Rating: 
Summary: Spell Bounding
Review: "Instantly casts a spell...Chilling" says NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW. DARK DEBTS by Karen Hall is like no other book I have traveled through before. From page one I was entranced by the characters and the story. Reality mixed in with fear and lust becomes the perfect concoction to make this book nothing but entertaining to the reader. The novel tells the story of a family tormented by something out of their control, something almost satanic. "It" seems to destroy each member of the Landry family, with only one hope to save them. The one and only hope is a priest, sent to Georgia to help fight the forces of evil with Jack, the only remaining family member. Three divisions add to an exhilarating way of telling this spell bounding story. I was first captured by this book in the prologue and remained in suspense until the very end. I often found myself feeling an eerie presense in the room as I read into the minds of the characters and traveled with them in their journey. Of all the books that I have read I have always seemed to be a fan of books that send chills down my spine, but never have I ever experienced anything quite like this. This novel will grab you and take you into a whole other dimension, one that comes way too close to reality. I felt like my faith took a walk down a path that it has never been before. Overall I would have to rate this book a ten on a scale of one to ten. It is a book that seems to make you think about your faith, your desires, your weaknesses, and most of all yourself. It is like no other book I have ever read and is one that I can honestly say seemed to alter my life more than I feel comfortable talking about. DARK DEBTS, by Karen Hall. Go get it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Page Turner!
Review: A good read - takes it a while to come together, but definitely entertaining and well written all the way thru.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful
Review: A pretentious piece of twaddle. Flat writing - anytime you have characters saying, "Noooo!" you know exactly what level of fiction you've encountered. Often unintentially humorous.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book
Review: Although I am obsessed with Stephen King's books and only happened to read this book by chance a few years ago, I absolutely loved it. It drew me in, it was interesting and thrilling and let you know the characters. I have read it maybe 3 times since then and I it still effects me the same way. Since it has been a while since I read it I can't go into tons of detail, but it seemed very true to life, how people think and feel about others, how they feel about themselves, how you cannot plan you life a certain way and expect it to be that way, and how unexpected things can occur to change you whole world, like demon possessions.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book
Review: Although I am obsessed with Stephen King's books and only happened to read this book by chance a few years ago, I absolutely loved it. It drew me in, it was interesting and thrilling and let you know the characters. I have read it maybe 3 times since then and I it still effects me the same way. Since it has been a while since I read it I can't go into tons of detail, but it seemed very true to life, how people think and feel about others, how they feel about themselves, how you cannot plan you life a certain way and expect it to be that way, and how unexpected things can occur to change you whole world, like demon possessions.
Rating:
Summary: The Rat, The Other, and The Choice
Review: Dark Debts by Karen Hall is the most captivating book I have read in years. I would rate this book a 10 because of the wide array of fascinating topics. Not only are there controversial subjects included, but there is romance, comedy, drama, and horror. This gripping novel discusses good versus evil, and the role the Catholic church has in the struggle. The characters Hall created were strong and unpredictable. Each character had a different type of life and outlook on life, which makes it easy for the reader to relate to one or another. The main subject of demons and evil in general is often avoided by society, and Hall does a wonderful job of speaking about the unspoken. The romantic tendencies between the characters often gets quite steamy, while not being trashy; and Hall's subtle humor will sometimes even cause you to laugh out loud. The suspensefulness of the book is definitely what makes this a page turner and, therefore, extremely hard to put down. Hall makes readers contemplate their own faiths and beliefs unconsciously, as they guess and look forward to what will happen. It truly gets readers to examine their own spirituality. The symbolism in the novel of the supernatural forces in our world are exceptionally well used and really get the feelings across. All of the research put into this book is very evident by the way Hall teaches you about demons, exorcisms, and the Jesuits. The plot takes the reader through some major twists and turns. Just when you think you have an explanation for something, Hall manages to come up with something completely different and logical. Dark Debts is a can't miss, chilling story that will take you on the ride of your life.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Debts
Review: I can only hope that Ms. Hall reads these reviews, and will provide her readers with another work of fiction. She makes each character come alive in a very human and unglorified way. The time taken for reasearch is evident, and she is able to make her thoughts clear in a way that is both objective and very good reading. This is my first "review", and am very glad to make this effort on Karen Hall's behalf.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book for Those Questioning their Beliefs
Review: I first came across this book at a used book sale in my town library. There were at least 5 copies of it in the stacks, which is rare for a library book sale...anyhow, I was somewhat intrigued by the book-jacket description of a "gothic" tale, and, not being able to find anything else, I bought it. I had no idea when I picked this book up that I would be delving into a riveting, supernatural tale of spiritual warfare (which, amazingly, was the type of book I had been looking for to begin with!). The story involves a demonic evil that has plagued a southern family for generations, and of the two remaining members' fight to defeat it once and for all. To minorly plagarize the tag line for "Signs", what one man believes could be the key to saving his own life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is questioning his or her personal theological beliefs; this book raises many questions about human lives in relationship to God, but (wisely) does not seek to answer them all (while still answering enough within the context of the story to satisfy the reader).
