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Perfect Nightmare: A Novel by John Saul
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Perfect Nightmare: A Novel

by John Saul

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This book started off promising and then, as others have stated, started going downhill and never recovered. I ended up skimming quite a bit towards the end and finished the book feeling disappointed. The ending was completely depressing and the overall uneven pacing and nonsensical plot twists just felt contrived and very out of place. Not a fan of this one... ( )
  rdurant1217 | Nov 7, 2009 |
"Perfect Nightmare" by John Saul starts with a nifty premise. A kidnapper targets victims by stalking open houses and homes for sale on the internet. Great idea, and one that hasn't been done yet, to my knowledge, or done to death (no pun intended). The main and core characters are likable, sympathetic and realistic. You can relate to them and you care about what you just know is going to happen.

But starting about midway through the book, I felt that Saul began to lose his focus. Maybe it was the introduction, or reintroduction, of some secondary characters - - mostly thrown in for red herring purposes. But I felt the book lost some of its snap.

The seemingly pointless and senseless death of a major character threw me for a loop - - and not in a good way.

The "big reveal" at the end of the kidnapper was no surprise, as the signs were much too obvious much too early in the book.

The story seemed to end rather quickly, as if Saul himself got tired of the characters and the story.

That being said, although I like Saul's other works, I felt this was formulaic (for him) and seemed an almost phoned in effort. For a new writer, or one less prolific or proven, it might come across as a better effort, but I expect more from Mr. Saul. ( )
1 vote LoriHedgpeth | Sep 14, 2009 |
A creepy book.
'John Saul knows how to make your skin crawl.' ( )
  X-Style | Jan 5, 2009 |
Typical John Saul fare. Young girls fall prey to a crazed kidnapper who kidnaps to fulfil some childhood fantasy of revenge to his abuse. Not a bad story though nothing special here. I just could not get drawn into the story. Quick read so I didn’t waste too much time here. I feel I should write more here, but it just wasn’t a memorable story. ( )
  harpua | Sep 13, 2008 |
INCREDIBLE THRILLER!!!!! Fast paced! ( )
  AnneCurrin | Jan 10, 2007 |
Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0345467310, Hardcover)

If you open your house to strangers, who knows who might come in. And what they might be after. Or whom. Now, ponder the unthinkable and surrender to your darkest dread, as sinister storyteller extraordinaire John Saul weaves a heart-stopping tale of lurking terror and twisted intent.

Every parent’s nightmare becomes reality for Kara Marshall when her daughter, Lindsay, vanishes from her bedroom during the night. The police suspect that the girl is just another moody teenage runaway, angry over leaving behind her school and friends because her family is moving. But Lindsay’s recent eerie claim–that someone invaded her room when the house was opened to prospective buyers–drives Kara to fear the worst: a nameless, faceless stalker has walked the halls of her home in search of more than a place to live.

Patrick Shields recognizes Kara’s pain–and carries plenty of his own since he lost his wife and two children in a devastating house fire. But more than grief draws Patrick and Kara together. He, too, senses the hand of a malevolent stranger in this tragedy. And as more people go missing from houses up for sale, Patrick’s suspicion, like Kara’s, blooms into horrified certainty.

Someone is trolling this peaceful community–undetected and undeterred–harvesting victims for a purpose no sane mind can fathom. Someone Kara and Patrick, alone and desperate, are determined to unmask. Someone who is even now watching, plotting, keeping a demented diary of unspeakable deeds . . . and waiting until the time is ripe for another fateful visit.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:01 -0400)

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