HUSH, ITS A GAME [Paperback]

Patricia Carlon (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Unknown (2001)
• ASIN: B0028Q6PA8
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,377,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Australian Charlotte Armstrong, April 26, 2001

By 

"drwspoon" (Garner, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HUSH IT'S A GAME-C (Hardcover)

Originally published in 1967, this novel is very reminiscent of the works of Charlotte Armstrong (whose book "Mischief" was made into a movie starring Marilyn Monroe.) As in many of Armstrong's stories, a young child is menaced by a killer and only accidental knowledge stumbled upon by strangers can save her. But will the disinterested outsiders care enough to interfere?

In Carlon's novel, a six-year-old girl is locked up in the kitchen by her babysitter, Isobel, when an ex-boyfriend comes to call. During that visit, Isobel is murdered and the murderer leaves without ever knowing that another person was in the apartment. Will the child attract someone's attention? Will the right person came to free her? Several people see the child in the kitchen window of the apartment complex, but for various reasons choose not to respond to her pleas for help. And then the murderer returns to the scene of the crime.

There are a few dated moments (a six-year-old who doesn't know how to use the phone?) but overall this quick read has some great touches. I especially liked the scenes written from the point of view of the murderer, Alden, who has the egocentric reasoning of a true sociopath. A good, but not great, little thriller.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Would someone, please, break down the door !?!, March 27, 2004

By 

lady detective "sakura kitty" (east coat) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hush, It's a Game (Paperback)

Patricia Carlon's writing style is clean, engrossing & timeless (I was quite surprised to dicover this book was written in 1967).

The novel centers around a little girl who has been locked in a kitchen by her caretaker, who is then murdered before she can let the girl out. It takes the murderer sometime to figure out that the little girl is stuck in the apartment with the body. The rest of the book is filled with endless near misses as the girl tries to find a way of escape & the murderer tries to find a way to kill the little girl.

The problem with the book is that the near misses keep piling up & become more & more frustrating. I kept rolling my eyes at the pages. "Would someone just go get the girl for goodness sake?" I wanted to shout.

The book is brimming with great characterization. Carlon knows how to get into the minds of everyone from a small child, to a nasty custodian, to a confused old man & so on.

I will absolutely read more of her books. I have a feeling she's written something better than this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Near misses hit the mark., October 17, 2005

By 

M. Sterner "library worker" (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hush, It's a Game (Paperback)

This is one of my all-time favorite novels. It's all the near misses that make it so great. Not just with the child but also with the young man and young woman. Each talking themselves out of pursuit. Reading all the wrong things into the statements of the other. Carlon shows a bit of her earlier romance-writing proficiency here.