For many children, the summer of 1988 was filled with sunshine and laughter. But for ten-year-old Kris Barlow, it was her chance to say goodbye to her dying mother. Three decades later, loss returns–her husband killed in a car accident. And so, Kris goes home to the place where she first knew pain–to that summer house overlooking the crystal waters of Lost Lake. It’s there that Kris and her … Kris and her eight-year-old daughter will make a stand against grief.
But a shadow has fallen over the quiet lake town of Pacington, Kansas. Beneath its surface, an evil has grown–and inside that home where Kris Barlow last saw her mother, an old friend awaits her return.more
A master class in immersion. Don’t let anybody tell you this book is a slow burn ― Violet travels at the speed of horror.
Before going into the review there’s some things I need to tell you.
I work at the front office at a hotel and due to COVID we were mostly empty or with very few guests. The other thing is, I don’t scare easy.
So, with this in mind, I started reading “Violet” while working the graveyard shift, to pass the time and get some pages into it. And I have to tell you one thing… It made me jump at all the little noises I heard and shadows that moved with the shifting of the lights…
“Violet” tells us the story of Kris and her 8-year-old daughter Sadie, as they return to the Lake house where Kris used to spend her summers when she was a little girl.
You see, Kris’s husband died in a car accident and she thought the change of scenery would be good for their young daughter and herself.
Kris has a memory of a perfect house from when she was a kid, but reality is very different.
The house is rotting and decrepit and the city nearby shows signs of being left behind when the lake lost most of its summer guests.
And then things start happening: Sadie who’s been quiet since her father’s death starts laughing and singing and playing in the little room upstairs as if she’s not alone; strange happenings in the house; the discovery that little girls have gone missing since Kris’s last summer at the lake house.
And all this while Kris memories from that summer thirty years ago start coming back to her.
I’m loving the way Scott Thomas writes. Everything is just so perfect you can’t stop yourself from imagining being there. Be it on the house fixing the kitchen cabinets, in the lake pushing a rowboat that’s filling up with water, looking down a canyon with jagged rocks at the bottom waiting for you to fall or climbing the stairs to the second floor and entering the little door for a tea party before going on a Hide and Seek game with your daughter.
Or simply imagining yourself looking at a flower field, with bees buzzing from flower to flower, the edge of the lake on the other end of it.
Maybe you see yourself as an adult, maybe as a child.
Maybe you see yourself alone, but are you really?
Is that not the hand of your best friend stretching out to hold yours?
Is it really… there?
“This is a waiting room, she thought. This is purgatory.”
Talk about a slow burn! Man oh man did this one just drag on. This novel landed in it’s own kind of purgatory, in my “currently reading” shelf for nearly a year. Yep, that’s right, that’s how long it finally took me to complete it. Why didn’t I just give up? Mark it as a DNF like many others? Well, quite honestly, I truly loved Scott Thomas’ first novel, Kill Creek, and I had such high hopes for this one, so I felt like I really owed it to Scott to see it through. Having said that, I feel like I went through way to much to get a bit of satisfaction.
Kris Barlow is suffering from the untimely death of her husband. She finds herself struggling to raise their 8-year old daughter, Sadie. Sadie isn’t doing so well with the loss of her father either; she’s stopped speaking. Kris, decides that a change of scenery may do them both some good. They retreat to Kris’ childhood summer home overlooking Lost Lake in the town of Pacington. While Kris has many fond memories of Lost Lake with her family, the bad memories far outweigh the good. As Kris and Sadie start to settle in and revive the house that has become dormant over the years, Sadie starts to improve, she begins speaking a bit more and more each day. But as Sadie starts to improve, the unease begins to settle in Kris. The house, the town, strange things are happening, strange things that can’t be explained.
I truly think this novel was intended to be a “slow burn”… building that anticipation for the climatic finish. Only, I think it was overkill. There was just too much in the storyline that I felt added little to no value to the overall climatic ending. One could argue that the intent is to create solid character development, and perhaps that’s true, we learned a lot about Kris, but who we didn’t learn enough about in my opinion was Violet. Which let’s be honest, that’s the name of the novel, so I feel we should have had far better development around this character.
