Wendy PotockiBesprekingen

Trillingham by Wendy Potocki

There is something terrorizing Hillboro, bodies are found mutilated, half eaten and killed. Jen Nichols is certain there is something out there, not human committing these heinous murders. But no one believes her, not her boyfriend Phil or the Police.

The legend around Hillboro is there is a "monster" that can't be killed who is committing the crimes. Then a cemetery has been vandalize, a grave dug up, could there be a connection? One woman (Mary) seems to know the answers and she is determined to try her best to stop the killings and put this "creature" back to rest forever.

A well written fast paced horror story. I loved the plot, very original. I feel that those who love a good horror story will enjoy Trillingham

Kyle Evans just wants to fit in. He is an awkward teenager. Tired of being bullied he joins a gang at school called Hells Bells. The gang does horrible things just for the thrills. Things get out of hand when Kyle crosses a line and they are soon living a nightmare. Kyle is dealing with super natural powers that are quite angry and only he can stop the damage he created. Filled with suspense fast paced and very well written horror story.

Upon reading the synopsis, I was eager to read this book as I love stories that make me a bit scared, books that make me look over my shoulder and linger in the mind, and while this book did that in the main, there were aspects that infuriated me too. For my way of thinking the main character in any story is often the linchpin of a book, the common thread that everything is connected to and I believe it is important to make the character like-able or at least give them some redeeming qualities but Beth was completely self-centred, annoying and neurotic. The showdowns with her daughters’ father Daniel and his new partner Evelyn were embarrassing; I mean would any self-respecting mum conduct herself that way in public? By about a third of the way in I was almost urging The Man With The Blue Hat to just take her and be done with it! He would have probably done the town a favour. I understand that she was cheated on, it’s awful, and it’s sad that it happens in life but Beth kept going on and on about it as if she was the first woman that had ever been cheated on to the extent that I just didn’t care, the bitterness was just radiating from ever pore, she just kept trying to play the victim and it was winding me up because she refused to take the blame or even acknowledge that that she could be at fault for anything which is probably why it took so long to establish that it was indeed her actions that brought The Man With The Blue Hat to Breckenridge. Also, in many books, the dynamic between best friends is something that can be used as a strength but Beth and Callaghan didn’t have that warmth that I wanted to see, that warmth that should have been there, even before their troubles. They had a terrible way of talking to each other, it was cold, and at times just plain nasty, like they were barely acquaintances let alone best friends and when Beth hatched the revenge plot against Callaghan which culminated in such a shocking way, Beth came out of that particularly badly in my eyes. The stuff with Baphomet was seriously creepy and I found the closing scene at the park with Daniel and Evelyn left a bad taste in the mouth. I was left thinking that family doesn’t really mean a lot in this book which is sad to say the least. Ultimately disappointing.

Thrill
By: Wendy Polocki
Pages. 296 Genre Horror
Reviewed by: tk
Courtesy of: librarything giveaway

Kyle Evans is 15 years old. He's angry, confused,
and wants to establish a new Kyle. He won't be the
guy being bullied anymore. He wants to become
Mr. Toughguy, the rebel, the seeker of thrills and
excitement, a guy that demands respect or else.

Kyle finds a group of misfit boys. They offer brotherhood,
security, drugs, alcohol and women. Who could ask for
more? Kyle soon finds out that everything comes with a price.
The dark side of Spooky Town will force Kyle to rethink
his recent new found freedom. Killing a man in the road, with
a stolen car is the least of his problems. A voodoo priestess
is looking for justice, and will provide the thrills these boys
have been seeking.

An exciting, action packed read. The characters, and their
personal issues are very realistic. However, I feel as though the
dark magic was thrown in to created more excitement and
suspense. The story would still have been outstanding without it.
It would have changed the genre to suspense instead of horror.
All in all a very good read. 4/5

One of the best books I have read in a quite awhile! At first the story seemed to develop slow, however, it needed to because there was so much intensity throughout the rest of the book! I did not want to put this book down! People can see horror in all kinds of ways, but when Beth did something she wasn't supposed to do in her past it comes back to haunt her! She doesn't want anyone to know what she did, but there are people going crazy in her town and going on killing sprees, so she has to face her demons and figure out how to make this nightmare go away! There are so many twists and turns in the plot and I loved every minute of it! Gabby, which is her daughter's porcelain doll, seems to be talking to her daughter, Kirsten. However, Beth doesn't seem to understand how that could be happening, because it does seem quite unrealistic. But, how could Gabby know what was going to happen? I will be telling a lot of people to pick this book up and make sure they read it all the way through because it was very thrilling! I feel like I lost sleep along with the people of the town because I just wanted to keep reading to know what was going to happen! Was Beth going to sacrifice herself to have the spirit go away from their town, or was she going to sacrifice her daughter? This was the first book I have read in a long time that makes me wish they would produce a movie for it! Such an original horror book, compared to others I have read recently! Thank you Wendy Potocki! I will be reading more of your books soon!

