Hard to believe that Faces of Fear is John Saul’s thirty-fifth novel. He published his first novel in 1977 and about five years later I started reading his books and have been a loyal fan since loving each thrill along the way.
The latest one, Faces of Fear, did not disappoint me whatsoever. It was different from your ordinary thriller as it was more psychological but it was full of suspense and creepiness which is exactly what I’ve come to expect and look forward to when I crack open the spine of my brand new John Saul book.
This story is mainly focused on Alison Shaw, a teenager who is struggling with coming into being a young woman. She’s not beautiful or at least she doesn’t think so but most of the time she doesn’t care or does she? Her mother, while being a great mom, wants only the best for her daughter and believes that beauty is often the key to success. Eventually Alison’s mom marries a famous plastic surgeon and from that point on things take on an extremely creepy tone.
Now Alison is living in a rich neighborhood and finding out that with a stepfather who is a great plastic surgeon, almost anything is possible and even expected. So, begins her transformation into a more beautiful Alison. However, her stepfather Conrad is still obsessed with his late wife and is now obsessed with having Alison look like her. As the story evolves and Alison learns more she becomes increasingly terrified. To top things off, there is a madman on the loose butchering people…
This is a must read for Saul fans and for anybody out for a creepy psychological thriller. On the inside cover, it says that ‘Saul proves that there’s a fine line between perfection and madness’. What some people will do to achieve that state of perfection is definitely enough to creep me out. Another great novel by one of my favorite authors!
Oh my gosh, I didn’t even know he had a new one out! I love John Saul. I will definitely look for this one. thanks!
Oh, this does sound creepy …
Dar, it’s really cool that you’ve been reading this author for so many years and still enjoy his work! It seems sometimes avid fans get disenchanted with authors after so long (I’m thinking Jodi Picoult here based on the opinions of several friends who are huge fans.)
Anyway, great review!
Dar, you sure do read a wide variety of fiction! I’m glad you enjoyed this book.
Wendy, it just came out a couple of weeks ago.
Shana, I agree. I’ve become less interested in being one of the first ones to read a Jodi Picoult novel. For me she seems to be losing some of her charm. With John Saul there have been a couple of not as great novels for me but in the whole 35, I’d say there was maybe 2.
Mary, I do enjoy a wide range of fiction. I love general, historical. I’ll try anything a first time.
That many books, and I’ve never read one. I may need to change that once I get through my little pile of historical ARCs. This sounds good!
Lezlie
My post is gone! I shared with you that I have never read a John Saul book and was afraid to hear you gasp, so I covered my ears. 🙂 I have heard of him and seen his books, but just never picked one up.
Does he write a series or are they stand-alones? Either way I’ll be seeking him out, especially after such high praise from you.
Lezlie, that’s funny. I keep saying I need to take some time out to read historical fiction and now you need to take some time out to read some stuff like this. We’re quite the pair, aren’t we. lol.
Oh no Joy, we can’t be losing posts from you. And I am gasping-you’ve never read a Saul book with so many out there??? lol. They are stand alones so you can pick up any one that sounds good to you. Gosh, I have so many faves of his I’m not sure I could even recommend one.
Hey Dar! I have never read any book by John Saul.. in fact, i haven’t really read any suspense thriller kinda books.. maybe i should give one a shot and see how i like it!:) i should stop book-blog-browsing (not really).. it is soo bad for my “i-wanna-read” list!:)
well, if you had to pick and suggest the best book by John Saul to begin with, what would you pick??
Okay, I won’t ask you to recommend one – how about five?! 🙂
Eeeks—35 novels? Would people throw vegetables at me if I mentioned I’ve never heard of him? I guess I need to remedy that!!
I have never read any John Saul – but it looks like I should start!
Ramya and Joy, I’m going to peek at my bookshelf tonight and pick one or more (lol Joy) of Saul’s books that I really liked. There’s one from a couple years back that was really good but the name is escaping me.
lol Trish, yes he’s been around for a while. If you or Lenore are looking for a thriller sometime, his are pretty good. I find him easier to read than King. His books really tend to freak me out although I have a few on my shelf to get to one day.
I loved him when he first started publishing then got sick of him but this book sounds good so I might just have to give him another try. Thanks!
Linda, some people are saying this one isn’t as good but I like it because it was more psychological than anything else. Most times I find that scarier.
Yikes, this sounds creepy but really good. Thanks!
I just started reading it before Gustav. When the power went out, I wasn’t in the mood any more…lol! Now that things are back, I started reading it again last night. And let me add, I MISSED you oodles!
Thanks Samantha.
J.Kaye, I look forward to your review. I liked it because it wasn’t your run of the mill scary story-I wonder what you’ll think.
Dar ~ I’ve stopped reading it. Not because there was something wrong, but our library has it on OverDrive. Whenever I can get a book on audio download, I grab it. So my reading, or in this case listening, will be delayed a bit.
lol J.Kaye. I wish I liked books on audio more but I concentrate better reading it than listening to it.