In the end, I was satisfied with how things ended for Kris and Sadie, but as a reader, I just didn’t appreciate how long it took to get there.
I want to thank NetGalley, InkShares, and Scott Thomas for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my review.
Scott Thomas has once again proven his skill within the horror community. I remember feeling this way when reading Kill Creek in 2018 and am once again amazed at the flawless way he told this story. While some of it was a bit too detailed (to the point of being over descriptive) the overall story is exceptional. I can see why others have said this novel is reminiscent of Julia by Peter Straub. Violet is creepy, haunting, and shows the power of grief. I would also consider this to be a slow burn horror as it takes time for the story to come to fruition (I wouldn’t have it any other way). It’s those slow burn horror novels that seep into your soul and scare you! I’m so appreciative of this.
If you’re in the mood for something different, something that it sure to send shivers up your spine, then I recommend this one. Violet and everything this book stands for gave me the chills and I read it page by page in awe. To say this story is gripping is an understatement too. I never wanted to put it down!
I don’t want to discuss the plot in detail as it’s better to be read without preconceived notions. Therefore, I’m leaving a shorter review here. .
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 are 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 exquisitely written second novel by Scott Thomas, author of the incredible Kill Creek, breathes new life into a familiar horror trope, the “imaginary friend” story. Thomas manages to straddle the line between literary and commercial appeal with this intense study of human grief that is also truly chilling and utterly compelling.
Her husband recently killed in a car crash, Kris Barlow returns with her eight year old daughter to her childhood home, a place of sad, painful memories, to recover from the grief that has shattered their lives. Soon, however, she discovers the town of Pacington is a sick, haunted place and the run-down house holds secrets Kris has tried to forget.
What follows is an intense and detailed journey into the impact of grief as well as the incredible power of the bond between mother and daughter. The author develops fresh, original characters, exposing their flaws and weaknesses and avoiding tired stereotypes. Suspense slowly builds as the narrative flips back and forth from the present where Kris attempts to deal with the trials of a ramshackle house, a daughter who seems to shut her out and a town filled with odd, haunted souls, to a past that is lonely, dark and increasingly disturbing . The settings are so gorgeously portrayed in such lush and vivid detail, reading the book is akin to watching the movie. I found myself totally immersed in Kris’s world as the story gradually and ominously builds towards an inevitable but shocking climax.
5
I absolutely loved this author’s first book Kill Creek so I was really looking forward to this one and Scott Thomas did not disappoint. The story of recently widowed Kris Barlow and her eight year old daughter Sadie who take a much needed break at the summer house on Lost Lake. Kris used to visit the lake house with her parents each year until her mother passed away from cancer when she was 10. Sadie has been withdrawn and troubled since the death of her father and Kris is hoping a carefree summer like she used to enjoy will bring some happiness back to Sadie.
Similar to Kill Creek, this book is also a slow burning, creepy atmospheric read. The beginning stretch is a bit wordy with some of the descriptions of the cleaning process that the lake house required after years of un-use, but the payoff is worth it. The chilling and creepy vibe is evident throughout, from the people in the town who seem a bit off, the several girls who have gone missing in years prior and the way Sadie behaves in the house. From sudden mood swings, to having strange conversations and seeming to interact with another child in the house, everything seems to point to maybe the trip was a mistake.
I thoroughly enjoyed the many different threads in Violet and the way Scott Thomas pulled everything together, everything I’m looking for in a great horror or thriller. Another hit for the author, while I’m already eager for his next one!
*My thanks to NetGalley and InkShares for an ARC of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own*
VIOLET is the second full length novel I have read by author Scott Thomas. This is most definitely a character driven novel, with emotional attachment that you can feel from the start. The atmosphere is already building from the very first page, as well as the intense characterization.
