Ken Greenhall (1928–2014)

The story of the depraved, wealthy family of Cuttners, as told by their most twisted member, fourteen year-old Elizabeth, who instigates most of the craziness. In the first chapter she tells the reader that she's living at her grandmother's because she's killed her parents. In the second chapter she tells the reader that her uncle is her lover. There's a long list of personality disorders with Elizabeth and Uncle James, but it's impossible to guess what's going to happen next as Elizabeth is show more getting instructions from Frances, the 400 year old witch in the mirror.
Take The Bad Seed and mix it with Lolita, then add in the urban legend of Bloody Mary. This book is called a "forgotten classic". It should be as well-known as The Bad Seed as the writing is just as good and the story as scary. The bizarre atmosphere the Cuttners live in shadows everything they do. show less

First, we meet Jonathan, a photographer, a widower, and a father to Joanne, who I found to be one of the creepiest children I have ever encountered in a story. Jonathan himself is no stranger to creepiness either. He is obsessed with a harpist...Sara. He describes her as being beautiful, but she has a profound power over Jonathan who desperately wants to photograph her. I don't trust him very much and really think that he's a pig....and that's doing all pigs a disservice and for that I show more apologize. The story is somewhat slow, but with a great deal of anticipation and eerie scenes. To add to the eeriness, we find that Joanne has an imaginary friend, whom we will soon learn is not so imaginary or so alive. Joanne constantly makes statements saying that she hopes that she has another birthday and wondering if her father will miss her when she dies. The "beautiful" Sara is also creepy and has an over abundant obsession with blood. Jonathan makes jokes to her about vampires, but by now we readers know that it's not, nor is it going to be a joke soon. Sara finally lets Jonathan into her bedroom, and let's just say their first sexual encounter is...."different"..."odd"..."abnormal"... Sorry, there really isn't a better way of putting it. That scene is not going to be forgotten anytime soon. It's a lot like the sex scene in Katherine Dunn’s [Geek Love] that makes references a squashed cockroach. Think of the steamiest romance you have ever read, the creepiest ghost or haunted house story, combine them with an M. Night Shyamalan movie and you pretty much have [Childgrave]. I don't understand the why or the how, but this whole thing...just worked. show less

CHILDGRAVE is a beautifully written quiet horror story, with a sketchy small town lurking in the background. By the time the secrets of the town are revealed, it's too late for the reader to turn back.

As I get older, I find myself more and more drawn to quiet horror. I can do without gore and torture and all that if I have a tale that's well written and atmospheric. I also need compelling characters and CHILDGRAVE has that in spades. The main character, Jonathan, is a widowed photographer. show more He, his daughter Joanne, and his housekeeper Nanny Joy, are so well drawn I feel as if I know them personally.

When Jonathan's photos of his daughter seem to show specters in the background, while at the same time Joanne seems to have developed some new invisible friends, Jonathan is intrigued. Are the two events connected? Who is Conlee, the name of Joanne's new invisible friend? Lastly, what is Chilegray and how is connected to Conlee? You'll have to read this to find out!

I'll get it out of the way now-this is a slow moving story. What kept me interested was the quality of the writing and the characters. Jonathan is a quirky man. He has few friends and little interest in fashion or modern day trends. His housekeeper Nanny Joy loves jazz and Jonathan's daughter, but is concerned about the appearance of Conlee and the specters in the photographs. Jonathan's agent Harry is hilarious and his girlfriend, Lee, is interesting as well. NYC of the 70's is the main setting, and it was fascinating to read about the city during that time of social upheaval and change.

I was inexorably drawn to the conclusion which leads the reader to a small town hidden in a valley. "Evil in a small town" is one of my favorite tropes and Greenhall knew how to deliver it in a chilling and shocking- yet believable way. You find yourself wondering what you would do in such a situation and I continued to think about it all night long...hours after finishing the book. I can't say that I blame Jonathan for the choices that he made.

While CHILDGRAVE isn't the psychological, fast moving story that both ELIZABETH or HELL HOUND were, it was excellent in its own quiet and compelling way. Slowly drawing the reader down into the valley where secrets are kept for generation after generation, Greenhall deftly brings things to a head and left this reader wishing for more.

Highly recommended!

You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Childgrave-Ken-Greenhall-ebook/dp/B076CFBS61/chashorcor-2...

*Thanks to Valancourt Books for providing this e-book free, in exchange for my honest review. This is it.* show less

Hell Hound – Ken Greenhall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼

Ken Greenhall’s Hell Hound is a lean, unsettling little novel that stares straight through the idea of the “good dog.” Its narrator, Baxter, observes the human world with unnerving intelligence and none of the sentiment we expect from animal stories. He isn’t loyal or loving—just curious, detached, and quietly judging the chaos around him.

The people in his orbit are far less disciplined: selfish, lonely, sometimes cruel. show more Greenhall uses Baxter’s cold clarity to strip away human excuses and show how thin our layer of civility really is. The writing is calm, almost elegant, which only makes the darkness sharper.

Part character study, part moral experiment, Hell Hound feels like a precursor to the psychological horror of Joyce Carol Oates’s Zombie or the social decay of David Fisher’s The Pack. It’s short, viciously smart, and impossible to forget.

Verdict: Cold, brilliant, and disturbingly honest—one of the most convincing animal voices ever written, and a mirror we may not want to face.

Verdict: Cold, brilliant, and disturbingly honest—one of the most convincing animal voices ever written, and a mirror we may not want to face. show less