This may shock a lot of folks, but I never read ‘Kill Creek.’ When I began to fully engage and interact with the horror community on Twitter, this book was getting A TON of love. People left, right and centre were raving about it and I knew I had to check it out.
Unfortunately, at the time, I stumbled onto a Twitter fight between two folks. In this subtweet battle, one of the folks spoiled nearly every aspect of the book. It wasn’t even something I could avoid. I’d close Twitter, go back to work and when I’d reopen it – the first tweet that would load would be another subtweet.
Needless to say, I messaged a few folks and all of them said – no point in reading the book now – you already know the twists and turns.
When ‘Violet’ was announced, I was excited! I wasn’t going to let this one slip away. So thanks to Mr. Thomas, Inkshares and Netgalley for letting me get an early ARC. Also – my sincerest apologies – as I completely dropped the ball on the release date, so I powered through this over the last few days.
‘Violet’ is a slow burn. It opens up telling a bit of the back story and Thomas uses some fantastic language to set the tone. Paraphrasing – he writes things like “the town was creating its own darkness.” Lines like this that really gave the reader the atmospheric dread early on.
This one is a slow burn. No doubt about it. As things unfold, I was reminded a bit of reading some of George RR Martin’s epic “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, where things would link back to stuff discussed/described 100’s of pages prior.
This book is one that you really need to take your time and digest everything that Thomas throws at you. At times it’ll feel like it’s dragging a bit, but I found that I wanted to know just what happens.
I’d compare this book more to a mini-series than a movie. The author wanted to fill six episodes worth of stuff versions 120 minutes, so at times there is some slower spots, but if you can power through, then you’ll be rewarded.
For me, I would have bumped this up to a 5 star if things moved a bit quicker, but at the end of the day, I think Thomas executed exactly what he wanted too, and for that, readers will be richly rewarded!
** This review will feature on Kendall Reviews! **

3 stars.

"𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓲𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓮𝓻 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀. 𝓛𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓲𝓮𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓸𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮. 𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼𝓷'𝓽 𝓶𝓮𝓪𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓾𝓷𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮."

TL;DR:
What happens: After a car crash kills her husband, Kris returns to the lake house in Pacington, Kansas where she spent the summers with her daughter Sadie. Kris has only good memories of the house, despite the fact that it's where he mother died of cancer when she was 10. Things aren't what they seem in Pacington however, as Kris and Sadie soon find out.
Plot: Spooky, a slow burn realization, not an action-driven plot
Writing: Overly descriptive and wordy
Characters: Repressed, unreliable, limited cast

Pros:
-Super creepy as the novel goes on
-Writing produced a tense, creepy atmosphere
-Really fascinating concept incorporating horror elements into the overall theme of grief and dealing with tragedy

Cons:
-The writing/pacing is slow. Like, INCREDIBLY slow
-I understand a slow burn, but most of the plot didn't even start until halfway through the novel

I received an advance readers copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well developed. It had an interesting plot. I would be interested in reading more

I read Kill Creek last October and when I found out that Scott Thomas was releasing another one this year, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy ASAP. This is a great story to read in the fall, especially around Halloween. This is another horror book and I have to say Scott Thomas is 2 for 2 in my book. He is one of my favorite authors.
This story is a bit more of a slow-burn than Kill Creek. I felt it was less intense than Kill Creek, especially initially. While it does have a slower build-up, it allowed me to get to really learn about the history and get to know the characters. I adore his writing and I love the setting of this story.
Kris was a young girl when her father had taken her to a lake house during the summer. Kris was going through a difficult time but she had a friend named Violet that she played with and confided in. Years later, Kris owns the lake house that she visited during her childhood, but now she has a child of her own, Sadie. Kris and Sadie are going through some difficult situations. So, Kris decided to spend the summer at the lake house, in hopes it will help Sadie and herself. Little does she know, Violet is awaiting her return.
This was a creepy, eerie story but I really enjoyed it. If you haven't read anything by Scott Thomas, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy of both of his books. You won't be disappointed.

