Customer Reviews

Wishing Makes It So

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This novella by Marilyn Meredith is classic suspense. Meredith gets right to the story with her opening line: "Warmth and love were but a wisp of a memory to the toddler."

Meet the Chrestman family. Steven is a social worker. Alyse has a B.A. degree in Early Childhood Education and has worked as a preschool director. They love each other and their three lively, well-adjusted children. They're active in their church and community. They decide to share their good life with a child who is considered un-adoptable.

Into their midst comes four-year-old Belinda. She's extremely bright. She has been terribly abused. She seems to have collected more emotional baggage in four years than most people acquire in a lifetime. She is devious. She is dangerous. Did her destructive impulses begin in the womb or in the cradle?

Belinda enchants everyone and nobody wants to believe she's responsible for the events that begin to pile one upon the other. Meredith takes this tale to its terrible conclusion with turn-of-the-screw precision.

Kenniwick County Social Services Department Social Worker Jocelyn Perigard explains to Alyse and Steven Chrestman that the four year girl they want to adopt has had behavioral problems in the foster homes that she resided in. However, the idealistic young couple, parents of three healthy children (Andrew, Holly and toddler Pammy), wants to do something good for someone else. They chose the troubled Belinda because they believe their successful parenting experience coupled with his background as a social worker and her PH.D and work with preschoolers provide them with the skills to succeed in bringing the child into a loving caring environment.

However, in spite of their good intentions, Belinda proved more than just a handful. At times sweet and innocent, she more often is vindictive, sneaky, and nasty. She takes pleasure in hurting other children and vandalizing other people's property. However, she soon decides that she needs to be the only child in the Chrestman household and considers becoming the only female as she covets her daddy's attention. Mommy knows but daddy seems charmed by the child.

WISHING MAKES IT SO is a deep character study that Dean Koontz would be proud to have written as the suspense grips readers from start to finish. The story line is fast-paced but filled with surprise spins as tension mounts from the moment Belinda enters the Chrestman home and never slows down until her final arrival at the house she called home for awhile. Readers who appreciate a strong tense thriller filled with real people will want to read Marilyn Meredith's superb shocker in which the roads to hell is paved with good intentions while your escort may be a beautiful little girl with a devil of a heart.

Harriet Klausner

This book kept me on edge - the writing flowed well and the suspense kept me glued to the screen (I read it in kindle edition). I actually thought it was a true story until closer to the end the events became so 'out there' I had to go back and re-read the description to realize this was fiction! It reads much like a true story and will keep you captivated. Again the later events begin to get a little TOO dramatic as to not seem as real, but still, it's a reall page-turner and I devoured it.

This book was very amateurish. The writing style was dull as dishwater, and the story wasn't much better. What's up with the blond girl on the cover? If the author wrote it once, she wrote it a thousand times that the kid had fabulous BLACK curly hair. The climax was was hugely cliched.

The best thing I can say about it is it wasn't too long... I only lost about three hours of my life.

Wishing Makes It So is a horrific tale about a mini-monster infiltrating a sympathetic family. Belinda, a beautiful five year old orphan, moves in with The Chrestmans, a loving family willing to share their hearts and home. But being compassionate can prove fatal when the new member of the family isn't the center of attention.
Marilyn Meredith weaves a skin crawling web of manipulative scheming and diabolical actions that will make you cringe. This book is addictive. Its pages turn as if it has a will of its own. Her story telling is artfully done making the characters seem as real as a person sitting in front of you and the antagonist as threatening as a stranger tailing you in a dark alley. Loved it!
Violette L. Reid, PeachPublishing

"A psychological thriller is played out in Wishing Makes It So. This incredible story will amaze readers as the devious acts of a sociopath are revealed."

"Steven and Alyse Chrestman are the proud parents of three adorable children, Andrew, Holly and Pammy. They feel that they have been blessed with a loving family and decide to open up their home to a four-year-old girl named Belinda."

"Little do they know that Belinda has been place and moved from several foster homes due to behavioral problems and demented incidents that have endangered the lives of others."

