It's only 104 pages. But WHAT horror is crammed into that small amount of pages. To say this story got to me would be an understatement. Kealan Burke has easily easily earned himself a place on my list of favorite authors. This story is horrifying and chilling in so many ways. The story is told from the perspective of Gillian, our "Jill" .."jack" was her little brother John who died. Even as an adult and mother Gillian sufferers from PTSD and has nightmares that see more real to than the everyday reality. The monster that haunted her childhood is a constant terror, and with her mind set on blaming the "monster", Gillian sets out to try and fix things. Things escalate quickly, and we see the damage mental illness and childhood trauma can cause. The only fault I have with this novella is that the ending seemed too sudden...but it doesn't negatively affect the overall plot at all. ( )

Kealan Patrick Burke can sure mess you up.

He writes fantastic characters and then proceeds to torture you with the awful things that happen to them. Tackling the most difficult of subjects is one thing. But to present in such a way, so deep inside the main character's fractured mind, that you cannot tell what is happening and what is dream, is masterful.

Genuinely horrifying either way, this story works on so many levels. I have discussed this book with several friends and we all came away with different takes on this novella---except we all agree that we were squirming throughout. It is a deep and very uncomfortable read---we can all agree on that.

Dark fiction at its best by one of the best---who still just keeps getting better with every book.
( )

So, yeah...this book ROCKED.

Start with a marriage on the rocks. Add in the horrible long term effects of child abuse. Sprinkle in some hallucinations and what have you got? Jack & Jill.

I've been a fan of Kealan Patrick Burke for a while now, and this novella only reinforces my belief that he is one of the finest horror and dark fiction authors working today.

He nails the marital problems emotionally. Any couple that has been together a long time will immediately recognize these domestic arguments as real and true.

The turn this story took was gripping, horrifying, gut-wrenching, and somehow, extremely satisfying. My satisfaction was, however, tempered by the sadness that child abuse can cause, not only for the victim, but for their future families as well.

My highest recommendation! ( )

In order to escape the brutal reality of their childhood, Gillian and John would visit the local cemetery by their church every Sunday. Perhaps an odd place to frequent, but they had their reasons. Here they would pretend to be Jack and Jill. They would roll down the large hill that separated the cemetery and the elementary school. Pretending to be Jack and Jill was an escape from the abuse they were facing in their father’s hands. This fantasy world brought them comfort until the day that John tragically died.

Gillian is all grown up now with a husband and two children. She is trying to make a normal life for herself, but recently the nightmares about her childhood and her father have gotten worse. The overwhelming fear from these nightmares, the feeling that someone is stalking her. A shadowy figure with their head wrapped in a plastic bag haunts her every move. The terror has become so real that these dreams have transitioned into hallucinations. Can Gillian gather the strength to fight back or will she ultimately succumb to the monster of her nightmares?

Coming in at under 100 pages, JACK & JILL packs a literary punch! This novella is dark and focuses on the sensitive subject of child sexual abuse. Despite this cringeworthy topic, this story is very readable. The pages reveal a look into Gillian’s adult world and the nightmares that haunt her, as well as the hallucinations that these nightmares have transformed into. She is consumed by her past to the point of being unable to sleep at night, hold a job, and know what is happening in her family. I’m not usually a fan of ambiguous, did that or didn’t that happen endings, but I was surprisingly happy with this one. There were definitely a lot of questions for me when I finished reading, but I think that’s ultimately what made me love the story. JACK & JILL is a read that is impactful no matter what the truth to the story ultimately is. Kealan Patrick Burke is an absolute mastermind novella writer and I can’t wait to pick up another! ( )

I once believed that a good book had to be a long book. You know, over five hundred pages; up around there. This mindset came from a near-constant diet of King and McCammon, Straub and early Koontz. Then I stumbled upon the likes of Rick Hautala, Scott Nicholson, Jack Ketchum, and, most recently (last year, to be exact), Kealan Patrick Burke. Sure, a few of their books are longer, but I believe that their best work is well under the 500 page mark. Kealan Patrick Burke's JACK & JILL feels like a full-length novel. The character development is on point. The descent into madness is vacuum-like, sucking you down into the belly of the piece, and, once you're there, you'll want to dig deeper and scrabble to get out all at the same time.

JACK & JILL is quintessential horror. Burke pulls no punches. The dream sequences alone are worth the price of admission. Burke managed to create a monster so terrifying that I might swear off cellophane ANYTHING for a while. I can still hear the crinkling plastic.

The book touches on such tragedies as the death of a sibling, child molestation, and mental illness. If you cringed at the mention of any of those things, you might want to skip this book. This is, hand down, Burke's darkest story yet.

Now, about the ending. You might become unglued. You might just scream at your Kindle. Kealan Patrick Burke is a dark magician, highly-skilled in sleight-of-hand. He'll make you believe that quarter's been behind your ear the entire time. ( )