Patty Tomsky

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The writing is oddly stilted and almost childlike for someone who is so widely touted as a masterful writer— of thrillers. The book is not thrilling just dumb. The narrative voice is annoying and interrupts the action just in time to ruin any kind of pacing you might begin to enjoy. I felt the characters are interchangeable— you never see them as real, just tropes. There’s the loyal servant, the movie star, the handsome, dissolute rake, the damaged child-man, the histrionic theater actor— every time something cool or interesting happens, the narrator intrudes to tell you exactly what to think. Michaelides seems to follow the James Patterson school of chapter length and last sentence writing— kind of insulting to be so inexpertly manipulated by this tired plot, setting, book. I finished it so I guess it worked?

One of the scariest movies I have ever seen. The haunted house/trapped in a room with a demon storyline exploded out into a horrific gory scare fest of epic proportions. I don’t recall ever caring so hard about a family living on the fringes and their loving mother — the aunt who comes home is a well rounded character that you root for the whole time. The little kid (Kassie) such a good actor although every single actor serves it up. I won’t soon forget this one.