Review: From a Whisper to a Scream by Charles de Lint

A serial killer has been viciously murdering women in the Combat Zone, a seedy area of Newford. He makes a mistake when he kills a wealthy man's daughter, apparently mistaking her for one of the prostitutes he normally targets. There's a witness to this one too. He swears the killer stepped out of the side of a building and disappeared the same way.

Detective Thomas Morningstar has mostly left his Kickaha traditions behind on the rez. But something about these killers doesn't feel right, so he seeks help in the most unexpected of places.

And then there's Chelsea, a teen who's already experienced a lifetime of hurt. She's been told that her abusive father is dead, but she can still feel him out there. Searching for her. And she knows this time he won't stop until she's dead.

This is a re-read, and I wrote in my initial one-sentence summary, "This is too dark for me."  I'm re-reading the Newford books in order, and it was time for this one.  It's still too dark for me.  I do like horror, but this is a little too real. The so-called "horror" element doesn't feel real, but the abuse is the true horror. It's nothing gratuitous, but it is more graphic than I would like. Being inside the mind of a pedophile left me feeling dirty and more than a little disturbed. It's hard for me to read that kind of thing at any time, but especially when it involves children.

I miss that none of the Newford regulars showed up in this book. Part of what I love about the Newford books is spotting some of my favorite characters and finding out how they're doing. I know that sounds crazy, but after multiple re-reads of my favorites across 20+ books and at least 15 years, they really are old friends.

There are still some of de Lint's trademarks present here though. His good characters genuinely care about other people and try to help where they can. They step out on faith and work through bizarre happenings the best way they know how. I like the way different...spiritual? yes, probably the best word...traditions come together for the common good. And there are the characters who don't let the crappy hand they were dealt in their early years hold them back forever.

Sitting here, really thinking about it, that is probably the point of the book. People live worse things than this every day. I guess de Lint wanted to write about that darkness and point out that where there is darkness, there is always light if we just look for it.

I would not recommend this as an introduction to de Lint, but fans should pick it up as long as they think they can handle it. It does get awfully disturbing in between these pages.

Read an excerpt.

Find author Charles de Lint on his website, Twitter, and Facebook.

Buy From a Whisper to a Scream at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

ARC Giveaway: At Home by Bill Bryson

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of At Home by Bill Bryson, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it enough to keep it, so I'm giving it away to a lucky reader.

“Houses aren’t refuges from history. They are where history ends up.”

Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.” The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has fig­ured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.

My 4 star review.

My privacy policy.

I have to limit this one to the US only. I apologize, international bloggers.

Winners will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before another winner is chosen. Contest ends at midnight EST Saturday, February 4, 2012. Just fill out the form below to enter!



I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Friday Flashback Review: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Chicago wins a bid to be the host of the World's Fair in 1892, the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of America. The city's top architects immediately swing into gear to make this a fair to remember. Paris had hosted a world's fair a few years earlier and everyone said that it couldn't be beaten. So of course Chicago feels like they have to "out-Eiffel Eiffel." At the same time, charming psychopath Dr. H.H. Holmes sets up a pharmacy/hotel/restaurant in the city. Women and children who enter his sphere are never heard from again. The Devil in the White City weaves these stories together.

I'm not a non-fiction reader, but I liked this book. It was interesting to see what Burnham, the lead architect for the fair, went through to get everything together on time. I also enjoyed reading about the odd bits of trivia associated with the fair. For example, did you know that the Pledge of Allegiance was written for the dedication of the fair? It was also fun to see how everyone who was anyone knew each other in a much smaller America back then. The book is full of names that I recognize and I'm not a history buff.

There were some things that I wasn't crazy about though. The serial killer stuff could have been better. It was never suspenseful. It was just, "Well, he made this girl fall in love with him, and then she disappeared, but they think they found her footprint on the inside of his crematorium." I know it's non-fiction and the author was trying to stick to facts, but I kind of like some sensationalism. It could have been played up more for my taste. The very end of the World's Fair started dragging for me. We had lost the thread of the serial killer and were focused entirely on the fair. I think the alternating chapters about the fair and Dr. Holmes helped keeped my interest. When that stopped, my interest flagged. But then it picked back up again when the focus shifted almost entirely to Dr. Holmes. And, finally, I would have liked more pictures. Maybe there weren't more available, but if there were, I would have liked to have seen them. I would prefer to see the picture showing me how big the main building of the fair was rather than just giving me raw numbers.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I wouldn't mind reading more by this author.