***Minor Spoilers Ahead!***
I personally agree with the reader who disliked the ending: the response that the priest gives IS rather lame and (I think) somewhat anti-climactic in a story of such intense spiritual warfare, but...oh well. I would add as well that, after September 11th, the barrage of disasterous images presented by the demon would need to be updated a bit....also, keep in mind that the basis of this story is FICTION! In reality, there are no Satanic cults that sacrifice human beings (trust me--I've read quite a bit on this subject). Oh, and another thing: read the Acknowledgments at the end of the book. They give the story a LOT more personal meaning on the author's behalf. :O)
Rating: 
Summary: Dissenting Writer
Review: I just finished the novel. I feel cheated in wasting my time reading it. The demon story was fascinating, and it kept me wanting to get to the end. HOWEVER:
The author writes about a priest who is in "love" with a woman and has sex with her, over a long period of time. As if that is love! When we read what his mind is thinking, it is only LUSTful thoughts! That is not what we are taught by the Church to know LOVE is! Love isn't passion and sex. It is doing what is best for the beloved, not using her.
Then, the author goes into a tirade about Humanae Vitae (of course a priest who can't control himself would have trouble with married couples controlling themselves!) See page 234. There are also places throughout the novel where her opinion on women's ordination and role in the Church and priestly celebacy are not in line with the Church. It seems that to justify his own sin, he has to redefine what sin is and therefore all authority to define right and wrong is invalid.
I kept waiting on the novel to come to the point that the trouble the priest has in fighting the demon is because he is weak with his own sin -- his lust, his heterodoxy, his denial, his pride. It came close with one poinient quote after the demon tells him his past sins, and he is ashamed: "How wierd, Michael suddenly thought. The Devil doesn't need any special powers, other than clairvoyance. After that, he can destroy you with your own stuff."
And to top it all off, it ends with a sappy, New Age, B.S. response the priest gives in answer to a question from his "lover's" daughter about what Christ would say to her. It goes, "He'd say .... 'I tell you what. Do the best you can. Treat other people decently. And the next time you see a pretty sunset, take a moment to look at it. Count the colors. Wonder where it came from. Say 'Wow' out loud. And I'll hear you. And I'll consider it a prayer.'" PAAAAHHLLEEEESE! That's what God created us for and what Christ came to reveal and die for? Our appreciation of sunsets??????If you aren't Catholic, please don't think you've learned anything about the Church from this novel. If you are Catholic, please be on guard against heresy and hererodoxy.
Rating:
Summary: Forgive Us Our Debts
Review: Karen Hall has managed to write a truly gripping horror novel that ultimately becomes an examination of our religious beliefs; our faith; and why "God lets bad things happen to good people." The story focuses on two men: Father Michael Kinney, a Jesuit priest undergoing his own faith crisis; and Jack Landry, the surviving member of a family seemingly cursed with horrible results. How these two men become involved with each other is well-written and mesmerizing. The novel has a great ensemble of characters, and has some truly frightening exorcism scenes. The finale is a whopper set in the remains of a hotel destroyed by an unexplained fire. This is a great first novel and one can only hope Ms. Hall returns with another one soon! The only reason I didn't give it FIVE STARS is that I was a little disappointed with the resolution between Father Michael and his love interest, Tess. Maybe it's because I'm a Catholic! At any rate, this is a wonderful novel, full of suspense and some well-placed humor.
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