A bit predictable, but still an enjoyable read. The writing is good and makes up for anything else you may not like about the characters or the action.

I've read this book several times in the past twenty years. I still love it!!

Sadly, this book did NOT stand the test of time. I vaguely remember reading it many, many moons ago. Now that I read it again, I understand why (unlike many of John Saul's other books) I only read it once. The reason it took me so long to read is that I seriously considered not finishing it.

If you are new to John Saul, skip this one and try "Comes the Blind Fury", "The Unloved", or "The Unwanted" instead.

Disappointing, though I love the setting. The plot and horror aren't particularly interesting, exciting, or coherent. Characters behave strangely and nobody else seems to be paying much attention. Most of the women in the story know something is very wrong in the coastal town of Clark's Harbor, but most of the men in the story tell them it's all in their heads or they're being too emotional.

Still eager to continue reading and re-reading John Saul's novels, in order. His first two books were delightfully bonkers (especially "Punish the Sinners") and I think some of my old favorites are just ahead.

Probably really 3.5 stars but I've decided to round up. This book is small town dislike of strangers on steroids. Clark's Harbor has a dislike of strangers, they aren't wanted and whatever happens to them is nothing to do with the locals. When a fisherman dies at sea you would expect the community of fisherman to rally round in support. Pete however has only been in the town for 15 years and is thus a stranger so no one cares. Clark's Harbor seems to get its fair share of storms (bad ones) and every time one hits something bad seems to happen to any strangers that are in town. Local sheriff Walen has it worse than most and doesn't even investigate deaths of strangers.
What is really going on in Clark's Harbor? Is there a connection with old Native American folklore and legends about 'Storm Dancers' and the practice of bearing people up to the necks and letting the tide take its natural course? Can anybody discover what is going on in time to prevent more deaths?

Kick ass. There is a dark cloud that hovers over every page of this book. You will probably figure out who the killer is right away. And still keep reading. The characters in the town, coupled with legends, old secrets and silly newcomers and their plans make for a great story. Sands of death!

One of the better Saul books, the tropes he loves are all there, but he manages to make them less obvious this time. It's more of a novel and less of a John Saul novel. It ends up working better for it.

John Saul's third novel, 1979's Cry for the Strangers, is another solid horror thriller from him. I read it in three days. I'm just going to keep reading John Saul until I find a novel I don't like, but then I'll probably call that an exception and just keep on reading him. So far, he is six for six. Five were 5 star and this is his first 4 star for me. This one is not quite as shocking or weird as his first two - the brilliant Suffer the Children and almost equally great Punish the Sinners - but has a lot of the same themes - visitors coming into a small town, this one seaside like Suffer the Children, gothic style legends/curses, creepy kids, mental health issues, and unexplained murders/suicides - and again takes his story to the final page to add a sense of the cosmic. He does a better job than Punish the Sinners of individualizing all the characters so I'm not asking "Okay, who is this guy or girl again?" But Cry for the Strangers is a little too telegraphed, even though he does a good job at hinting at various explanations for the mystery up until the very end. Also, how many times are the Palmer parents going to let their creepy curious kids, Robby and Missy, escape out their bedroom window during the night (and during a storm, no less!) and go wandering in the woods and the beach in their pajamas before locking those windows? Ha ha. If you start comparing the logic of John Saul's stories to our world, you'll be unable to suspend your disbelief. Me? I love Saul's stories so much, I am very forgiving of illogic. This one is his first novel where one of the main characters is a writer, so there's that whole author identifying angle which so many King novels add. Overall, I still enjoy John Saul more than Stephen King as far as stories go. What a storyteller!

Brad en Elaine waren het roerend eens Clark’s Harbor was de ideale plek om zich een jaar te vestigen. Brad zou zijn boek schrijven en Elaine zou uitgebreid van alles genieten. Het vissersdorp zag er zo onschuldig, vriendelijk en uitnodigend uit dat de verleiding niet te weerstaan was.
Maar waarom zijn de dorpsbewoners zo ongastvrij en openlijk vijandig? En hoe komt het dat een geestelijk gestoorde jongen de waanzin zo plotseling van zich afschudt, terwijl zijn zusje door angstvisioenen wordt geteisterd? Waarom vallen vreemdelingen ten prooi aan een noodlot dat hun op gruwelijke wijze de dood insleurt Waarom zijn het alleen vreemdelingen die slachtoffer worden en blijven de oorspronkelijke bewoners bewaard? Of is het de oceaan die mensen offers opeist?
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Waardering
Een ongelofelijk verhaal, die ondanks de spanning niet geloofwaardig overkomt. Dit is wel een van de slechtere boek van Saul die ik heb gelezen. Het is dat ik meer boeken van hem heb gelezen waardoor ik weet dat hij beter kan, maar zou ik niet beter weten dan zou ik niets meer van hem lezen.
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John Saul is geboren in 1942 in Pasadena, Californië. Hij groeide op in Whittier en haalde zijn diploma in 1959 van de Whittier High School.
Na verschillende opleidingen aan net zoveel beroepsopleidingen te hebben gevolgd zonder het behalen van een diploma of graad, besloot hij van school te gaan en auteur te worden. In de daarop 15 jaar schreef Saul verschillende manuscripten en had hij verschillende baantjes. geen enkele uitgever zag iets in zijn verhalen, totdat zijn agent bij Dell terecht kwam. Daar wilden ze niets kopen, maar vroegen ze hem of hij een psychologische thriller kon schrijven. Saul maakte een verhaallijn, schreef het uit en hoopte dat het goed genoeg was. Zowel zijn agent als Dell waren laaiend enthusiast en zagen in dit verhaal een bestseller. Dell pakte groots uit. Advertenties en TV spots voor deze onbekende auteur werden gemaakt. En het slaagde. Saul werd in een klap wereldberoemd. Suffer the Children was geboren. Alle boeken die erna kwamen kwamen wel in de Bestsellerlijsten en zijn boeken werden wereldwijd uitgebracht en in verschillende talen vertaalt. De boeken werden uitgegeven door uitgeverijen die zijn verbonden aan Random House. Naast auteur is Saul ook acteur, scriptschrijver en is 1 van zijn boeken in 1984 uitgebracht als film.
Meer informatie over John Saul is te vinden op een van de onderstaande sites.
http://www.johnsaul.com/index.html
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0766657/
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Overige boekinformatie
Uitgeverij: W & L Boeken
ISBN: 978.90.6213.470.X
253 pagina's; Paperback

I loved this book from the very beginning! I kinda figured out who was doing things but not why. Its definitely worth the read!

I enjoyed every second of Cry for the Strangers. Loved the creepy sea side town and the mysterious townsfolk that just don't seem keen on newcomers but the newcomers end up dying.... how and why?

Liked the book, very entertaining. Gave it four stars for 1) predictable, by the middle of the book everything fell into place, and 2) ending was a little rushed and again predictable, nothing else would have made a lot of sense. Was the author thinking about a sequel, maybe? All in all, I enjoyed it. It is also true I do like Mr. John Saul's books. Only, did he have to kill the dogs? Hated that.