Customer Reviews

Fear Itself

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Couldn't put this one down. It kept my interest on so many dimensions -- I must say, I was sad to reach the last page. If only there were more books like this one!
If you typcially have a hard time staying interested in a book, this is the read for you.

FEAR ITSELF has a fantastic & intuitive style of writing. With each chapter, there's a little bit more to pull us deeper into the novel. The characters, the locations, & the suspense (which is extraordinary) all come together for a journey that leaves the reader feeling perfectly satisfied. Bravo to Barret Schumacher for writing a debut that already deserves a standing ovation.

Though San Francisco University research geneticist Reed Haler adores his wife Devrie, he thinks her ability to foresee the future is a charming parlor trick. Still he loves his spouse and looks forward to the birth of their child already named Alana. However, on a camping trip, a thug kills Devrie and their unborn child. Reed deeply mourns his loss and struggles to regain some normalcy.

Reed reads Devrie's journal filled with cryptic notes to include her own death and hints of future murders. Accompanied by a dog Hoover they found on that fatal camping trip, Reed travels to Cowhollow, Tennessee to talk with a psychic Maysie Fabrioso who has helped police. Following Maysie's advice and Devrie's journal, Reed stops in Alamosa, Colorado where he expects the killer to seek new victims. He meets Jessica Morraine, a divorced pediatrician with a seven-year-old daughter. Due to the eerie not so coincidental first name of Alana, Reed investigates the murder of a doctor in town, but remains unaware that the killer is already waiting for him.

FEAR ITSELF is a taut psychic thriller that grabs the audience's attention from the start of the book until the tale finishes. Reed is a strong character bound to gain reader sympathy, as he poorly copes with his spouse's violent death and a para-world he never believed existed. Though the dream sequences slow down a dramatic plot, the audience will relish Barret Schumacher's debut tale and want more novels just like this exciting one.

Harriet Klausner

20 pages into the book, I said to myself "I got to read his other books"... Hard to believe that this was his first book.
Best book I've read in a long time!

Found this book at the library and loved every page of it! I look forward to Mr. Schumacher's next novel (whenever that comes along). I was really surprised that this was his first!

I recommend this for anyone looking for something slightly different.

This book was great! I wish there were a way for me to contact Mr. Schumacher to tell him how much I enjoyed it. I could not put it down, and was up until 1am because I could not go to bed until I knew how it turned out. If you like the newer Dean Koontz such as "From the Corner of His Eye", you will like "Fear Itself". I am looking forward to another tale from Mr. Schumacher.

The author was very good at creating suspense and keeping the reader turning the pages. It was like watching a movie. In fact, it seemed intended as a feature film. Not surprisingly, the author works for the film industry. I felt myself annoyed at the writing. It was clumsy and stilted. In spite of this, I had to know what happened next. So, if you're looking for a good beach book and don't mind less than fine literature, it's a good read.

This 1st novel joins the serial killer genre with the paranormal, yet earns its real success with more basic writing. The author creates characters we really care about and when bad things happen, we take it personally. Well done all around, a few really dreadful moments, and I look foward to more.

Combining supernatural abilities with a murder mystery, medical research, relationships and even a little romance, Barret Schumacher has written a page-turning, can't-put-it-down novel! I have only read a few novels that keep my interest and excitement long after the last page, and this has been added to the list. I think I will add it to the top of my favorite discoveries, right up there with Katherine Neville! I highly recommend the book.

Part Paranormal, part Science Fiction, part Suspense and part Mystery, this book is EXCELLENT for a first time writer.

It does not get bogged down by dragging on and on. The story is fast paced and easy to understand. Although I personally don't like Science Fiction, that is kept to a minimum. The only flaw that I found is that the villian's part was not explained as to how he knew where to find the first victim, only the last two. Other than this, the book was great!