a constant reader of Jeff O'Brien, I was a bit surprised by The Halloween Girl, I had heard that it was different, that it was "serious", and to an extent, it was both of those things.
Still, though, The Halloween Girl is unmistakably a Jeff
O'Brien book, having all the heart, emotion, and deep themes that lie beneath the carnage in his other work I have read.
This book has a nice, slow build and a rather bleak atmosphere that effectively serves the creeping sense of tension and dread.
I love the setting too Everything seems dark, grimy, and gloomy all the time, which perfectly compliments the characters, their mindsets, and the situations they find themselves in.
A great book whose depth extends well beyond it's hundred or so pages, I really, really dug it and hope that Mr, O'Brien will consider writing something else in this style, As a Halloween season aficionado, I've picked up just about every book set at that time, This one was, honestly, just okay, There were some good ideas, but much of it seemed inspired by better, stronger novels, The prose was full of common editing errors and minor malapropisms, though those were infrequent enough to be overlooked.
If you're a Halloween junkie, pick this one up, If not, maybe try Gary Braunbeck's "In Silent Graves" instead, Tommy Sullivan spent the first ten years of his life under the roof of a violent, alcoholic father and an equally unstable mother.
His only refuge was the beauty of the young woman who lived next door: CassieThe Halloween Girl, whom Tommy could swear he had some mysterious, unnatural connection with.
From his window he'd admire her dark beauty, but his prying eyes showed him too much, and left him forever a marked man.
Twentyfour years later, Tommy finds himself relocated to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but unable to shake the ghosts of his past, such as his dead parents, the shadowy redeyed man, the woman in white, and the burning desire to know whatever became of Cassie, and why she had left him such a cryptic note the day Tommy was taken away from his home.
Look into the shadows, Tommy,
I'll be there.
Cassie
The road to answers starts with a visit from a stranger, and continues with the ghosts of Tommy's past coming out from the woodwork.
Only this time, they're no longer just in his head, A terrific romantic horror blend, A twisted mix of Barker and Laymon, O'Brien definitely needs to write more serious horror, Before Jeff O'Brien finished this book he had a bit of a problem finishing the book, I offered a little advice to him, and soon, he was able to finish the book, The advice was simply to detach, What does that mean It means that this writer is close his work, So close that it is an extension of himself, He crafts each word with a bit of himself woven within the words of each page,
"The road to answers starts with a visit from a stranger, and continues with the ghosts of Tommy's past coming out from the woodwork.
Only this time, they're no longer just in his head, "
With Halloween Girl, the author creates a haunting, unconventional love story that is the basis, the backbone, and the soul of this story of love, loss, redemption, life, death, and what lies beyond.
If you didn't believe it before, this book will cement the name of Jeff O'Brien in your mind of a series writer of this and any genre.
A very different take from O'Brien, THE HALLOWEEN GIRL is not a funny read, If you think you know the author, let this haunting tale add dimension to your thinking, Im a bassist who writes books, Or a writer who plays bass, Depends on the day. I'm a bassist who writes books, Or a writer who plays bass, Depends on the day. sitelink.