Rating: 
Summary: Predictable, poor plot
Review: I enjoy a good mystery and horror book as much as the next person. But I also enjoy being surprised about where the plot takes me. Nothing irritates me more than being able to predict what happens with the story after reading 1/2 of the book. Unfortunately, this is what occurred with John Saul's Black Lightning. In addition, the book's plot moves very slow, and I felt almost forced to keep turning the pages. Definitely not a book that you feel you have to keep reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat predictable
Review: I enjoyed this novel to an extent, but it was predictable at certain parts. The character development was excellent, though and it was fast - paced. And thank goodness - no neat ending in sight.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing at best
Review: I haven't read a John Saul book in a few years so I thought I'd catch up. This is a bad one to begin with as it makes the other two I have sitting here look rather unappealing.The ending, as many have said, is terrible. I was sitting there reading with about five pages of paper left and I couldn't help but thinking, there's no way this can finish off good. It really made no sense either. Without giving the plot too much away, the explanation of how things happened at the "moment of truth" was just too far-fetched and didn't add a thing to the story. There were no emotional connections to any of the characters except in the beginning of the book when you feel for Glen (Anne's husband) and Anne herself. But that all goes away very quickly as the boredom begins. I would not bother with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing at best
Review: I haven't read a John Saul book in a few years so I thought I'd catch up. This is a bad one to begin with as it makes the other two I have sitting here look rather unappealing. The ending, as many have said, is terrible. I was sitting there reading with about five pages of paper left and I couldn't help but thinking, there's no way this can finish off good. It really made no sense either. Without giving the plot too much away, the explanation of how things happened at the "moment of truth" was just too far-fetched and didn't add a thing to the story. There were no emotional connections to any of the characters except in the beginning of the book when you feel for Glen (Anne's husband) and Anne herself. But that all goes away very quickly as the boredom begins. I would not bother with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Not one of his best.
Review: I love to read John Saul novels. He captures me from the very first page. The character development in this book was well done. I felt as though I knew Anne and Glen Jeffers personally. My problem with the book was that it was too predictable. I was writing the parts of the story in my head even before they happened. When I came to those parts in my reading, I was disappointed because it was nothing unexpected. This is the only book by John Saul that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. It will not, however, keep me from reading other selections he has done.
Rating:
Summary: STRONG STORY, WEAK ENDING
Review: I must admit this is the first Saul book I have read and I did so only under the pleading of my sister who is a huge fan. I very much enjoyed most of the book. It is an exciting story and told very well. I must say I was more then a little disapointed with the eneding. I was hoping for something a bit more substantial.
Rating: 
Summary: Great until the last 2 pages.....
Review: I thought this book was very interesting and exciting. I had a great time reading it until I got to the last two pages. I felt like the writer had become bored and just decided to end the book. Right now! I had to reread the last several pages to follow what had happened and still couldn't figure out why he dumped the book and the reader like that. Except for the last two pages I would have rated this a 4, but because of how he left me hanging...a 2 is all I can offer. I am not sure I can bring myself to read anything else he has written.
Rating:
Summary: Very promising start...but disappointing ending
Review: I was gripped by the story the moment I read the first chapter. Suspense, psycho-killer, a fast-paced storyline - everything you could have asked for in a thriller novel. Intrigued by the unnerving plot, I finished the story in 2 days. But somehow the ending just didn't live up to the expectation. Kinda anti-climax really... Read this only if you're an avid fan of John Saul.
Rating: 
Summary: Positively nailbiting
Review: If you like on the edge horror, this is it. I am looking for ANY other titles by this author.
Rating:
Summary: There's not much to fear from this Black Lightning
Review: In Black Lightning, John Saul builds his plot around a serial killer of unusual distinction. I have a morbid fascination with serial killers and their motivations, but midway through the book it was quite apparent that Saul was going in a weird direction; glimpses into the mind of the maniac dwindle with time, and the door to insight is slammed shut by the paranormal elements of the story. This is by no means a bad novel; it's always nice to read a Saul novel that has nothing to do with some type of hundred-year old curse or mysterious genealogy. The writing is quite tight and riveting in places. The scenes describing one character's acrophobia attacks are incredibly intense, and the descriptions of the individual murders are painstakingly realistic. The novel begins with the execution of serial killer Richard Kraven. Journalist Anne Jeffers, who worked diligently to assure the killer's conviction, is there to witness the event. While Kraven is being electrocuted, Anne's husband is suffering a near-fatal heart attack. The doctors don't seem to really do anything at all for Glen Jeffers, but he is soon back home resuming a fairly normal life. Warned by the doctor that her husband's behavior may be changed as a result of the heart attack, Anne and eventually her children become increasingly disturbed by Glen's behavior. They would really have worried had Glen told them he was having blackouts; he continually finds himself having to explain actions he has no conscious memory of having performed. Meanwhile, a new killer is on the loose, committing murders eerily similar to Kraven's handiwork. Soon the killer begins entering Anne's home secretly and leaving her messages. When cops begin finding Kraven's "signature" on fresh murder victims, a signature that no one besides the deceased Kraven and the cops could possibly know about, things go from bad to worse. When the killer finally turns his eyes toward his nemesis Anne Jeffers, things get worse still. This is no average serial killer, as Anne soon discovers when he strikes truly close to home. The basis of this novel winds up seeming a little hokey. Midway through the novel, the story switched directions on me a little bit, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but by the time I reached the conclusion, this potentially impressive plot really started sputtering. At times, incidents and dramas last a little longer than they should, and this drags down an otherwise fairly brisk story. I can't address the paranormal aspects of the tale without divulging too much information, but it is not quite original and pushes the limits of credulity in the context of the novel Saul constructed around it. There are also a few subplots that seem important early on but sort of fade into obscurity, such as the relationship between Anne and the lead detective. Sometimes riveting, sometimes a little drawn-out, Black Lightning is a perfectly satisfactory horror novel. It makes a good change of pace for Saul, who sometimes seems to get in a rut of old curses and young teenagers. The effort is undeniably there, but unfortunately the book seems to shoot itself in the foot at the very end.
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