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Product Description
Review
“Denise Mina has crafted a perfectly twisted little tale that reveals the darkness and horror festering just beneath the surface of everyday life. And you think your family is messed up.” —Andy Diggle (The Losers)
"Cunning, deft, and deeply disturbing. Mina's work plays with your expectations and messes with your head, winding its way along a truly dark path to an ultimately inevitable conclusion that will leave you walking with its echoes for days to come."
—Greg Rucka (Patriot Acts, Whiteout)
"Cunning, deft, and deeply disturbing. Mina's work plays with your expectations and messes with your head, winding its way along a truly dark path to an ultimately inevitable conclusion that will leave you walking with its echoes for days to come."
—Greg Rucka (Patriot Acts, Whiteout)
Product Description
Meet the Ushers. The parents, Ted and Biddy. Grandma Martha. The three kids, William, Amy and Sam. Just a normal, middle-class family gathered around the table on Christmas Day. Until they start dying. Violent deaths. One by one. Is there a curse on their house, as a recently unearthed history of witchcraft in the area would suggest? Or has one member of the Usher clan declared open season on the rest? As secrets and resentments boil to the surface, it becomes clear that more than one Usher has a motive for killing off the others. But in the end, the truth turns out to be far more shocking than anyone in this ill-fated family could have imagined.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creepy Murder Mystery!,
By
This review is from: A Sickness in the Family (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: I love that the pure mystery/thriller/crime genre is so much more easily found in the graphic novel format now. I'll always take a look when I see one and the plot had me on this book.They could be your typical family: Ted and Biddy Usher, Biddy's mom Martha, and the three grown children, with the youngest in his last year of his school, William, Amy and Sam. But they are not, typical that is. It is Christmas and in the basement flat they rent out a horrendous murder takes place. Ted quickly makes plans to incorporate that portion back into the house as he'd been wanting to for years. Then family members start to die. One by one. Is it because of the wrath of a witch who was burnt at the stake there in the 1500s? Or has one of the remaining family members decided to get rid of the rest, each of whom has a surprisingly good reason for wanting the others dead? An incredibly creepy murder mystery. Well-written with a plot that picks up suspense as it goes along and is quite difficult to solve since suspects keep getting killed themselves and the pool of possible suspects to pick from gets smaller and smaller. A delightfully tense and surprise ending with a final shocker on the last page. This is Mina's first graphic novel. She has previously written mystery novels and one series of comics. I am quite interested in reading something else by this author if this is an example of her technique. The artwork is done in black and white with a lot of shadows which I think is particularly suitable to this story (and others of its sort) as it captures the noir feeling that wold be missing if the gruesome scenes were shown in full colour. Just the sort of thing I like in a murder mystery, gruesome, creepy and a shocker at the end.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it! Fantastic & creepy little book,
By
This review is from: A Sickness in the Family (Hardcover)
Wow. Okay, this book is officially tied with "Area 10" as my most favourite Vertigo Crime book. From its creepy cover to the last panel of the story, "A Sickness In The Family" is a success. Denise Mina has written a truly fantastic story, with its twists & turns and great characterisation, and Antonio Fuso's art conveys really well the sense of foreboding that emanates from the script with his clear, crisp pencils.You know a book is great when you just *can't* stop reading until the last page. The story just pulls you in. Of course, as the story progresses, you find yourself playing detective and you try to figure it out... But a great mystery is one that you can't readily solve. So many suspects, with as many motives. And like the blurb on the back of the book says »» Until they start dying. One by one. And the twist at the end... Brilliant. Mina & Fuso have met the quality standard set by (Gage & Samnee's) "Area 10", and people (mystery enthusiasts, especially) who don't normally read comic books will enjoy this one. This book is well-worth a purchase and should be on every mystery-lover's book shelf. 5 stars.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creepy Murder Mystery!,
By Nicola Manning - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Sickness in the Family (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: I love that the pure mystery/thriller/crime genre is so much more easily found in the graphic novel format now. I'll always take a look when I see one and the plot had me on this book.They could be your typical family: Ted and Biddy Usher, Biddy's mom Martha, and the three grown children, with the youngest in his last year of his school, William, Amy and Sam. But they are not, typical that is. It is Christmas and in the basement flat they rent out a horrendous murder takes place. Ted quickly makes plans to incorporate that portion back into the house as he'd been wanting to for years. Then family members start to die. One by one. Is it because of the wrath of a witch who was burnt at the stake there in the 1500s? Or has one of the remaining family members decided to get rid of the rest, each of whom has a surprisingly good reason for wanting the others dead? An incredibly creepy murder mystery. Well-written with a plot that picks up suspense as it goes along and is quite difficult to solve since suspects keep getting killed themselves and the pool of possible suspects to pick from gets smaller and smaller. A delightfully tense and surprise ending with a final shocker on the last page. This is Mina's first graphic novel. She has previously written mystery novels and one series of comics. I am quite interested in reading something else by this author if this is an example of her technique. The artwork is done in black and white with a lot of shadows which I think is particularly suitable to this story (and others of its sort) as it captures the noir feeling that wold be missing if the gruesome scenes were shown in full colour. Just the sort of thing I like in a murder mystery, gruesome, creepy and a shocker at the end.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining, page-turning fatal family drama,
By N. Durham "Big Evil" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Sickness in the Family (Hardcover)
After a solid run on Hellblazer, novelist Denise Mina returns to Vertigo to script this entry in the Vertigo Crime lineup. A Sickness in the Family finds her channeling The Fall of the House of Usher as she presents a tale of a bickering, hateful British family, which is all well and good until they start dying one by one. There's more to the story than that of course, but revealing any more would ruin the genuine surprises and twists that Mina manages to conjure up here. Antonio Fuso's stark artwork is wonderful, and so awesomely illustrates the grim proceedings that transpire as things race towards their climax. It's ending may be a little too abrupt, but a nice red herring and some great characterizations more than make up for that. One of the best in the Vertigo Crime lineup.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Desperate lives,
By Anthony Bruno - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Sickness in the Family (Hardcover)
Let me state up front that I am new to reading graphic novels, and so far I'm wowed by the genre. Of the ones I've read so far A SICKNESS IN THE FAMILY stood out because of the nuanced characters. These are very real people struggling through desperate lives, and the black-and-white artwork highlights their disappointments and frustrations. The horror is subtle and chillingly plausible. You can easily laugh off fantasmagorical creatures and zombies eating people's brains in other books, but the drab reality portrayed here grabbed me and made me think stuff like this could actually happen. Just one small complaint: Naming the family Usher. The Edgar Allan Poe poke in the ribs wasn't necessary. It's a scary story. We get it.
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