BLACK CREEK CROSSING
John Saul, . . Ballantine, $25.95 (368pp) ISBN 978-0-345-43332-9
With more than 30 books under his belt, veteran suspense novelist Saul is back with a horror novel featuring witchcraft, teen revenge and a haunted house. Angel Sullivan, a plain-looking 14-year-old who never fits in, gets a chance for a fresh start when her family moves into the plush community of Roundtree. Myra, her obsessively religious mother, and Marty, her lazy, alcoholic father, buy a house on Black Creek Crossing, even though the place is rumored to be haunted. Soon after they settle in, a black cat mysteriously appears out of thin air, smoke from a nonexistent fire fills the house and a girl's face appears in the darkness, reflected in a mirror. Meanwhile, Angel, with the help of another school outcast, Seth Baker, begins to investigate the history of the house. They discover an ancient book of spells that may have belonged to the house's original owners, members of a Salem-like community of witches, and the teens proceed to cast spells on the bullies who torment them. But the sinister forces inhabiting the house are just biding their time until they turn their malice on Angel and Seth. Saul crafts a few passable scenes—the potions Angel and Seth concoct work in clever ways—but the chills are few and far between in this lackluster, paint-by-the-numbers horror tale.
Reviewed on: 02/23/2004
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-59086-916-1
Compact Disc - 978-1-4692-8917-5
Compact Disc - 9 pages - 978-1-59086-918-5
Downloadable Audio - 978-1-59710-059-5
Hardcover - 656 pages - 978-0-7862-6518-3
MP3 CD - 978-1-5012-3257-2
MP3 CD - 978-1-4692-8918-2
MP3 CD - 978-1-59335-280-6
Mass Market Paperbound - 480 pages - 978-0-449-00654-2
Open Ebook - 311 pages - 978-0-345-47217-5
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4418-2240-6
Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4418-2360-1
