12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wild, Suspenseful Ride, February 28, 2009
This review is from: Scream: A Novel (Paperback)
Mike Dellosso introduced me to Christian suspense/horror with his previous novel, "The Hunted." It wasn't what I normally read at the time, but it opened up a new genre. As I began to explore it, I learned that Dellosso is one of its leading writers.
As much as I enjoyed "The Hunted," I enjoyed "Scream" even more, and it is one wild suspenseful ride of a novel. Its hero, Mark Stone, is an auto mechanic with a failing marriage, struggling to come to grips with how he betrayed his wife. While talking on his cell phone with a close friend, they both hear what sounds like the screams of hell. Moments later, the friend is dead. Then the same thing happens again. And then again. And yet again.
Juxtaposed against Mark's struggles is a man, simply called Judge, who is kidnapping young women, one by one, and holding them in a barn, for a reason that only gradually unfolds. The lives of Judge and Mark move inevitably toward a fatal intersection.
Dellosso avoids what could have been stereotypes. He skillfully draws his hero as all too human, showing his human flaws and frailties as he almost stumbles toward faith. And in Judge he creates a villain who is far more complex, and even more sympathetic, that might be expected for a serial kidnapper. As the two move toward confrontation, the reader knows what Judge is planning, and that knowledge sharply heightens the suspense. The final chapters propel the reader forward to a conclusion that may or may not be what's expected.
One regret -- I wish I'd found Dellosso's books with his fourth or fifth novel, instead of his first or second. I'd have more to read.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Need another Book...ASAP!, March 2, 2009
This review is from: Scream: A Novel (Paperback)
The whole time I was reading Mike Dellosso's, Scream, I felt like I was watching a movie. It's actually hard to turn the pages without taking your fingernails out of the arms of the chair!!!! If another book doesn't come out soon, I think he could use me as the subject of his next book because I'm gonna go crazy!!!!!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Such a disappointment.., December 21, 2009
This review is from: Scream: A Novel (Paperback)
I'm a guy who never really gave Christian fiction a chance, but being a Christian for the better part of 20 years I decided to give guys like Peretti and Dekker a chance. I loved Peretti and the Dekker's that weren't part of some crazy series were wonderful, but I quickly ran out of material. After reading the three Steven James' and checking out a few Randy Singer's I ran across Dellosso and saw who he was getting compared to (premature to be sure). So I got 'Scream' and 'The Hunted' and WOW what a difference these two books are.
REVIEW
Scream begs for more character development and unfortunately Dellosso creates a story where that's just not possible. The story is really over before it even begins and the 'plot twist' is predictable from the 4th or 5th chapter. Besides their names we learn very very little from the characters (all 5 of them?) and no one develops or changes in the least. If the book was about 75 pages less it'd be a perfect first half or even third of a novel, but to try and stand alone it simply does not work.
Needless to say I was pretty disappointed. This was definitely a miss for Dellosso, but after reading 'The Hunted' I have every bit of faith that Mike will rebound with a new and exciting story for us all.
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