Second Child: A Novel

By John Saul

Beware the second child.

This lush, secluded Maine seaside resort is the summer playground of the superrich, but one hundred years ago, something disturbed their play. Horror came to this village. And though no one knows it yet, the horror has never left.
 
It waits for a shy young girl, outcast by her friends, her beautiful sister, even her own mother. She knows how it feels to be unwanted. She knows anger. And soon she will know the touch of unholy terror—and the rage of blood-drenched vengeance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307768049

John Saul

John Saul’s first novel Suffer the Children became an instant bestseller, as have many of the thirty-three novels of dark suspense he has published since. Amidst this busy writing schedule, he divides his time between Seattle, Washington and Hawaii.

Reviews for Second Child

[carol420 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Teri's parents died in a house fire, she moves in with her father(Charles), step-mother(Phyllis), and half-sister(Melissa). At first everything is going well for Teri. Although Teri is treated like gold by her step-mother, Melissa is being abused by her mother. One night Teri witnesses the punishment Phyllis imposes on Melissa.
After that night Teri creates a sinister plan to get rid of Melissa and taking her rightful place as the daughter of the Halloway Household.

I am a huge fan of John Saul's works and "Second Child" proved to be worthy of praise as well as Saul's other novels. Terry made me so mad! She definitely got what was coming to her in the end!

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When 15-year old Teri’s parents die in a house fire, Teri is the only one to get out. She is collected by her biological father to go live across the country with him, his wife and their 13-year old daughter, Melissa. Melissa is considered by some to be a bit… strange. But she has good reason. (The back of the book doesn’t say much, so I don’t want to give too much away.) They are rich, but Melissa and her mother (Phyllis) don’t really fit in, though Phyllis certainly tries. This was really good. I was pulled in at the start and it kept me reading and wanting to read. I was quite horrified and disgusted with actions of many of the characters and felt so badly for Melissa. This book has elements of both supernatural and psychological horror, both of which I “enjoy” reading. Just be careful reading through some of the reviews, as much more is given away than I think should be for this book.

[ladyofunicorns · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not the first novel of John Saul's I have read but as usual, I enjoyed it very much. at first it really didn't start out as a typical horror book but it truly did turn in to one. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a well written horror book. But then again, I have always been hooked on John Saul's work.

[turtlesleap · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Formula writing. The fun of a thriller lies in not knowing what's going to happen next. In this book, the reader pretty much always knows what the next tmoveis going to be. Not much fun.

[dragonfairy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is always good to see that there are authors out there that are not afraid to kill plot central characters. Second Child was entertaining yet slighly predictable. Despite the predictability, I still enjoyed the book and wanted to know for sure what was going to happen. Saul's writing was clear and eloquent. You could almost see everything that his characters were seeing.