Reread. My first horror book. I read this at age 12. I still love it. A great ghost story. Unfortunately, I listened to the scribd version, which was abridged. ( )

Saul doesn't pull any punches in this old school horror yarn. As ususal the supernatural is low key, a mencaing undercurrent, whilst the actions of the central charatcers are the keystones of this pageturner. The fractured family and little-girl-lost approach were far fresher back when this was written, however it plats out better than many of today's similar stories.

The writing is a little clumsy for Saul, the stalling in the middle parts distracting, however the final fifth made this one of his more memorable tales.

John Saul isn't particularly adventurous with venturing far off formulas, but I remember enjoying this one. It needs a re-read to refresh my memory and so I can give it a proper review.

Cal and June Pendleton, along with their adopted 12-year-old daughter, Michelle, leave their urban lives in Boston for the peaceful, slower paced life Paradise Point has to offer. Despite the idyllic name and New England locale, Paradise Point is seething with secrets. Set in 1980, the locals fear the century old story of a 12-year-old named Amanda who was blind. Taunted by her peers, Amanda is forced off a cliff to an early death. Amanda's travails parallel those of Michelle. The former honor student who had no demerits or other negative marks on her previous report cards in Boston does an about face in Paradise Point. Michelle's life is soon taken over by Amanda only to learn that there is another Amanda on the scene who died in 1880. But was Amanda real? Was Amanda really dead or had she somehow been reanimated? Was Michelle imagining things? The parallel travails of two girls, separated by a century in time makes for some very riveting reading.

This was the first John Saul book I ever read and the one that got me hooked. I have since read every book he has ever written. ( )

The Pendleton family arrive at their new home in Paradise Point (a village a couple of hours northeast of Boston). Dr. Calvin Pendleton has switched jobs, from working at a hospital in Boston, to a small clinic in Paradise Point. After treating a small boy in Boston who had an accident and died (he fell from a roof) Cal now feels guilty over the boy's death and is questioning his abilities/judgment. Another doctor that originally worked on the boy, who happened to be from Paradise Point, suggested that Cal move there and take up practice in the small village. He even sold his house to Cal. So Cal moves from Boston to Paradise Point with his family---his pregnant wife June, and their twelve-year-old adopted daughter Michelle.

One day, while unpacking, Michelle finds an old-fashioned antique doll in her closet and she names it Amanda. She later finds out from her friends at school that there's rumors of a ghost that roams the cliffs of Paradise Point---the ghost of a twelve-year-old blind girl that fell off the cliff to her death after being taunted by her classmates over a hundred years ago, and her name was Amanda. Michelle and her friends find it odd that she happened to name the doll Amanda. And Michelle is also starting to have dreams, and visions, of a small girl, dressed in black, wearing old-fashioned clothes, calling to her. One day, while at a picnic with some friends at the cove, Michelle gets picked on and taunted/teased for being adopted. Her mother recently gave birth to a new daughter, Jenny, and a cruel classmate suggests her parents won't love her anymore. Hurt, Michelle runs away, and has an accident. She now has trouble walking and is alone alot. She is being picked on by the kids at school. She wants a friend, someone who loves her. Amanda seems to be calling to her. Amanda will be her friend...

I don't want to give too much more away, but I really enjoyed this book. It was an absorbing, eerie, and sometimes sad read. I liked Michelle, she was a really sweet and likable young girl. She went from being outgoing and friendly to anti-social and alone. Some of the secondary characters I liked, some were annoying. I really hated Michelle’s mean classmate Susan! And although I liked Michelle’s father Cal at the beginning of the book, as the story progressed he turned into a real jerk/wimp. I did like the people who were noticing the changes in Michelle and tried to help her, like her teacher Corinne Hatcher and her mother, June. Michelle’s friend Sally was likable too. This story had good atmosphere---the cemetery, the cliffs, the sea, the fog, the ghost Amanda (Amanda always appeared with the fog swirling around her). This was my first read by John Saul and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future. ( )