Unspeakable [Mass Market Paperback]

Graham Masterton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2005

There are no words...

Holly Summers is deaf, but she "hears" thanks to her immense talent for lip-reading. A child welfare officer, Holly moonlights for the Portland, Oregon, police, using her unique gift to aid in criminal investigations -- including one into the case of a recent string of women who have vanished without a trace.

There is no sound...

Witnessing unimaginable evil in the abuse cases she handles, Holly fights every day to salvage broken young lives. But her good works spark plenty of enemies; someone has targeted this avenging angel with a supernatural vow to harm her. And the terror begins when Holly's young daughter disappears.

There are no dreams as dark as the horrors some men do.

Fending off the shadows of an unearthly predator and the very real threats facing a woman in a man's world, Holly must listen to her deepest instincts for survival -- to save the one person for whom she is living.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Masterton's all-too-real psychological thriller takes readers on a terrifying journey into the Portland, Ore., child welfare system, the mysterious world of Native American superstition and the thick web of deceit that friends can weave around one another. Holly Summers, a strong and attractive woman who happens to be deaf, is a talented lip-reader, which makes her a priceless asset to the Portland Police department. Holly moonlights by eavesdropping on suspected criminals' discussions and helping thwart trouble before it happens. But her unusual skills aren't enough to protect Holly in her daytime job as a child welfare officer after an angry and abusive father puts a Native American curse on her. Masterton (Prey, etc.) draws on the experiences of a real-life lip-reader whose work has led to many criminal convictions, and he also incorporates elements of his work with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. His graphic depictions of child abuse are both sickening and tragic, though his portrayal of Holly as a skilled conversationalist doesn't ring true. Unfortunately, this immensely readable novel builds to a conclusion so disappointing that it may incense some readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Graham Masterton is the living inheritor to the realm of Edgar Allan Poe."

-- San Francisco Chronicle

"...one of the few true masters of the horror genre."

-- James Herbert

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (January 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743462947
• ISBN-13: 978-0743462945
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars But NO ONE actually reads, it appears, May 2, 2005

By 

Fleurcat (Middletown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unspeakable (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a major horror reader (40+ years). This is a grim, dark book, and unlike some of Masterton's (better) work, not supernatural horror.
But I noticed something that makes me question whether anyone actually reads a book pre-publication. And since none of the Amazon reviewers mention it, I have to wonder how closely anyone reads.
The protagonist of this book is deaf. On page 156 she says she is "totally deaf."
I was looking for this type of clarification because on page 72, as she enters her apartment, "...she heard laughter from inside...and the television playing." At first when I read this, I thought she had miraculously regained her hearing, and that that would be a major twist in the story. No. Evidently no one closely reads a book pre-publication. Prolific writers like Masterton must create an outline, and then automatically fill it in.

Does anyone want to take the position that carelessness like this doesn't matter? I think it does. It's distracting to those (apparently few) of us who do more than skim. I think it's a valid measure of quality. Automatic spell-checkers have greatly reduced the incidence of misspellings that used to catch my eye. This type of error is at least as bad.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst ending I've ever experienced!, February 6, 2005

By 

S. Hendricks (Reno, Nevada USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unspeakable (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read a lot of Graham Masterton in the past and was excited about "Unspeakable". This book had a great premise and a villain that surprised me (and I've read LOTS of mystery/suspense novels). Then came the ending. I'm actually throwing this book away, my conscience won't let me inflict the terrible ending on anyone else. Don't waste your money.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unspeakable left me speechless, September 26, 2006

By 

Jazzy "jpjp1989" (Warwick, RI United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Unspeakable (Mass Market Paperback)

Did I read the same book as most everyone else? I love Graham Masterton. He has written some very entertaining, original stories that run the gamut from tongue in cheek to genuinely creepy. I don't know what to make of Unspeakable. Through the first half of the book I kept looking back at the cover to make sure he really wrote it, because it just didn't have the feel and flavor of his others. Three quarters of the way through I was feeling like "Ok he wrote it, perhaps under contract with time running out and a big bill he needs to pay". Around this time Holly's daughter thankfully got kidnapped (since it was mentioned on the back over, I got 75% of the way through the book knowing what was supposed to happen (and since nothing much else of note was going on, I was figuring this must pretty much be a "big thing"). The plot was comprised of several elements that seemed to get "tossed out there" but never fully fleshed out. The characters seemed implausible to me. Either that , or assuming they were presented from Holly's perspective, she's a REALLY BAD judge of character...especially for a welfare worker. The ending was a surprise. Unfortunately it felt like "let me give you something shocking and "over the top" to make you forget how horribly mundane and mediocre the rest of the book was. If you want vintage Masterton, read "Prey", "The House that Jack Built", "spirit", or the Night Warrior series.