Violet by Scott Thomas

Inkshares Press, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-947848-36-8

Available: Paperback, Kindle, audiobook

Scott Thomas’s sophomore novel, Violet, came with a mound of high expectations attached to it.  His debut novel, Kill Creek, was one of the best horror novels of 2017.   Critics everywhere praised it, and even had some proclaiming Thomas as the possible heir to the Throne of King.  Needless to say, his second novel had a lot to live up to.  Unfortunately, the material does not meet the expectations, and judgment on whether he is the heir apparent will have to wait another book or two.  Violet showcases the author’s excellent descriptive writing, but the book is dragged down by its slow pace and lack of an exciting finish.

Kris Barlow and her eight year old daughter, Sadie, are retreating to the lake house that Kris inherited from her parents.  The goal is recovery, as her husband Jonah just died in a car accident.  Worth noting: Kris didn’t like him that much anyhow.  The setting seems perfect for a ride of suspense: the town is small, and the lake was mysteriously formed years ago when construction workers dug into a hidden chasm, releasing enough water to make a lake suddenly appear and flood half the town.  The house is in disrepair, as everyone that rented it left after a few days out of fear, and even the realtor won’t go near the place.  While there, odd happenings such as handprints all over the inside windows start to occur.  While settling into small town life, Kris learns of the mysterious disappearances of young girls in the area.  Some of the bodies were recovered, some not.  The ghostly occurrences increase, people drop mysterious warnings, and Kris soon learns that her daughter may be a target of the town’s evil forces.

As noted, Thomas is an excellent writer, with a real flair for descriptive narration.  He paints pictures with words so well you can see the whole book running on the movie screen in your mind.  The dialogue is also quite good, but it’s the narration where Thomas really shines.  He skates right up close to the edge of excess with his description, but he never crosses the line.  As a result, the story leaps right off the page at you.  The problem is, the story itself simply isn’t that compelling.  This book is an EXTREMELY slow burn, and it takes until around 300 pages before the story starts to move a little bit.  Even when it does, it doesn’t move much.  A thrilling climax might have been enough to justify the previous 400 pages, but even that gets denied.  In all likelihood, the end will leave the reader with more questions than answers.  It’s really a shame, because the setting and backstory seemed perfect for Thomas to apply his considerable skill at suspense writing.  All the elements are there: ghostly figures, mysterious neighbors, townies who seem to be hiding something, strange occurrences with animals, the list goes on.  Despite all of the available parts, for some reason, Thomas simply can’t get this one off the ground.  The best that can be said is, the talent is there, and let’s hope for better next time.

Contains: mild violence, mild profanity.

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson