Rating: 
Summary: Saul's Old Black Magick Will Hold You in Its Spell
Review: I don't normally read horror fiction, but I always make an exception for John Saul's novels. He has a rare talent for decanting the old stereotypic conventions of the genre into engrossingly new American Gothic bottles that always somehow manage to transcend the melodramatics and cliched limitations of his chosen subject area. His latest highly-complex, beautifully-crafted chiller kept me glued to my chair until its gory lightening-and-thunderbolt-from-the-blue denouement shocked me back shuddering into the relative sanity of the real world.Coupled with an offer of employment for her ne'er-do-well, drunken husband Marty, devoutly-religious Myra Sullivan sees her wealthy, realtor sister Joni Fletcher's encouragement to buy a badly run-down, old house in Roundtree, an historic New England community, as a sign from heaven offering a fresh start for her troubled family. Unfortunately, the Sullivan's bright daughter Angel's hopes that a new school in a new environment will transform her life are soon dashed. Once again, she's a total misfit within her peer group: her only friends, her classmate and fellow pariah, Seth Baker, and a mysterious, Cheshire-like cat that apparently comes with her new home whom she names Houdini. Fighting a losing battle against terror and harassment on all sides, what happens to Angel and Seth after John Saul juxtaposes the influence of the Sullivan house with its tragedy-haunted past upon its desperately, dysfunctional modern inhabitants is magical storytelling at its suspenseful best. I should actually say 'MagicK' because...once Houdini leads them to a witch's grimmoire hidden away for more than three hundred years in the Sullivan's basement and then to a safe hideaway where they can practice its teachings...that's what his desperate young protagonists eventually turn to as their only defense against a world where neither their parents nor their peers offer them any welcome, acceptance or personal security. The horrific results of their steadily increasing involvement with Old Magick are literally and completely spellbinding. There are so many strengths to "Black Creek Crossing". Most horror novels require tremendous leaps of the imagination in order to accept their premises. Here, the utterly realistic characterizations...the beautifully-detailed backstory...and the utter 'logic' of the youngsters' actions given the pressures of their situation all combine to create a moving and thoroughly compelling reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT READING COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN
Review: I GOT THROUGH THIS BOOK IN TWO NIGHTS ,THAT'S HOW GOOD IT WAS ALWAYS SUSPENSFUL GREAT CHARECTERS GREAT PLOT JUST FABULOUS. I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END BUT BOY THE ENDING WAS GREAT,I NEVER SAW IT COMING. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT AGE OR GENRE OF BOOKS YOU USUALLY READ.
Rating: 
Summary: Back to the Early Days of John Saul
Review: I have been a fan of John Saul's books for many years but found that his "children in peril" theme was getting a little stale.
I was pleased to see that he was changing his style with his previous two novels "Midnight Voices" and "Manhattan Hunt Club", both of which I gave 5 stars.
In "Black Creek Crossing", he is back to his old style and I am rather disappointed. This is so similar to his older books, that I thought I was re-reading one of them! Although this is not a bad story, hopefully Mr. Saul will continue to address adults in peril suspense and not totally regress to his previous type of story.
Rating:
Summary: Back to the Early Days of John Saul
Review: I have been a fan of John Saul's books for many years but found that his "children in peril" theme was getting a little stale.
I was pleased to see that he was changing his style with his previous two novels "Midnight Voices" and "Manhattan Hunt Club", both of which I gave 5 stars.
In "Black Creek Crossing", he is back to his old style and I am rather disappointed. This is so similar to his older books, that I thought I was re-reading one of them! Although this is not a bad story, hopefully Mr. Saul will continue to address adults in peril suspense and not totally regress to his previous type of story.
Rating:
Summary: A review from Jamian Snow, author SHROUDED INSANITY
Review: I have been a John Saul fan since the 80's. His writing is impeccable!! I didn't think his novels could get any better...And then comes BLACK CREEK CROSSING. It follows a family's move to a new town for new beginnings mingled with witchcraft and spells. It's a definite must read. John Saul has done it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Endings are a Thing of the Past!
Review: I just finished reading the last book of the Dark Tower series, and needless to say, I was feeling a little scorned from the terrible ending. So, I felt that I needed to change my Author list up a bit, and try to read someone new. I thought that I kept finding and reading stories with crummy endings is because I was reading books from the same group of authors. I jaunted over to my audio book store, asked the clerk for a recovery book to help soothe my pains from the Dark Tower fiasco, and he recommended this book by Saul.
What a huge mistake!
The book starts out slow enough, but once it started to pick up some steam it really started to move. Saul's writing style was a breath of fresh air after reading so many convulated, side tracking, Stephen King stories. The characters were interesting enough, and the storyline was very good. While I was reading, it totally reminded me of how I used to wonder around in the woods dreaming of finding something supernatural or unique. Of course it never happened for me, but happened to these characters in the book.
As I continued to read, I began to like this story more and more. I was so proud of myself for finally finding a winner, instead of all the losers that I had read lately. Angel and Seth were growing as characters, practicing magic, and were finally kicking a little [...], then all of a sudden......
the ending. I could not believe that right after dealing with my post Dark Tower Ending Syndrome, that I read this book. This ending is just as bad and hurt twice as much. I honestly could not remember if I had finished this book a few days later, and went back to make sure. That's how bad this ending is.
It's like this movie I saw once; I think it was called Miracle Mile, or Last Mile, or whatever. Basically a guy picks up a pay phone, and the person on the other end is babbling about nuclear missiles are on their way, and the end of the world is coming. The guy that answers the phone goes running around town, trying to save his friends and family. All of Los Angeles is desperately trying to get away. You watch the main characters struggle for almost 2 hours to get to safety and right as they are almost to safety.....everyone dies; and when I say everyone, I mean everyone. The whole planet is wiped out.
Now the book wasn't quite this dramatic in it's ending, but it made me feel the same way as I did when I watched that movie. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed.
What is wrong with the modern day author? It's seems like they are all striving so hard to come up with new and creative endings, that it is interfering with their writing skills. These endings are terrible. The endings don't have to be happy, where everyone lives happily ever after, but they should have some type of satisfactory conclusion. Everyone dying is so boring and unfulfilling. Imagine if all stories were that way,
"As Sam waves goodbye to Frodo, suddenly a loud explosion rips open the sky above. A giant meteor comes rushing down to our travel weary heroes and before Gandalf can cast a spell to stop this fiery behemoth, it smashes down upon them, killing everyone instantly. Oh,the humanity"
THE END
The rest of the book is really, really good. Just don't read the last 10 pages. Do yourself a favor, and mentally write your own ending to this story. Any ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Hated this book -still hate the author
Review: I read one of Saul's books about 15 years ago, I hated it, but somehow I convinced myself to try this one. Never again. I mean it this time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I really enjoyed this book alot by John Saul. I couldn't put this book down, the suspense was excellent and kept me guessing. The ending was definately a surprise. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who loves John Saul and witchcraft fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Starts Slow, Ends Good But Still Falls Short
Review: I thought maybe, when I picked up this book, that John Saul might be able to break away from his mold. But as usaul this book is as formulated as all his others. Abandoned house, small town with dark secrets, outcast teens, and etc. It seems redundant to read the same book over and over, with just small changes. The ending was pretty gruesome but predictable. It was all pretty much predictable. I like John Saul's books, but ever since The Presence, they have been so overly predictable.
Rating:
Summary: Started out great, left me wishing I hadn't read it
Review: I was intrigued by the beginning of the story, a mysterious house, a troubled family, a close-minded community, talk of ghosts and sinister happenings.... and the end just left me cold! I was not happy with the way this book ended. I've never read a John Saul book, is this the way things always end? I may not be picking up a book of his again. I can think of so many ways in which the book could have ended that would have left readers satisfied, or at least not sorry to have read the book. Very dissapointing...
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