Customer Reviews

Black for Remembrance

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Despite having a doctorate in American literature, Carlene Thompson can write. She spins great suspense and the words don't get in the way. (A lot of folk with those high faltun' lit degrees get carried away with what they think is pretty writing. It may impress themselves and their friends - but it just gets in the way of a good story. Not here.)

With crisp crystalline prose, swift and sure pacing, and grand characterization, Carlene Thompson pulls the reader into the retro-trauma of Carlene Webb, whose daughter, Hayley, was kidnapped twenty years ago. The body was found decapitated and burned. Have Hayley and her clown doll Twinkle, kidnapped with her, returned to haunt Caroline; Hayley's father, Caroline's ex-husband Chris; and Caro's current daughter, Melinda?

If, like me, you read a lot of "True Crime" and forensic books, you might see the end of this one coming - but Thompson stirs in enough red-herring people to keep the suspense stew boiling and the reader guessing. Reviewed by TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer.

This is an awesome book from an amazing author. I could not put this book down once I started reading it. It's a good creepy book. It starts with the kidnapping and murder of Hailey Corday. Twenty years later her mother Caroline is remarried with two more children. Creepy things start to happen, Hailey's doll suddenly reappears, her daughter meets a new friend who bears a striking resemblance to Hailey. People that were involved somehow with Hailey start meeting horrible ends. Has Hailey come back from the dead? Well you'll have to read it yourself to find out. Trust me you won't be dissapointed.

Since this is the first book I'd read by Carlene Thompson (a present from my mother-in-law), I wondered until near the end if this book was going to be one with supernatural elements. The characters were interseting enough to keep me reading, but when I'd finally given up and decided, yep, this was going to be one of THOSE books, which was greatly disappointing.

But I kept reading. And hopefully you will too. The ending was a great surprise (and not one of THOSE books after all!), and everything came together very neatly.

What I liked most about this book was Thompson's theme, Black for Remembrance, which was well placed throughout the book. It was a great hook. The characters were pretty well rounded, too. In addition, the surprise ending was perfect: I was convinced I knew who-done-it and was WRONG.

I found very few flaws in the mystery plot of this book, in fact. I liked it so much, that I will hurry out and find another book by Thompson, hoping it's even half as good!

This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end! The characters were great and the mystery kept you guessing throughout the whole story. This was the first book Carlene Thompson ever published and what a great first novel. How talented she is. It is scary enough to thrill but not too overdone. I like the way this author always introduces so many characters into her plots that they all begin to look suspicious and so you are never sure until the end. That is a sign of a good "whodunit". I highly recommend this book.

This is the only book that I have ever stayed up all night to read. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. The book was so spooky and chilling that I was scared to move from my chair because I was afraid that there was going to be someone there. I love Carlene Thompson's books so much and I'm glad that this book is FINALLY coming available in paperback. The only place I could find it was the library. The ending smacks you right in the face and you don't even see it coming. The only reason that I gave it only 5 stars is because the rating doesn't go higher, it actually deserves at least 10 stars!

This is another page-turning, suspenseful mystery by this author. Her fans, as well as those who enjoy books by Mary Higgins Clark, will not be disappointed. The author is clearly a master of this genre.

When Caroline Corday lost her five year old daughter Hayley to a murderous fiend she thought that she would never recover from the tragedy. Twenty years later, divorced from her first husband, Chris Corday, she is happily married to David Webb. The Webbs have a teenage son and an eight year daughter, Melinda. Caroline's now idyllic life is turned topsy-turvy, however, when she starts hearing the voice of her dead daughter.

Suddenly, everywhere Caroline goes, something happens to remind her of that terrible day twenty years ago. Moreover, people who were in some way connected with the case of her dead daughter start becoming murder victims. A bouquet of black silk flowers, accompanied by the same spooky message, is left for them upon their death. As this spate of events makes it clear that Hayley's death is no longer a thing of the past, Caroline does everything that she can to ensure that Melinda will not end up as a murder statistic.

The only question is: who is doing all these terrible things and why? Read the book and find out. You will find your self compulsively turning the pages of this well-crafted suspenseful mystery.

This is the 4th book I have read by Thompson and previously thought that In the Event of My Death was the best, but now I have 2 favorites. She nailed it with this one! As with all of her books, I haven't been able to guess the identity of the killer, which is what makes Thompson's books so great. I look forward to reading her other novels.

A great read for a stormy winter's evening. The plot is strong, and the twists and turns will keep you enthralled. The characters are believable and complex. Thompson keeps you wondering until the last page:whodunit?

I think that this book keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way! I LOVED IT! I am just so mad that it had to end! I wanted that book to go on and on! I wish that they wrote more books like that! WOW! I am impressed! If you know any books like this one, please email me with the subject "Black for Remembrance" thank you!

I read this book in about 2 days. I'm 13 and this book kept my attention throughout the whole thing. The scary-terrifying twist made it one of the best books that I had read. The book was creativly written to keep the attention and the adreniline rushing... and that it did! I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes edge-of-your-seat murder mysteries!