Thriller Book Recommendation: John Saul & Jennifer McMahon
What’s your favorite thing about reading thriller or horror novels? This week I have two great thriller/horror book recommendations to share with you.
The legendary John Saul — a horror author with a long literary history, and fellow Vermont thriller author, Jennifer McMahon.
John Saul: Horror Legend
Actually, this title should probably read “horror legend,” because his books fall more into that genre than straight thrillers. I tend to shy away from horror stories (my own books’ tagline after all is, “suspense that turns pages, not stomachs”), but I occasionally make an exception.
I love John Saul’s writing and the fact that most (all?) of his books tie in the supernatural/dark spirits/sinister characters.
In the Dark of the Night was a thoroughly engaging read. It has a campy, summer feel to it. Perhaps this is because the main characters are teen boys who go to stay in Pinecrest, a summer tourist destination by a beautiful lake.
Along with their families, the boys are prepared to enjoy all the thrills they can…
But none of the teens or adults are prepared for the sinister presence lurking in the carriage house. As the boys spend more and more time there, bringing items from the past to light, truly horrifying things begin happening in the small town.
NOTE: While I enjoyed this book a lot, I do offer this warning: if you’re sensitive to gore/torture/animals meeting untimely ends, you’ll probably want to take a pass.
I put it down at one point because of an especially gruesome scene and almost didn’t pick it up again…but then I did. My curiosity got the better of me.
Jennifer McMahon, Thriller Author
I’ve read almost the entire collection of McMahon’s books at this point. This one did not disappoint.
Burn Town is a slightly complicated story with lots of unusual characters. At one point I had to admit it felt like the characters were a little too unusual (circus acts, homeless “mystics” a Chicken Man, a teen drug dealer, and more?), but it worked in this novel.
Jennifer McMahon is a brilliant writer. Her suspense novels are part edge-of-your-seat thrill rides and part lyrical prose. It’s a beautiful blend.
Burn Town Synopsis
Eva and her mother, Lily, are on the run. They live on the streets of the town they once called home. What Lily calls the “Great Flood,” wiped out their house and the rest of their family. Lily meets up with a group of Fire Eaters–homeless mystical women–who take a powerful drug that helps them to see the future.
As Lily becomes entrenched in the group, she becomes more and more convinced that someone evil from her and Eva’s family is out to get them. This person wants something that Eva’s father used to own, but which she believes was lost in the Great Flood.
When Lily dies under mysterious circumstances and Eva’s boyfriend is murdered, she too becomes afraid and goes on the run.
The rest of the book ties in a cafeteria manager who is convinced she’s in the circus, a teen who accidentally becomes a drug dealer and a private investigator/delivery driver who loves fluffy little white birds. Each of these characters is woven expertly into the plot and a final breathless twist.
Suspend disbelief? You may need to. But if you can the ride is more than worth it.
Have you read either of these authors? If so, please share your thoughts.
