2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A captivating, slow-burn, supernatural mystery/thriller, Dec 19 2005
By The Reader Reviews - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Follow (Paperback)
Pam Gardner's life seems to be falling apart. Her husband cheated on her and she lost her baby in a car accident. But that may not be the worst part: she seems to be going insane. Pam is hearing things, seeing shapes in dark shadows, and receiving visits from several women (including her best friend Lily) who may have met bad ends, and she thinks someone is trying to kill her. Is it all in her mind? And why do the voices keep telling her to "open the door"?
I can say one thing about A.J. Matthews (pseudonym of Rick Hautala) after reading "Follow": this guy knows how to build tension. From the very first page the suspense is building, the mystery is getting thicker, and the confusion deeper. You can cut the tension in "Follow" with a knife. Pam Gardner is in a frightened, confused state of mind through most of the book and Matthews puts us right there in the seat with her for every moment. This is an extremely well written book. I can't remember reading any supernatural mystery-thrillers more engrossing than "Follow".
My only gripe is the ending. Without giving away too much (this is a mystery after all), Matthews leaves a lot of unanswered questions at the end of "Follow". Don't misunderstand, it's obvious Matthews did this on purpose and his ending makes good sense, but it left me feeling a little unfulfilled. What's the fun in building a great mystery and not having it wrapped up nicely in the end?
This book is a great, slow burn mystery. The general idea driving "Follow" isn't new but, with a few curveballs thrown in and captivating storytelling, Matthews has pulled off a must-read supernatural thriller.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
How do you tell if what you see is what is real..., Jan 3 2006
By Gayle Surrette "omnivorous reader" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Follow (Paperback)
Pamela Gardner had a car accident as she sped away from her home to escape a madman who wanted to kill her. On the road she lost control of the car in the sleet and. After the accident things just are not the same anymore. She's miscarried, found out her husband was cheating on her and she can't focus or remember even simple thing.
On her release from the hospital Pamela finds that she often loses time or can't remember what happened. She has trouble focusing and her life seems to be unraveling around her. She's convinced that the man who attacked her also killed her best friend a year ago but she can't remember what he looked like or what had frightened her so badly. She can't remember things as well and begins to use a recorder but the recorder keeps moving around showing up in places she didn't put it and on it she can her the voice of the ghosts that she sees around her.
This is a very difficult book to review, as it was a difficult book to read. The story is tightly written but everything is so vague there's little to latch onto when you're trying to figure out what is happening to Pamela. However, the writing is so good that you find yourself turning page after page to learn what's going on. I must have had at least 5 theories that seemed to fit the facts as presented. But I had to keep going to see which of my theories was the correct one.
A great book for a rainy, foggy night when you can't sleep because once you get going it will be hard to put down
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fear the way it should be done..., Dec 4 2005
By Mike Strauss "Mike" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Follow (Paperback)
This is one clever horror novel, with all the twists and turns you'd ever want, characters you care about, and a feeling of fear that runs from page one all the way to the end. And speaking of the end, you definitely won't guess what's about to happen until you breathlessly reach those last pages!