Violet by Scott Thomas #BookReview

For many children, the summer of 1988 was filled with sunshine and laughter. But for ten-year-old Kris Barlow, it was her chance to say goodbye to her dying mother. 

Three decades later, loss returns—her husband killed in a car accident. And so, Kris goes home to the place where she first knew pain—to that summer house overlooking the crystal waters of Lost Lake. It’s there that Kris and her eight-year-old daughter will make a stand against grief. 

But a shadow has fallen over the quiet lake town of Pacington, Kansas. Beneath its surface, an evil has grown—and inside that home where Kris Barlow last saw her mother, an old friend awaits her return.

Title: Violet | Author: Scott Thomas | Publisher: Inkshares

Pub. Date: 24 September 2019 | Pages: 443 | ISBN: 9781947848368)

Genre: Horror | Language: English | Triggers:  Child death

Rating: 5 out 5 |  Source: Received a copy from publisher for review consideration

Violet Review

“She imagined the road ending without warning, driving over the edge, plummeting into an infinite nothingness, until her screams became a song for the darkness.”

As only his second published novel, Violet is quite simply masterful. I dug everything about this book from the details to the characters, and of course the plot that sunk its hooks in me and didn’t let go.

This novel boasts a writing style that I found familiar from Thomas’ previous work, Kill Creek; however, it is decidedly different. Here I found lush and highly detailed descriptions that enveloped my reader mind and pulled me through this creepy tale in a binge read I just couldn’t escape from. Nor did I want to. Kill Creek was like watching a film and the details and pacing worked to put on the quite the show. Violet is an immersion. It isn’t just watching events unfold; the extreme attention to detail put me smack in the middle of Kris and Sadie’s lives.

Kris and her daughter Sadie are put through the paces in this novel. Throughout the entire 400+ pages, Thomas made sure both of them acted in ways that were true to the character. Not overdrawn, no stereotypes in sight, these female protagonists are fully developed people, flaws and all. There are a few instances in which I would NOT have behaved as Kris did, but that’s okay. She acted in a manner that matched the grieving, conflicted mess that she was.

This story is a journey. I appreciate that Thomas takes the time to set things up, weave in the back story organically, all the while keeping the focus on the lives of Kris and Sadie. Because we road trip with them, clean with them, cook with them, and so on, we are made more than just an observer of their lives. This is crucial when it comes to the creep factor and the reveal – and oh man are both of those in rare form.

TLDR? I loved this book. I really liked Kill Creek, but this one is special to me. What’s next for Scott Thomas? Will his next book follow along the lines of Violet or will it hearken back to Kill Creek? Or will this chameleon subtly change again? I don’t know, but I’ll be here for it.

 You can find this book at many retailers via clicking on the appropriate link on Goodreads; however, in the spirit of supporting literacy programs, we would like to point out that you may be able to purchase this book through BetterWorldBooks.