Susie Moloney's Creates Literary Horror Story!

Frankenstein (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Thirteen


Susie Moloney


"A Circle of friends can get you through anything.
A circle of witches will drag you through hell."




All you have to do is see the cover of this novel and the woman's face and you know it's going to have a sinister story for you...and, if you guessed further, you might think it's about witches. You'd be right... but, amazingly, when you start reading, you might think you've picked up a literary novel such as might have been provided in the first version of Frankenstein...

In fact, before long, I had dubbed the author as a "master of Innuendo..." The pace for reading will be slow and then, there in front of your eyes is a "zinger" thrown in. You may stop and say, "What?" because all of a sudden you begin to pick up clues of what is going on... But then you'll go back to enjoying the writing, learning about the characters...

Be prepared to delve into a story about a little town called Haven Woods. Don't let the name of the town fool you, is all I'm saying... Paula Wittmore had not been back home for a very long time, but a set of circumstances--getting word that her mother was in the hospital, together with trouble at work and at her daughter's school...

Neither want to go and stay for a longer than necessary time, although Paula realizes she has nowhere else to go; but there is a reason that she has been brought back home...

Paula goes immediately to the hospital to see her mother. There both she and her daughter begin to wonder... There is only one staff member there, a nurse who tells her little about what is wrong with her mother. When asked about talking to her mother's doctor, she is told again and again that he is not there right now.

And though the hospital is huge, there are no other patients to be found...

Paula moves into her former home, which, of course, brings back old memories. One that has stayed with her always was why her mother had sent her away from her home in the first place--the reasons she had given were never satisfactory!

Soon many of her mother's friends contact her and try to get her involved with their activities. Contradictions soon became puzzling for Paula as they all claimed to be happy and prosperous but then talked about some problem they were experiencing.

And they keep asking her what she would want if she could have anything she desired...

This was my first time reading Moloney. Her style is uniquely hers and you should plan on adapting your reading to that style. As mentioned earlier, the plot moves slowly while setting the stage, but then begins to speed up for a climatic ending that was totally unexpected for me. And totally satisfying, given the horror and creepiness of many of the characters!

If you are into paranormal and and witches casting spells, together with a writer who can truly make the story more meaningful through her writing...then, check out Susie Moloney's latest. Others have referred to other stories for comparison, but overall, I found it uniquely different for a number of reasons...one of which is that even the bad have good in them...

Highly recommended...


GABixlerReviews

Susie Moloney was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada. It's fitting then that her first novel was about a very Canadian phenomenona, snowstorm that wouldn't quit.  Published in 1995 by Key Porter Books, Bastion Falls made Susie's first mark in the world of fiction.

Two years later her break out novel A Dry Spell was published all over the world, translated into multiple languages, and included a movie option with Cruise-Wagner Pictures, Tom Cruise's production company.

The Dwelling followed with critical acclaim and also became a best seller. In June 2011, Susie's highly anticipated The Thirteen will be released by Random House in Canada.

Susie has also written for television and film, including the screenplay adaptation of The Dwelling. Currently she is working on her latest book, tentatively titled, Three Days of Darkness. Susie currently splits her time between Canada and New York City.