The Price: A Novel [Hardcover]

Alexandra Sokoloff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2008

Boston District Attorney Will Sullivan dreams of becoming the next great governor of Massachusetts. He has a beautiful wife, Joanna, an adorable daughter, Sydney, and a name that the citizens of Massachusetts respect. But Will's plans are shattered the night Joanna discovers a malignant tumor growing in Sydney's stomach. At that devastating moment, both parents resolve to do anything to save their daughter's life.

But in the twilight world of Briarwood Medical Center, nothing is as it seems.  Patients on the brink of death are not only surviving, but thriving, while others are withering away. The more time Will spends in the labyrinthine hospital, the more he fears he's losing his grip on reality. When a mysterious, charismatic counselor appears and starts talking to Joanna, she grows more and more distant, until she hardly resembles the woman that Will married. Yet suddenly, miraculously, Sydney is improving.

As winter closes in around the hospital and his dark suspicions build, Will must gather the strength to confront the evil at hand before he loses his family, his political aspirations, his sanity, and possibly his life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A stunning, riveting journey into terror and suspense." –Michael Palmer

"It’s been a long, long time since a book scared, exhilarated, uplifted, frenzied and made me green with jealousy. This is the book of 2008. It is beyond stunning. It is harrowing in the true sense of real art.” --Ken Bruen

"The Harrowing was immensely creepy and satisfying, a first novel and a wonderful book. Alex Sokoloff's The Price is another notch in this author's golden belt--a psychological roller coaster that keeps the reader on edge with bone-chilling thrills throughout. I couldn't put it down. Miss Sokoloff is an author not to be missed."  --Heather Graham, bestselling author of The Séance

From the Back Cover

“A stunning, riveting journey into terror and suspense.”—Michael Palmer

Boston District Attorney Will Sullivan dreams of becoming the next governor of Massachusetts. With his beautiful wife, Joanna, and adorable daughter, Sydney, Will seems destined for greatness…until Sydney becomes seriously ill. Now both parents resolve to do anything to save their daughter’s life.

 “A heartbreakingly eerie page turner…”—Library Journal

But in the twilight world of the Briarwood Medical Center, nothing is as it seems. Patients on the brink of death are not only surviving but thriving, while others wither away…and the recoveries all revolve around the ministerings of a mysterious counselor, who takes an unsettling interest in Joanna. When Sydney’s health miraculously improves, Will suspects that Joanna made a terrible bargain to save their child. Now Will must face a powerful, unknown evil before he loses…everything.

 “Pyrotechnic [and] cinematic.”
—Publishers Weekly on The Harrowing

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312357516
• ISBN-13: 978-0312357511
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,622,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alex is a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley. She is the Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Black Quill award-nominated and Thriller award-winning author of the supernatural thrillers, THE HARROWING, THE PRICE, THE UNSEEN, BOOK OF SHADOWS, THE SHIFTERS, and THE SPACE BETWEEN, and the non-fiction workbooks SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS and WRITING LOVE. As a screenwriter she has sold original suspense and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. Alex has served on the Board of Directors of the WGA, west and the Board of the Mystery Writers of America. In her spare time (!) she performs with Heather Graham's all-author Slush Pile Players, and dances like a fiend.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creepy and Disturbing, May 13, 2008

By 

Linda Burkins (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Price: A Novel (Hardcover)

Will is a charismatic Massachusetts politician bound for the Governor's Mansion. His beautiful wife Joanna endured horrible abuse as a child but seems to have put it all behind her, reveling in her role as passionate wife and devoted mother. The family leads the perfect, charmed life - until their beloved daughter Sydney is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Not surprisingly, Will and Joanna vow to do absolutely anything to save their child. When a mysterious hospital counselor offers them a way to do exactly that, they're both faced with a soul-shattering choice.

Alexandra Sokoloff interweaves scenes of everyday life with eerie, disquieting images, creating a mounting sense of dread. This is a classic spooky story - loaded not with gore and bloodshed, but instead with surreal nightmarish encounters and a plot that plays on every parent's worst fear. Sokoloff's ability to suffuse the ordinary with an aura of understated horror reminds me of Shirley Jackson.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE PRICE - okay, maybe enjoyed is the wrong word. I was thoroughly disturbed by this creepy tale of terror and look forward to reading more by Ms. Sokoloff in the future.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a creepy, fast-paced read, March 4, 2008

By 

weathered1 (Nashville, TN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Price: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'm always on the lookout for novels that are truly scary without having to resort to unnecessary gore. I happened upon Alexandra Sokoloff's first novel The Harrowing, and it was exactly the kind of read that I was looking for, and I instantly became a fan of hers. I picked up The Price the day it was released, and once again, Ms. Sokoloff has shown readers how truly adept she is at creating atmospheric thrillers. The pace was fast and well-plotted, and the character development of Will Sullivan was very well done - readers are made privy to his thoughts and fears, making him a protagonist that is easy to care about. The story itself was disturbing and never predictable, and when the novel ended, it did so in a manner fully in-keeping with the overall menacing mood of the piece.

The Harrowing was an impressive debut, and The Price illustrates quite well that Ms. Sokoloff is an exceedingly talented author who is a welcome addition to the worlds of horror, suspense, and psychological thrillers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Creepy, Chilling, Entrancing, February 20, 2008

By 

Sucre - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Price: A Novel (Hardcover)

I loved Sokoloff's first novel for its crisp, foreboding style and smart, realistic characters. Her writing is so much more focused and fresh in comparison to most other horror writers. She's outdone herself with her new book, which is even better and richer. If you've always thought of hospitals as creepy places with their own dark soul, you won't want to miss this. It's a fast, fun, frightening read and highly recommended.