Rating: 
Summary: THE LOST TINKERS W/ THE MIND OF A MADMAN
Review: RAY PYE has murdered two girls just for the fun of it, meanwhile; his two young, impressionable friends stood and watched in terror, forever bound by this dark secret. In this roller-coaster novel we meet several troubled youth in a 1969 setting( WAR, WOODSTOCK, MANSON, STDS etc). The three primary characters:RAY, TIM, and JENNIFER are basically three losers going nowhere fast. Ray's charcter is developed nicely for the simple fact that you can never really get in his head. Tim and Jennifer are a few years younger than Ray and basic subserviants, each trying to earn his approval. Ray is a pathological liar, abuser, and womanizer with extremely little patience. Ketchum keeps the reader out of depression with characters like ED ANDERSON (retired detective), CHARLIE SCHILLING (Detective, ED's good friend), Sally Richmond (Apple of Rays eye - ED ANDERSONS young mistress. AS the plot unfolds Ray's "WOMEN" begin to turn on him. First, Sally Richmond (who blows RAY off immediately, then Katherine (who RAY procaims to LOVE) and finally Jennifer. While this is unfolding detective SCHILLING (whose character I though was kinda boring and could have been better developed), is intense on nailing RAY for the murder of the girls four years prior. But what Schilling dosen't know is that RAY's rage is about to take over and he's in for one hell of a battle - a battle that would ruin a town and change every characters life forever. A fun, easy read with depressingly sad characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Booooring
Review: After the energy of Off Season, anything is bound to be a dissapointment, but this is just boring. I didn't care about the characters, except maybe the cat, the writing is typically conventional, the plot was weak, I wouldn't say there's a whole lot of developmet going on--i certainly didn't buy that the "bad guy" would kill people because he got turned down for a date and isn't as tall as he'd like to be--and i really had to struggle to finish it. It starts well, and ends well, but if you're like me, and want to read this because you like ketchum and/or horror stories just read the beginnign and then skip to the end because a whole bunch of nothing happens inbetween. If you're interested in character development and loss of inocence, read The Bottoms by Joe Lansdale.
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading Marketing
Review: Disquieting. Uncomfortable. Honest.
Those are the three words I think best sum up this novel. I'd never read anything by Ketchum before and was hesitant to shell out [money] for an unknown quantity, but I'm very glad I did.The book centers around the inhabitants of a sleepy New Jersey town in the summer of 1969. You've got Ray Pye, an unconvicted sociopathic murderer. There's Tim and Jennifer, his unhappy lackeys. There's Schilling, the cop who knows Ray killed two girls in a park four years ago, but can't prove it. And Katherine, the new girl in town, strangely fascinated by Ray. The Lost is an especially apt title. Every character, from the afore-mentioned leading cast, right down to the supporting characters, is lacking one essential: happiness. Now, that makes the book seem like a tedious bore that you might use to prep yourself to commit suicide, but trust me, The Lost is excellent. Ketchum makes you feel and understand every character's motivations and emotions, including Ray (one of the 'best' villains I've seen). Every character is well-drawn; while you may not like some of them much (I know I didn't), you'll definitely see where each one is coming from. The ending is suitably bittersweet and has a well-measured dose of poetic justice. My only gripe with the book is the marketing. The Lost is not really a horror novel; the closest I can come to describing it is to call it a pyschological thriller, but even that doesn't sum it up. Despite a previous reviewer's comments, there is very little graphic description of violence or sex; what there is, is essential, in my opinion, to the telling of the story. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Misleading Marketing
Review: Disquieting. Uncomfortable. Honest.