A slow burning, descriptive thriller, "Violet" is sure to have people comparing Scott Thomas to Stephen King. I really wanted to love this one but ended up only kind of liking it. I loved the idea of this chilling tale, it was just paced much too slow for me and I started to lose interest pretty early on. The horror moments that were in the book were totally "creep-tastic" but there just wasn't quite enough of them. I would call this one more of a slow-paced thriller over a horror story.

I tried picking this up a few times but I can never make it past the first twenty pages or so. The writing is somewhat cold and over-describes each action the main character takes. Having read a few reviews I've come to the conclusion that I'm not interested in enough in the story to continue (many have described it as a few hundred pages too long for their liking).

What would you do if your child had a frighteningly real imaginary friend?
Me? I'm having a very hard time getting the images from Violet out of my head.

There's so much going on in this book, but it mostly boils down to the story of Kris Barlow, who has just lost her husband in a terrible car accident. In order to heal both herself and her daughter, she decides to take them to the lake house where she summered as a child. Unfortunately, this is also where Kris' mother died of cancer when Kris was a child and there's some long buried memories waiting for her there.

In all honesty, I almost quit reading this multiple times in the first 150 pages. So many minute details of bedtime rituals and house cleaning - I don't think I could have been more bored. But because I'd read Kill Creek, I really wanted to know what Scott Thomas was up to, so I kept reading. And I'm very glad I did.

Here's why. In the town of Pacington, everyone has a secret. (Even the lake itself holds an entire submerged town.) These secrets are all revealed thoughtfully - and most likely will be the most unsettling thing you'll think about for the rest of the day/night if you read this. Being a mom, what happens in the relationships between mothers and daughters is what affected me the most, and what I still think about 5 days out from finishing the book. There's also weird townspeople, a kidnapping, murders, and a narrator you're not sure you can trust. And of course CREEPY CHILDREN!

So if you can get through the minutia of the setup of this book, it really is worth it in the end.

A spooky read that delivered the chills. A slow burn (my favorite type of scare) that builds from a slight shiver to full on terror. A perfect read for the spookiest time of year.

I hated to have to give this 2 stars. I really did because I loved Kill Creek and had such high hopes for this book but damn the first 39% of this book was about as fun for me as changing the litter box. Absolutely nothing happened! And I am not exaggerating in the least. It was incredibly boring. I can deal with a little bit of boring if there's at least some suspense and hints of what's to come to keep my interest piqued but we didn't even get that. It felt like a recitation of someone's boring everyday life- ride in the car to the lake house, move into the lake house, unpack our suitcases, clean the lake house, go to the bookstore, go to the hardware store, go get ice cream, clean more of the lake house...and on and on it went until I almost DNF'd it. I literally told myself at the 36% mark that I would continue to 40% and if nothing has happened yet then I'm done. And low and behold when I got to 39%, the story finally took off. It moved right along too from that point forward and there were even parts of the story within the second half that I really liked but, unfortunately the very unpleasant beginning kind of ruined this book for me, among other things..

The author's explanation in regards to 'how' Kris created Violet did not suffice for me. I understand how her fears and grief could have led to her creating an imaginary friend but this was not an imaginary friend so how did this malevolent spirit really come to be and where did it come from? Also, how was it able to command those girls to sit in the same place for so long that they literally starved to death?? I get that the area had a bad and violent history and all that, but the whole thing just didn't jibe with me. Also, why did Kris' dad decide to let the house rot after he was happy renting it out for years and how did Kris not know that it was just sitting empty and going to hell in a hand basket?? You would think, since the property was passed down to her upon her parent's passing that she would have known what the hell was going on with 'her' house.

With that said, I had some major issues with this book so I can't in good conscience recommend anyone to read this. I will however, point them toward Kill Creek instead.

This was super atmospheric and creepy and I couldn't wait to find out what happened to the characters. I'll be reading everything Thomas writes from now on!

After reading a previous book by this author, I had very high expectations for this one. Maybe too high? It was a good book, but there was nothing that made it stand out over so many other supernatural or haunted house stories. A little bit disappointing, but still worthy of reading.

