4A Independent Reading discussion

As someone who typically doesn't like any horror or suspense type genres, I was surprised to find my eyes glued to the pages of this book. The book starts out with a girl returning from college Chyna, visiting her friend Laura and her family. The first few pages of the book display a typical friendship you'd find in a book, but it is quickly disrupted when a serial killer comes into the house and kills all of Laura's family. He leaves only Chyna and Laura behind. Koontz's vocabulary made every action seem drawn out and dramatic. It was difficult to stop reading.
"Chyna stopped well short of the foot of the bed, already close enough to see too much. Neither Paul nor Sarah was there, but the sheets and blankets were in tangled disarray, trailing onto the floor on the right side of the bed. On the left, the linens were soaked with blood, and a wet spray glistened on the headboard and in an arc across the wall." (34)
Koontz also used some impressive analogies when explaining how the characters were feeling. For example, when Chyna was feeling stomach sick, he explained it as, "An acidic burning rose in her chest, and a bitter taste filled the back of her mouth." (40) This is far more descriptive than simply saying she needed to vomit.
As a late night reader, I found myself struggling to forget the events I'd read in the book! Nonetheless, I'm excited to continue reading this gruesome books and the dangerous "adventures" Chyna and Laura embark on to get to the bottom of the murder.

Chyna is such a great heroine in this harrowing novel. I think I devoured it in a weekend, it was so "edge of your seat" thrilling.

This book sounds very descriptive. I wonder why they didn't shoot Chyna or laura. Must be incredibly traumatic.

It sounds like it would be a really fast pace book to read which always sounds good in my book