Monday, September 15, 2008

Review: Isolation by Travis Thrasher + BBAW Giveaway

About the Book: Trapped

Exhausted

Terrified

. . . Alone

When a missionary family moves into a secluded mansion in the mountains of North Carolina, they think they are escaping their nightmares. But when a snowstorm hits and they are trapped inside their new home, their worst fears become reality. As they fight to stay alive, they will be tested in ways they never imagined. Can their love for one another and their faith in God save them from the dangers lurking here?

A masterfully written story that will grip you from its mysterious beginning to its chilling end.

From Publishers Weekly:

"In this dark chiller, Thrasher (Sky Blue; The Promise Remains) demonstrates a considerable talent for the horror genre. Like Stephen King, Thrasher pits flawed but likable characters against evil forces that at first seem escapable but gradually take on a terrifying ubiquity.

The Miller family has recently returned to suburban Chicago after a harrowing experience on the mission field. Hoping to get away from the busyness of suburban living, they travel to the mountains of North Carolina for an extended stay in an enormous, remote lodge where husband and father Jim plans to write a book while trying to reconnect with his family.

When a snowstorm isolates them further and spiritual attacks make them feel they are losing their minds, both Jim and his wife, Stephanie, begin to wonder if God can rescue them and their two young children. Aside from sharing too many plot points with The Shining, this novel hits very few false notes and should appeal to fans of Christian fiction, the horror genre and all who enjoy well-crafted and suspenseful stories."

My Review: The last few days of last week were gray and overcast, perfect for reading a spine-tingling book. When the sun is glaring at me, it's hard to get in the spooky mood, know what I'm sayin?

This book is very creepy. Thrasher does a great job of setting the mood...our characters are sort of at the end of their sanity, exhausted, bone weary, and feeling very alone. Something happened while they were living in Papau New Guinea as missionaries that has shaken their faith to the core. Jim decides they need to get away from the busyness of life and head to a mansion in North Carolina.

Bits and pieces of the characters past are revealed and we are treated to multiple viewpoints. The house has secrets and forbidden areas, but slowly each family member begins to discover these things on their own.

This book is very heavily about the spiritual realm--as in demons--so if you are sensitive to this kind of topic, you might want to steer clear. Even with the ending there are still quite a few unanswered questions, but the book is truly a page turner and fantastically creepy!
Check out Isolation on Amazon.

Giveaway: This being BBAW and all, I have 2 copies of this book to give away. You need a United States or Canadian address for this one, no PO Boxes. To enter, leave a comment with a valid email address telling me your favorite scary book (I like to read them this time of year!). This giveaway will close on Friday.

68 comments:

Unknown said...

This sounds great and I would love to give it a try! I never read scary books, but I'll definately give a Christian thriller a chance :-) Please enter me into the contest - thanks Amy!

Michele said...

I don't know that I have a favorite scary story. Hmm... The one that jumps to mind as a fun scary story is Boo by Rene Gutteridge. I read that for my church book club last year in October. It's the start of a series about a weird town. I enjoyed it but didn't feel compelled to read on but others in the group did read all of the series and said all were just as good.

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I think Karin Slaughter's books are pretty scary. She has written:
Blindsighted
Kisscut
A Faint Cold Fear
Indelible
Faithless
Beyond Reach
Triptych

In real life, she seems not scary at all however. She has a very fun website at http://www.karinslaughter.com and frequently hosts contests.

nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

Mari said...

I absolutely love scary stories. the one that really gave me nightmares was Stephen King's It. I should mention that I have an irrational fear of clowns. This book did not help.

Julie P. said...

The scariest book that I ever read was a non-fiction one. It's by Ann Rule, and it's called THE STRANGER BESIDE ME. It was a book about Ted Bundy!

Alicia said...

I don't have a favorite scary book, but I love Wendy Corsi Staub, Lisa Jackson and Karin Slaughter - I'm also a fan of true crime!

Susan said...

My favorite scary story is "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson - super creepy!

the.red.queen@hotmail.com

Thanks!

Ruth Schaller said...

I'd have to say Cell by Stephen King. That one was pretty good, but I also enjoyed the Autumn series by David Moody. Anything to do with zombies and I'm there! :)

RuthiesbookreviewsATyahooDOTcom

LisaMM said...

Oooo I haven't read a good creepy book in a long while! I used to love Stephen King, and Pet Cemetary was my favorite!

Anonymous said...

I don't really do scary books. There were some scary stuff in The Book of Lost Things. It was a great book I couldn't recommend enough.

nbbaker1102 AT msn DOT com

teabird said...

My favorite (recent) scary book was The Thirteenth Tale. It creeped me out really, really well!

teabird 17 at yahoo dot com

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Oh gosh, I don't read a ton of scary novels...it always just depends, but Misery by Stephen King was pretty good!