The honest review is I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. While I loved the idea of this chilling tale, it just was paced much slower than I usually enjoy. The moments of pure horror definitely made my heart skip a beat but they were few and far between. If you're not a huge fan of horror but want a kind of slow paced thriller, this is your kinda book! Just because I didn't love it, doesn't mean somebody else may love it!

Scott Thomas is an incredibly gifted and descriptive writer. I certainly think he could be the next Stephen King. If this had been my first read by Scott Thomas I would have given it 4 stars, but alas, I read Kill Creek first and enjoyed that one much more. Kill Creek is more traditional horror while Violet is more psychological suspense. Violet definitely left me with some lingering uneasy feelings, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was a little less lengthy.

Thank you Netgalley for my SECOND Scott Thomas book. Can't wait for the next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkshares for a free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you like a super slow burn read with creepy kids and possible ghosts, then this is the book for you! It seriously took me probably 200 pages before it felt like anything was really happening. You have to be a patient reader for this one.

Here's what I liked:
* Eerie haunted house/ghost vibes
* Creepy kids with creepy smiles
* Alternating POVs (Mom & daughter)
* Mystery of dead girls
* Interesting backstories

What I didn't like:
* Unreliable narrator (booze + pills)
* Slow moving plot - too descriptive of scenes

Overall, I enjoyed this book and recommend it for people who like a slow-moving psychological horror story.

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for a possible review.

I had heard really good things about Scott Thomas, so I was excited when I was chosen to read Violet. I now understand the hype.

This book is a slow burn, and yet I didn't feel the need to rush through it. It's creepy, and you can feel that you are building to something worth waiting for. It's like watching a horror movie on the edge of your seat waiting for the moment something will jump out. The thing is I would call this more suspense than horror. There are some horror elements, but I wouldn't say they were scary as much as they just added to the skin crawl factor.

The book is set in the Midwest and feels authentic. The author captures the sadness of small towns dying out in a very real way. This story probably could have been set in a number of places (got lake? will do), but the choice of small town Midwest is it's own statement.

Bonus points because the main character is a vet and has always helped animals in need. That's my kind of character.

Such an eerie book. Fantastic writing, and so descriptive my mind was very easily able to paint a picture of the characters, the lake house, and some of the insanely creepy scenes. I do admit it was a bit slow the first half of the book but the second half and letting the plot play out at the end we’re entirely worth it. 4.5 stars.

Scott Thomas is a master at taking well-worn horror tropes and re-manufacturing them into something wholly original. He did this with Kill Creek (haunted house...that haunts YOU) and now, he re-imagines the "creepy kid" trope in Violet. Here's why creepy kid works: there's a little human in your home that may or may not wish to kill you. That's terrifying! After her husband's death, Kris and her daughter Sadie retreat to the lake houe where Kris spent many summers with her parents, until that final summer when her mother passed from a long battle with cancer. Kris shares fond memories of her time at the house with Sadie, but Sadie is withdrawn. That is until Kris hears her having conversations with an imaginary friend. And how does Sadie know so much about Kris' childhood...things Kris has never shared? A sense of foreboding and eventual decay permeates every sentence, every page in Violet, and readers will dread the inevitable horrifying conclusion that awaits. One of 2019's best horror novels!

Synopsis
When Kris’s husband dies, she decides to take her daughter, Sadie, to stay at the summer cottage her family used to visit when she was a little girl.  But things aren't quite as idyllic as Kris remembers.  The cottage is run down and uncared for.  The town of Pacington has had a string of missing girls.  Strangely, Sadie isn’t at all upset to be spending her summer in a creepy house in the middle of nowhere far from all her friends.  She’s made a new friend--an imaginary one. A little girl named Violet, who is suspiciously similar to the imaginary friend that Kris had when she stayed at this cottage twenty years ago…

Plot
The concept of this novel is simple, yet brilliant.  Unfortunately, because of this, there aren’t many twists in the plot that aren’t immediately given away by the blurb on the back of the book. Despite this, the book is all about the journey. It’s about following Kris as she struggles to understand what is happening, even if the reader already knows or suspects what is going on.

