go for the beyond reality sort of mystery unless it is clear that is the genre. E.g., it features wizards or magic or whatnot.

Also, this author began too many sentences with the word "but" which as any high school english might tell you, it just not right. Ok, I can allow for this some of the time, because that is how people talk. However, when several sentences in a row start with "but" it takes away from my reading pleasure.

Also, I found the female lead to be weak. Pet peeve of mine. Would have given it only 1 star, but I reserve that for books I do not finish. I finished it, and it was not unpleasant to read, just not what I was looking for.

A very good read (almost)!

I really don't know how to describe this story. Certainly, it was a well written piece but, somehow, the plot was missing a vital ingredient of a horror story - fear and suspense. The story was over convoluted and mired in unnecessary minutiae. Pity!

John Saul and I are doing friends on the sense that I have read quite a few books of his and I was never disappointed. Thus book was rather an exception as it was slow at first. The first half of the book was dragging and did not convey the anticipated sense of foreboding and darkness, as all the others. The second half is pretty good and typical Saul and saved the dragging half.
The subject of the book is not new: vampires using the life force and bodies of the children to retain and regain youth and Saul works it nicely, although he could have inserted the matter of the provenance of the vampires earlier in the book tying it time the mural of the lobby.
The same theme was used by The Incomparable Steven King in his book Dr Sleep that had the effect of making me see shadows all around! Also in the t.v. series 666 Park Avenue.

What can I say. Right up my alley. Great reading with a lot of suspense and mystery. For admirers of John Sauls writing I can for sure recommend this one.

Caroline Evans loses her husband in a most tragic way. He is murdered and mugged while out for an evening jog. Now everything is going wrong. She is behind on bills. She doesn't have money for the rent. Her boss is threatening to fire her. Her children are trying to adjust to a much different life. Then a chance meeting with two residents of one of the most elite apartment beings brings better luck, especially since one of them is a handsome widower. But will this good luck come with a price?

John Saul is one of my favorite authors. I spent many happy hours reading his earlier works and it was enjoyable to return to his writing. Midnight Voices is classic John Saul -- a conflicted child/teen, a challenging situation, a paranormal element and a struggle to survive.

I'm not a particularly big fan of John Saul. In the early 90's, I tried Sleepwalk, along with two others, found in John Saul: Hellfire, The Unwanted, Sleepwalk. They did little to nothing for me, due mostly to the the fact that they all felt the same, in a very cliched way.


Years later, I borrowed Midnight Voices from a relative, because it piqued my interest. And at first, I liked it enough to keep reading, but it wasn't really anything I'd praise, or even recommend. Then, about halfway through, my overall opinion drastically changed.
Why the sudden change, you ask? There's such a drastic twist that I totally did not see coming. In hindsight even, I could have NEVER predicted that!

Caroline Evans and her two children are suddenly left alone when their father Brad's neck is broken while he is jogging in the park. But Caroline meets and then proceeds to marry a seemingly wonderful man that seems to go out of his way to please the kids as well as her. The only problem with this man, Anthony Fleming, is that she can't seem to find out anything about his family life or any other facts about him. These problems don't really bother her all that much, but they do bother her best friend, Andrea Castanza greatly. For some reason, Andrea thinks that there has to be something wrong with Tony, but Caroline ignores her best friend's concerns and marries him anyway. Caroline and her two children, Ryan and Laurie, go to live with their stepfather Tony in the Rockwell, a big spooky apartment building that the kids always heard ghost stories about from the other children at school. Caroline's daughter has trouble sleeping the very first night thiinking she heard voices and people were in her room. Her son hears these voices also. It takes some time before Caroline herself starts to question her husband and the creepy neighbors that seem just a little to nice to her children. When Caroline goes to Laurie's room one night she discovers she is not there and looks for her. She finds her in a hidden room behind her husbands study surrounded by the neighbors whom are prodding at her and sucking the youth out of her. They medicate Caroline with something and put her in some little known mental institute. Now it's up to Ryan to rescue his mother and his sister.

Real good story. Had great tempo and a new twist on a old ideal. Would have been five stars but left couple of questions unanswered.

Interesting story with an inventive take on a classic horror theme. Not his best work. The ending left much to be desired. I would've liked Caroline to continue her search to find the former inhabitants of The Rockwell for a showdown. Good read that could've been GREAT.

I've read better by this author. I think what annoyed me about this one is that all of the women characters were stereotypical types. The protagonist just didn't gain my sympathy because she should have been more careful and cautious all along. She redeems herself, a little, towards the end but...meh. The only female character that is interesting is married to her job, mateless, and is killed. And...what the heck happened to Chloe?

It started off feeling like it was going to be a great read, but after the first few chapters it got repetitious ... the kids dreaming over and over again, Ryan getting in fights at school and being defiant, one weird neighbor after another. The thing that bothered me most was the main character (as well as some others) doing things that absolutely made no sense (that is actually a pet peeves of mine in books). Towards the end, it did pick up but honestly it bugged me that it is never made exactly clear why Carolyn's husband and friend were killed in the first place and who actually the killer was. I mean I am assuming who it was but still SMH. And does Carolyn's final action end things? Again, not sure.

This review is something of a cheat, as I wasn't able to read the book, so decided to skim it.

Energy/lifeforce vampires. You've seen it all before.

Your welcome....



Jeff McIntosh