Night Terror [Mass Market Paperback]

Chandler McGrew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2003

In an instant they were gone...

Four years apart, two boys vanished without a trace in a picturesque community in Maine. For Sheriff Virgil Milche, the disappearances are a black mark on a fine career. For the mother of one of the victims, the mystery is a dark journey through grief, hope, and madness.

Audrey Bock is certain her son is still alive. She believes that in the silence of his absence she can hear him crying out to her. And now she suspects that somewhere in her own past lies the key to her son's disappearance. To find her son, Audrey must confront the maze of her memory. To unravel an agonizing case, Virgil must uncover the bizarre darkness lurking within his well-lit world. But as both move closer to the truth, they will face the most forbidding barrier of all: Someone out there knows exactly what happened to two little boys--and who must die next.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Telepathy, telekinesis and the ability to communicate with the dead figure prominently in this unsettling and overwrought visit to small-town Maine. Arcos is the last place one would expect to find turmoil, but Sheriff Virgil Milche, whose wife is slowly dying from cancer, isn't surprised by much anymore. He is, however, obsessed with two unsolved kidnappings. The most recent is the snatching of Audrey and Richard Bock's nine-year-old son, Zach. Audrey insists Zach is alive and even claims that she can hear him calling out to her. But when she starts experiencing night terrors and visions, she begins to fear for her sanity. In order to find her son's kidnapper, Audrey must utilize her newfound "talents" and come to terms with some long-suppressed memories. Virgil, meanwhile, has to accept that there may be life beyond the physical world before he can solve the case. Like most fictional towns, Arcos is inhabited by quirky characters who harbor dark secrets, but it's the complexity of these personalities that make this such an engaging read. Though some of the story's paranormal aspects are hard to swallow and McGrew's (Cold Heart) villain lacks dimension (as well as a believable motive), fans of Kay Hooper and Linda Howard will readily dig into this fantastic tale.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

In an instant they were gone...

Four years apart, two boys vanished without a trace in a picturesque community in Maine. For Sheriff Virgil Milche, the disappearances are a black mark on a fine career. For the mother of one of the victims, the mystery is a dark journey through grief, hope, and madness.

Audrey Bock is certain her son is still alive. She believes that in the silence of his absence she can hear him crying out to her. And now she suspects that somewhere in her own past lies the key to her son's disappearance. To find her son, Audrey must confront the maze of her memory. To unravel an agonizing case, Virgil must uncover the bizarre darkness lurking within his well-lit world. But as both move closer to the truth, they will face the most forbidding barrier of all: Someone out there knows exactly what happened to two little boys--and who must die next.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Dell (March 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440241227
• ISBN-13: 978-0440241225
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,928,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars masterful psychological suspense, March 6, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Night Terror (Mass Market Paperback)

Arcos, Maine is a small quiet town where people know their neighbors and doors are never locked. Yet in the space of four years two boys disappeared without a trace and most people, including Sheriff Virgil Milche, think they will never be found. Zach Bock has been missing for over a year now and his parents, Richard and Audrey, remain tortured by his absence. Audrey, who had a very strong bond with her son, has begun suffering night terrors and episodes where she hears her son's voice.

Richard thinks she is near a breakdown and insists that she visits a psychiatrist. To pacify him, she agrees to go. After speaking time with the doctor, Audrey realizes that the aunt who raised her after a traumatic childhood with her mother has brainwashed her into forgetting her salad days. If she hopes to find out what happened to Zach, Audrey must be willing to face the demons of her own past.

Chandler McGrew has written a masterful work of psychological suspense with some paranormal elements intertwined into the story line. The heroine is facing every mother's worst nightmare while fighting for her own sanity. She is a character that readers will identify with and take into their hearts. NIGHT TERRORS is a fascinating reading experience because like Memorex readers don't know what is real and what is a figment of the character's imagination.

Harriet Klausner

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still lookin' over my shoulder..., August 31, 2004

By 

A. Stefanelli "A Voice of Reason in an Unreas... (Peachtree City, Ga) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Terror (Mass Market Paperback)

Chandler McGrew's "Night Terror" is a witty and lithe combination of plots that intimately intertwine and play off one another, as well as characters that seem to continually get themselves in deeper and deeper trouble. Just when you think all is lost... Well, you read if for yourself! I thoroughly enjoyed the unfolding of the characters as they came together to thwart evil at it's darkest moments! McGrew has succeeded in giving us another novel that is hard to put down. Another must-read from Chandler McGrew!

4.0 out of 5 stars Night Terror, December 30, 2008

By 

C. L. Vere "charlie brown" (Arizona) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Night Terror (Mass Market Paperback)

Not a bad book. Kept me interested throughout. Has some interesting twists and some tension within the pages. It has about 400 pages so it is a fairly quick read. Also inexpensive as I got this with a buy 3 and get one free deal. It was going for around 7 dollars at the time.