A novel i’ve recently read has spiked my curiosity in multiple ways. The book is called Chasing the Dead by, Joe Schreiber. While reading this book there were many questions going through my mind. In the first few chapters is when I was the most interested because of the dramatic scenarios that were happening. One of the main characters named Sue has a tragedy happen to her when her daughter is kidnapped. Her daughter named Veda is very young and incapable of protecting herself, so her mother's’ concern was extreme. The mystery man who has taken her daughter keeps calling Sue asking her to overcome many strange obstacles that lead to a past experience she faced in her teenage years. Little does she know that the worst is yet to come when she finds the nanny dead in her front passenger seat. reading this novel made me realize a lot about danger and how much trauma a human body can handle until mentally and physically breaking down. Being in Sue’s shoes at the time of the kidnapping I personally wouldn’t have been able to handle it. Loving someone so much can make people do crazy things to keep them attached and safe. During this book I think that I was a little bit confused at times because there was so much going on. I personally like mystery and suspense because it takes my mind away from reality. I actually felt my heart beating faster during the intense parts of the book. The descriptive words used in the story makes the reader visualize what’s happening as if it’s a movie. The ending is definitely different than what I was expecting so it was a good surprise. My favorite part the story is when Sue finds out that her daughter has been taken because it’s so thrilling and I didn’t want to put the book down.(pg.54)”I’ll kill you if you hurt her.” Intense words coming from a concerned mother. Overall this book is great for people with an adventure and thrill seeking personalities.
Joe Schreiber’s Chasing the Dead was an intense book. That is the best word to describe this book, because, although it was a novel it felt like scary movie. Whenever I read it, I felt like I was in the book doing all the things that this twisted book included. Set over the course of a single night, Chasing the Dead is a fast-paced, tense supernatural thriller.Susan Young, the main character of the book, was a hard working person who did everything she could to make a good life for her daughter, Veda. When Susan discovers that her daughter had been kidnapped by, what seemed to be a monster, she dropped everything and set off to look for her. The strange man on the other end of the phone line gave her specific and told her that if she got the police involved he would know, and he would kill Susan’s little bundle of joy right then and there. Susan knew that if she didn’t fallow the rules that this “man” was giving her she would never see Veda again, alive. At first glance, this book looked like a story where a woman saved her daughter from certain death, the end. As I read on, it turned out to be much more than that. Instead, this was an intense story about how this brave woman had to do all these insane tasks that the man who kidnapped her daughter. Across the loneliest back roads of Massachusetts, in the black expanse of a New England winter, Sue is forced to confront her most awful fears as she is met at each step by ever increasing horrors created by a monster who is surely something less than human. This is the kid of book that people will not be able to put down, there is so much suspense and drama that pepole wont be able to stop reading until the very end.
What do You think about Chasing The Dead (2006)?
This read like a book based on a B-movie based on a screenplay written under duress. Not bad, necessarily, but not very good. I gave it three stars because I think I would really have enjoyed it when I was about 15. As a YA horror, it has a balance of blood and action, a couple nude scenes (but no sex), an easy-to-follow plot, and "summary" explanations toward the end. So for the 13 - 17 age crowd, it would probably be a fun read with the promise of fitful sleep to follow. But for adults, it's rather lackluster. Its potential - there are some interesting ideas - never fully develops and ends up lost among plot holes, inconsistencies, and the completely inexplicable. I think this would make a better Scream-style movie than book and can't recommend it for anyone looking for more than cursory horror/suspense.
—Waven
Genius writing by Joe Schreiber. I got this book as an Advance Reader’s Edition during a convention. I sat that down that night to look thru it and maybe read a few pages. Next thing I know, several hours have passed and I’ve finished the book. Gripping doesn’t even begin to describe this book. The scenario is an old one (woman with a secret from her past has to confront her greatest fears in order to get her daughter back), but the writing and development of the story is thoroughly engaging. The twists and turns that protagonist Sue has to go thru to get to the end of her night kept me glued to the book and every revelation only made want to find out more.I really recommend it to anyone looking for a good horror/suspense book without the usual over-the-top gore. I’d say it’s even good for younger/teen readers.
—Adriana
I really enjoy this book from the very beginning. I hadn't heard anything about it and read it just because of the name.A road trip back to life, literally. When the daughter of Susan Young get kidnapped and the strange voice on the end of her telephone tells her to follow a specific route from her childhood home town where she has to pick up the dead body, that she assumes is the corpse of a man she knows was killed many years before.The trip is an chilling trek from one town to another that only darkened and little known history has written a horrific connection between each of them.A must read for any supernatural or horror fan.
—Paul Roberts
