Help for the Haunted

A Novel

By: John Searles

Narrated by: Emma Galvin

Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

It begins with a call one snowy February night. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation: helping "haunted souls" find peace. And yet something in Sylvie senses that this call is different from the others, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behind the church's red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep, only to wake to the sound of gunfire.

As the story weaves back and forth through the years leading up to that night and the months following, the ever-inquisitive Sylvie searches for answers and uncovers secrets that have haunted her family for years.

Capturing the vivid eeriness of Stephen King's works and the quirky tenderness of John Irving's novels, Help for the Haunted is told in the captivating voice of a young heroine who is determined to discover the truth about what happened on that winter night.

©2013 John Searles (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

Twists and suspense plus believable

Really liked the suspense and twists.
You may think you have it figured out. Just wait and see. Sylvie is a brave gal!

Not as good as I had hoped

The description sounded much more exciting than the book was. The title led you to believe that it would involve more hauntings, but it didn't. I do have to say that I didn't see the ending coming but was still disappointed.

Flawed but gripping

Any additional comments?

I don't usually like books in which a precocious pre-teen/teen is the main character, but in this book it works, especially with the excellent reading by Emma Galvin. I grew more squeamish about the parents and their weird life but kept reading because the mystery was compelling. Did not like the ending...culprit came completely out of left field which I think is cheating for a mystery writer. Also, Mr. Searles has a wonderful writing style but seems to have problems with past participles of some verbs and it's kind of jarring..."she sunk", "we snuck" (really?!), "he spit".

thoroughly absorbing

An excellent mystery that all though very slow moving draws you in and keeps going till the end. If I were to compare it to another book it would be Lovely Bones although the story is very different , the feel of it is very similar. It is the story of a 14 year old girl whos demon/ghost hunting parents are murdered. Follow as she struggles to come to terms with and piece together what happened on the night of their murder and deals with what she learns about her family in the process. Although not high action suspense I did not want to stop listening until I finished the book. I did not figure out the ending until it was revealed. The narrator did perfect portraying a 14 year old girl.

Fantastic!

I heard John Searles on XM radio talking about his book and it sounded like something I would like. I joined Audible and saw it on one of the recommendation lists. So great and even better than I expected. I truly had no idea where it was going to go. Hopefully he has written something else for me to download!
Emma Galvin is the perfect voice of Sylvie!

Story good, narration ok

If you could sum up Help for the Haunted in three words, what would they be?

Unpredictable, interesting, good

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I wish the pacing was better. There were too many awkward pauses. Her voice is great, I had no issue with that (though it was strange listening to it right after the Divergent series) but the narrator would read a sentence like she was ending it, then come to the next word or phrase and keep going. It needed rehearsing or more read-throughs.

Who was the most memorable character of Help for the Haunted and why?

Sylvie

Not what I expected.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. I thought it was confusing at times as the story seemed to blend the past and the present together continuously. It became difficult to keep track of where you were in the story.

What was most disappointing about John Searles’s story?

There wasn't a good flow to it. I felt like the story bounced around too much. It would have been better if he had given a synopsis of the background then moved ahead with the details instead of going back and forth.

What three words best describe Emma Galvin’s performance?

Her consistency was good, but I felt she paused in areas of a sentence that should not have been paused. It seemed like she added commas when there weren't any needed. Also, her grammar could have been better.

Was Help for the Haunted worth the listening time?

Not reallly. I felt like I wanted to "get through" it because the story was long and drawn out. I feel that he put a lot of incidentals in the story just to make it long, when it would have been better without them. Too many details can bog a story down.

Any additional comments?

Not a terrible book, but I've listened to much better books. Sorry.

Fantastic murder mystery, but not a ghost story.

Could you see Help for the Haunted being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

It'd make a great movie.

Any additional comments?

Very well written, but it does jump around the story's timeline a lot, which can be confusing. I don't usually listen to books in this genre, but this really hooked me.

Awesome

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Narrator, The Book. Was Great

What was one of the most memorable moments of Help for the Haunted?

That she got the truth, & could stop the lies. The whole book was a Grabber.

Which scene was your favorite?

No Fav. It was a great book. In all ways

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It all did, the Narrator made it all so awesome to listen to. The writer did great as well.

Any additional comments?

If like horror, may not be as that much but will keep you on the edge, so well worth listening or reading. I enjoyed it a lot.

Perfect for Halloween

This was a great Halloween read/listen. The blend of Gothic ghost story, contemporary coming-of-age story, and twisty-turn mystery made for a unique mix. I also thought the narration by Emma Galvin was spot on.