Product Description

The sudden, tragic death of her husband leaves Caroline Evans alone in New York City to raise her children with little money and even less hope. When she meets and marries handsome, successful Anthony Fleming, the charismatic man of her dreams, she believes her life is destined for happiness. She and her children move into her new husband’s spacious apartment in the legendary Rockwell on Central Park West. Despite her son’s instinctive misgivings about the building and its residents, Caroline dismisses the odd behavior of her neighbors as pleasant eccentricities. But after her daughter begins to experience horrifying nightmares and a startling secret emerges, Caroline realizes that the magnificence of her new home masks a secret of unimaginable horror. . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #273906 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-04
• Released on: 2003-03-04
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 6.95" h x 1.05" w x 4.25" l, .43 pounds
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

From Amazon.com
In a Rosemary's Baby meets Hansel and Gretel thriller, John Saul's Midnight Voices is packed with bump-in-the-night chills that will frighten and delight readers with its nostalgic nod to urban legends and campfire tales. With short, edgy chapters and all-too-vivid imagery, Midnight Voices begs to be enjoyed in one sitting, in the dark, huddled on the corner of your couch. As usual in Saul's world, strange things are afoot in the city, and the Evans family is the target.

At the heart of this spooky tale are the children, Laurie and Ryan Evans, who are unwittingly exposed to danger when their recently widowed mother marries widower Anthony Fleming. The too-good-to-be-anything-but-evil Fleming lives in the Rockwell, a building rumored to be inhabited by witches and vampires, that has the children in the neighborhood terrified:

"Amber's eyes were still fixed on the building. They were just stories, she told herself once again. They weren't true. But even as she silently spoke the words to herself, a strange chill of apprehension ran through her and she turned away ... I'll die, she thought. If I go in there, I'll die."

Of course, the newly married Caroline does not share the anxiety of her children, despite Fleming's Bluebeard-like determination to keep everyone out of his study, not to mention the horrible whispers and strange sounds coming from empty rooms in the middle of the night. It is this tension, and Caroline's dawning realization of her new husband's shortcomings, that drives the novel to its startling conclusion.

Saul uses familiar horror images--an ancient building with even older residents, creepy neighbors that are not quite right, whispers in your room after midnight--to spin a new tale of evil that will remind readers why one should always leave the closet light on. --Daphne Durham

From Publishers Weekly
Saul knows how to dish out thrills, and with a sly tribute to Ira Levin's Rosemary's Baby, as well as other horror classics, this latest pulp shocker should have fans lining up. Mother of two and widow of a murdered Central Park jogger, Caroline evans thinks she has found the answer to her prayers in her new husband, Anthony Fleming. The family moves into his apartment in the Rockwell, a storied old Upper West Side building. Ryan and Laurie, the children, quickly begin to have nightmares in which they are haunted by menacing voices, while Ryan realizes that he doesn't like his creepy stepfather. Elderly, eccentric neighbors bring them strangely flavored food. Laurie befriends ailing Rebecca, the foster child of a neighbor couple, who is mysteriously wasting away. Tension mounts when Rebecca's social worker, a close friend of Caroline's, can get no information from Rebecca's doctor - yet another elderly resident of the Rockwell - despite her threat to obtain a subpoena. Soon the social worker disappears, Rebecca follows on her heels and Laurie herself becomes ill with whatever Rebecca had. Meanwhile, the "niece" of an elderly neighbor, who looks suspiciously like a younger replica of the old woman, replaces her aunt in the Rockwell. Readers who appreciate Saul's homage to undead fiction will probably see the plot twists coming, but die-hard devotees should enjoy the chilling, sometimes gruesome goings-on at the Rockwell nonetheless.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Carolyn Evans's life as a new widow and single parent of two takes a frightening turn when she meets then marries the seemingly ideal widower, Anthony Fleming. Shortly after Carolyn, her children, Laurie and Ryan, and Tony return from their family honeymoon and move into Tony's Central Park apartment, both children begin hearing strange noises at night. Then Laurie becomes weak and tired while Ryan develops a fear of Tony and their neighbors, who, it seems, have discovered eternal youth by feeding on children's blood. Employing a range of voices, Aasne Vigesaa does an admirable job of losing her listeners in the world of modern-day vampires with her smooth, expressive, and well-paced delivery. Background music at the beginning and end of each side adds to the spooky atmosphere. Highly recommended.
Laurie Selwyn, Law Lib., Grayson Cty., Sherman, TX
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.