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Title: The Snowman's Children by Glen Hirshberg ISBN: 0-7867-1082-9 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: December, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Dark Debut...
Comment: Good debut novel by Hirshberg, concerning a murderer named the "Snowman" who preyed on children in suburban Detroit in the 1970's. I believe the novel is based on the Oakland County Child Killer, who was running amok during this time period.
The serial murders are not the focus of the book; rather, it is the impact of the murders on the three children in this book that drive the plot. Many years later, one of those children, now grown up, goes back to the area to find one of the other children, and hopefully bring some closure to things.
It's a dark and chilling novel--sometimes too dark and chilling for its own good. It's also confusing at times when the plot jumps from the 1970's to the 1990's, and back again. This is not a book to be read lightly--it demands your full attention--but I still recommend it. I'll be interested to see what Hirshberg comes up with next.
Rating: 4
Summary: Refreshingly original
Comment: If you're expecting a serial-killer thriller, you're better off looking elsewhere. THE SNOWMAN'S CHILDREN is more concerned with the impact of the murders on children growing up in Detroit during the time the Oakland County Child Killer prowled the streets in search of his pre-teen victims than with lowbrow titillation. Glen Hirshberg, who grew up in Detroit during the time of the murders, loosely based this novel on Tommy McIntyre's WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: THE SEARCH FOR A CHILD KILLER.
In this fictional account, the main character Mattie Rhodes returns to Detroit, seventeen years after the murders, in search of his boyhood friend, Theresa Daughrety. During the year the Snowman was on the prowl, Mattie, his friend Spencer Franklin and Theresa went through various traumas, some related some unrelated to the murders. The three are gifted students who compete in Mind Wars, a kind of up tempo Trivial Pursuit, to see who is the sharpest. Theresa usually puts the other two to shame. The game is run by Theresa's father, Dr. Daughrety, who is unduly taken with his daughter's intelligence. On their own, the three play "Murder in the Dark", where one player stalks the other two in a pitch-black basement. The Snowman's depravities are a backdrop to the everyday travails of eleven-year-olds until Theresa, who is showing increasing signs of mental distress, becomes directly involved.
Theresa is the most interesting character of the three; apparently, while the other children have been shaking in their boots, she's been on the trail of the Snowman, despite her emotional shakiness. Mattie worships her, probably because of her seeming indifference to the popularity game most kids worry about.
For comic relief, Glen Hirshberg adds some quirky elements, such as Sergeant Ross's addiction to licorice sticks; Mattie's little brother's apparent hatred for Mattie; Mark "the Bird" Fidrych's pitching exploits, and Mattie's Blue Grass singing wife.
I found it a bit hard to get into the book at first because Hirschberg doesn't tell us a whole lot until well past midpoint and because Hirschberg jumps back and forth from 1994 to 1976. Mattie's reactions to just about everything are also overly emotive. His heart jumps into his throat when his cereal is cold. Hirschberg also loves similes, unfortunately only two out of three hit their mark.
Despite these minor foibles, I highly recommend the book. Hirshberg has talent to burn as is evidenced by the following description of Mattie's teacher who'd been in a traffic accident: "She looked frail, like a china plate someone had broken and glued back together, minus one or two tiny but unnoticeable chips."
Rating: 3
Summary: Like a LifeTime movie but no Judith Light...
Comment: The author has real trouble with the way kids talk -- in this book they're like mini-adults. Granted, they ARE supposed to be gifted but I found myself wincing more than once. The too-helpful librarian also gave me pause and Mattie's mother's heartfelt chat with her "Strange, solitary son" was just awful.
Wait for the paperback.
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Title: The Two Sams: Ghost Stories by Glen Hirshberg, Ramsey Campbell ISBN: 0786712554 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 14 by Stephen Jones ISBN: 0786712376 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Island of Bones by P. J. Parrish ISBN: 0786016051 Publisher: Pinnacle Books Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Straw Men by Michael Marshall ISBN: 0515134279 Publisher: Jove Pubns Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Darkest Part of the Woods by Ramsey Campbell ISBN: 0765307669 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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