Faces of Fear by John Saul

Our main character is fifteen-year-old Alison Shaw.  Some may consider her an ugly duckling, but she is not one to wear designer clothing and sit in front of a mirror for hours applying a ton of makeup.

Beauty becomes very noticeable and common when her mother, Risa, marries Conrad Dun, a plastic surgeon, and is forced to move to Bel Air, where everyone is undergoing plastic surgery.

Conrad Dun has big plans for Alison Shaw and he is carefully planning his moves.  Mistakes are not acceptable and there will be consequences.

Soon, Alison and Risa discover dark secrets and motivates that could put them both in danger.

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If you’re a fan of John Saul, you know how gruesome his novels can be.  I’ve read quite a few of John Saul’s books so this wouldn’t be my favorite. There may have been a few parts in the book that were a little predictable, but it was all written well.   I also liked his characters; very believable and I could envision them and the scenes they were in.

Who wouldn’t love to read a tale which was filled with suspense of a killer ripping out its victim’s organs and saving them for something remarkable?

After all the darkness throughout the book, the epilogue breaks away from all that, and it’s actually refreshing. ;-)

Guardian by John Saul

MaryAnne Carpenter is dealing with a separation from her husband, Ted. Because of her two children, Logan and Alison, she is finding it difficult to stay away from him. When she gets a phone call informing her that her friends the Wilkensons are dead, she must pack up to care for their child, MaryAnne’s godchild. Questions begin to rise: were her friend’s deaths tragic accidents or murder?

When taking her children to relocate in Idaho with her godchild, she finds her troubles multiplied when they all become prey to an evil force stalking the wilderness. Someone or something is murdering people in the community one by one.

If no one is familiar with John Saul’s books, his books are stories of supernatural, technological, or psychological terror. I’ve read a few books by him already in the past couple of years, and “Guardian” was yet another book I enjoyed. It takes some time to read because of his writing style, his details, but it makes you want to get to the end to see how everything turns out.

There are a lot of gory killings–yay. I liked the characters a lot.

Ted is a sweet-talker who has a temper and is just plain rude! He surely doesn’t change at the end of the book.

MaryAnne is a curious, kind-hearted individual. All she wants to do it protect her children as best as she can.

Logan is a curious ten-year-old who loves to have fun.

Alison is a teenager who gets scared a lot, but goes a long with things so she doesn’t get called a “chicken.” Throughout the book, she tries to act her age by being the ‘grownup’ in certain situations.

Joey Wilkenson is a shy and silent teenager. He’s trying to deal with his new environment and trying to figure out who he is…or what he is.