Cause Of Fear [Paperback]

Robert Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

All of her life, Linda Leigh has been a plain Jane-the kind of woman no one notices. That all changes when handsome college professor Geoffrey Manwaring falls in love with her. The only shadow cast over their upcoming marriage is Geoff's son Josh's stubborn refusal to accept Linda to his life-and his insistence that the unbalanced mother who deserted him years before will return to claim him. Everyone remembers how intelligent, witty, and beautiful Geoff's first wife was. Still, Linda is confident she'll be a good stepmom to Josh, once he lets down his defenses. But then the nightmares start. Visions of being burned alive that soon become hallucinations. The same dreams plague Geoff, then Josh, who continues to await his mothers arrival. Things go from bad to worse the day a woman in a red cloak comes up the lane and approaches the house. For she is the wife who walked out on Geoff four years ago. The mother whose memory Josh still clings to. The force of evil who wants Linda out of their lives-forever.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786015845
• ISBN-13: 978-0786015849
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting horror novel, March 30, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cause Of Fear (Paperback)

For the first time in her life Linda Leigh is truly happy because she is in love with a handsome and sexy man who loves her beyond reason. The only problem is Geoffrey Manwaring's son who dislikes her intensely and is waiting for the mother who walked out on him four years ago to return. On the day that Geoff puts a ring on Linda's finger, she started dreaming about fire and when she is fully awake she sees people and buildings burning. Oddly enough, Geoff and Josh dream about fire as well.

One day Geoff's wife Gabrielle suddenly shows up and wants to see Josh. Somehow mother and child are linked and Josh wants to see his mother. Geoff and Linda give in to his son's demands but the meeting doesn't go right and Josh turns away from his mother. Still she is determined to get custody of him and take him away from his father. Josh soon falls under her spell as does Geoff, leaving Linda to be the one to fight an age old evil that wants to destroy an eight year old boy.

Robert Ross has written an exciting horror novel that rivals the works of Clive Barker and Dean Koontz. This modern day gothic horror novel starts off as a thriller but gradually the reader comes to understand that the antagonist is not quite human and it is up to the heroine to save the people she loves from an evil that is millennia old. CAUSE OF FEAR is a very spooky novel that is hard to put down because the reader wants to know how the characters fare.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fear the unknown....., July 18, 2005

By 

Littlet T "Tra" (Cypress, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cause Of Fear (Paperback)

This book was my first of Robert Ross. I found it easy to read, short chapters (which I like think James Patterson style) and enough description of the characters to make me keep reading but not overdone where you would want to skip over the chapter.

I think the story was an original one and had me intrigued. I would not compare this to Dean Koontz though - I didnt find it scary - more or less I found it to be a "curious" type novel. I had to know what was going on and why.

Overall I gave it 4 stars. I think it started out well creating a captivating plot and then took a dive at the end. I felt like he could've given the reader a bit more. I dont want to give anything away but I do look forward to giving RObert ROss another chance.......

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Reads Like a First Draft, June 30, 2004

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cause Of Fear (Paperback)

Linda has grown up always thinking she is plain. But now things may have changed for the better as a successful man becomes interested in her to the point of marriage. His first wife left him four years previously. The only downside is his 8-year-old son Josh who thinks his mother will return.

But things begin to go a little strange as Linda and the rest start to have dreams of burning in fire. Then, a woman shows up claiming to be the beautiful first wife. Josh thinks she is not his mother but she eventually bribes herself into his affections. With the return, Linda becomes unsure of her future although her fiance seems to still be in love with her.

But the first wife has a way about her and Linda's new world seems to be crumbling. Desperate for what she had, Linda reaches out to friends and counselors and delves into the secrets of the first wife.

Ghosts, psychic phenomenon, time travel, magical beasts, ancient gods and a few other tricks get thrown into the mix in a plot that just doesn't quite work. Acceptance of strange phenomena is just too easy for many characters to accept. There are also some points that the characters miss which seemed odd in light of all of the contemporary cultural references made (and they never heard of Harry Potter?).

All in all I found myself trying to figure out what was going on but not really liking how it was going there. It seemed a lot like a first draft. I can't really recommend this book.