Customer Reviews

Crescendo: Welcome Home, Death Awaits

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The moment Ms. Wood correctly used 'blood spatter' to describe what most laymen mistakenly refer to as 'blood splatter,' I knew she had done her homework. From that point on, I was totally entangled in her web of murder, suspense and horror.

James is no ordinary dreamer-when he dreams, people die horrific deaths. Even before he finds revealing documents in the old family home, he is a ticking time bomb ready to explode and we learn that he has fallen victim to a generational curse that haunts his father's bloodline.

Or has he?

This man's vivid nightmares drive him to the brink of madness and at times, James is hard-pressed to separate his dreams from reality. His wife wants to help, but is constantly put off by her husband's denial. When James' friend Pete senses his mental fragility, he sees the perfect opportunity to exact revenge for James' affair with his wife in the months before her death.

Crescendo is a masterpiece, an exciting, wide-eyed look into the psyche of a killer. As someone who has studied psychology and psychopathology as it relates to crime, I found Ms. Wood's story riveting, intriguing and very well-written. It was a thought-provoking read that, for me, renewed the age-old argument of heredity vs. environment and whether or not our destinies are predetermined. It is an awesome debut novel for Ms. Wood and I look forward to more thrillers from her in the future. This work is perfect for the big screen!

C. Highsmith-Hooks, Author
The Soul of a Black Woman

Crescendo, a novel by author L. Marie Wood, takes you on a horrifying journey through one person's madness. Is it real? Or is he dreaming? Sometimes you know. But sometimes, you don't know until the end of the sequence. Crescendo. Join James, Andrea, Pete and Susan as they are each touched by the madness that surrounds one of them. Is it destiny? Crescendo. Author Wood is very careful to draw visuals for you. She is so deliberate that you are constantly transported into the middle of the madness, seeing each scene as vividly as if you are there. Crescendo. Stay with Crescendo through its early pages. If you do, you will not be able to put it down even though it's late and you are not sure that you want to know more. Crescendo will stay with you long after you finish the last word. Sometimes you'll wonder -- was that real? Or was I dreaming?

It is said that a wounded friend is the bitterest of foes. James is about to receive empirical proof of this maxim in lurid detail.

L. Marie's Wood's first novel entitled "Crescendo" is a compelling love bite upon the imagination whose swiftly-paced storytelling and visceral atmosphere will leave you thirsting for the story to continue. `Crescendo" is the best kind of fiction; that rooted in universal themes and subjects that often are often unnerving, sometimes ugly, but always easily related to by the reader. Its tale burns all the hotter for the perfect plausibility of it all, since readers will find themselves thinking, as I did on so many occasions throughout my read, This could happen.

Wood has fashioned a horror tale born of an expertly interwoven mélange of subtexts and underplots that challenges the very nature of trust, fidelity, and madness, and brings the reader nose-to-nose with smart characters who are never so human as when they are acting-and in many cases, reacting-inhumanly to one another. "Crescendo" leaves no relationship untested, be they friendship, marital, or familial in basis, and readers will empathize with these characters, many of whom embody the shaking anger and duplicity and impassioned resentment that every reader has known at one time or another. Here at last is a novel that doesn't let us turn away from the mirror just because the image it reflects is dirty. I truly enjoyed reading "Crescendo", and consider it an affectionate gift to the walking wounded among us; one that will leave you stinging with your wish to have the show go on and on.

Author L. Marie Wood has taken the simple life of an average man and distorted it into a vast maze of horrendous confusion. She is quite the clever writer who pays close attention to detail and draws you into the story, making every place and character clearly visible within the mind.

If you haven't checked out L. Marie Wood yet, you are missing out on much frightful delight.

This story will keep you going. Is he sane or not? Loved it looking forward to the authors next book.

This book is by far the most terrifying thing I've ever read. I think my favorite aspect is it's ability to keep you guessing. There are several points in the book where I have to re-read just to make sure that what just happened, "actually happened". It's a must read for all horror/suspense fanatics and I'm anxiously awaiting L. Marie's next work.

After being a reviewer for the past couple of years, I have encountered some books that I will return to that have nothing to do with my position as a reviewer, and I am proud to say that Crescendo is one of them.
 
This is the first subject of writing I had read of hers, and I know this author will be someone to keep an eye on in the future. L. Marie Wood has a talent of keeping her readers on edge till the very end.
 
Crescendo is filled with characters that a reader can identify with. An original plot line that kept my attention from page one, and her conflicts are absolutely horrifying. 
 
I think one of the reasons that Crescendo deserves to be read is the pace of the story. There are few authors out there that can keep a readers attention so completely that they do not dare put the book down...and that is what Crescendo is like, a real (I know cliché phrase here) page turner.
 
Without dwelling on who or what is involved in this book, I will tell you that when you put this book down you will begin to wonder..."am I next?" 
 
L. Marie Wood writes with a razor sharp pen that takes her readers to a high point then she drops them into her private tangle of terror. Readers beware: Crescendo won't let you sleep quietly at night, no more.

What exactly happens when a person loses their mind? When on the outside things seem normal enough, your typical suburban lifestyle by all appearances; however, on the inside, darkness is brewing a nasty treat. If you really want the answer, I invite you to look into the mind of James Adams in the novel Crescendo.
In her debut novel, author L. Marie Wood allows her readers a close look at the struggles to stay in control of reality while his nightmares begin to take such a grip on him that he can hardly tell the real from unreal. His torment is so great, both mentally and physically, that as you read this gripping work, your mind tries to solve the puzzle of just what exactly is going on. However, when you think you have it figured out, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find you are wrong. Just what is the cause of his vivid dreams? Could it be the past coming back to haunt him? Is it the guilt of his actions eating away at the very fiber of his life? It is when he starts to get close to those answers that Ms. Wood takes hold of the reader with such vivid details and drags them down further into the pit of horrors that has become Adams' life. His only grip on the real world is his wife Andrea, but even that bond is threatened due to both his past actions and her growing concern for the sanity of her husband. The questions that will plague you as you read are ones sure to change your mind with each twist and turn. Is he insane or are the dead really pulling him deeper into the bowls of hell?
At first the reader may be confused as they are introduced to the story via the deaths of some not yet explained characters and the haunted mind of James, but as they continue to read all is made clear in a delicious manner that turns into gripping storytelling.
This being a debut novel, I found myself quite impressed by the brush with which the setting is painted, as well as of the character depth and readability. The attention to detail is outstanding and breathes life to the story with each passage. This is sure to be favorite among both lovers of horror and psychological thrillers alike.
Crescendo by L. Marie Wood is not for timid readers, or those that need held by the hand as they delve into a story, which only adds to the enjoyment of the read. If you are up to the challenge and are wiling to go where you have never been before as a reader, check out Crescendo, and be prepared for a descent into the mind of madness.

 

Midwest Book Review

I preordered this book, and got it signed personally by L. Marie! Crescendo is a horror lovers dream. Unlike most horror novels, Crescendo does not rely on gore (although there are gory moments) to grasp and hold the readers interest. This novel transfers the reader into a deep, dark psychological realm. You actually share in the horror that the James (the main character) experiences. Once you start reading this novel, you will not be able to put it down. I highly recommend this book. Read it late at night if you dare. I did!

Crescendo is a pleasant surprise keeping the audience guessing whether the lead character is losing his mind or the center of an otherworldly assault until the climax. The key to the tale is James who the audience will believe is crazy one moment and then feel he needs an exorcist the next. The suspense never lets up as L. Marie Wood provides a powerful thriller that the audience will have to read to learn whether this is a demon horror story or a psychological suspense chiller, but fans of both sub-genres will appreciate this novel.