Help for the Haunted - Softcover

John Searles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0751555908 ISBN 13: 9780751555905

Publisher: Sphere, 2014

Synopsis

John Searles’s Help for the Haunted is an unforgettable story of a most unusual family, their deep secrets, their harrowing tragedy, and ultimately, a daughter’s discovery of a dark and unexpected mystery. Sylvie Mason’s parents have an unusual occupation—helping “haunted souls” find peace. After receiving a strange phone call one winter’s night, they leave the house and are later murdered in an old church in a horrifying act of violence. A year later, Sylvie is living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened to their parents. Now, the inquisitive teenager pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night—and to the truth about her family’s past and the secrets that have haunted them for years. Capturing the vivid eeriness of Stephen King’s works with the compelling quirkiness of John Irving’s beloved novels, Help for the Haunted is that rare story that brings to life a richly imagined and wholly original world.

About this title

Review

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, September 2013: Late one snowy night, Sylvie Mason hears her parents talking on the phone. A little later, they drive with Sylvie to a church, where--as Sylvie sleeps in the car--they are murdered in the church’s basement. The question of who killed Sylvie’s parents is only the first of many mysteries that unfold in John Searles’ Help for the Haunted, an expertly-wrought, coming-of-age story with a healthy dose of creepiness. Searles takes his time introducing us to his characters--Sylvie, her older sister Rose, their demonologist parents, and a handful of suspects--but in a very calibrated way, he doles out chills and family secrets that heighten the tension with each turn of the page. The chills deliver, but the depth of the story is what really sets this book apart. Your parents are never gone from you... Sylvie remembers her father saying. And for some, that’s just another way of being haunted. --Chris Schluep

From the Back Cover

A Boston Globe Best Crime Novel of the Year
An Entertainment Weekly Top Ten "Must List"
Winner of the American Library Association's Alex Award
Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist starred reviews

Sylvie Mason's parents have an unusual occupation: helping "haunted souls" find peace. After receiving a phone call late one snowy night, they are lured to an old church on the outskirts of town, where Sylvie falls asleep in the car and is awoken by the sound of gunshots.

Orphaned on that night, Sylvie comes under the care of her reckless, distant older sister, still living in the rambling Tudor house that guards the relics of her parents' past. As she pursues the mystery of their deaths, Sylvie's story weaves back and forth between the time leading up to the murders and the months following, uncovering the truth of what happened that night—and the secrets that have haunted her family for years.

Edition details

• Publisher: Sphere
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0751555908
• ISBN 13: 9780751555905
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368