The Keeper is horror in the vein of Straub, where a community succumbs to a threat from a malevolent entity. The supernatural is well hidden, hinted at more that directly portrayed in an effort to maintain some suspense. Although the approach is fresh, the lack of any likeable characters creates a lacklustre story. There is a score of characters and only the two central protagonists offer any positive attributes, however with so many characters the key players receive little time, except to propel the story. The Keeper is short enough to be a simple time-killer but it's lack of emotional hold means you'll have soon forgotten it. ( )

Now before I bought this book - I did my research and I heard a lot of great things about Ms. Langan's books! So I - the lover of all horror - decided to give it a go. So here is my review:

We meet poor Liz who is just trying to get by in life - but of course, with the entire town looking down on her because of her sister, Susan. She always knew that Susan was different, perhaps she was an alien. But Liz tries to make the best of it, with her future looking bright with her new boyfriend, Bobby.

As the story progresses, the plot unfolds of the terror that everyone in Bedford knows is coming. Do they admit that they see Susan in their dreams or that they can hear voices? Of course not. Then they would be just as crazy as Susan was. But they all know that something is going to happen, but they don't know when.

In Bedford, the rains come and it rains, rains, rains. But there is something different about this rain. It pretty much floods the valley and then by the end it is too late. Those who were lucky enough to get out did - and the others ... well, let's just say they should have tried harder.

Sarah Langan's writing is pretty close to Stephen King and Bentley Little - who give you the heebie jeebies when you read the stories. Her characters are strong and flawed, which I liked. I felt really sorry for Liz as the tale spread. I could see all of the death and smell the rank air. Wonderful descriptions of the buildings, people and landscape! I can't wait to read her next novel - The Missing.

If you love true horror - then I suggest not taking my word for it - go out and buy it and read it!! This book has it all from voices to ghosts to large insects! This one is definately a keeper (no pun intended). ( )

I came across a recommendation for The Keeper here on LibraryThing in one of the groups. It sounded interesting, so I picked it up. The first few chapters were slow going, and I almost put it down. Boy, am I glad I didn't. Things pick up and get pretty creepy about 1/3 of the way through and keep going until literally the last sentence.

The Keeper is the story of the death of a town. Not just any town, but an old factory town with a history of abuse and downright evil. And the end isn't easy, by any stretch. The story centers around an inverse sin-eater theme, where the evil that is done in the town builds and builds until it can't be contained anymore. Once it's out, it's not going back into the bottle.

The book suffers from a few first-time author flaws. The writing is a bit uneven, and the characters take a bit to get going. The plot needs juicing in a couple of spots. But in general, I recommend it as worth the time spent. ( )

Sarah Langan's writing is good but this story couldn't keep me reading. I gave up at page 244. Two weeks of reading a book that would normally take two days. Thumbs down! ( )

Takes a lot of nerve to set a horror novel in Maine, where that other horror writer lives (what's his name again?), but Langan pulls it off. This is a psychological horror story that transcends the genre in much the same way that Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House does. Impressive debut effort.