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Top reviews from the United States

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Tina Cole
5.0 out of 5 stars In awe of Ray Garton
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2018
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This is the second book I've I I could not put this book down. I don't usually give reviews and never include spoilers, but, couldn't let this one go without a few words. I will say this first. This book is not for the weak or squeamish. The subject matter is shocking and heartbreaking. This book could be considered on a level with Stephen King. It is terrifying in a supernatural way, definitely, but, also in a psychological way. This is what makes it on par with King - MY King! - of horror! There are a handful of authors comparable to King. Garton is one of them. I read deep into the night until my eyes were so blurry I had to put it down. I got up the next morning and immediately picked it up again to finish the story. Amazing! Simply amazing! I'll be looking for all I can find from Ray Garton. For first time readers, this is a great one to start with. Again, no spoilers, but, trust me, you'll be hooked! There are a few typos that do not detract from the story.

Just a side note ~ I've also read another of Ray's books, Crucifax, and it's just as good. When you've finished this one, check it out!
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Lisa Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Nerve shredding suspense and horror
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2018
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The Loveliest Dead is an older book by Ray Garton. It has some truly horrific content, but said content is handled carefully, without unnecessary graphic detail.  I actually think the implied might be more horrific in places.  But, that’s me.  I kept expecting it to go more graphic than it did and that created its own suspense and tension.  Your level of trauma may vary.

In addition to THAT suspense is the inherent suspense that comes from a well written ghost story.  Garton builds on the classic ghost story theme with his personal style and skill, creating a horrific mystery thriller that just happens to also be a mind-scrambling horror story.  It’s brilliant and brilliantly done.

Garton’s characters are all too real and relatable, lacking the stereotyping inherent in classically themed books.  I can tell by other reviews that some people would have preferred the Hollywood style hero/heroine characters, but Garton does not play that game here.  His characters are fallible and their relationships with one another are realistic.  I found that both admirable and disturbing.  Disturbing because the reality element created by that is, well, disturbing.

I loved this story.  It is well constructed, well written, fast paced, and downright scary.  I read this book in one day. Thank you Ray Garton for this enjoyable, albeit nerve-shredding, read.
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Kim G.
3.0 out of 5 stars Read Something Better
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2014
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The Loveliest Dead is about a family that moves into a new house the wife inherited from her estranged father and, of course, it’s haunted. The family consists of a husband and wife, David and Jenna; Jenna’s mother, Martha; and a son around eleven years old, Miles. Miles had a younger brother, but he died inexplicably when he was a toddler. The book begins with his death. The next chapter starts with the family as they’ve just moved into the new house. Progressively the family members start seeing ghosts of boys and a “fat man”. As things get worse, Jenna tries to find help. The family is poor, David can’t find work in their new town, and they can’t afford to go anywhere else, even if everybody agreed to leave, which they don’t. Meanwhile, as things get worse in the house, there is a psychic in a nearby town who is having powerful visions about the family and the house and knows that the family, especially Miles, are in terrible danger. She tries to warn them, but of course, that is harder than it should be, given the circumstances. The psychic’s visions become more frequent and more disturbing, as things get worse for the family inside the home. Everything eventually comes to a head, and it’s a race against time for the psychic to be able to help the family avoid disaster before it’s too late.

The Loveliest Dead did well in keeping my interest and moved along at a fast pace, but I didn’t feel very attached to the characters. I completely disliked David, he seemed to be a controlling jackass. I had little respect for Jenna for being as intimidated and cowed by David, while knowing that her son was in danger. She eventually got some backbone, but she let things go way too far, in my opinion, before she stood up for herself. I did like Miles and, I liked, but also felt sorry for Jenna’s mother since her fears were discarded so easily. The poor woman thought she was going crazy and her daughter just left her believing that for a long time even though she had begun seeing things as well. I was also disappointed that the book didn’t scare me.

The Loveliest Dead had a lot of the things involved in a horror story that usually scare me, like possession, evil entities, Ouija boards, etc. But I think I was so sidetracked on my dislike of David and disappointment with Jenna that the scary stuff just didn’t get to me. I spent most of the novel just hating David. Maybe it’s because he reminded me of my ex-husband, and someone else wouldn’t feel so strongly about him, I don’t know, but I just wanted somebody to tell him where he could go.

