Mark Edward Hall

I received "The Haunting of Sam Cabot" for free or a reduced price on Amazon.com. In return I am giving this honest review. This is one of the books read during the "Dewey Read-A-Thon."

The positives of this book are the hooks; The cover, the title, and the plot line. Also, Sam Cabot is a writer / veteran who gets haunted.

Another thing I appreciated is that [a: Mark Edward Hall|3055446|Mark Edward Hall|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1320863595p2/3055446.jpg] knows his trades people. He understands the kinds of jobs that they do. Author Hall knows what they need for the job. It boosted the most interesting aspects of the book.

I loved the generational or historical threads. They were too short, but had they continued, it could have made this a five star book.

The negatives were that I felt like I missed a first book and came in at the middle of the haunting. There was too much left not addressed. Why was the "Farnam House" after a Cabot? There seemed to be no tie in.

[b: The Haunting of Sam Cabot|23384347|The Haunting of Sam Cabot (A Novel)|Mark Edward Hall|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440592908s/23384347.jpg|42942911] is a creepy and supernatural book that will give a little thrill. It was a fast read.
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Apocalypse Island" by Mark Edward Hall! It started out slow and a bit confusing, but after several chapters, it was beginning to make more sense. Girls are being murdered and "marked" grotesquely after their death; a serial killer is running rampant through the city and dubbed, "The Cross your heart Killer".

In his sleep, Danny Wolf sees the bodies of these dead women carried to their final resting place; he doesn't see their faces and doesn't know their identity, but knows of the location because he'd witnessed all this through the eyes of the actual killer. A similar killing took place five years ago and Danny Wolf was convicted of that murder, spending five years in prison, while locked up, the murder is covered up. Danny gets an early conditional release from prison and placed under the direct care of the local psychiatrist, however, after just a few days, the murders start all over again. Now it turns out that Danny knew each of these dead girls and so becomes the primary suspect. Is he innocent or guilty?

One of the investigating detectives solicits the help of his dead partner's daughter - an undercover police officer from a different state, to get close to Danny and locate evidence to take him down. However, she falls in love with him and decides to help him instead. The story has ghosts, invisible forces, hairy giants, deformed children and "blue lights" - the government had conducted special brain tests on children during the 1980's in the facility on Apocalypse Island. Now they are trying to get rid of all the evidence and will do so at any cost. People high in the government hierarchy - those without names or faces - are calling the shots and have covered this up for years.

There are so many twists, that it takes almost three-quarters of the book before readers discover who is actually good and bad. I also found there to be many of the same fact-sharing discussions held throughout the book between different characters and seemed repetitious; those occasions bogging the story down; elimination could have resulted in a book with considerably less pages. Nevertheless, I highly endorse "Apocalypse Island" and recommend it to all. Well done Mr. Hall!

John Podlaski, author
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel… (más)

Jeremiah Gideon hoped that one day soon, he would find the proper blend of words and music that would finally put the demon inside him to rest. Until then, he slaved over the keyboard, writing and rewriting scores of music, always searching for an unreachable perfection. His music was hauntingly beautiful, drawing the listener in and demanding his undivided attention.

Roxanne Templeton, recently arrived from Iowa, was apartment hunting in New York when she first heard the music. Being a singer with amazing capabilities, she followed the mysterious music, and found herself peering into a basement apartment, gazing longingly at the performer. Even the warnings of the local bag lady were not enough to drive Roxanne away, and she began working for Jeremiah, singing the works that he composed. As the two became more deeply involved, Roxanne was caught up in the dark magic of his music, and entwined in a horror that stretched back over sixty years.

Wow! What an awesome story! I was literally riveted to the pages, and could not put the book down. The contrast of Jeremiah’s beautiful music with the horrors of the Holocaust was striking, and the emphasis on his family history was even more chilling, especially when you consider that this was only about seventy years ago. Jeremiah’s inner torment was only hinted at until close to the end, leaving the reader to imagine exactly what was driving him, and the reason behind Roxanne’s slow decline is also left to the reader’s imagination. This was a fascinating and compelling story, and one I completely enjoyed. I will definitely be looking for other works by Mark Edward Hall.

Bitten by Books for AReCafe… (más)