3.5 ⭐'s To The Galaxy!!

I will open this by saying that I enjoyed this book!

I just noticed that many have opened and closed this book fairly quickly. So, I will warn you that this is a really slow burn, snail paced story...BUT, I promise it gets to where it needs to go. This is a lengthy wordy and detailed read, but it's not necessarily bad, you just need to give it time.

The elements of horror roll out slowly and quietly, but it all comes together. This is not jump out at you horror, this is psychological.

If you are coming in expecting Kill Creek, that's definitely not what this is. Not at all.

Scott Thomas wrote a very enjoyable book, it gave me a uneasy feeling as the tension built until I finally had to read through the last portion because I just wanted to reach the ending.

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Overall, I recommend this book. I will remind you to read this through and do not make comparisons between Mr. Thomas' debut novel and this one.

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I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kris and her daughter, Sadie, go to Kris’s childhood lake house following the death of Kris’s husband. Kris hasn’t been to the house on Lost Lake since she was a girl close to Sadie’s age, but the house is calling to her. Like Sadie, she lost a parent as a child; her mom died of cancer in this house. Krissy Parker is now Dr. Kris Barlow and the house on Lost Lake has been left “to rot”. Kris and Sadie clean and mend, and bring the house back to life - in more than one way. Meanwhile, the adjacent town of Pacington is an eerie place where many young girls have gone missing. What is worse - the town or the lake house? Frankly, it is all pretty scary.
My favorite part of Scott Thomas’s second novel is Kris’s discovery of her mom’s favorite mix tape. Her mom’s favorite songs, perfectly separated by a 2 second pause, is a perfect soundtrack. I’ve been listening to a playlist I made of all these songs. Listening to The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen as the book concludes is perfection.
Scott Thomas’s first book, Kill Creek, is a terrifying haunted house book. This one is more of slow burn but equally as scary. And so well-written. If “literary horror” is a genre, Scott Thomas is killing it with his first two books.

It took me about half way through to finally decide I should stick with this book, due to the overly descriptive, long winded writing. After the midway point, it got better, the action and suspense picked up, but it was still very ambiguous and not a "horror" story, more of a when will we figure out what they are seeing and who it is story.
I have not read this author before now. It was just ok for me.

This was my first Scott Thomas book. I was immediately hooked. I loved the writing it was like a horror moving playing in my head. It was intense and had me gasping and creeped me out. Definitely recommend!

Scott Thomas’ new novel Violet is a slow burn that deals with hauntings on a new level. This sure fire hit should start cementing Thomas into one of the greats of horror literature for a new generation.

The story starts out with Kris and her daughter trying to get over the grief of a husband and father from a tragic car accident that has left the daughter somewhat mute and the mother anger due to the situation of the car accident. This is what the novel uses as a starting point.

The novel is a slow burn harking back to the days of gothic horror using environment, emotions and situation to build its horror brew. It deals with traditional hauntings but also hauntings of people’s own past and childhood. False memories and feelings are explored and Thomas does a brilliant job of dealing with go back to our childhood past which we may believe is idyllic but holds a darker secret when explored.

The characters and environment are fantastically described and the pace, although slow for some modern readers sets the pace and is better because of it. Every nuance and character study is explored and the feeling of loss prevails throughout the narrative. The strong characters lend support for this thought processed plot which is a rewarding read for people who like their horror more Hereditary than The Conjuring.

The plot is finely detailed and it is rewarding to find an author who takes their time and slowly unravels their plot without using violent overtures or shock value to get their point across. Thomas has up the ante since his previous novel Kill Creek and has given fans a new book written in a different vein. On a face value, this novel sounds intriguing but it is far more than its parts and this is a personal triumph for a writer already distinguishing himself apart from his contemporaries. He is like the horror version of Donna Trait which is no mean feat and he smashes this.

Overall, this is an excellent novel that works on the many facets of haunting and emotional grief. It explores the past and how it wraps itself around our present. We may try to run but the past is always there lingering slightly out of focus from the corner of our eye. This is one of my favourite novels of the year and I can’t wait to see what Thomas will come up with in the future because he is outstandingly good. A slow burn that delivers for the readers who want atmosphere instead of shock value, whilst twisting the knife to its ultimate conclusion.

You know when you're buddy reading a book with two buddies, and you leave them behind 'coz you just can't stop reading…

Violet is an incredible detailed story about a recently widowed woman named Kris, and her daughter Sadie. Both are grieving, and the slow pacing mixed with the heavy descriptions and overlong conversations only make the story feel more believable, as if everything is happening in slow motion.

This book was so creepy that I found myself often checking the door handle of my bedroom to make sure that no one was going to turn it.

