As a long time reader of John Saul, I was eager to read Second Child, one of his older novels I found in an antique shop. I was hoping for a creepy read,and this novel did not disappoint. The characters were interesting, the story flowed quickly, and there were plenty of scary moments.Thirteen year old Melissa found her already confusing world turned upside down by the arrival of her father's first born daughter Teri, whose mother and stepfather were killed in a house fire. Teri's mother and Melissa's father had divorced, and rather than put Teri through a messy custody battle, he had simply bowed out of her life. Melissa's mother, Phyllis, had been Teri's Nanny, and married her father after the divorce. Melissa had never really fit in with the other wealthy children in Secret Cove, and try as she might, her mother didn't, either. Teri was beautiful and confident; the kind of daughter that Phyllis had always hoped for. In Teri, Phyllis saw her ticket to finally being accepted as a true member of the Secret Cove community, rather than simply the woman that Charles had married. Unsure of herself and abused by her own mother, Melissa hoped that her new sister would be an ally for her; someone who would help her to feel less awkward and alone in the life of privilege that she never really fit into. At first, Teri seemed to be the sister Melissa had always wished for; someone who genuinely loved her and stood up for her when the other teens in Secret Cove made fun of her. But as time passed, stranger and stranger things kept happening, and it became clear that Teri was not at all what she pretended to be.In the meantime, Melissa's mother's abuse of her worsened. Without her father's knowledge, Melissa was restrained in her bed at night and received horrible punishments for embarrassing her mother with her awkward social skills. Melissa created an alter personality, D'Arcy, who arrived to deal with the abuse that Melissa could not comprehend. Ironically, D'Arcy was also the name of a servant girl who had once lived in Melissa's home,and had committed suicide after her wealthy secret fiance humiliated her by taking another girl to the August Moon Ball and breaking off their engagement on the very evening that he had vowed to reveal his love for her to the community. Was D'Arcy simply an alter personality of an abused girl, or was she a ghost bent on revenge? Was Melissa responsible for the horrible things that had been happening since Teri came to Secret Cove, or was Teri trying to frame Melissa and take over as the favorite daughter? And what about the house fire that killed her mother and stepfather? The characters were written well and the reader comes to care about Melissa and hope that the truth comes out before it is too late. The ending is satisfying in the best possible way. Karma is a bitch!
John Saul keeps up his creepy line of books with this one called 'Second Child'. In it, a girl Teri kills her own mother and step-dad by setting a fire in her home, so she can go live with her rich dad, step-mom and half sister Mellisa in the infamous Secret Cove Club. Teri has always wanted to live in the riches of Secret Cove Club lifestyle and decides that she wants it all to herself. She tries to do this by making people think that her sister Melissa is crazy and getting rid of her. Mellisa is possessed by her ghost friend D'arcy that she tries to tell people about, but it's another reason everyone thinks she is crazy. D'arcy is only present when Melissa's mother, Phylis beats her and D'arcy kind of takes the punishment in place of Melissa. Teri kills the family dog and and their maid's grandson and blames it on Mellisa in hopes that Melissa will be sent away and Teri will get her father's love and the Secret Cove Club's wealth to herself. Find out if Teri succeeds in her evil plans in this horror story. Overall, I fell that this was a very well written book, but did not live up to John Saul's creepy reputation. I liked how he made it seem like Teri had all good intentions at first and then abruptly started to turn against her sister, i just didn't like how it was not as creepy as some of Saul's other books. I would recommend this book to someone that likes creepy books, but i would not reccomend it to be one of the first books that you should read by John Saul, because he has much better, more creepier, books out there.
What do You think about Second Child (1991)?
I knew Mr. Saul was going to find it necessary to kill the dog. I almost stopped reading once I figured that out. Sure enough... At least it fit in with the plot, unlike the time Stephen King unnecessarily killed a cat and I quit reading his stuff for years.I found the characters kind of flat and predictable. The ending was abrupt, and not very believable. I like what happened to Phyllis, Charles, and Melissa, but Terri? Hmmm. She deserved some public shame and humiliation for her deeds.On the other hand, I really wanted to find out what happened next. It was scary in an "I could totally find myself thinking that" kind of way.
—Jan
Pomysł - jest super. Książka niby wciąga i jest ciekawa... ale no kurcze jakby to powiedzieć... między Saulem a Kingiem jest taka różnica, że Saul jak pisze o realnych rzeczach, to brzmi to nierealnie, a King może pisać o nierealnych i brzmi realnie :P (no oczywiście oceniam po tej jednej książce no ale...)Od początku do końca w całej historii coś nie gra - jak dla mnie nic nie jest realne, ani motywy Teri, ani całe to parcie na należenie do jakiejś wyższej klasy matki Melissy...A koniec to już w ogóle zabija wszystko - jest idiotyczny. Tzn. (uwaga spojlery) ja cały czas liczyłem na szczęśliwe zakończenie, ale sposób w jaki to się stało jest bez sensu - niby nic a tu nagle Teri odbija. Bez komentarza.No ale jednak ogólnie książkę się dobrze czytało, dlatego 3/5, no trzy minus.
—L.L.
When I was in JHS, I read books that weren't always for my demographic. I discovered John Saul because I think my brother had this book on his shelf (or maybe I took this out of the library?). The first time I read this book, all the twists made me love it and soon after, I read every John Saul book there was. Then because I was reading everything by him, his books became predictable. This book, I re-read and realized, "Ah, that's why I stopped reading his books." Even if the endings weren't predictable, they mostly became anticlimactic. Like this book. I won't rehash plot details because they just aren't that important. Disappointing but I'm glad I read this so I know never to visit his work again.
—Rose Heredia
