Book Review: The Patient by Jasper DeWitt
The Patient
Author: Jasper DeWitt
Published: July 7, 2020
224 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
In a series of online posts, Parker H., a young psychiatrist, chronicles the harrowing account of his time working at a dreary mental hospital in New England. Through this internet message board, Parker hopes to communicate with the world his effort to cure one bewildering patient.
We learn, as Parker did on his first day at the hospital, of the facility’s most difficult, profoundly dangerous case—a forty-year-old man who was originally admitted to the hospital at age six. This patient has no known diagnosis. His symptoms seem to evolve over time. Every person who has attempted to treat him has been driven to madness or suicide.
Desperate and fearful, the hospital’s directors keep him strictly confined and allow minimal contact with staff for their own safety, convinced that releasing him would unleash catastrophe on the outside world. Parker, brilliant and overconfident, takes it upon himself to discover what ails this mystery patient and finally cure him. But from his first encounter with the mystery patient, things spiral out of control, and, facing a possibility beyond his wildest imaginings, Parker is forced to question everything he thought he knew.
Kim’s Review:
A mental hospital with a 41-year-old patient who has been there since he was six and anyone who interacts with him either goes insane or commits suicide … I mean, come on!! Of course I had to read this one!! But first, the missing star. This is Jasper’s first book and unfortunately he does that thing where he tries to write intellectually but it more comes off as pretentious. Thankfully, it wasn’t bad enough that I had to stop reading. There’s also one of those vague metaphor endings, but I didn’t mind that either.
But the formatting!!! He’s actually trying to portray this as a possible true story!!!! That makes this so much more terrifying! He starts with the explanation that he found this on a doctors’ confession website that doesn’t exist anymore. Having that in the back of my brain made this book even better. The characters were realistic and easy to sympathize with. The plot kept me going page after page. It scratched my horror itch and then some! I can’t quite tell if this is actually a horror story or not, but hey, it scared me so I say call it horror! It could definitely pass off as psychological so even those who aren’t horror fans would still enjoy it! Perfect for the change to spooky season!!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
Took: A Ghost Story
Author: Mary Downing Hahn
Published: September 15, 2015
272 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
“Folks say Old Auntie takes a girl and keeps her fifty years—then lets her go and takes another one.”
Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn’t believe Brody Mason’s crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster’s Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody’s probably just trying to scare him since he’s the new kid . . . a “stuck-up snot” from Connecticut. But Daniel’s seven-year-old sister Erica has become more and more withdrawn, talking to her lookalike doll. When she disappears into the woods one day, he knows something is terribly wrong.
Did the witch strike? Has Erica been “took”?
Kim’s Review:
Another excellent horror story from Hahn! This one was a little more complicated than her others and thankfully didn’t have an obnoxious child that makes you want to just give them up to whatever evil being is around! Creepy dolls, a witch, a man-boar and some twists and turns and you have Took. It’s a simple enough story, but with complicated themes and feelings and that’s what I liked about it. And as usual, I was creeped out through the whole thing. This is another great one for kids who prefer the scarier reads!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: Apartment 401 by Boris Baćić
Apartment 401
Series: Haunted Places
Author: Boris Baćić
Published: February 28, 2021
286 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
There’s something wrong with Apartment 401…
When the newlywed couple Brad and Julia decide to move into their new home, they are ecstatic to start their new lives. They finally have a home of their own, and with a baby on the way, this couldn’t have come at a better time.
However, just one day in the apartment is enough to tell them that something is very wrong. Things go missing only to reappear in strange places, footsteps and whispers echo in the rooms, and every night, the same song plays from somewhere inside the apartment.
The longer Brad and Julia spend in the apartment, the more they learn about the dark secrets that haunt it. No longer able to afford moving to a new place, they have to make a decision – run away from their new home, or face the apparitions that plague it.
One thing is for sure, though. They are not the only inhabitants of Apartment 401.
Kim’s Review:
This is my book club’s pick for October … spooky season!!!
And this cover looks amazing, just saying. I really liked this story! The only reason for the 4 stars is because I didn’t like how it felt like all the loose strings wouldn’t be tied up by the end of the book. Once the twist happens, I want everything to fall into place. This twist was crazy and I admit that I didn’t see it coming, but once it did, I didn’t like how I had to fight to make the little details make sense. Other than that, this book was good! Creepy!
I don’t want to get into the plot line too much because I don’t want to give it away. At first, I thought it was going to be a Rosemary’s Baby type story but then it went full on ghosts and haunting! I enjoyed the characters and they all had me questioning their motives at one time or another. This is a great one for Halloween or just anytime you have a horror itch!!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
