Great story line. So fun to read

Generally speaking, if you've read one John Saul novel you've pretty much read all his early works as they pretty much follow the same theme: bad thing happens (usually involving the deaths of children), and then years later history repeats itself, with children dying in the same manner as before.

This book was slightly different: taking place in the fictional Clark's Harbor, Washington instead of the usual east coast, the victims in this one were adults instead of children - always "strangers" to the town, and usually "claimed" by the sea and it's frequent storms. Strangers, in this case, meaning they weren't born in Clark's Harbor; how long they lived there was irrelevant.

Written in 1979, I felt this book held up fairly well over time. There were a couple of instances in which details were dated: customers throwing "a couple of dollars" on the table to cover their bar tabs and a couple of homes without electricity most notably. However, in some of the smaller coastal towns, it does look and feel like time stopped so that was easy to overlook.

I wouldn't say this book was scary per se, but it definitely held my attention and did quicken my heartbeat in a couple of places but it didn't terrify me, probably because I read a lot of his books as a teenager and lived to tell about it. My biggest issue with the book was trying to determine where exactly Clark's Harbor was supposed to be that was three hours away from Seattle yet not Portland! (Accounting for speed limit laws in 1979 vs today did help in this respect).

Overall, the book does follow Saul's usual formula of bad thing, passage of time, repeat bad thing with the foreshadowing that bad thing will happen again. The characters are interchangeable with his other novels that follow this same formula but Saul did do a great job of distinguishing the small town mentality of who and who doesn't belong from that of the outsiders who were trying to make Clark's Harbor home but didn't fit in simply due to their family not having lived there for generations. Some have said it didn't hold up over time, I felt it did.

Boring! I read him when I was younger and I didn't like him then and I definitely don't like him. He's too "old" when he writes. It shows in his writing. he maintains themes throughout all of his novels. Children with special abilities or disabilities. Beach. Strangers. Supernatural elements. I listened to this as an audio book and I nearly drove my car off a cliff to get away from it. Wouldn't recommend it.

The Palmer family moves to the seaside town of Clark's Harbor expecting to be greeted by a beautiful coastal haven, but are met with hostility, superstition and rumors of paranormal horrors haunting the beach where many curious wanderers have lost their lives. On nights when it rains, supernatural phenomena begin to happen to Bobby Palmer's son, and someone else in the town may also be effected by the same event. Unknown to all victims, one of them is being driven to do terrible things against their will.

A decent paranormal mystery story that feels like a cliche horror haunting movie. The setup of the plot and the subtle creepiness of the seaside town are nicely done, but the main story and all of the characters are pretty forgettable. The culprit committing the crimes is extremely obvious, the Palmer children are very annoying and constantly make stupid decisions, and I just really didn't feel emotionally invested.

I did like the story of Chief Whalen, the superstitious hardass who has an unnatural hatred for all visitors and outsiders. He's not a likable guy, but he did enhance the tension and mystery of the story quite a bit. I found him more interesting and developed than the main cast of protagonists. I also liked the lore and history of the setting itself.

Not a bad novel, just kind of forgettable and would've worked better as a short story or a novella in my opinion.

My rating: 2.7/5

Saw the "twists" coming a mile away, but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless.

Read in 1980. Horror fiction. Saul was the poor man's Stephen King. I don't remember reading many of his books.

A spate of mysterious killings threaten a family in a small beach town.

I really enjoyed about two thirds of this book. It was an interesting concept and quite spooky, with some irritating characters, and some you had sympathy for. The mystery kept me reading, to find out what was going on and how people were being killed. You could see the identity of the killer coming a mile off, but it was still interesting, wondering how the characters would find out the truth. I found myself looking forward to reading the book, which is always a good sign.

Towards the end though, there were a few things which started to undermine it for me.

The kids just kept going outside in the middle of the night, despite the fact that there was a killer on the loose, and despite the fact that the parents were aware of them having previously climbed out of the window. What parents would continue to let this happen (over and over)? Lock the windows, lock the doors if you really think it's necessary. Keep your kids in plain sight. I didn't find this very realistic.

I also didn't feel the need for the attempted explanation of what had been going on, at the end. It just didn't seem plausible. Yes, it was supposed to just be a 'possible' guess, but it really didn't make sense at all.

Also- why were the wives so passive, giving in to all the men's whims, staying at home while the big strong men went out to sort things? As if you would agree to move to a town where people keep dying, where everyone hates you, into a house with no electricity, just because your husband fancied it! As if you would just sit at home while your loved ones were out in a storm with a serial killer on the loose! Hardly realistic and a bit cliched.

Overall though, I would recommend this as a good read.

Not only is it dreadfully boring, it doesn't make the slightest bit of sense.

Pretty solid quick read. It had a lot of potential that I feel wasn’t fully realized but I still enjoyed it enough.

As I read through Saul's huge list of books, I decided to pick this one next his 3rd i believe? Not bad although I have definatly read better of his. I find Saul one of the easiest to read of all my fave authors and finish his books pretty quick. In one week i read both this and Suffer The Children. This one's about 2 families who decide to move beach side into the little town of Clark's Harbour. A town which the people who reside there do ok that's if they have lived there for more then 20yrs. The newbies??....Not so good! The villain this time around is the sheriff Harlen Whalen who makes life for these two families...let's just say not the easiest. A good read but not Saul's best.

Typical Saul. Not bad but I didn't love the ending. A bit more "up in the air" than he usually is.

Pig crap