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House of Reckoning - John Saul By Melissa J Wantuck  |
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Bestselling author of dark thrillers, John Saul, will release his thirty-sixth novel on October 13, 2009. House of Reckoning (Ballantine, 2009) is a loosely contrived thriller encompassing the supernatural and a hint of unoriginality if you’ve seen the animated family movie “Monster House” (2006).
Saul specializes in dark novels and this one is no different. A pair of fourteen-year-olds find themselves at odds with their peers and even the community at large. Tragedy strikes the life of Sarah Crane who has now come to the town of Warwick to live in a foster home near the state prison where her father has been sentenced for committing manslaughter. Nick Dunnigan grew up in Warwick but mental illness has made him a social outcast. When Sarah arrives in Warwick, they feel a connection to each other and quickly form a friendship everyone around them wishes to dissolve.
Their only ally is another social outcast, the school’s art teacher Bettina Phillips. Bettina has noticed Sarah’s talent for drawing and takes interest in her tutorage. When it becomes apparent Sarah is suffering in the home where she’s been placed, Bettina must decide if helping Sarah is worth risking her job.
Nick’s father threatens him to stay away from Sarah but her presence has been the only deliverance from his poor mental health. He too must decide if risking time with Sarah is worth the price. Bad luck, no matter what Sarah, Nick, or Bettina do, plagues them all. The bad experiences Sarah and Nick share land them in trouble because of the prejudices built against them and Bettina’s association with them only adds to her reputation and attempts are made by other members of the town to persecute her.
Like the movie “Monster House,” House of Reckoning practices its own brand of justice. Saul builds his case by attacking religion, the social welfare system and the judicial system. The moral of Saul’s story appears to be hypocrisy is a worse crime worse than murder and something beyond the natural world must come to the aid of those who are truly innocent: Ironic given Saul’s choice of target.
The psychological aspect of the story doesn’t get any attempt at an explanation from Saul. He ignores building a concrete case to explain the connection between Sarah and Nick as well as the reason for Nick’s illness. Then there’s the convoluted history of Bettina’s background that is at odds with the final reckoning. There’s no reason given for her apparent forgiveness and those connected to her.
If Saul spent more time making his story more convincing rather than building his idea of a social justice case the story might not lose its thrill halfway through. The holes only grow bigger with each new revelation and the connections grow weaker. Saul is articulate as a writer using a fluid writing structure but his weakness is in his lack of supporting his story on a firm foundation. Instead House of Reckoning is more like a run-of-the-mill Hollywood thriller.
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