Reviews

Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling

liviab13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

thenextstephenking's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This dark book was a slow burn but in the best way. The action started down the line but there were subtle hints of horror throughout the beginning. This was a dark story excellently crafted. Tge force left readers wanting more. Despite the length of the book I felt I finished it quickly. I couldn't put it down for want of finding out the truth. This excellent book was crafted with the reader in mind. Offering hints of Darknes along the way. I enjoyed the unsettling aspects of the book. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants a page turner from start to finish. 

bkmckown's review against another edition

3.0

This book was all the things I love in a horror book. Gory and grotesque, making you want to avert your gaze, cults and demonic presence. It did get repetitive after awhile, one only needs a few gory, vile sex scenes before you lose interest. The book could’ve easily been 100 pages shorter and it still would’ve packed a punch. The overall story was fantastic but the gory, vulgar scenes were overdone to the point where it became mundane. It had the feel of a King novel but that doesn’t mean it needed the same length to get the point across. 

goobersmom57's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

• It’s been hard to keep my attention lately (adhd, stress), so being able to do so for such long periods of time with such a thick book is quite a feat! Keisling is up there with the top authors imo. He is a master of language. Not only did I want to wake up earlier to read this before work, I stayed awake longer, read on my lunch break, and anywhere else I could squeeze a few extra minutes in. The story had a natural flow, and just enough suspense to keep me turning the pages. The characters were all very real,  where I both loved and hated them and their actions. This was such a visceral and intense story. There was so much going on, and so many characters, but somehow I didn’t get overwhelmed. That is just how good Keisling is. 

lisa85's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

becstawas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

tiff_bb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

carnal_butterfly's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

snowmanandbandit's review against another edition

1.0

I bailed about half way through this one. I can forgive an error or two in a novel, but sometimes a lack of research really takes you out of the story. I forgave the first confusing foray into drug culture with the amateur meth lab techs. There was a lot there that just didn’t make sense.. the novel mentioned the characters learning “how to” online, and one can only wish the author did the same, and spent a little more time figuring out what the heck these characters would really be doing. There’s a lot of “these guys are terrible” followed later by talk of their skills to make “good” meth. It’s just all so twisted up. The characters just didn’t make sense.

The misuse of terminology for being under the influence in various ways continued throughout. And the cop who wanted to get wasted, but interchangeably with meth or weed? Weird. Sure, those are totally the same things.

The music descriptions, with genres getting used interchangeably that shouldn’t have been- again, research was needed. The rock and roll kid who was maybe supposed to be metal goth emo, like those are all the same thing.. that didn’t work.

The last straw here, what made me quit, was how off all the gratuitous sex scenes were. They were awkward.

I’m not an expert on any of the things this book got wrong, but there were just so many errors, I had to stop.

brian_garbage's review against another edition

3.0

Not once have I ever heard anyone refer to ending a phone call as "cancelling" it.