"Belinda immediately begins to cause havoc in the Chrestman's home. Alyse becomes suspicious of her as she catches her in numerous lies and it appears that she is intentionally trying to harm the other children. Unfortunately, Steven turns a blind eye to the deceitful deeds of Belinda. He doesn't realize until it's too late that they have opened their home to a killer."

"This is a chilling read that will intrigue and surprise readers."

Wishing Makes It So is a shocking thriller about a couple with three children who take in a female four-year-old formerly bounced around a variety of foster homes. Secure in their belief that they can give their new charge a loving, stable environment, they are unaware of the seemingly innocent girl's all-consuming drive to be an only child. It is a yearning that will drive the little girl to ruthless and deadly acts, even as her nautral charm disguises her murderous intentions, in this taut and chilling novel.

Author Marilyn Meredith has written some very good books over the years--many of which I have read prior to reading her latest suspense thriller "Wishing Makes It So". However, this is not like any of her other creative efforts--and it is certainly her best work to date. She takes a four-year foster child with such an innocent looking persona and gives us a charming and evil little manipulative monster. The storyline involves malicious and dangerous behaviors by poor little Belinda that ruins a wonderful family whose only intentions were to give her a loving family.

Meredith is a master at using a good mix of dialogue and characterizations with her narrative, so that the plot unfolds to give the reader a great psychological horror story. The story is fresh and alive and will grab the readers fullest attention--not allowing them to walk away form the book until they have devoured the last pages to find out what conclusion awaits them. It is a page burner that readers will find un-nerving but very much entertaining. This will become a classic novel of its genre someday, once others in the media discover this hidden gem as I have!

The American Authors Association (AAA) gives this book a FIVE STAR rating and a recommendation to buy and read this book!

With a heartfelt conviction that "love conquers all", Alyse Chrestman convinces her husband, Steven, and their two older children, Holly and Andrew, to open their hearts and home to an unfortunate foster child. Four-year-old Belinda Sleigh seems to be the perfect candidate and fits in nicely between eighteen-month-old Pammy, the youngest Chrestman, and Holly and Andrew. Steven's experience as a counselor and Alyse's teaching skills, along with their combined success in a marriage where love and nurturing are the norm has already produced three happy, well-adjusted children and leaves no doubt as to their capabilities to handle whatever initial challenges might arise. With the help of housekeeper, Celina, and her husband and groundskeeper, Juan Miguel, little Belinda's life is about to turn into a fairy tale.



Dismayed that Belinda shows her no affection, Alyse watches as the beautiful little waif seeks comfort and acceptance in the arms of Steven, who has always strived to show equal attention and time to each child. It is soon evident that Belinda has Steven wrapped around her little finger when he continues to dismiss devious pranks played on Belinda's new siblings as accidents. Little Pammy alone is unwavering in her love and acceptance of the newest member of the family. When Alyse and the older children realize little Belinda's malicious behavior is more than they can handle, Alyse is accused of jealousy and their once-solid marriage may be moving toward rocky ground.



An unheeded warning, a heart-wrenching discovery and an unbelievable accusation keep this plot moving at a fast and furious pace. Despite the fact I was warned that Wishing Makes It So is a dark novel, I was unprepared for the raw emotion I had to deal with as I agonized with this unsuspecting family. Just when you think you can let down your guard and life is returning to some semblance of "normal", the terror starts anew.



Put an extra cushion on your reading chair, folks. If you like edge-of-your-seat suspense, that's where you'll be perched until you reach the very last page. Meredith dispenses suspense and horror with equal disregard for your anxiety level as she interrupts the cozy life of the Chrestman family in this superb tale of blood-curdling psychological suspense.

"Wishing Makes It So" by Marilyn Meredith is a powerful story about a little girl who's amoral, and the hideous acts she commits to get what she wants. No adult ever wants to believe a child is evil for the sake of evilness, but other children always seem to know well in advance what kind of monster lurks beneath good looks, moderate behavior, and a cherub smile. Read "Wishing Makes It So" with an open mind. Remember,
children are just as capable of violent and manipulative acts as adults are. If in doubt, reread "Lord of the Flies," "The Innocent Voyage," or "The Dollhouse."