Customer Reviews

Stranglehold

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

 

 

I'd read two other Ketchum novels (Joyride and Red), and a couple of his short stories. While I enjoyed all of them tremendously, NOTHING prepared me for this one! It is a superior novel, one that is impossible to put down once started (although you'll probably be tempted to out of sheer disgust at the subject matter and the way Ketchum presents it). It is also, possibly the most disturbing novel that I've ever read, and I'm a twenty-five year hardened veteran of all types of horror. The prose is clean, lean and mean, but don't expect your typical lightweight SK type of read. I loved the book, and highly recommend it, but only to those with a strong constitution. The reason I didn't go all out and give this one a "10" is that the ending was SO upsetting... it left a bad taste in my mouth for days after finishing it.

incomprehensible, depressing, sick, but what nakes stranglehold so riveting is its realistic characters and story that could actually happen. I had to stop reading several times because I did not want to read on, but I had to, and sure enough, in Ketchum style things somehow get worse. I finished the book in about 3 hours on the day I recieved it. I know there are a lot of reviews out there on this book, but it leaves such an impression on the reader, one feels inclined to write down their opinion. reader beware: second only to The Girl Next Door in stories that delve into the depths of human tragedy, and leave you feeling as dirty as the characters in the story

Despite what one or two of the other reviewers has said, this is indeed a great novel. It is not an easy novel to read, however, given the highly disturbing nature of the subject matter--child abuse--and the realistic way Ketchum portrays it. It is also a novel in which good does not triumph over evil (that's not really much of a spoiler, by the way--this almost never happens in a Ketchum book), which might also limit your enjoyment. It's not the book to choose if you want to curl up in front of the fireplace and enjoy a comforting, light, easy read. But, if you're willing to confront some of the more disturbing aspects of the human condition and the flawed nature of some of our society's institutions which sometimes enable, rather than prevent, nasty things to happen, give this book a try. It's second only to Ketchum's _The Girl Next Door_ in the level of nasty, disturbing, realistic horror that he's able to bring to his storytelling.

I recently discovered a new author. His name is Jack Ketchum. I found several of his short stories first in a small-press magazine.
I saw the titles of several of his novels listed in the introduction to the short story.
I picked up a copy of Stranglehold and was blown away by the subject material that Ketchum chose to explore.
This book deals with the very ugly side of child abuse in the same vein as Andrew Vachss' Burke novels albeit Ketchum is more graphic.
I was physically disgusted by the aftermath of the scenes as I well should be.
I don't want to ruin the book's ending for anyone but it does not have the typical ending one expects from a book that explores this subject matter.
Suffice it to say I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is bored with all of the King/Koontz reprints so readily purchased at any supermarket checkout line.
After reading this book, I was physically and mentally weary and had lost some faith in human beings.
I dare anyone to claim they have experienced that feeling after reading any novel of recent memory.
I then went out and found 2 more of his books (Joyride and Cover).

3 AND 1/2 STARS

Jack Ketchum's writing is exemplary in this novel and had me hooked solid for the first half. However the second half had too much courtroom melodrama for my taste. I also wanted the "bad guy" (Arthur) to be... well, bad. His juvenile revenge tactics made him seem stupid and unintelligent. I was expecting a little more depth and cunning, which would have raised the danger level tremendously. Regardless, this was a fast, fun read. For new readers thinking of giving Jack Ketchum a try, I would first recommend THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, his masterpiece and one of the best dark pieces of horror in the last two decades.

KETCHUM is one of the most underrated authors out there. He does it again with another great novel in STRANGLEHOLD. Very fast paced read, hard to put down. One of the reasons I love Ketchum's work so much is that it is believable, scary thing happen to regular people without the supernatural asspects of most horror authors. (except in his novel SHE WAKES which is my least fav book of his). Stranglehold is a novel of suspense, horror and retribution. Thank you kindle for releasing this hard to find gem. If new to Ketchum I recommend first reading THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, it will change your life and you will be a Ketchum fan too, that is if you can get through it.

I legitimately don't know what to say about Stranglehold, a profoundly effective and yet emotionally draining novel by Jack Ketchum. At its core, Stranglehold is the story of two people - one, a young girl who grows up in an abusive household; the other, a young man whose damage and violent tendencies mark him as someone to be watched - and how they eventually meet, fall in love, and then deal with the revelations about the true nature of the other person. Despite being categorized as "horror," Stranglehold is probably somewhere between a drama and a thriller, as the husband becomes more and more abusive and the wife attempts to save both herself and her son, only to find that the law isn't always on the side of the righteous. I can't deny that Stranglehold affected me; Ketchum writes complex, interesting characters, and the ideas he puts into play here - the flaws in the justice system, the impact parents can have on their children, the dangers of unchecked abuse - are compelling ones, and they're made all the more involving by the fact that Ketchum writes without pulling any punches from the horrors his book contains. But those same horrors make Stranglehold a bleak, rough read, one that I often couldn't read for too long simply because of how grim it all was - and that's saying a lot, given my usual reading proclivities. By the book's end, I found myself in a hopeless, haunted mood, and found myself needing something happier - time with my children, or even just some sunshine - as an antidote to the bleak, hopeless, devastating world that Ketchum creates here. Is Stranglehold a powerful, even effective drama/thriller? Undoubtedly. But it also drained me in a way few books have, and its unflinching look at domestic violence, cruelty, and horrific child abuse made it a book that got to be unpleasant to read, and one that I was fairly glad to be done with by the time it's done. A normal rating is hard to come up with for this one; all I can say is that it's a well-written, well-crafted piece of work, but not one I think I could ever make myself read again, nor one that I could see myself recommending to anyone very easily.

While the book will entertain and has all the disturbing markings Ketchem is known for, it's not his best work. The ending is pretty implausible. Still, not a bad way to spend a few evenings.

I have been itching to read this book ever since I read The Girl Next Door. I finally managed to get my hands on a copy. Even though the electronic version said this book is 771 pages long, I ate it up. I could not tear my eyes away from it. The pages flew by. And the deeper I got into this book the more I was sure I didn't like it. This is about Arthur, a sick twisted pig of a man, Lydia, the poor foolish woman that falls in love with the monster, and Robert, the offspring of the two. There are spoilers following so stop reading if you don't want to know. Arthur soon starts molesting Robert. He's raping the boy a lot. When Lydia finds out she files for divorce and begins the battle to have Arthur punished. During all this young girls are being found dead, nailed to trees, raped, beaten. It never says Arthur is the murderer, but he is, I'm sure of it. As this book comes to the end and the tension builds, I was really rooting for Lydia when she goes to Arthur's parents house to take Robert. When she shoots the pig and his father I couldn't read fast enough. It's the following pages that really ticked me off. Again, spoilers here, after everything this monster has done, the confession from the child on video tape, the fact that he shot Lydia, they charge her with murder, she gets life in prison and her poor abused boy, Robert, has to grow up with the very woman that raised Arthur and turned him into the monster he became.

Now when I say I didn't like this book, I mean it made me sick that this woman was done so wrong by the very justice system that is supposed to protect us. She did what any good mother would/should have done. And for what? This book was captivating, a page turner, I'd not read it again, and I recommend for anyone with stomach enough to handle a store about a child molester.

The only other thing I really didn't like about this book was how the scene and characters would jump from paragraph to paragraph. It left me wondering some times if I had missed something and had to reread the previous lines to make sure.

Stranglehold is the perfect name for this book, because that is exactly what it does to the reader, it locks you in its grips till the last page. Even after you have finished the book, it still has you in a "stranglehold". I am a big Jack Ketchum fan and have read all but 3 of his books, this is definately one of his best!