This book gives me chills just thinking about it. I'd run a hot bath and read and have chills despite boiling myself to death at the time. It's way more than horror, it is way more than a cheap scare, it is as deep as Lost Lake itself. I need to get myself a copy of Kill Creek!

4 violets

Thanks to NetGalley, Scott Thomas and Inkshares for providing me an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Well crafted, this book gave me the heebie jeebies, and I could picture it as a movie. Newly widowed Kris Barlow needs to comfort her 8-yr old daughter Sadie, who is traumatized by the sudden death of her father.
Remembering how the family's summer cottage on Lost Lake in Kansas comforted her after her own mother's death Kris takes Sadie to the cottage for the summer. Here she encounters a litany of horrors including the presence of her long ago imaginary friend.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and appreciate having had the opportunity to read it.

VIOLET is the second major release from Scott Thomas. The first being KILL CREEK, which I adored. I liked this book as well, but not quite as much.

Kris Barlow and her daughter Sadie have recently suffered a tragedy that will change their lives forever. Sadie has now gone from a lively young girl to a quiet withdrawn one. In an effort to take their minds off things, Kris decides that they will spend their summer at a cabin on Lost Lake where she used to go as a child with her parents. They discover the home in a serious state of disrepair which keeps them busy for a while and Kris begins to see positive changes in Sadie's behavior. When they go into town, though, they get strange looks; one townie even tells Kris she needs to keep a close eye on her daughter in this town. Not long after that, back at the cabin Kris hears Sadie talking and giggling and thinks she is finally on the road to recovery. But is she really? Will they get the emotional healing they were seeking? Why were the townsfolk acting so strangely? You'll have to read VIOLET to find out!

I love a slow burning story, (see my reviews of Straub's GHOST STORY and/or Thomas Tryon's HARVEST HOME), and this one does start off slowly-but I was all hey, no worries, it's cool. But about 100 pages later I wasn't finding it so cool. Don't get me wrong, time was spent describing the town and its residents, (fine) the complicated goings on within the Barlow family, (fine), but the incredibly detailed sanding of the deck and the cleaning of rooms? Not so much.

If I set that aside and just focus on the family mysteries and how they unfurled, I feel more satisfied. Mr. Thomas had me intrigued with the story, which is why I kept going, but even in that area, I felt like it took too long for anything of substance to happen. Lots of teasers and a little foreshadowing will only hold me for so long. When the action did start though, I was glued and I dug the denouement in a BIG WAY(!), I just felt like it took too long to get there and It pains me to say it.

One thing that worked for me on all levels is the music featured. (Kris finds an old mix tape and plays it almost continuously when working on or in the cabin). For me, even when the music wasn't mentioned, I was still hearing it in my mind, playing behind the scenes I was witnessing. I thought that was done deftly and I appreciate the skill required for it to blend in the way it did.

I seem to be in the minority on this book as most of my reviewing clan seem to have loved it. All I can say is, please remember this is just my opinion, and if you were thinking of giving VIOLET a try, please do! I probably just read it wrong. I DO recommend this book, in spite of the things I've mentioned, but I was hoping so hard to LOVE it, and it just didn't happen.

Recommended!

*Thank you to Inkshares and to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It started off by grabbing my full attention. This wavered a bit, but I stuck with the book and it didn't take long before I couldn't put it down. You know how sometimes you're in the middle of a book and while you're at work, you keep thinking - I can't wait to get home and pick up the book? Well, this is that sort of book.

The story held just the right amount of creepiness for me. A widowed mother with a mysterious background, a grieving daughter, a house no one wants to live in, and an overall spooky town melds to create the perfect horror story. Woven into the paranormal are other aspects like prescription drug addiction, the death of a family member (or several), and how we all romanticize our childhoods.

I listened to the Audible version of Kill Creek, but this story is SO much better. It'll give you goose bumps.

Ugh I wanted so bad to like this one. When I read the creepy description, I was super excited. But it all just fell so flat for me. I mean, it was okay, I just had better and higher expectations. May try giving it another try in the future but I definitely wanted a lot more.

I did not like this book.
I know I'm in the minority, and I feel weird because it's rated so highly, but it took me forever to finish because guess what...
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NOTHING HAPPENS.

Kris cleans. Sadie plays with an imaginary friend. Town folk act creepy.
But nothing happens. Kris just cleans some more. Wonders where her pills went. Has a drink. Sadie plays with her imaginary friend. Town folk act creepy.

I enjoyed it at first. I thought it was almost like The Shining redux. With a really slow burn. A really slow burn. A really really really.... oh, so it's not really a burn, it's actually just maybe a smolder that doesn't ever take hold.

And then *BLAM* there's a confrontation, the big climax, and it's pretty good I'll give it that! Exciting, scary, confusing, satisfying.... and then a funeral. A slow, slow funeral. A bunch of nothing after. Nothing nothing nothing.

