Of all the predators that have stalked Strieber's bestselling horror (Billy, Communion, etc.), none match for sheer exuberant evil the dark star of this resonant novel—a rip-roaring, fire- snorting demon infesting the soul of a Greenwich Village priest. But which priest harbors the demon? Kindly old John Rafferty, beloved pastor of Mary and Joseph church? His young assistant, Frank Bayley? Or ancient Tom Zimmer, mute for five years? A routine question, that, to drive the fast-moving plot, but one fueled by issues of faith and corruption—beginning with the enthralling opening chapters, which find Father John's vow of celibacy teetering under the seductive push of lovely young parishioner Maria Julien. Succumbing to Maria's kisses, John goes to her apartment...and the story leaps hours ahead, with Maria crowing ``The cherry is pitted'' to—Fr. Frank. He too, it seems, is under Maria's spell—and that of her leathers and whips. But that night, a vile, capering, nonsense-spewing entity—seen here, as throughout, in artful half-light—strangles Maria in the church. And over the next days, several more die gruesome deaths—two burned alive—even as the media uncover John's affection for Maria, and as the Holy See, shuddering at the scandal, puts Frank in John's place as pastor. In the meantime, a winsome female cop investigates the killings—and is attacked by the demon in her apartment—while old Fr. Tom shambles about in the wee hours. One priest is roasted, a second is unmasked, and a third must pit his shaky faith against the gibbering demon in an extended showdown that jumps and gyrates with evil energy. Any novel of demonic possession must bear comparison to The Exorcist—and Strieber's holds its own, with brilliantly realized characters, fascinating Church intrigue, and plenty of prose- dazzle, if not quite the shock and slam that made the Blatty so unforgettable.
Pub Date: March 13, 1992
ISBN: 0-525-93415-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1991
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
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