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When the Wind Blows

john saul

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The terrifying bestseller from the author of  House of Reckoning

The children were waiting.
Waiting for centuries.  
Waiting for someone to hear their cries.

Now  nine-year-old Christine Lyons has come to live in the  house on the hill—the house where no children  have lived for fifty years.

Now little Christie will sleep in the old-fashioned nursery on the third floor. Now Christie's terror will begin.

A sound was coming to her. Her mind began to drift . . . 

Usually it came to her at night, when the wind was blowing. But today it was bright and clear; the wind was still.

And yet the sound was there. A baby, crying out for its mother.

Instinctively Diana knelt next to Christie and took the child in her arms. “It's all right,” she whispered. “Everything's going to be all right.”

Perplexed, Christie looked into Diana's eyes. “I am  all right, Aunt Diana. Really, I am,” Christie insisted.

“But you were crying. I heard you. Good girls never cry. Only bad children cry. They cry. And cry. And then they must be punished. . . .”

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1,1981

This edition

Format
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published
May 2, 1990 by Dell
ISBN
9780440194903
ASIN
0440194903
Language
English

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About the author

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john saul

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John Saul grew up in Whittier California where he graduated from Whittier High School in 1959. He attended several colleges—Antioch, in Ohio, Cerritos, in Norwalk, California, Montana State University and San Francisco State College, variously majoring in anthropology, liberal arts, and theater, but never obtaining a degree.
After leaving college, he decided the best thing for a college dropout to do was become a writer, and spent the next fifteen years working in various jobs while attempting to write a book someone would want to publish. Should anyone ever want to write a novel concerning the car-rental industry or the travails of temporary typists, John can provide excellent background material.

Those years garnered him a nice collection of unpublished manuscripts, but not a lot of money. Eventually he found an agent in New York, who spent several years sending his manuscripts around, and trying to make the rejection slips sound hopeful. Then, in 1976, one of his manuscripts reached Dell, who didn't want to buy it, but asked if he'd be interested in writing a psychological thriller. He put together an outline, and crossed his fingers.

At that point, things started getting bizarre. His agent decided the outline had all the makings of a best-seller, and so did Dell. Gambling on a first novel by an unknown author, they backed the book with television advertising (one of the first times a paperback original was promoted on television) and the gamble paid off. Within a month Suffer the Children appeared on all the best-seller lists in the country and made the #1 spot in Canada. Subsequently all 32 of his books, have made all the best-seller lists and have been published world wide. Though many of his books were published by Bantam/Doubleday/Dell his last fourteen books have been published by Ballantine/Fawcett/Columbine.

In addition to his work as novelist, John is also interested in the theater. He has acted, and as a playwright has had several one-act plays produced in Los Angeles and Seattle, and two optioned in New York. One of his novels was produced by Gerber Productions Company and M.G.M. as a C.B.S. movie and currently one of his novels is in development.

John served on the Expansion Arts Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. He is actively involved with the development of other writers, and is a lecturer at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference and the Maui Writers Conference and received the Life Time Achievement Award from the Northwest Writers Conference. John is also a trustee and Vice President of The Chester Woodruff Foundation (New York), a philanthropic organization.

John lives part-time in the Pacific Northwest, both in Seattle and in the San Juan Islands. He also maintains a residence on the Big Island of Hawaii. He currently enjoys motor homing, travel and golf. He is an avid reader, bridge player, golfer and loves to cook.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
37(37%)
4 stars
29(29%)
3 stars
34(34%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
Alriven
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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"I think something is way wrong out at the Ambers’"

That pretty much sums up this book.

I started reading John Saul's books from the beginning and this has been my favorite so far. While it has the same feel as the ones before it, the storyline and the suspense are tighter, more creative, and less contrived. While some of it still stretches the imagination quite a bit, at least it doesn't feel silly.

Also, the evil element is this book is interesting. I won't say much more than that to avoid spoilers. But, I will say if you like a good thriller, this one is worth a try.

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RedRockRun
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Het duurde even voordat Stemmen in de Storm op gang kwam. Ik was ongeveer halverwege toen ik het pas spannend begon te vinden. Dit is een bovennatuurlijk horrorverhaal wat gebaseerd is op een (waarschijnlijk) fictieve Indiaanse legende. Hoewel ik eerst dacht dat deze Saul echt minder was vind ik dit boek uiteindelijk toch best goed.
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twinkletoes
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Just like Nathaniel by this same author, this was really enjoyable to read.

The base story is simple and is about this wind that blows from caves and it brings with it sounds of babies crying and children in despair.

As an easy Halloween/October read, it might at points feel slightly hard to read. There are mother/daughter issues, control problems, a variety of cliches, and of course things that the author hints at which might be bigger problems, but they don't turn out to be.

You see, I love to read these books for Halloween, when I get my hands on them. However, in my brain I keep imagining ten different ways that they could have concluded or twisted.
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Abomination_suah
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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What is going on in Amberton when the wind blows? Myth, evil & mental illness collide. A little slow-paced and not enough tension built, but it kept me interested. Just when you thought it was over, the author throws in an Uh-Oh moment.
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TheEmeraldSword
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I'm finding a recurring theme in this Saul book and the last one I read about letting the past stay the past. In each one a closed down business is being looked into reopening it (both industrial) and each had a horrid history. Some people say its better to leave it to the past while others are looking forward to the business reopening to help out a struggling town.



As in other Saul books this also introduces superstitions of the local natives that have graced the area for longer than any other human being. In this one the legend that plays a major role is the idea of "water babies". The local Indian population would take their stillborn children and lay them to rest in a cave hidden in the area in order for them to wait until they can be reborn again.



Strange things happen in the small town that this legend is based in, and an old mine is planning on being reopened by the richest family in town. The problem? There are family secrets hidden there as well.



In a story where nothing is as it really seems, Saul takes the reader on a journey full of mystery and intrigue. There are parts that can make your stomach turn due to the actions of the characters, but like with his other books it is hard to put down once you get rolling through the pages.
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seadancedown
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I read this book back in 1981 when it was released. I knew I liked it, but didn't really remember it. I was a huge John Saul fan and I read every book he published back then.
This book has not lost anything even though it was published 38 years ago. In my opinion it's better than a lot of the thrillers that are published now. If you haven't read it and you like thrillers, you won't be disappointed. Very good book.
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nocturn246
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Child protective services, anyone?

Unintentionally campy and sloppily plotted, this novel is about as believable as a comic book...except not as good as one.
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