I wanted to like this book, but it felt kind of like a sorry repeat of The Shining by Stephen King (which I recommend highly: the book, not the movie). **spoiler alert** The other thing that really bothered me, was that the family moves in with Jenna’s friend, after the s*** has hit the fan and all is well, but they couldn’t move in with her when everything was so bad? I don’t get that. I especially don’t understand why Jenna wouldn’t at least as her friend to take care of Miles after getting the first warning from the medium and then the second warning from the psychic. I guess it wouldn’t be much of a horror story though if people acted rationally. Maybe I’ve read too many of these books and I’m just jaded. I didn’t hate it, it kept my interest, but I can’t really say it was worth the read either. There are better horror books out there.

You can read more of my book reviews at (...)
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linda sanford
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2020
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I don’t usually read scary books but since itself Halloween, I thought I’d enjoy it. I started several but quickly lost interest — until I happened upon THIS one!

From the very beginning, the story line unfolded at a perfect pace. The characters were very well developed and the scary part had me gasping to the point where my husband asked me if I was alright.

This book is great read, even if this is not your usual genre. I’m even going to see what else he’s written!
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LadyOberon
4.0 out of 5 stars We'll Leave the Light on for You...
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2013
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I was really impressed with this book, on many levels. The paranormal spooks were definitely there, and anyone who has read my reviews knows I love a good ghost or haunted house story. Beyond those elements were characters that I really enjoyed reading about and a mystery at the heart of everything. The author deserves kudos for another achievement as well. All too often, I find myself turned off by an author who feels the need to overwhelm the reader with gore, violence, and truly disturbing imagery. This author handled a delicate subject beautifully, and in my opinion, maintained the balance along that razor thin line of enough description and information to convey the message and inspire fear, and so much that it's disturbing to a more sensitive reader, which removes the fun out of the journey all together. This was a really good read, and I'll be looking into more by this author.
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Top reviews from other countries

Jacqui W
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 20, 2016
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One of the best books I have ever read. Had to stop reading it before I went to bed! Would recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories - and even those who don't.
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C Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2018
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Thanks
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Horror Reviewer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2007
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I don't know where to start. I might as well start by saying that I would have gave this book six stars if I could have. I enjoy Garton's work but this book blew me away. I would be surprised if it doesn't make my top ten books of the year this year. The charactors in the book are great and the storyline is excellent. Really fast paced as well. What more can you ask for?
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BookWormKez
2.0 out of 5 stars Long- Winded
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2010
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This is the first Ray Garton book I've read and probably the last. I am not sure why two well known writers have given it good reviews because I personally found it long-winded and predictable, especially the middle part of the book; in fact it became so tedious (because I knew what the characters intended to do in any given situation) that I decided to skim and skip through that bit and pick it up again a quarter away from the end. The writer also seems to have a rather simple and banal style of writing which reminded me of Richard Layman, who is even more so.

For me there are just too many similarities from other sources like Poltergeist (the Family trapped inside the haunted house and the honest, kind psychic), The Amityville Horror (the priest trying to perform an exorcism, a possession and instead of flies we have gnats) and The Haunting (the nasty spirit who tortured others and wouldn't let them go). So I've read and seen all this sort of thing before on T.V.

Some of the characters annoyed me; David (Jenna's husband), got on my nerves for his lack of back-bone, understanding and his ignorant attitude to the supernatural. There is also a few patronizing characters in the book, saying `yes dear', `no dear' and `do you understand me dear', at the end of sentences. The psychic also had a habit of saying...' I'm a psychic, not a medium' relentlessly.

The first quarter of the book was interesting up to a point and the last quarter was....I hate to say it, but...O.K., it was gripping. Sadly, for me, there are too many repeated things taken from the books and films I've already mentioned. You can't fool me Mr Garton. Not sure why it's called `Loveliest Dead' either.
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AJ Moore
3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Feelings
Reviewed in Canada on March 21, 2018
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The beginning of this book was interesting, even intriguing. Ray Garton has a good imagination and can write well. But as I progressed in my reading, I felt confused by a sense of a dragged out storyline, combined with the author "rushing"--maybe to include more backstory.
I was glad to finish the book, to check it off my list. I might be tempted to read more by this author, if only to see if/how he grows and improves through experience.
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