Customer Reviews

A Terrible Beauty

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

 

 

When Detective Superintendent Katie Maquire is called to investigate the discovery of a common grave in rural Cork, she little expects that mythology and madness are about to take a walk through the fabric of her life. Eleven skeletons, the flesh carefully removed from their bones nearly a century before, with raggedy dolls tied to each thighbone. An incomplete sacrifice, Katie finds out, to call up an evil witch. A ritual that once terrorized women in Europe and the US as the murderer traveled.

But after a long rest a killer stalks again intent on completing the ritual. Cutting the flesh from his victims slowly, carefully keeping them alive until the last moment. For Katie Maquire, who must deal with these horrific crimes and her own husband's descent into the world of crime, this becomes a nightmarish dream. Police procedural, psychological thriller, and not a small dram of the bleak mythology of Ireland's darkest past are the key components.

Against the foreboding backdrop, Masterton plays the practicalities of a police investigation and Katie's unraveling marriage with no small skill. His sin is in overdoing his effects. We spent too much time lingering over the torture of the victims without gaining much in the way of insight into the workings of what should be a very peculiar mind. While Maquire's character stands out, most of the rest of the cast could just as well be cardboard figures.

Even so, this is very nearly a complete success as a mystery and a suspense story. I was surprised at the end, though, when Masterton suddenly tries to turn it into a horror story in order to justify the final action. Not only was this unnecessary, but it rings a false note in an otherwise sensible and engaging story. Despite its flaws, I enjoyed reading the novel, both for its story and the tidbits of Celtic mythology. It is likeable if not particularly laudable.

One of Graham Masterton's strongest novels in years gives the reader a first-rate crime tale of torture and murder with spices of fantasy along the way. Very gory and gruesome with fully fleshed-out characters (until some of them are "de-fleshed"...ugh!) and a highly involving mystery element that will keep you turning the pages. You'll probably enjoy the novel more if you enjoy very dark crime novels as opposed to outright horror novels--wherever you may draw the line between the two--since the fantasy elements of the book never quite come fully together. There's a rather silly twist at the ending that does nothing but further murk up the moody story, but that's a minor drawback to an otherwise hard driving, relentless tale. Just let yourself go with it.

A Terrible Beauty is a ritualistic-serial killer mystery that is probably pretty good. My husband liked it. But I was unable to get beyond the first 70 pages because, by that point, the sadistic, graphic details just proved too much for me. There are some images I don't want in my head. So I gave it up, but that doesn't mean other readers won't enjoy it. You simply need a stronger stomach than mine, I suppose.Just a word of warning to others who don't fancy this sort of stuff.

Creepy! A bit gory! Fun! Yeap, it's all of these.

If there weren't a few glaring inconsistencies, this book would've garnered 4 stars. The first (and most screamingly obvious) is very early - we're first told the main character has been married for 7 years ("when she'd married him 7 and half years ago"), then a few pages later the same character remembers her wedding and honeymoon, FOUR years ago. Sure, it's possible (but not plausible) that the honeymoon happened 3 years later; and really it's only a minor niggling point. If you can get past that, there's a strong chance you'll enjoy the rest of it.

Anyway. The story IS creepy - Celtic mythology is a hobby of mine, and this book included intriguing glimpses of both traditional Irish culture and the mythology contained therein. There's a good steady amount of suspense, some graphic scenes of deliberate violence and a hint of sex that makes quite a nice package in all. Unfortunately, I'd figured out the bad guy by about halfway through, and I'm certainly not a genius...there's also a subplot involving the main character's spouse that seems to have no purpose other than to flesh out (pun intended) the main storyline. There are a couple of technical and historical inaccuracies too, which do detract from the credibility a little.

All in all, it's not Masterton's best offer, but it's certainly not his worst, and it's a fun read that'll occupy you for a couple of hours.

3.1/2 stars out of 5 :)

I enjoyed the story, Masterton is a great underated writer
and has so many great stories under his belt. He has a way
with getting under your skin and this book had many moments
that gave me some uncomfortable chills as I read late at night
before bed, but thats the best time to read Masterton, just
before you dream...
I felt the story spread itself out more than it needed to with
so many characters
but all in all it was a quick, fast paced read with mystery
and horror and I loved the whole Irish setting and folklore.

The first few chapters of this book seemed to move rather slowly but soon I could not turn the pages fast enough! Masterton is able to mix together crime, mythology, and human frailty in a uniquely intriguing way. Deputy Superintendent Katie Maguire is a believable, sympathetic protagonist caught up in a variety of challenges both at work and at home. The shady criminals and loyal male coworkers who have begrudgingly come to accept and respect her populate her days. Add to that the politicians with their own agendas and the academics who try to help and you have an interesting cast. There are enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested although the sinister culprit begins to become apparent about 3/4 of the way through the story. Still, Masterton weaves enough additional details and twists to keep you guessing.

I wasn't sure if I would like this book but I thoroughly enjoyed it and finished it in two days!

I wasn't very impressed with this book and that surprised me, as Graham Masterton seems to be a highly recommended author. The only real character development was the main character's daily attire and there were some holes and weak spots in the plot. The book did give me the heebie-jeebies though, so I'll give it a couple of stars for that.

I'd have to say that, for the most part, I enjoyed reading this novel. Masterton has a nice style of writing, and the details of Irish life, as well as the life of Detective Superintendent Katie Maguire and the bleakness of the story, were well conveyed. However, the killer remained pretty much an enigma, and there is insufficient occult detail and atmosphere for this to really qualify as a horror novel. The ending, while it delivered some neat surprises (including one involving The Lusitania which is particularly well done), did not carry sufficient weight for what is supposed to be an earth-shaking event, and left me feeling a little cheated and unfulfilled. Masterton is a good writer, but his story needed a bit more work to be truly memorable.

This is one gory book! Not for the fAint-hearted. Most of Masterton's books are scary, but this one is creepy. Would make a great horror flick. Actually, this reminds me of the movie "Waxwork" starring Zach Galligan. Just a bit. It's a little hard to understand because it takes place in Ireland. Even though Masterton provides an Irish dictionary at the beginning of the book, there's still a lot of words that don't make sense. I'd rather read his books in which the setting is some place in America. The Irish folk speak weird. Anyway, read the book and have nightmares. And women everywhere...don't accept a ride from any man you don't know well!!!

I've been a huge fan of his since the first Manitou book, but as the woman reviewer wrote, if you have a weak stomach you might like to read something else. This book IS disturbing and very graphic. I can handle most everything but this was beyond my limit. Even knowing it's only a fictional tale, Masterton's writing is so good he makes you forget that point.


When buying his books, be aware that MANY of his books have been released (or re-released) under different titles for the same book. It depends on where they are published. On his website you can find what has been released under what names, where, and how many times.