Scarecrow

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This is a VERY good book. Will keep you in suspense until the very end. I've read almost all of Tankersley's books, but this one shocked me the most.
The characters are well done and the storyline is fantastic. This book is a lot more mature than her other books. Anyone who likes anything else that she's written definitely needs to read this one.

Rating:
Summary: Scary Scarecrows
Review: This is not your average horror novel. It's more a Southern Gothic, out on the hillbilly farm.

Traveler Pamela Westbrook has an auto accident while traveling through the Ozarks, and is picked up by the nearby Whittaker family: suspicious patriarch Seth; his friendly and subdued wife Rachel; and their son and two daughters, the young son with only one hand and a curious disposition, the older daughter anxious to escape the farm for the big city with Pamela, and the little girl a possible witch, able to heal with her hands and rumored to have the ability to raise the dead. Pamela enjoys her stay with the family, but is eager to go home. Someone, however, very much wants her to stay - and may be willing to kill to get their wish.

This reads like one of the better episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour or Boris Karloff's Thriller. To say too much would be to spoil the intricately thought-out plot and many clever surprises along the way. Suffice it to say it's more or less a superior Gothic murder mystery, with just a dash of the supernatural, containing family secrets, buried bodies, and people who aren't what they seem.

A real treat.

Rating:
Summary: Ozark Gothic
Review: This is not your average horror novel. It's more a Southern Gothic, out on the hillbilly farm.

Traveler Pamela Westbrook has an auto accident while traveling through the Ozarks, and is picked up by the nearby Whittaker family: suspicious patriarch Seth; his friendly and subdued wife Rachel; and their son and two daughters, the young son with only one hand and a curious disposition, the older daughter anxious to escape the farm for the big city with Pamela, and the little girl a possible witch, able to heal with her hands and rumored to have the ability to raise the dead. Pamela enjoys her stay with the family, but is eager to go home. Someone, however, very much wants her to stay - and may be willing to kill to get their wish.

This reads like one of the better episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour or Boris Karloff's Thriller. To say too much would be to spoil the intricately thought-out plot and many clever surprises along the way. Suffice it to say it's more or less a superior Gothic murder mystery, with just a dash of the supernatural, containing family secrets, buried bodies, and people who aren't what they seem.

A real treat.

Rating:
Summary: I just finished this book yesterday....
Review: Wow, where do I begin? Since I have all of RTC's books except for two, I was on a crusade to locate and purchase "Scarecrow". I finally got my greedy little hands on it,and read it in one day. Gosh...you know, I really liked this book, it was well-written, and the characters are very, very memorable. But it's a very DARK tale..that's the only way I can think of describe it. It had almost a nightmarish feel to it, like a bad dream that you are relieved to wake up from in the morning. Pamela begins to figure how wrong everything is at the Whittaker's farm, and how the Ozark wilderness keeps them completely shut off from the world. The members of the Whittaker family are unforgettable: Seth, the strong, silent, angry husband that has plenty to hide. Rachel, the sweet and kind wife who seems to just want a happy family...or does she? Franny, the oldest daughter, who is willing to do almost anything to escape the simple life of the farm. And Micah, the strange, silent son who seems desperate to communicate something to Pamela. And finally, Girlie, the youngest child who has eerie, unnatural powers that no one should be cursed with. Something horrible, something evil, is going on in this remote area, and Pamela has been tossed right into the middle of it. NOTE: I would NOT recommend this book for younger readers. This really is an adult book, and there are some scenes that are probably just for teens and up. Thanks!

Rating:
Summary: I just finished this book yesterday....
Review: Wow, where do I begin? Since I have all of RTC's books except for two, I was on a crusade to locate and purchase "Scarecrow". I finally got my greedy little hands on it,and read it in one day. Gosh...you know, I really liked this book, it was well-written, and the characters are very, very memorable. But it's a very DARK tale..that's the only way I can think of describe it. It had almost a nightmarish feel to it, like a bad dream that you are relieved to wake up from in the morning. Pamela begins to figure how wrong everything is at the Whittaker's farm, and how the Ozark wilderness keeps them completely shut off from the world. The members of the Whittaker family are unforgettable: Seth, the strong, silent, angry husband that has plenty to hide. Rachel, the sweet and kind wife who seems to just want a happy family...or does she? Franny, the oldest daughter, who is willing to do almost anything to escape the simple life of the farm. And Micah, the strange, silent son who seems desperate to communicate something to Pamela. And finally, Girlie, the youngest child who has eerie, unnatural powers that no one should be cursed with. Something horrible, something evil, is going on in this remote area, and Pamela has been tossed right into the middle of it. NOTE: I would NOT recommend this book for younger readers. This really is an adult book, and there are some scenes that are probably just for teens and up. Thanks!