Customer Reviews

The House on the Hill

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

 

 

The book is well written with engaging, though somewhat predictable, characters, and the story and suspense are well developed. However, the book falls flat at the end. A lot of the elements of the story, especially the illusions and how a blind man could do what he supposedly did (as well as Hugh's nasty tricks), are not explained or resolved by the end of the book. The fact that all kinds of lose ends were left dangling at the end spoiled the book for me. This is too bad because the author certainly can write.

Overall, I did enjoy this book.It was a book that made you wonder what might happen to the lost girl next.

Released from prison after losing his sight, and then incarcerated in a once-deserted home at the edge of the woods, Ellie Weir is under constant surveillance electronically. They say it is a fail-proof system and that he can't possibly escape
But this isn't so.

Abigail, Nora's ten year-old girl wanders over to the deserted home one day with the fence. But once inside the gate around it, she never returns home. Quinn Gallagher, the police/detective is trying to solve the case, as she is convinced that somehow Ellie must be holding Kate somewhere. And she needs to do it before it's too late.

Not to be confused with the film, "House on Haunted Hill", The House on the Hill is about a blind convict, living in a formerly condemned house, who's crime involved raping young girls. The tale is told non-narritvely through three characters: a cop, a mother, and her daughter.
If you're looking for a scary book, this is it. The situations of the kidnapped daughter are especially terrifying as you never know what is going to happen next. The only problem really is that the story can get confusing -- it took me awhile to figure out which house I was looking out of on the cover. I know that sounds lame, but it's just an example.

This is book is really ggod! I hadn't heard of Ms. Kelman til recently. Have not been disappointed. I have read Hush Little Darlings and amd now starting on Prime Evil. Look forward to rest of her books. Wish I could find her around here! This book will keep you wanting to pick it up and read!

I was not familiar with Judith Kelman as a writer until I read Prime Evil. Loved it! Then I read House on the Hill. Loved it! Now I'm starting to read If I Should Die. Looking forward to loving it! I really enjoy her easy style of writing. It's almost like watching a movie and yet somehow so much more exciting and personal. I won't be happy until I read every one of her novels. Bravo, Ms. Kelman, Bravo!

This book has not just one--but three--strong heroines, a bizarre villain (actually more than one), and a plot that moves at a lightning pace. A reader can't ask for more.

Ms. Kelman is an interesting writer who never repeats herself. Each of her books is unique. Be sure to read her other fine suspense novels, which include "If I Should Die", "Someone's Watching", and "More Than You Know".

Good News: Her latest book, AFTER THE FALL, will be out in June 1999.

This book was generally good. I say generally with emphasis, as although the story was OK and there was a little suspense, I felt the story got a little bogged down in the middle. I loved Wierd Ellie's dialogue in the beginning, which echoed of Hannibal Lecter, creepy, sarcastic and full of irony. But the great beginning didn't quite deliver, as the writing got littered with hard-boiled lingo with words such as like 'goddamed' and 'kiddo' that got a little irritating, as well as Quinn's tendency to just rage at everything and not think things through. I felt some of the characters just went with the flow and did not develop or grow in themselves. I didn't see the twist at the end, which was a good thing, but I was glad once I had finished the book.

This is the first novel from the author that I have read. The book started out very good, in fact is was good up until Quinn and Levitsky got caught following the psychopath from his house. It literally falls apart at that point. It seemed as though the author lost site of where she was going or just got tired of the task. A mystery should hold you until the very end and also clean up the loose ends left dangling.

This book started out with a great plot. It had a lot of promise. Even with the terrific start, the end was actually quite sad. There were several holes, including how the mayor got involved with the psychopath... When reading a book, I also tend to pay attention to details. By the end of this book, many of the "little" details have yet to be solved, including what was wrong with Quinn's boss... These details may not seem extremely important, but they add to the feeling of the book. These details could also make the book feel more real.

Even with all the holes at the end, this book had its good points to it. The plot was terrifically planned out and most of the character interactions were awsome. I especially liked the interactions between the two seemingly opposites, Quinn and Levitsky. Not only were the character interactions good, but the characters by themselves were good too. They all had substance, even the minor characters.