Kris Barlow and her young daughter, Sadie, have just suffered the traumatic loss of their husband/father in an accident. While Kris’ feelings are understandably and realistically torn between her own emotions, finances, and adjustment, she also has to shoulder the grief of her daughter. This is the most challenging, as Sadie lapses into a near-silent, joyless existence–no longer the carefree, fun-loving child she used to be.
“. . . once you went into the darkness, you never came out . . . Like the hole in the ground . . . that daddy lived in now.”
Kris makes the decision to move them to a summer home, that was left to her by her father, called “River’s End”, near Lost Lake, in Kansas. Thinking a complete change of scenery will help her daughter to heal, she recalls fond memories of her own youthful summers spent there.
“She had first glimpsed the sparkling ripples playing across the lake’s surface when she was four . . . in 1982 . . . the town had been a quaint lakeside resort for over two decades. That was the Pacington she remembered.”
However, the decades between her last summer there, and their current visit, have not been so kind to the dying town.
“The house looked like a crumbling headstone on a forgotten grave . . .”
I’m not even sure where to begin with how well written, and all consuming this novel was. Thomas shows us the personalities and feelings of our main characters not all at once, but with a gradual progression through each and every page. There is nothing “forced” upon the reader. Rather, I found myself magnetized by the simple, everyday things that Kris and Sadie did–whether it was cleaning up the neglected lakeside house, or merely shopping for supplies. Each detail meant something to me, and revealed a bit more of our characters’ mindsets at a leisurely pace.
“. . . Sometimes it is easier not to know. Life is happier lived in ignorance . . . ”
That is not to say that the story felt “slow”, as each minute spent reading had me more invested in the Barlow’s “new life” and healing process.
A process that was multi-layered and more complex than I had first expected.
Even as Kris tried to keep the unpleasant memories of her past mentally buried, it’s felt through all of her thoughts, words, and actions. The town she recalls from her youth has changed, and yet it’s like a psychological puzzle that she no longer has all the pieces to.
“. . . That town, it’s real. But what you’ve got in your head, the way you remember it when you were ten, the town you haven’t let change . . . ”
The town itself is almost a character in its own right. Outwardly separate from Kris’ healing intentions, it is nonetheless tethered to her by invisible strings that are never overtly shown. Even the knowledge of some unfortunate happenings in the years since she had last been there, don’t seem to reel her in. Although the fact that others have had their share of suffering, does bring her closer to accepting that she is not alone when it comes to grief.
“. . . There was something comforting in knowing that you were not the only one being unfairly punished by fate . . . ”
As the novel progresses, and simple things begin feeling somehow more . . . wrong . . . the pacing continues to feel natural, despite the mounting unease. In a case like this, I would normally find myself frantic for the action–and answers–to pick up, yet in this tale, I was so completely “one” with the narrative, that I couldn’t have thought of changing anything if I tried. Thomas had me fully immersed in the world he had created.
“. . . a puzzle from her past was falling into place whether she liked it or not.”
Even as things with young Sadie began to rapidly change, I was in no hurry to get to the end of the book. I merely wanted to continue gliding along with the flow.
“There are some things that are meant to be left buried . . . ”
Overall, I felt that while this was indisputably a horror novel, there were so many elements of sub-genres included that I felt I was getting a taste of everything. I connected strongly with the psychological aspects, the mystery, deepening suspense, emotional upheavals, memory repression, danger, and acceptance.
“. . . The pieces had fallen into place, even the ones she had tried so hard to hide from herself . . . ”
This was a novel of discovery in a myriad of forms; of the response to grief, guilt, and so many more complex combinations of emotions.
“People heal in different ways.”
From the dramatic, yet leisurely beginning, to the jaw-dropping revelations and questions brought to the foreground near the end, I was completely entranced by this novel each and every page of the journey. This is a book that you simply have to read for yourself to full appreciate.
“. . . the hardest truth life has to offer: happiness is not guaranteed . . . ”
Highly recommended!