Second Child by john saul

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

Was not for me. I went a long time without reading Saul who was a favorite of mine in my teen years. I wanted to give him a chance by reading one of his newer books. (Well..it was new at the time I first read it.)

This book however did not do it for me and I hate saying that because I still consider myself a John Saul fan and often reread some of my all time faves from him.

Second child falls along the creepy scale but lacks the subtle atmospheric brooding quality that so much of his works has and that is what immersed me so much about him.

Here the horror starts pretty much on the first page. The really isn't any build up or lead up or anything. It did not feel like the John Saul I adored. It could have been any horror novel about children. I was really let down.

I see by some of the glowing reviews that not all people feel that way and that is good. Second Child was a quick read for me but not one that I feel I will come back to as I didn't particularly like it.

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Salvador1902

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

This book was chilling. In fact, I would say it is one of John Saul's best books. The book grabbed readers from page 1. From there on out its like you become glued to the pages.

The Characters

Phyllis is an overbearing mother who keeps a tight and dangerous grip on her daughter, Charles is the type of father that all children crave yet, he allows his wife to damage his daughter almost beyond recognition, Teri is the evil stepdaughter that reminds me of R.L Stine's character back in the day, and Melissa is the poor, emotional child who mystifies readers. Character development is great in this book. If you find yourself getting emotional because of the actions of the characters than you know its a good book!

The Plot

The plot was well done. The storyline was quite original. It was characteristic of Saul's early work (which this one is). Quite frankly, I like his earlier work better than the ones he did later in life.

All in all, this was a great book that kept me clinging to the pages. I needed to know what was going to happen and that made it hard for me to put the book down. For those who enjoy a creepy, page turning story that stirs your heart than I would choose this one!

Rating: 4.8

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Naherth

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

I loved this book. Suspense throughout. Parts reminded me of "The Bad Seed". Loved the ending.

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Gary29

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

So, now that I have the time, I can give John Saul's "Second Child" a proper review for you all.
The novel starts off fast paced, and pretty gory as well, but strikes you as unbelievable because of the way "Teri" (one of the main characters) is acting.
Because of this, I found the first 40 or 50 pages kind of cheesy.
But, after continuing to read, I was drawn in by her and the other characters. The main being her half sister Melissa.
Melissa is an odd girl who has an imaginary friend named D'Arcy. Melissa's mother Phyllis is a bitch! Always treating Melissa like shit and doing things to her that makes you despise her. (I'd go into details, but I don't want to ruin the story)..
The girls' father Charles is a kind and very good man. Never noticing what is taking place because they are a rich family and he's constantly gone to business meetings when the worst happens. Upon his return, things are hidden very well by Phyllis.
Teri seems to be the ideal half sister to Melissa and also the ideal girl to everyone in Secret Cove, a rich summer estate where the story takes place.
She fits in with all the younger people that aren't friends with Melissa who have constantly teased her and avoided Melissa in any way they can.
This you would think would make Melissa jealous, but she is such a sweet girl, she remains cool through the whole story.
When bad things start happening in Secret Cove, the real terror and mystery begins, leaving you to wonder what the hell is going on and why.
In the end, I was hooked to this book! Rich families, back stabbing, and child abuse are only the small amount of things I can mention without ruining the story. But.. The story of "D'Arcy" comes to life and all is revealed in the end, which left me with my jaw hanging open.
An ending I never saw coming!
Great job, John!

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Iqbal124

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

When 15-year old Teri’s parents die in a house fire, Teri is the only one to get out. She is collected by her biological father to go live across the country with him, his wife and their 13-year old daughter, Melissa. Melissa is considered by some to be a bit… strange. But she has good reason. (The back of the book doesn’t say much, so I don’t want to give too much away.) They are rich, but Melissa and her mother (Phyllis) don’t really fit in, though Phyllis certainly tries.

This was really good. I was pulled in at the start and it kept me reading and wanting to read. I was quite horrified and disgusted with actions of many of the characters and felt so badly for Melissa. This book has elements of both supernatural and psychological horror, both of which I “enjoy” reading. Just be careful reading through some of the reviews, as much more is given away than I think should be for this book.

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aishiteru_baka

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 17,2025

This is the first John Saul novel I've read. I had friends back in the late 70's and early 80's who liked his novels, but none of them appealed to me at the time. Looking at the plots back then, they all seemed to be the same type of novel about "haunted" children. I'm not a big fan of novels with children as the main protagonists. Teenagers and older are fine, but kids under 12 with ESP or telekinesis, or the ability to communicate with ghosts don't appeal to me. They never seem real. They're too wise or too cute or too whatever. So, I skipped John Saul books until now. This one features a 13 year old girl named Melissa who talks to a ghost named D'Arcy. That was a big hurdle for me, until the teenagers, namely her older half-sister Teri and a group of snotty rich kids from central casting, come into the plot.

At 35o pages it's kind of a slow burn. There isn't really anything more to the characters beyond their basic urges. But it's a commercial horror novel, and as such it delivers. When the blurb on the cover quotes PEOPLE magazine, you know it's going to be a digestible product for the masses. And there's nothing wrong with that. Whatever gets people reading books is a good thing. I did admire some of the surprise twists in the last 70 pages. So, all in all, Second Child succeeds in its expectations.

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