Although the story itself was good, I had a difficult time getting past the prose. The over use of flowery and figurative language was incongruous with the genre. When the author wrote dialog, the story flowed, but her descriptive paragraphs were off-putting. For example, these sentences described a roller coaster ride:
"Once freed, they shakily departed, exhilaration percolating behind their eyes.”
"Greedily gulping in air, they capsized again, launching into another vertical maneuver."
Really?
While she demonstrates a nice use of alliteration, and possibly a thesaurus, it interrupted the flow of the story. Perhaps if the story line did not center on gang violence and supernatural horror, her style would be more appropriate. It just seemed she was working so hard to have such a rich variety of sentence structure and impressive vocabulary that the story, and sometimes the meaning, suffered.
So truly I might just give this a 2.5, but her story and dialog deserve a 3.

A copy of this book was received in exchange for an honest review.

Thrill by Wendy Potocki

Kyle Evans is an awkward teenager who wants to fit in. One day he has had enough bullying and decides to join a school gang called Hells Bells. They do horrible things just for Thrills. Soon it gets out of hand and (Kyle)crosses a line and soon they are living a nightmare. For now he is dealing with supernatural powers that are quite angry and only he can try to find a way to stop the damage he has created.

Fast paced, well written horror story, filled with suspense. I liked Kyle, he doesn't have the "perfect" home life, and has only one close friend. His decision to join a group of "bad guys" not really knowing what he is getting into.

I highly recommend to those who love horror/thrillers/supernatural, I feel they will enjoy Thrill.

I love this book about a mother (beth) that thought ahe had everything wrapped up in a nice little bow deceiveing everyone in a clever put on. She has recently caught her husband cheating and chooses to deal with it by being the adult. One day she does something horrible that she cant remember that not only will this effect her but the whole town as well. Death,damnation and deception are whats in store for readers that plan to read this old school horror story! While i feel that some of this book is a little rough around a few of the edges i find that i liked it a lot. The attention to detail is wonderful and that author is quite similar to Stephen King!

The Man with the Blue Hat by Wendy Potocki

Beth leads the average life, she has everything well planed and follows all the rules. Then one day the entire town seems to have insomnia, the town drunk Sadie is pointing fingers at Beth, as if it were her fault. It is almost like the old witch hunts in the past. Then a man delivers a message to Beth's daughter Kirsten, now things begin to hit home. Beth finds that she is no longer sure she can trust anyone and she is faced with the toughest decision in her life.

A fabulous horror story. I really liked the plot, very original, just when I thought i had it figured out, a new twist would occur and stump me again. Well written, I could feel every emotion that Beth felt. I Highly recommend to those who love a great scary story!

I did not anticipate the ending on this one..., April 8, 2009

I did not anticipate the ending on this one.....

Wendy Potocki's 'The White Lady Murders' is one of those rare reads in which I did not anticipate the ending. The writing style is very descriptive, and detailed - it is clear that the author wants her readers to see, feel, hear, taste and smell exactly what is going on. If this book is ever picked up for a movie, I can already picture the trailer with the evil demon, Lilith, hovering in the air.

While I felt that some of the scenes were a bit extreme for my taste, I can understand the author's intent to fully portray the evil (and the story behind it) which had been rereleased into the world - an evil released as a result of a man, David Lynx's personal temptations as a human.

Since I don't want to give anything away, I will simply say that the ending was clever and definitely leaves room for another book.

J.R. Reardon
Author, 'Confidential Communications'

A successful novelist/playboy trifles with black magic, too ignorant to understand the consequences. Haunted by a seductive woman in his dreams, his life, both waking and sleeping, quickly deteriorates. At the same time, a series of monstrous murders reminds the police of a 40-year old unsolved murder rampage.

There is a LOT of very explicit sex, and I found myself skimming it for pages at a time. While there is some space given to the murder investigation, most of the book is taken up with the novelist's disintegration. The story is in turns disturbing, overdone, and compelling. The text desperately needs some editing for grammar and repetition, and yet there is a rhythm to the writing, especially effective in the dream sequences, which is hypnotizing. I couldn't recommend this to a friend (too much of a prude, probably), but if torrid horror is your thing, this might be a good match.

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