Quietus

I was thoroughly absorbed in this tale for days. I was reminded of Anne Rice's vampire tales or, more recently, Tannanarive Due's strange immortals, all the while enjoying Vivian Schillings' unique take on the whole human meets un-human genre. The background history was good and never quite resolved or neatly explained which to me makes sense as that entire aspect of our existence is rather mysterious anyhow. The simple possibility that there is a 'there' there, and that the spirit or 'other' world at times intrudes upon ours and even has designs upon it and/or us is always fascinating fodder for great stories. I couldn't wait for my personal time each evening to curl up and read like mad to find out where in the world this story was going and what was going to happen to Kylie and her friends. This book was a page-turner for me. While a few others where utterly tripped up by their own proofreading and editing bugs, I found myself caught up in the storytelling and quite unbothered by all that. Overall I was very impressed and will be anxious to see if Schilling has more tales to share with us.

I absolutely could not put this novel down. I found myself looking forward to my lunch breaks where I could steal a few more minutes of the characters, the plot, the suspense. Quietus is not your run-of-the-mill thriller, but a novel of substance. If you've ever been touched by death, this book will not only entertain you, but make you think. I also very much appreciated Schilling's research. As a Boston resident, I found her portrayal of the city not only extremely accurate, but insightful. A must read for not only lovers of suspense, but those who can appreciate quality literature.

I loved this book, and am reading it now for the second time. It's impossible to specify one or two things that I liked best about the book as every aspect is first-rate. Discovering "QUIETUS" was genuinely exciting and has restored my confidence in the quality of new authors. Truly a wonderful book and my new favorite. Check it out!

Schilling's remarkable new thriller is startling and brilliant, and presents unique, new insights into the dark realms of "what lies beyond" our mortal lives. Skillfully balancing religious teachings with a page-turning suspense plot, the author provides a surprising dose of unexpected twists and turns to keep us guessing until the end. This book is likely to become a literary classic, and is highly recommended for all readers.