Those are the three words I think best sum up this novel. I'd never read anything by Ketchum before and was hesitant to shell out [money] for an unknown quantity, but I'm very glad I did. The book centers around the inhabitants of a sleepy New Jersey town in the summer of 1969. You've got Ray Pye, an unconvicted sociopathic murderer. There's Tim and Jennifer, his unhappy lackeys. There's Schilling, the cop who knows Ray killed two girls in a park four years ago, but can't prove it. And Katherine, the new girl in town, strangely fascinated by Ray. The Lost is an especially apt title. Every character, from the afore-mentioned leading cast, right down to the supporting characters, is lacking one essential: happiness. Now, that makes the book seem like a tedious bore that you might use to prep yourself to commit suicide, but trust me, The Lost is excellent. Ketchum makes you feel and understand every character's motivations and emotions, including Ray (one of the 'best' villains I've seen). Every character is well-drawn; while you may not like some of them much (I know I didn't), you'll definitely see where each one is coming from. The ending is suitably bittersweet and has a well-measured dose of poetic justice. My only gripe with the book is the marketing. The Lost is not really a horror novel; the closest I can come to describing it is to call it a pyschological thriller, but even that doesn't sum it up. Despite a previous reviewer's comments, there is very little graphic description of violence or sex; what there is, is essential, in my opinion, to the telling of the story. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Slow-going at first, but ultimately it revs up into Ketchum
Review: I have to scratch my head at reviews that call this a mindless beach read or disappointing drivel. Did those people read the same book I did? This wasn't as fast-moving and chockful of mayhem as some of the other books by Ketchum that I've read, but ultimately, it is just as horrifying, if not more so, because we've come to understand and sympathize with his characters, many of whom meet with violent ends. You can't pick up a Jack Ketchum novel and expect light reading. Ketchum specializes in realistic horror and he will not flinch or turn away or cop-out. This doesn't always make his books very easy to read. But if you know what you're getting into and are prepared to hold on for the ride, you'll be subjected to a level of horror that just does not exist elsewhere in the publishing world right now. I'd liken the experience of a Ketchum novel to riding a rollercoaster--once you're strapped in and climbing that first hill, it's too late to do much but go along for the ride. This is a good book--it is slow-moving to begin with, but there's a reason for that, as Ketchum develops and creates a cast of believable, realistic, human characters. We see their motivations and their thoughts/feelings, which makes what happens later on that much more affecting. Regardless of this slow start, I was held riveted to the book and could not stop reading until it was finished. It isn't quite up there in the same league as _The Girl Next Door_ or _Stranglehold_, Ketchum's most appalling books, but it is certainly one of his best novels and deserves to be read. Just be careful and know what it is you're getting yourself into.
Rating:
Summary: Better than it sounds
Review: I won't go into the plot or story line , there are plenty of other reviews that do that, I'll just say that this is a very good book. After reading the discription of the book I was't thrilled to get it. Being a Ketchum fan I finally got around to reading it and was suprised. Jack Ketchum has a great flow in this book, the way he weaves the characters togeather throughout the story with little snippits of history and the time and feel of the lated 60's was well done. This is billed as a horror story but came acorss to me as more of a slice-of-life in small town story with a murder (ok multiple murders)involved. THIS IS A GOOD BOOK - READ IT.
Rating:
Summary: A New Ketchum Twisted
Review: Jack Ketchum has written some very disturbing tales; his The Girl Next Door is one of the most affecting book I've ever read. He is a so-called horror novelist who blends natural, every-day horror (the darkness of a person's mind is always prominent in his books) with great stories. Now comes The Lost, his most mature and most affecting since Girl Next Door. A melee of characters in 1969 are trying to cope with something horrible that happened five years ago; the cold-blooded murder of two young female campers. You have the murderer, Ray, his two accomplices, Jen and Tim, some of their friends, the cop on the case, Charlie, and a retired cop who helped Charlie with the case five years ago, Ed. All their lives are about to crumble together as the horrors of the past event resurface to haunt them once more. Ketchum has no remorse for any of these characters; he shows to us that no one, no matter how good, is safe from a twisted mind. Ketchum is at his affecting best with this book. His prose grabs you by the guts and never intends to let go of you until the final page. The regular Ketchum reader will recognize all the trademarks that made this author such a cult phenomenon. But new readers beware; this tale is more slow moving and nostalgic than his other books (a lot of the book was obviously inspired by old 60s music, rock icons and films). Still, with its bloody finally and believable characters, The Lost is Ketchum's best in years, and that's saying a lot!
Rating:
Summary: engrossing
Review: Jack Ketchum is known to many as one who writes from the gut and pulls no punches. This statement definitely applies to "The Lost" The opening chapter is set in 1965 when 3 teenagers, Jennifer, Tim & Ray, go on a camping trip in an isolated part of New Jersey. They assume that in these woods they'll be alone but they're wrong. 2 female campers share another spot nearby. Ray, a sociopathic greaser who likes to wear cowboy boots and hates the Beatles assumes(incorrectly) that the two are lesbians when he sees them kiss each other on the lips while spying on them. He then decides to off them with his revolver for no other good reason then that "they're lesbos man, they deserve to die". Fast forward to 1969. Nobody has yet found out who killed the two females in the woods four years earlier but deputy Charles Schilling does. He knows it's Ray but for the last four years his efforts to tie him to the crimes have had no success. He is intent on making Ray pay for his crimes no matter what the cost.. The author seems to capture the mood of the sixties real well(though I wouldn't know for sure being an 80's child). There are references to Woodstock, drugs, the Beatles, the stones, etc.He even ties the story in with the Sharon Tate murders of 69'. More of a thriller than a horror novel, "The Lost" is a very engaging read with many well-drawn characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best, not the worst
Review: Ketchum's "The Lost" is a decent book. I must admit I was a little disappointed by it, only because I know the genius that the author is capable of. A very violent, blood-soaked intro and ending, and a lot of attempted character development in between that kind of falls flat. Recommended for Ketchum fans, but not the book I would suggest to a reader wanting to familiarize himself with Ketchum's stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Five Stars
Review: There's a reason why this guy is Stephen King's favorite author. HE ROCKS!
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