Rating: 
Summary: A Heart Pounding Thriller
Review: When thunder rolls, the terror begins! WOW, what an accurate statement. The excellent depiction of thunder as being synonymous with terror was expertly done. Each chapter, every page, held a level of suspense that kept my heart in my throat. I rooted for these kids, hated the evil Mr. Magic and was constantly surprised at the events as they unfolded, riveted by the author's descriptions of the terror that seized the characters, ruining their lives. I kept wanting certain things that happened in the book to not be real, to have been a figment of Jason's imagination, that the writer (Brandon) would not allow such evil, awful things to happen but alas, he did. The powerful emotions that gripped me were true evidence that the writer of this novel, Brandon Massey, hit the mark and he hit it hard! He is a master of suspense and intrigue and I loved the pacing of the book. My only complaint is that the characters were far too young to be this mature, that realistically young boys this age are not able to handle such trauma with the kind of ease that the writer has them display. I think a little more emotion of a kid truly freaking out would have been just the touch this story needed. Additionally, I thought Jason's mother who was originally depicted as an abusive drunken mother who suddenly changes overnight was off the top, I would have liked to see more of a struggle in her pursuit of sobriety and becoming the good, attentive mother she should have been from the start. I realize, however, that her problems were only a small part of what this story was about. I did, however, like the show down between Thomas and his father, it was a realistic confrontation between father and son that was very well done. Brandon did an excellent job with his first novel. I love Stephen King's suspense... now I will have to truly decide between purchasing a King novel or a Massey masterpiece!
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