Obviously either there's something I didn't get, or the book just isn't for me. It wasn't bad enough for me to hate it because it had me going for a while, and the confrontation was grand, but there is nothing here for me to say "I liked it." So I have to give it 2 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I just couldn't get there. And I'm so glad it's finally over.
[I posted this on Goodreads but did not add it to my blog]

3.5/5.0 Stars

I cried, I laughed, and I cringed. VIOLET is the first book that I’ve read by Scott Thomas, and I must say, I really like his writing. KILL CREEK is the next book of his on my TBR list, and I can’t wait!

VIOLET is a touching relatable story that’s centered around grief. The only issue I had when reading this book was regarding what felt like a lot of added, unnecessary details, which slowed down the pacing quite a bit. This is my personal take on the narrative and other readers may feel differently.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkshares Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of VIOLET in exchange for an honest review.

So firstly, let me just start by saying that this was such an amazing slow burn of a book. The whole first half or so was such a great story of how a wife and mother, Kris Barlow, was working through her grief due to recently losing her husband while also trying to hold it together for her eight-year-old daughter. I loved the close relationship dynamic that Thomas developed between mother and daughter. ⁣
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She decides to return to her childhood summer home on Lost Lake, which was where she first dealt with loss when she had to say goodbye to her mother as her battle with cancer ended in the lake house in 1988. ⁣
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She hopes that by revisiting the once idyllic lake in Pacington that she will overcome her grief and help her daughter smile again. What happens is not exactly as she had planned. ⁣
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Upon arriving at the lake house, the sense of dread and an ominous presence is almost immediate. Sadie was both a grieving, innocent child and at the same time so creepy in the way her mother would overhear her giggling and talking to seemingly no one at all. Or so Kris thought.......⁣
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Enter Violet...spooky childhood imaginary friend extraordinaire! Then there’s the missing girls of Pacington. Where have they all gone over the years? And why is there a lady who stares out across the lake towards Kris and Sadie’s lake house? Things get really eerie really quickly. ⁣
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I gave this one four black hearts simply because I wish it wasn’t quite to slow to start out. However, once it picked up, the creep was real, and I had a hard time putting it down!⁣
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**This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**⁣

disclaimer: i received a copy of this book via inkshares in return for an honest review.

violet by scott thomas is an interesting attempt at weaving unresolved grief, forgotten memories, and more than one "did that really happen?" moment into a cohesive horror novel. unfortunately, the premise alone was unable to support the weight of the story or the characters.

none of the characters felt richly crafted or dimensional. as the story progressed, it felt like they were slogging through the story just as i was and i had no investment in their fates. things that i would normally read as character traits became irritating.

as a character, the unreliable narrator is one of my favorite points of view. they can support the weight of a lot of story - good or bad, and are a great way to let a events unfold. unfortunately, this unreliable narrator was so unreliable that she became a parody of herself and ultimately annoying.

most of the other characters seemed to be there either as an obvious red herring or a horror movie trope. i wanted to connect with one character who seemed to be bearing the weight of so much of the horror but just couldn't find an in that didn't relegate her to parody.

one out of five stars

I greatly enjoyed Scott Thomas' Violet. Thomas' writing is cinematic and sweeping. He takes his time with descriptions and really lets you sink into a scene. There were moments during this book that had me on the edge of my seat with my hair standing on end. It truly terrified me. Good horror addresses the nasty truths of life. The story of Kris and her daughter Sadie is incredibly touching. Thomas has beautifully crafted a story that addresses family, death, and the limits (or lack thereof) of grief that all readers can relate to. Our relationships to life and death are complicated, and Violet is a brutal yet beautiful exploration of it.

A creepy story about a dark past that was uncovered until she decided to go back and face her hidden darkest memories.

After losing her mother to cancer and watch her die and losing the father of her little girl in a car accident, she decided to go back to the lake house where she lived as a little girl.

Together with her daughter they move temporarily to that old house and to the town where some little girls disappeared and were found dead through the years.

Kris has just had to identify her husbands mangled body in the morgue. Next to him, his pregnant girlfriend, both dead in a terrible car crash.
Kris is devastated but not with grief. She is angry at her dead husband.
Hoping to clear her head and help Sadie, cope with the loss of her father, she does to the summer home she went to as a child.
Imagination is a powerful thing. Kris remembers the last time she was at the summer home. Her mother was dying from cancer, and was in agonizing pain. Her father drank to help him cope. Kris was alone, except for her imaginary friend, Violet. Violet helped her through that summer. She helped with the debilitating loss of her beloved mother.
Now, her daughter's sorrow over the death of her father can see no end. She is only eight years old. Then one day, Keis hears Sadie laughing and playing. Violet has returned.
A horror story written in true terror gripping, mind blowing, detail.