Reviewed November 17, 2008

Read an excerpt.

Find author Erik Larson on his website, his blog, and Facebook.

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Review: Elliot and the Goblin War by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Elliot somehow finds himself appointed King of the Brownies (not the kind you eat--the kind that likes to clean your house as you sleep. I'd be happy with either of them in my house). He first came to the Brownies' attention after he saved one of them from some evil Goblins on Halloween night. That night, Elliot also started a war between the Brownies and the Goblins, so I guess it's only fair that he has to lead the Brownies. The problem is that the Brownies have no concept of how war should work. They just go about their business as usual, expecting to be eaten or scared to death by a Goblin at any minute. Well, Elliot might be young, but he knows that something has to change.

This was cute. It really was. My biggest problem was the frequent breaks for "Now, Reader, if you don't like to read about people being scared to death, you might want to stop reading right here. For serious. You've been warned. The last person who continued reading was eaten by a platypus." (Not an actual quote) It was kind of funny the first time or two, but it seemed like there was one of these in every chapter. Kids might like it, but I thought it got tedious.

Other than that, it was a fun little story. Elliott and the Brownies (sounds like a pop group from the '50's) got themselves into some tight spots, but it was amusing to see how the Goblins mostly managed to defeat themselves. I have to own up to a very juvenile sense of humor when it comes to smelly feet jokes and the like, so I actually thought it was pretty funny in parts.

I really liked that hidden inside this fun little story was a message about bullies and finding the strength to stand up for yourself. That doesn't mean fighting, but it does mean drawing the line. There's even a bit about forgiveness and second chances.

Recommended for the 9-12 year olds who can appreciate the humor.

Read an excerpt.

Find author Jennifer A. Nielsen on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy Elliot and the Goblin War at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Review: Empire Falls by Richard Russo

Miles Roby is the manager of The Empire Grill in the heart of Empire Falls, Maine--or what's left of it, anyway. This once-thriving industrial town is dying now that the factories have all closed. Empire Falls still has a tightly-knit, optimistic community though. There are constantly rumors about new buyers for the factories. Miles feels as if he's the only skeptic, watching from behind his counter as his town is slowly sinking.

I'm finding this to be a really hard review to write. That's because as I read the book, I didn't really feel like I was reading fiction. It seems like a new factory closes somewhere in my area weekly (not really, but it's not been great) and these characters felt like neighbors. None of them are perfect, and they're all struggling with things that we can relate to. I feel like I'm trying to write a review of small-town, blue-collar American life, and that's not something that I review, that's just something that we live.

And I guess that I couldn't really give Russo a higher compliment than that. Sure, there are things that I didn't necessarily enjoy, but when a book is so spot-on that you feel like you're reading about the next town over, there's not much else to say.

There were times when I laughed (Father Tom and Max Roby were always good for that), there were times when I was a little heart-broken, there were times when I felt victorious, and there were times when I was beyond horrified. I really did not see the stuff at the end coming. It was one of those things that always happens "somewhere else," so when I had lost myself enough to feel that I was a part of Empire Falls, it was shocking that it happened "right here at home."

I really like Miles and his daughter, Tick, but they weren't perfect by any means. They were funny and doing their best. Miles adores Tick and would do anything for her. I never knew quite what to think of Mrs. Whiting, the rich old woman who practically owns the whole town. She came across as heartless because she really was, but she also saw with a clarity that few of us possess. I have to give her credit for saying what she thinks. Otto Meyer was another character that I really liked, but I wish he'd had a bigger part. I like the way the relationships between characters were constantly shifting, the way they actually do in real life. I liked how Miles' relationship with his mother is echoed in his relationship with Tick.

There was at least one big revelation that I saw coming from a long way off. I obviously didn't see everything coming though, or I wouldn't have been shocked at the end.

I recommend this if you're in the mood for a good look at life in a small, dying town. I've made it sound depressing, but that constant thread of hope never quite fades away.

Read an excerpt.

Buy Empire Falls at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.