This one looks quite interesting. :)

-Lauren
lauren51990@aol.com

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

I'm not usually a scary book kind of gal but I do love ones with a spiritual theme, like This Present Darkness

Tracee said...

I am not sure I would ever read 'Salem's Lot again - it really scared me the first time!

novelnoise at live dot com

Ramya said...

hey.. do enter me for the giveaway!:) i have never read scary book because..well, they scare me!:) anyways, the scariest i have read until now is "My Soul To Keep" by Melanie Wells.. it has this concept of the evil and stuff and that scared me! - but then again, i am easy to scare!

Pamela Fierro said...

The Shining by Stephen King. I read it long, long ago, when I was in junior high or high school and scared the patooty out of myself! This looks like a good book.

Ramya said...

oops.. my email id is:
ramyasbookshelf(At)gmail(dot)com

Robin M said...

Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti lead the pack for scary, spine chilling books for me. "Monster" is a good scary one. Please enter me in the Giveaway.

rlmccormack59 (at) sbcglobal (dot)net

Robin of mytwoblessings

Anonymous said...

I am not a fan of scary books, and can't even think of one scary novel I own! However, we have a collection of books published by Barnes & Noble as 100 Little... for example 100 Malicious Little Mysteries, 100 Wicked Little Witches. These are great bedtime reading, and some are scarier than others.

chappyandalexa [at] earthlink [dot] net

Joanne ♦ The Book Zombie said...

Mark Danielewski wrote a book called House Of Leaves. While it's not the typical horror novel, it scared me more than anything I've ever read. It is hard to describe because it is a giant tome of a book with very intricate plot lines. It asks the reader what they would do if they encountered something that destroyed their idea and understanding of sense and logic. (A house that measures larger inside than outside) To me Quantum physics and science are scarier than any monsters.

asdfjkl; said...

Hmm... I really don't read scary books. The scariest (or you could say weirdest) book was The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick.

Could you please enter me into your giveaway?

Thanks TheBookworm
www.inthecurrent.blogspot.com
(their is an email me button on my sidebar)

Lana said...

My favorite scary book would have to be Silence of the Lambs. Completely heart-pounding (for me), and the movie's good too!

Please enter me in the contest :-).

caramellunacy (at) gmail

Sarah at SmallWorld said...

My favorite scary book, which I haven't read in 20 years, is The Shining.
shc.small@gmail.com

Nicol said...

Wow! The last time I that read a scary book was in elementry school I remember several books called "Scary Stories". They scared me as a child, but I doubt it would do anything to me now.

nicolmontero at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

The novel that completely caught me off guard was "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind - takes place in 18th century France. A chilling tale.
Cheryl
camathome@aol.com

Crystal M. said...

My favorite scary book is 'Monster' by Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti. I also love reading scary books this time of year. Maybe it's time to reread 'Monster'. Please enter me in your drawing.
Thanks!
Crystal M.
olenapena[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

Anonymous said...

Hm, what to say? Will a thriller work, or do you want actual scary? You surely have heard of Peretti's classic works (This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness). A thriller (I'll go for that) I enjoyed that I read recently was Pandora's Clock by John J. Nance.

hannahDOTfree at gmail

Unknown said...

This sounds a lot like The Shining, which would be my favorite scary book!

Booklogged said...

I've read a lot of scary books, but The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents really spooked me when they were in the underground tunnels.

booklogged AT gmail DOT com

Traci said...

I don't read too many scary books, but one that scared the snot out of me was Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs. I was not as enthralled with his other works, though.

tracisharpton(at)msn(dot)com

Alyce said...

I've always liked Michael Crichton books. It would be hard to pick a favorite of his, but Jurassic Park scared me. I guess I'm easy to scare. :)

akreese (at) hotmail (dot) com

MonieG said...

My favorite scary book is Phantoms by Dean Koontz. It kept me awake at night!! MonieG Rocko @ elp.rr.com

Amanda said...

I would have to say that my favorite scary book was The Shining. I read it when I was in high school before I ever saw the movie when I was in my Stephen King phase. The movie made it that much worse for me haha. This book sounds kind of similar so it would be interesting to read to see how much these two stories are alike or different. awalworth19(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks!

April said...

I just received an email about this one and its release! It sounds sooooo good! I really want to read it. I love the paranormal stories. Hmmmm, you know I haven't read a really good "Scary" story in a while. I loved Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box and I can still recall having nightmares the entire time that I read Rose Madder by Stephen King.

Kathleen said...

My favourite scary book was Chasing the Dead by Joe Schreiber. I reviewed it here: http://smsbookreviews.blogspot.com/2007/09/chasing-dead-by-joe-schreiber.html

raych said...

