Rating: 
Summary: Great interesting NEW twist...
Review: I never imagined that there would be a job as Bonnie had. This book is really interesting, especially the way each chapter had a subject. Totally unexpected ending. It keeps you in the air. If your a Graham Masterton horror, then read his other books, and since they are hard to find, go to .... That is where I have finally completed my collection of Graham Masterton horror books.
Rating:
Summary: One of Masterton's best
Review: I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I was totally surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. It's got a completely different feel and atmosphere than his usual adventurous romps. It's moody, subtle, and very satisfying. Caution - by subtle, I mean it is not overtly scary or shocking. It is, however, pretty gross. Just FYI.
Rating:
Summary: One of Masterton's best
Review: I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I was totally surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. It's got a completely different feel and atmosphere than his usual adventurous romps. It's moody, subtle, and very satisfying. Caution - by subtle, I mean it is not overtly scary or shocking. It is, however, pretty gross. Just FYI.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best!
Review: Okay, so it isn't pounding, gross-out, fingernails-scratching-at-walls traditional horror. This is a slow, almost gentle character study. Masterton doesn't even bother to hide where he is going. The very fact that someone does a job like Bonnie's in the real world is disturbing enough. That we like her so much we begin to descend in hell along with her is VERY upsetting. I like pulp horror too (Harry Shannon's "Night of the Beast" being the most recent example of a well done rollercoaster ride)but this one is something altogether different. Settle in for a quiet, skin-crawling text about true psychological horror and you won't be disappointed. Subtle and dazzling. I think it is one of Masterton's best.
Rating: 
Summary: Only Lukewarm
Review: Prior to reading Trauma, I'd never read anything by Masterson but I've been enjoying some lighter fiction, specifically horror, to offset a heavy workload and a long winter. Trauma seemed like it would be a good read and I was curious about Masterson, as he seems to have a good reputation. Unfortunately, Trauma doesn't live up to expectations. Masterson is able to setup a decent story with reasonably well dreamed up characters however the entire novella seems like a setup for a larger story that never really happens. I found myself waiting for the story to kick in but it never really gained speed. The ending? Marginally predictable. Having said that, it is a quick read and it is moderately entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistant
Review: The premise here is very, very effective - a woman who cleans houses after trauma scenes and thus deals with horror on a daily basis; and whose own frustration will eventually and inevitably reach boiling point. Her personal life is difficult, with a lecherous boss, a selfish, belligerant oaf of a husband and a son who seems to be following in his father's footsteps - and herein lies one rather large error. In the beginning, we're told the son is 17, yet further into the story he is referred to as being only 15 years old - no explanation or reasoning, just a simple mistake, it seems. Remarkably enough, this is the second title I've read by the author that's contained such a glaring error. There are also grammatical and typographical errors, but these reflect more on the publishing house than the author, in all fairness.Having said that, Masterton does write a very good horror story, and "Trauma" is no exception. We're sympathetic with the downtrodden and frustrated protagonist, and we can completely empathise with her situation. The storyline is a very effective study on the horror we sometimes bring upon ourselves, and there's just enough gore to satisfy the demon in us all. 3 stars, as I would have actually liked the story to be longer!
Rating: 
Summary: Great - But Short
Review: This is not a typical Masterton work. It is great, however, and I couldn't put it down. I started it at 10PM last night and finished it around 1 AM. Short is not the word for this book. Indeed, by keeping his verbosity in check, Masterton did more to keep me glued to the page than Spirit, Prey, or the The House that Jack Built. I've read almost all of his stuff and this is different and really, really good. I actually wanted to find a woman like Bonnie Winter and fall in love with her.
Rating:
Summary: "Something Dreadful May Have Happened..."
Review: This is the best book of its type I've ever read. Only two books ever made me scream by their end, and this is one of them. Thirty-four year old Bonnie Winter is undergoing too many life crises, of late - her husband has been out of work for a year, her seventeen year old son is discovering violence to prove himself as a man, she's working two jobs to make ends meet and wrestling with the idea of embarking on an affair - and her second job doesn't make things any easier. Bonnie is a "sanitizer," one of those people who cleans up messy suicides and crime scenes, and the endless wash of blood and violence across the decaying fabric of her life's seams is taking its toll. On top of everything else, she's discovered something unusual at the scene of three messy family suicide-homicides: a rare species of caterpillar that doesn't exist in our part of the world, and is legendarily attached to insanity and familial murder... This book is the most superior example of minimalist horror you could hope to find. It succeeds as a crime novel, as a supernatural horror story and as a tale of descent into psychological and spiritual madness. However one ultimately chooses to interpret it, Trauma is a horror story par excellence. Graham Masterton has written many fine novels of the type, but this is by far not only his best, but one of the best to be found in any of the aforementioned genres. If someone doesn't make a movie out of this clammy nightmare of a book, it'll be a crime. But don't wait for Hollywood to discover it. Beat them to it, and treat yourself to one of the shudderiest suspensers in the English language.
Rating:
Summary: Redeemed by it's length
Review: This skinny book had some starkly realistic and uncommon treatments of relationships (the main character had a verbally abusive husband and reacted to his tirades with boredom and pity for his impotence rather than curling into a fetal position and crying). Still, despite her intellect, I mostly wanted to understand why this dour, overweight, 35-year-old catastrophe cleaner had men fawning over her, and what the Hades possessed the author to add the laughable Twilight Zone ending to what could have been a unique mystery, if he'd thought about it 10 minutes longer.
Rating:
Summary: Helluva Novella!
Review: This slim volume contains Graham Masterton's most subtle and effective horror story in years. The main character, Bonnie Winter, is trapped between a lout of a husband and a business she runs cleaning up crime scenes. From the beginning she is a quirky, take it as it comes, female heroine, but we sense that she is bottling things up. Oh, boy! This book is filled with details on the after effects of violent crime, both physical and psychological, and also finds room for an Aztec demon. A must read for fans of Stephen King and Richard Laymon.
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