The Unloved

By: John Saul

Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith

The House: Lush and deceptively tranquil, with its pristine beaches and blossoming vegetation, the island basks in splendid isolation off the South Carolina coast. Here, where sudden storms unleash the murderous rage of wind and sea, stands the Devereaux mansion, a once-great plantation house now crumbling amid ancient oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Here, Marguerite Devereaux, 50 and childless, has cast off her dreams to care for her aged, demanding mother.

The Family: Now, for the first time in 20 years, Kevin Devereaux has returned home to this secluded place with his wife and two children. They have come to visit Kevin's mother - hated, frightening Mother, with her slash of red lipstick, mask of bone-white powder, and a tongue that has always cut to Kevin's heart...and into his darkest nightmares. She said she was ill - but is that the real reason the old woman summoned the son she has not seen in so many years?

The Horror: Suddenly, horribly, Mother dies inside the locked nursery. And now there will be no escape. For now, all the secrets of this once-proud southern family emerge like tortured spirits from the sinister past to wrap their evil around the unsuspecting children. Until, in the shadowed corridors and dust-covered rooms of this decaying old house, they learn the true terror of The Unloved.

©1988 John Saul; 2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

My Favorite Horror Writer!

I used to enjoy reading horror much more when I was younger. However as I aged, I became more of mystery fan. John Saul's works though bring me back to what I loved about Horror. If you need a spooky treat, give this author a try. It won't be a wasted credit.

Good Book

I have read several of John Saul's books and this one was my favorite😀 Good from beginning to the end.

Dismayed

great story but the killings were ridiculous. The brother and young man killing made no sense, they saw the knife and was frozen to defend their selves. I thought this was stupid.

1980s horror movie as literature

So this was a better novel I read (listened to) then 1980s Comes the Blind Fury!. Far better female characters this time. This novel reads and feels like a 1980s slasher. The readers focus or central character dies a third of the way into the novel. The reader now has to figure out who is the lead in the novel, but it turns out no one is. The novel main character becomes our crazed killer. You don't think so, but its true. So I credit the novel for stretching out a third of the whole novel into a single stormy night. That was impressive. And the story was entertaining, but not in an annoying way. Still weak in a few parts, but okay over all.

Never a happy ending, and that's ok

Another book where absolutely nobody believes the children. So much trouble would be avoided if literally anyone believed a child. I'm pretty sure this author has a terrible mother, grandmother or aunt. Dark stuff!