In Scott Thomas's second novel Violet, Kris is now a single mother after a tragic car accident took the life of her husband. Worried about how her daughter Sadie is coping, she decides to take her to a quiet lake town in Pacington, Kansas where Kris spent her summers as a child. Kris remembers the lake home as a magical land filled with sunshine and laughter. Sadly, it was also where Kris had to say goodbye to her dying mother. She believes that Sadie will be able to work through the death of her father in the same way that she worked through the death of her mother. When Kris and Sadie arrive at the lake house, Kris finds that the lake house is in disrepair, the town of Pacington dying, and the residents acting strangely. An old friend is awaiting Kris's return but is everything as it seems?

Violet was an amazing novel and I found that it was a mix of The Babadook, Hereditary, and something all on its own. This is one that you do not want to miss as I believe that it will be a massive hit. It's a perfect fall read and one that you'll be thinking about once it's over. Plus any book that starts with a quote from Nick Cave will have a special place in my heart.

So many thanks to NetGalley and Inkshares for the ARC.

Thank you very much to Inkshares and Goodreads for the advance reader copy of this horror novel. Unfortunately I did not enjoy it very much. I’ve always enjoyed a good ghost story but not this one. I continued reading to the end, mainly because I wanted to finish the ARC. If I had picked it up on my own, I’m sure I would not have finished. Nothing much happens for the first maybe 2/3 of the book, just a very slow buildup which was less creepy and scary than it was annoying. By the time I got to the last quarter where things really picked up, I mainly wanted it to be over. I don’t recommend this one.

Violet, by Scott Thomas

Short Take: A loving ode to housework.

(*Note: I received an advance copy of this book for review.*)

Good morning Nerdlings! I recently had a life-altering experience. I have apparently lived a whole lot of adult years without ever making oatmeal no-bake cookies, and now, I’m afraid, there’s no going back. These little chewy chocolate peanut butter flavor bombs may just be the perfect food. Breakfast? Sure! Dessert? Oh heck yeah. Quick energy snack when trying to power through a dull book? I’LL TAKE THREE. Unfortunately, my pants are not happy with my newfound love, but some books require copious amounts of sugar. Exhibit A: Violet.

The town of Pacington, Kansas used to be a tourist destination for one reason: the beautifully named Lost Lake, where summer visitors enjoy fishing, swimming, and boating in its crystal clear waters. However, Lost Lake didn’t always exist - it formed when a worker accidentally broke through an underground spring, and flooded part of the town, killing two workers. In recent years, however, the local economy hasn’t been great, the town is becoming more shabby than old-fashioned, and Pacington seems to be dying.

For Kris Barlow Lost Lake is much more than a pretty body of icy cold water with an odd roof sticking out of it. As a young child, it’s where her family spent idyllic summers until the final one, when her mother died an agonizingly slow death of cancer in the bedroom of their lakefront house. Kris’s father, grief-stricken, never returned to the house, choosing to let it rot rather than relive the memories of that last summer.

Now in her mid-40’s, after the sudden death of her husband, Kris decides to take her traumatized eight-year-old daughter Sadie to the lake house for a summer in hopes that the happy place of her own childhood will help Sadie heal from the loss of her own father.

Duckies, do I need to tell you that living near a drowned town rarely goes well for heartbroken children?

What follows is a fairly cliche ghost story, told in an excruciatingly slow pace. We get two scenes of actual story, then literally 100 pages of Kris and Sadie cleaning the house. Sanding boards, dusting counters, and for some REAL excitement (I guess) washing windows.

The rest of Violet isn’t much better. Kris’s brain is flooding (see what I did there?) with things she sort-of remembers but would rather forget, but it’s nothing that a big heaping helping of prescription drug abuse won’t fix. Sadie is content to chill with her imaginary (suuuuuure) friend while Kris is mostly passed out in between washing bedding and making grilled cheese.

Whenever Kris and Sadie venture into town and interact with the locals, there are the obligatory hints that Things Are Not Right with Pacington, but these are few and far between. The characters themselves are little more than a loose assemblage of tropes - the eccentric guy, the tragic couple, the elderly woman who knows the local history. But really, who needs a story when we can read about bracing a railing?

It all leads up to your generic ghost story climax with flashing lightning and a struggle in the water, but by that point, I just wanted it to be over. Other than the main character being a veterinarian as opposed to a writer (seriously, why are protagonists in ghost stories always writers?) there was not one single aspect of this story that made it different from a few dozen others.


The Nerd’s Rating: TWO HAPPY NEURONS (and a grilled cheese, hold the Xanax. I will take the wine, however. And maybe one more oatmeal no-bake.)