Punish The Sinners (1978)

The story was even-paced all the way through. I wasn't entirely sure who or what was the antagonist or antagonists until close to the end, but there was a dark element that kept me glued to the story and guessing throughout. This story shows how things from the past can come back to haunt you. ( )

The book takes too long to get started. The first book (The Saints of Neilsville) plods along with a laughable predictability. The second book (The Society of St. Peter Martyr) picks up the pace and things really start to get creepy and strange. This section unfortunately relies too heavily on descriptions of all sorts of sexual acts. I'm not sure if I should laugh or be insulted. The two books take the plot on an unexpected tangent. Just as things seem to be petering out (excuse the pun), it picks up speed with the same frantic pace of some Stephen King novels. The last twenty pages then take a huge and wonderfully surprising tangent, earning this book a higher review than I otherwise would have given it. ( )

Classic John Saul book, set in a small town's Catholic high school experiencing a rash of student suicides. It definitely keeps you reading with all the foreshadowing and prevalent sense of menace but it did leave me feeling troubled as it did not have the ending I wanted. ( )

Although it gets off to kind of a slow start compared to some of his other work, this is still an interesting book. ( )

This book had potential, but it never really panned out. Not even one of John Saul's best. It could have been so much better, were several aspects of the plot developed - and, in my opinion, with a different ending. On the other hand, if you view it as a slasher movie in book form, it IS entertaining. It fulfilled its purpose - gave me that unsettling feeling that makes you check inside the closet door as you turn off the lights before bed - just on the off chance. ( )