Unlike Kill Creek, Scott Thomas’s debut novel, Violet is far more literary, and, as a result, it is much slower paced.  There are many flashbacks to when Kris was a little girl staying in this house, filling in the gaps in her memories which have faded over the years.  The prose is powerful and gripping, and the setting and characters are so well-described that I could perfectly envision Kris and Sadie stepping out of the car and approaching their new home.

I did write down in my notes that at the very beginning of the novel, I found the writing to be somewhat muddled. It felt like a train of thought—hard to follow if you’re outside of the writer’s head.  It was also so literary that it didn’t at all feel like a horror novel until a quarter of the way through. It felt like Kris and Sadie were genuinely going to spend the summer at a cottage and that they would find themselves, not the horrors that awaited them.  There were a few somewhat ominous events towards the beginning of the book, but, unfortunately, I think a little more action earlier on would have made the first half more engaging for the novel’s intended reader (horror readers!).

The legend of the missing girls adds a delightfully foreboding atmosphere throughout the novel.  The history surrounding the town is just as important as the present-day events.  That said, Violet isn’t as scary as Thomas’s debut. However, the emphasis on character development and building the relationship between Kris and Sadie really made me genuinely fear for both of their safety.

Characters
As a result of the emphasis on flashbacks and introspection, Kris is a well-fleshed out, three-dimensional character.  We mostly see Sadie through Kris’s eyes, although the little girl occasionally gets scenes from her point of view.  I would have liked to have seen a little more from her perspective. At one point we get a flashback from Sadie’s POV to when Kris had mocked her creepy doll. Sadie had been deeply hurt by this. I particularly enjoyed this scene—as it clearly showed the contrast between who Kris is, who she believes herself to be, and how her daughter perceives her.  I would have liked more of these types of reflections from Sadie’s point of view, instead of the emphasis on Kris’s.

Everyone in Pacington has a realistic small-town vibe to them, which is accompanied by a mysteriousness that is quite subtle.  As I read the novel, I got the sense that everyone seems to know more than they let on about the missing girls.  That paranoia stoked in me as the reader perfectly mirrors Kris’s own paranoia and depression, as she spirals downward into her delusions (but are they delusions?).

I definitely recommend this book to those who want to read a gripping literary horror novel. This might even be a perfect gateway book for those who prefer literary works and are hoping to explore the horror genre.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Inkshares for the advanced reader copy for review*

In the publisher's note at the beginning of this book it was said 'I promise you will enjoy your trip to the burdened town of Pacington, Kansas, and into the life of Kris Barlow as she returns to the house on Lost Lake'. I can honestly say that the publisher was spot on, I absolutely loved Violet! Described as a 'terrifying exploration of grief, denial and betrayal', Violet is superbly written and a fresh new voice in the horror genre. Filled with gothic descriptions of the abandoned house that Kris and her daughter Sadie have returned to, it ran a film reel in my head that made me feel the fear the characters themselves were feeling. Kris thinks returning to the summer house she visited as a child will help her young daughter Sadie heal, following the death of her father Jonah in a car accident. But a dark, rottenness has overtaken the house, and an evil presence soon targets Sadie in a bid to get to her mother. Add to that the story of four young girls missing, three found dead, and one still missing, this is edge of your seat stuff. Interspersed with the creepy, spine-tingling events, are beautifully poignant moments between Kris and Sadie as they learn to live with their grief. For fans of horror, this is definitely one that will satisfy and Violet is a terrifying entity, yet due to the quality of the writing, we also have a degree of empathy towards her. Just as things appear to be resolved, and Kris and Sadie begin their jouney away from Pacington, the writer leaves us with one final twist. I also want to add that the publishers, Inkshare, publish and produce books that are selected by readers worldwide, rather than by editors and I thought this was awesome.

This book was such a page turner. I enjoyed the slow burn/buildup in the beginning of the book. I loved how even though I wasn't sure where the story was going to go, I just had to keep reading. The ending was definitely a great one and I really enjoyed this book.