Stephen King scares the living hell out of me (obvs), but some recent, less gore-fest more unsettlement stories I loved are Shirley Jackson's 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' and Neil Gaiman's 'Coraline.' Both short, sweet, and terrifying.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a regular horror reader. I think the scariest thing I've read lately is The Watchers by Mark Andrew Olsen, and it wasn't all that scary :).
jennifer at quiverfullfamily dot com

Anonymous said...

Wow, I love the sound of this book. I was getting a little spooked just from the little tease. haha. Anyways, my favourite scary book would have to be Dracula. It's such a classic novel about vampires and I love re-reading it, especially at night. =)

Please enter me in the contest. Thanks.

Carmen T
carmenalexistsang[at]gmail[dot]com

Anonymous said...

A scary book that I've read was Watcher in the Woods By Robert Liparulo

Anonymous said...

I haven't read any scary books in a million years (I don't watch scary movies, either -- not a horror fan -- so please consider this a NON-entry!). But, when I was in middle school, I read The Undertaker's Gone Bananas by Paul Zindel -- and it was so frightening that at one point I literally threw it across the room. Readers beware :)

Anonymous said...

You should read "Heartsick" by Chelsea Caine. It's a creepy, disturbing psychological thriller but really good!
doot65{at}comcast[dot]net
Elizabeth

Unknown said...

The scariest books I've read have both been Stephen King novels: IT and The Shining.
brightmyer249(at)hotmail(dot)com

janetfaye said...

Ghost Story by Peter Straub is a scary book that is worth reading.

It is one of the best books in that genre that I have ever read.

I think a movie was made of it too.

Thank you!

janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

Anonymous said...

The Shining is a classic.

risanjax@metrocast.net

Anonymous said...

I don't really read scary books (they're too scary). *blush* But I have seen the movie for Stephen King's The Stand. And if the book is anything like the movie...

Adayla S.
emaildayla(at)yahoo(dot)com

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love reading horror. It has been awhile since I have come across any that were really memorable. I thin my all time favorites would have to be "The Exorcist" by William Peter Blatty and "It" by Stephen King. I could not read either one before bedtime as it would keep me awake for hours!

Anonymous said...

Jackie B here again...forgot to leave contact info!

taterjack(at)embarqmail(dot)com

darbyscloset said...

Stephen King is my favorite horror author. If I have to pick one book I guess I would pick "Carrie".
Thank you for putting all of this together!!!
Darby
darbyscloset (at) yahoo (dot) com

CA Verstraete said...

I still love to reread Dracula and never tire of it. Another favorite Salem's Lot. I can read those over and over (and do!) But I do like modern vampire tales also, a good one is Vampire's Violin by Michael Romkey. chris AT cverstraete.com

Gwendolyn B. said...

I was so scared by Stephen King's PET SEMATARY, I got halfway through and read the rest of it backwards! I'm looking forward to ISOLATION; thank you for the chance to win a copy!
geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com

Anonymous said...

The best scary book I've read has to be Salem's Lot by Stephen King. It's much better than the book. Thanks for the chance, ecfreitas579@hotmail.com

Rebekah (monkeygirlsmama) said...

Ooh, this book is going on my TBR for sure!

I love to read horror, suspense, and thrillers. If you're looking for a good scary read I definitely recommend Frank Perretti's THE OATH, Ted Dekker's THREE, and Stephen King's DESPERATION.

RebekahC
littleminx@cox.net

pintolinda said...

My favorite scary book is Hanibal. The movie is scary also.
pintolinda (at) hotmail (dot) com

robynl said...

IT by Stephen King; need I say anymore.

kaylee8 said...

Christine by Stephen King

Ti said...

My fave scary book is The Stand by Stephen King. It's not scary like "boo!" scary but it's scary because I could totally see something like that happening.

Please enter me!

thereedfamily[at]sbcglobal[dot]net

judybrittle said...

This book sounds really good and the subject matter is right up my alley. The scariest book I read was Stephen King's The Shining. I love horror but reading that was a little creepy. Thank you so much!
judybrittle(at)aol(dot)com

valerie2350 said...

Steven King - Cell

kamewh said...

The Amityville Horror!

Unknown said...

Cujo by Stephen King

Anonymous said...

Anything by H.P. Lovecraft- mainly Call of Cthulu and the rest of his stories.. he has a LOT of imitators. For more contemporary fiction- the Traveling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon is excellent.

Anonymous said...

sorry, my e-mail above is c81280 at hotmail dot com

disneyfanheather said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AmyLynn said...

The shining is my fav! Thanks! :)

klp1965 said...

stephen kings thinner

calgirl said...

Bram Stoker Dracula is my favorite scary story.

Charlene Kuser said...

Darkfall by Dean Koontz.Its really scary

CharlieGurl57@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Fear by L. Ron Hubbard. Probably the only good book he wrote.

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