Punish the Sinners

Rating:
Summary: pretty good stuff
Review: After reading "Creature" a few months back I had some doubts about John Saul. Well, i don't know about his later work, but this one was good. Peter Balsam goes to Neilsville to teach a psychology class at a parochial school, but soon finds some of his female students are killing themselves for no apparent reason
other than the fact that he showed up in town. Finding out why the girls do it is mainly what this book is about, and it had an unexpected ending, which is rare in most stories I have read as of late. I also couldn't find too many loose ends that
weren't tied up, although there were a few, which led to 4 out of 5 stars. All in all, a fine read.

Rating:
Summary: Slow to start
Review: The book takes too long to get started. The first book (The Saints of Neilsville) plods along with a laughable predictability. The second book (The Society of St. Peter Martyr) picks up the pace and things really start to get creepy and strange. This section unfortunately relies too heavily on descriptions of all sorts of sexual acts. I'm not sure if I should laugh or be insulted. The two books take the plot on an unexpected tangent. Just as things seem to be petering out (excuse the pun), it picks up speed with the same frantic pace of some Stephen King novels. The last twenty pages then take a huge and wonderfully surprising tangent, earning this book a higher review than I otherwise would have given it.

Rating:
Summary: Chilling and Surprising
Review: This book grips you from the very start and never lets go. While its a fast pace horror novel regarding suicide, and religious fervor it also tackles other topics such as abuse of power, sexual hypocrisy and the church overall. I got a bit upset when the sexual element was introduced; thinking Saul was making a judgement call but as the story progressed it redeemed it self. It also has one of the best and realistic endings I ever seen in a novel of this type. I am glad Saul had the good sense to end it in the way he did. A great audio book from the first CD to the last. The reader did a good job though his female voices needed some fine tuning at times. Still a great listening experience. I'm off to buy another! This book contains 5 CDs and is read by a single reader.

Rating:
Summary: Really good.
Review: This is the first novel I have read from Saul and I admit I was impressed. From the first page it hooks you in and keeps you there. The ending was not typical and much of a surprise. Overall really good book, along the lines of Stephen King novels, which have that eerie and mysterious flavor to them that make them such good thrillers. I look forward to reading more of John Saul's work.