John Saul The Unloved

Once in 1988 I found books from John Saul in a library.
I loved them.

All these years I started collected the books.
Some were not translated into Dutch, so I had to learn English very quick, because I needed to read those books.

Some I could not buy new, so I looked for them everywhere, even in other countries.
Finally I've got all his books, I was so happy.

Half of the books are in Dutch and the other half in English.
I even talked to John Saul years ago when he had a chat night from Hawaii.
He was honored that I was reading them in English now.

Now many years later most of his books are in e-book, and that's why I started to read them all again, I've got all his books now also as an e-book.

I started with The Unloved, from 1988, my favorite book.
I must say, OMG was it awesome!

I just can't believe after all these years the book still got me.
I can't get it out of my head, so good, gives me goosebumps again and again.

If you never read a book of John Saul, please do, because you don't know what you're missing.
He was and is the best there is.

Love forever...

This was the first horror mystery novel I ever read. I read this when I was still trying to keep myself engaged in reading. This one piqued my interest and made me want to read more. Before this, I was more into romcom books, but "The Unloved" changed everything. I bought the pocket book version and loaned it to a classmate, who has yet to return it. I adore it, and when I have more time, I intend to reread this masterpiece.

Creepy atmosphere and characters, a bit obvious, but still a good horror with all the classic elements of the genre: the mad aunt, the isolated old mansion, the bad weather and past secrets to reveal.

Tocmai am terminat cartea Cei ne iubiți de John Saul Este o poveste de groaza potrivită pentru cei care iubesc astfel de povești. Sincer va spun ca la începutul cărți nu îți dai seama ce vrea sa spună autorul.  Dar după ce începi sa o aprofundezi vei înțelege povestea.
Este prima data când citesc o carte a autorului John Saul . Și acum sa va spun un pic din poveste . Merita citita pana la capăt de aceia i am dat 5 steluțe
După decenii de absență, Kevin Devereaux se întoarce la casă părintească, aducându-și cu el familia. Bătrânul conac Devereaux, deși își nu mai are strălucirea de altă dată, continuă să fie dominat de bătrâna doamnă Helena. La fel și singurele două suflete care mai supraviețuiesc în el, fiica sa Marguerite și Ruby, doica celor două.
O dată cu  moartea bătrânei, liniștea pare să revină peste vechiul conac, dar, de dincolo de mormânt, ea încă mai conduce soarta tuturor membrilor familiei Devereaux.

Best Thriller I have ever read!

I found this book to be meh. It had some good parts, but it veered into old tropes, with an ending that was predictable. The big question I have here is why the housekeeper didn't do more to help Marguerite, knowing what happened to her and what Helena did to her. This complicity was what bothered me, if Ruby had acted differently (and more sensibly) then this story would have taken a different, and better turn. There are some questions left unanswered as well.

Me gusto mucho la manera en que comenzó el libro, después un largo tramo de descripciones panorámicas y presentación de personajes. Justo a la mitad del libro comienza a tomar ritmo hasta llegar al final.
Me entretuvo bastante, y es una de esas historias que días después todavía tienes dando vueltas en la cabeza.

It seems all the people in this book are either stupid or just slow without reflexes. How can 1 crippled woman kills so many people is beyond me. How can Guys just keep looking while she is bringing out a knife and attacks them.

I read a ton of John Saul in my teen years, back in the early 90’s, and The Unloved was my favorite. I just finished rereading it, some 30 years later, and I can see why I found it scary at the time! Genuinely creepy with great atmosphere!

Side note: You really have to read books like this one from the perspective of a young reader of the 90’s. They aren’t super deep, they aren’t literally scary in today’s world of overexposure to such things, they can be somewhat predictable, and they’re written mostly from a child’s point of view. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, the nostalgia, and the creepy atmosphere!

The Unloved is a disturbing tale of madness and the macabre that's both atmospheric and suspenseful, complimented by a slow-burning plot in which the tension simmers and steadily rises to great effect.

After awakening from a nightmare, Kevin Devereaux gets a phone call from his sister telling him their mother is dying and wishes to see him. So reluctantly he leaves to see his dying mother one last time. He left years and years ago and vowed he'd never go back. His mother Helena is an angry, hostile, hate filled woman.

Kevin returns with his wife Annie and their two children, Julie 15 and Jeff 8 to his childhood home. His house is a grand mansion and plantation owned by his ancestors. He sees Ruby, the loyal servant since Kevin was a boy and his older sister Marguerite. Marguerite who is nearly disabled herself, has taken care of Helena these many years and has become a slave to her mother's demands and constant daily berating. She doesn't complain but rather has become accustomed and believes she should just be quiet and take it because she feels she owes her mother something. (That I will never understand).

Helena meets Kevin's family and takes to the daughter Julie but dismisses the son Jeff. Anne is ignored and is snubbed by Helena. Anne doesn't like being at this house. Helena may be feeble but is still a bitter, angry woman. Kevin tells Anne they are there for only two weeks.

Helena dies and her attorney Sam reads the will in front of the family after the funeral. Everything is left to Kevin. Marguerite, who has given up her dreams of becoming a dancer at a young age due to her lame leg after a terrible accident and the only one that has cared for her mother 24/7, is left with nothing. Kevin is angry about this and wants to protest the will. Sam advises that his mother left strict instructions that he would not contest the will and do what is asked of it. Not only did he inherit the house and plantation, he is forbidden to sell it to his sister, move out, or try to get out of the will. His mother has managed to see that he could never get out of it. Worst of all, he is forced to stay there for the next 10 years.

Anne is upset and refuses to abide by this contract. Kevin talks her into staying and discusses the plans for the house. Marguerite doesn't complain about being left out of the will but begs and pleads with Kevin and Anne to stay and never leave her. By this time she has taken a great likeness to her niece Julie and is in awe of her ballet dancing. She sees herself in Julie when she was younger but her "accident" has left one of her leg lame and is always in constant pain.

Anne is still angry about staying permanently on this island and has a big fight with Kevin. The children want to stay as they are enjoying the new home. Anne decides to leave in the middle of a severe storm to clear her head. She drives on the causeway where her car gets stuck. She never comes home again.

Marguerite teaches ballet to a group of girls in the house. Julie has participated in her dance class and has become Marguerite's favourite. One of the girls (Mary Beth) becomes jealous at all the attention Julie is getting. She insults Julie at every opportunity. One day she's had enough and wants to leave. This is during the storm when Anne left. Marguerite tries to go after her but can't because it is too dangerous and doesn't get far with Mary Beth.

Things start to go downhill here from here. There is a lot of blood shed and murder in this book. It was disappointing to see all the slashing taking place but I did enjoy the book. It was real page turner.

Unfortunately there are no real heroes in this story.

This book was really quite good. Every event was completely unexpected and it was very suspenseful. About halfway through the book is when things really start to get exciting and I kept thinking about where the plot was headed since so many vital aspects of the story were being destroyed by the author. Then, the ending is somewhat shocking. Although this story was definitely dramatic, I think that it is a good representation of how important a mother's love is, and how detrimental it can be to a child's mental health if it is not there.