Black Creek Crossing (Brilliance Audio on Compact Disc) [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

John Saul (Author), Dick Hill (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Brilliance Audio on Compact Disc | Publication Date: March 16, 2004

Thirteen-year-old Angel Sullivan falls in love with her family's new home - the house that stands at Black Creek Crossing in the small town of Roundtree, Massachusetts. But the idyll is soon shattered as Angel learns a shocking secret about the house. It seems that a double murder took place there, and no one has lived at Black Creek Crossing since. As Angel and her family begin to confront the mounting perils in their new dwelling, increasingly bizarre events occur in Roundtree: terrible storms strike; seemingly inexplicable "accidents" transpire; and rumors of witchcraft, a phenomenon that figured in the town's history hundreds of years earlier, begin to resurface...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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, wi?h 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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The seventeenth-century house at Black Creek Crossing in Roundtree (Massachusetts?) is a hard sell. Since the original owner's wife and daughter were burned for witchcraft, it has seldom been occupied long, and those who occupy it usually die in it, mysteriously and violently. Myra Sullivan doesn't know all that when her realtor sister shows her the house, and when husband Marty and daughter Angel take a shine to it, she's sold because, after all, she and frequently out-of-work Marty can actually afford it. Angel is drawn to a west-facing bedroom, and no sooner does she settle in than she finds a black cat in the closet. How did it get in? And how, when it goes, does it leave utterly unobserved? Well, think about it, witchophiles. It's the doppelganger of the girl witch's spirit, and in short order it leads Angel and her new friend, Seth Baker, to a secluded cabin and a book of spells that, the two 13-year-olds discover, they can use to defeat their foes. They have more than their fair share of those, starting with abusive fathers and unhelpful mothers and including classmates who harass them, verbally and physically. Angel and Seth are two more of the immensely sympathetic and appealing teen protagonists that Saul excels at creating, but they are tampering with evil stuff, and unlike, say, similar characters in John Farris' or Dean Koontz's books, they don't escape punishment in this remarkably gratifying horror yarn. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (March 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590869184
• ISBN-13: 978-1590869185
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Books on CD > Horror

More About the Author

House of Reckoning is John Saul's thirty-sixth novel. His first novel, Suffer the Children, published in 1977, was an immediate million-copy bestseller. His other bestselling suspense novels include Faces of Fear, In the Dark of the Night, Perfect Nightmare, Black Creek Crossing, Midnight Voices, The Manhattan Hunt Club, Nightshade, The Right Hand of Evil, The Presence, Black Lightning, The Homing, and Guardian. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling serial thriller The Blackstone Chronicles, initially published in six installments but now available in one complete volume. Saul divides his time between Seattle, Washington, and Hawaii.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling...A MUST read page-turner!, March 16, 2004

By 

Nick G - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Creek Crossing (Hardcover)

Angel Sullivan has always been the outcast, suffering the taunts of cruel schoolmates and the wild fits of an alcoholic father. Things for Angel's family have hit rock bottom until a call from her aunt has them moving to a new town and making a fresh start.

In the town of Roundtree, Massachusetts a beautiful home awaits, a home that is selling at a steal of a price, there is only one problem...the house at Black Creek Crossing holds a murderous secret.

Seth Baker lives in Roundtree and, much the same as Angel, he too is the outcast of his schoolmates, as well the victim of a psychically abusive father. Seth does his best to deal with his father, but finds sanctuary in photograph taking, until he meets Angel.

As Seth and Angel become better friends, Seth tells her of the deadly legacy surrounding her home and the rumors of supernatural possession that still dwells there. Angel, desperate for the truth about Black Creek Crossing, uncovers a centuries-old horror that lies within her home's walls.

Now, that Angel and Seth have uncovered the dark secrets buried in Roundtree, they find themselves trapped in a maelstrom of desire and violence that will erupt in unspeakable tragedy.

`Black Creek Crossing' is a chilling page-turner that begs to be read in one sitting. From the shocking opening to the explosive climax the plot speeds along with unstoppable force. Vivid gothic descriptions and likable characters combined with creepy scares will hold readers breathless until the final page has been turned.

John Saul is THE master of the horror novel, there is absolutely no one better. His novels are always original, well written, fast-paced and expertly plotted.

Expect to see `Black Creek Crossing' at the top of the bestseller lists for it's one of John Saul's best novels.

A MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Black Creek Crossing or Story Line Missing?, April 24, 2004

By 

James M. Johnson "phdleasing" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Creek Crossing (Hardcover)

There seems to be a trend among successful page turner authors to short change their readers once they have made it. This is a terrific example. I began reading this book, and became engrossed early on. Unfortunately, Saul gets us interested in the story without doing much to develop the characters or make us care much about them. There are numerous loose ends in the book, and the story ends without much resolution. It's almost as if the author did a page count and decided it was time to end the story, whether it made sense or not. Why were the kid's parents the way they were? What happened to the other two bullies? Why did the two main character kids do what they did? What's the deal with the roundtree in the cemetary? This book reads more like a draft than a finished product. My condolences to the author, to the readers who pay good money for the book, and shame on the editor for allowing a half-done book to be published under the guise of a finished product.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Have I read this before????, August 7, 2005

By 

A. Alex ~ "horseracing freak" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Creek Crossing (Hardcover)

First of all, I find it hard to believe that some people think John Saul is the "absolute best" and the "king of horror" - ?? I am no stranger to his works, I own the majority of them, albeit in paperback, as I don't consider him good enough to warrant me spending $30 bucks on one of his novels. But I do tend to read most of them. Some are pretty entertaining, such as his earlier works like 'Nathaniel' and 'Hellfire'.

He does seem to have a pre-occupation with writing about children and teens, which, to me, "dumbs-down" his writing. How about some adult main characters - give it a rest with the children who don't fit in, have a ghostly secret, grew up poor, abused, sad and wretched, etc. I guess that is his main forte.

Anyway, the book had a fairly good (but totally over-used) plot. You know, the old haunted house on the edge of town with a secret past, etc..etc.. And who hasn't wanted to find an old book of witchcraft and create havoc in the lives of your worst enemies? Of course that would be fun. But haven't we seen (and read) all this before? I certainly have. Let's get some originality here, please. I am not sure if I will pick up Saul's next offering in paperback or not, after this bore-fest.
Put it this way, if you are say, under 14, you'll probably love it. Go for it. For anyone over 14 - this is JUST NOT SCARY ENOUGH!

In regards to Saul in general, Stephen King he isn't! Heck, he isn't even Dean Koontz, who in my opinion leans toward mediocre as well. If you really want to read some scary stuff, pick up any one of Peter Straub's books - I recommend "Ghost Story" highly - or read some H.P.Lovecraft, Clive Barker, Richard Matheson, or of course, in MY opinion the true 'King of Horror' and you know who that is, right? Case closed.