His career as president of the First National Bank threatened by a troubling audit, Jules Hartwick is further disturbed when he receives a mysterious silver locket that, once opened, sets off a terrifying chain of events, in the second of a six-part serial saga.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
TWIST OF FATE: THE LOCKET
Prelude
The full moon stood high in the night sky above Blackstone, bathing the stones of the old Asylum atop North Hill in a silvery glow, even penetrating the thick layers of grime that covered its windows so that its dusty rooms were suffused with a dim light. Though the dark figure who moved silently through these rooms needed no light to guide him, the luminescence allowed him to pause now and then to savor the memories this place held for him: vivid memories. Images as sharp and clear as if the events they depicted had occurred only yesterday. He was their keeper, even if those same memories had faded from the minds of the very few in Blackstone who might have shared them.
And this room, with its shelves filled with mementos, was his sanctuary, his museum, to which he had added something new.
It was an ancient ledger, which he'd come upon in one of the basement store rooms. Covered in faded red leather, it was a ledger like the ones used in years gone by, in which was recorded all the minutiae of the Asylum's busy life. Taking the book to the shelf-lined, square room, he stroked its cover with all the sensual gentleness with which a man might stroke the skin of a beautiful woman. Hoping it might jog delicious memories even his brilliant mind might have mislaid, he finally opened its cover, only to feel a pang of bitter disappointment: despite its age, its yellowed leaves proved blank. Then disappointment gave way to a tingling excitement. There would be a new use for the book, an important use.
An album!
An album containing accounts of the madness unleashed upon the town that had spurned him.
Now, hunched over the album in the dim moonlight, he opened its cover and read once more the familiar words of the two articles he had painstakingly clipped and carefully pasted to the brittle pages within.
The first described the suicide of Elizabeth Conger McGuire, despondent over the premature birth--and death--of her son.
Nowhere had the newspaper account mentioned the beautiful doll that arrived at the McGuires' a few short days before Elizabeth's death, returning at last to the house from which it had been carried so many years ago in the arms of a child who had entered this very building, never to leave it again.
The second article, lovingly pasted into the album, had appeared three days later, noting the burial of Elizabeth McGuire and listing all the people who had gone to the cemetery to mourn her.
People who, soon enough, would be mourned themselves.
Closing the album, the dark figure caressed its cover once again, shivering with anticipation as he imagined the stories it soon would contain.
Then, as the moon began to drop in the sky and dark shadows edged up the walls, he touched again the object he had decided to deliver next.
The beautiful heart-shaped locket, in which was contained a lock of hair....
Prelude
The full moon stood high in the night sky above Blackstone, bathing the stones of the old Asylum atop North Hill in a silvery glow, even penetrating the thick layers of grime that covered its windows so that its dusty rooms were suffused with a dim light. Though the dark figure who moved silently through these rooms needed no light to guide him, the luminescence allowed him to pause now and then to savor the memories this place held for him: vivid memories. Images as sharp and clear as if the events they depicted had occurred only yesterday. He was their keeper, even if those same memories had faded from the minds of the very few in Blackstone who might have shared them.
And this room, with its shelves filled with mementos, was his sanctuary, his museum, to which he had added something new.
It was an ancient ledger, which he'd come upon in one of the basement store rooms. Covered in faded red leather, it was a ledger like the ones used in years gone by, in which was recorded all the minutiae of the Asylum's busy life. Taking the book to the shelf-lined, square room, he stroked its cover with all the sensual gentleness with which a man might stroke the skin of a beautiful woman. Hoping it might jog delicious memories even his brilliant mind might have mislaid, he finally opened its cover, only to feel a pang of bitter disappointment: despite its age, its yellowed leaves proved blank. Then disappointment gave way to a tingling excitement. There would be a new use for the book, an important use.
An album!
An album containing accounts of the madness unleashed upon the town that had spurned him.
Now, hunched over the album in the dim moonlight, he opened its cover and read once more the familiar words of the two articles he had painstakingly clipped and carefully pasted to the brittle pages within.
The first described the suicide of Elizabeth Conger McGuire, despondent over the premature birth--and death--of her son.
Nowhere had the newspaper account mentioned the beautiful doll that arrived at the McGuires' a few short days before Elizabeth's death, returning at last to the house from which it had been carried so many years ago in the arms of a child who had entered this very building, never to leave it again.
The second article, lovingly pasted into the album, had appeared three days later, noting the burial of Elizabeth McGuire and listing all the people who had gone to the cemetery to mourn her.
People who, soon enough, would be mourned themselves.
Closing the album, the dark figure caressed its cover once again, shivering with anticipation as he imagined the stories it soon would contain.
Then, as the moon began to drop in the sky and dark shadows edged up the walls, he touched again the object he had decided to deliver next.
The beautiful heart-shaped locket, in which was contained a lock of hair....
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More About the Author
House of Reckoning is John Saul's thirty-sixth novel. His first novel, Suffer the Children, published in 1977, was an immediate million-copy bestseller. His other bestselling suspense novels include Faces of Fear, In the Dark of the Night, Perfect Nightmare, Black Creek Crossing, Midnight Voices, The Manhattan Hunt Club, Nightshade, The Right Hand of Evil, The Presence, Black Lightning, The Homing, and Guardian. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling serial thriller The Blackstone Chronicles, initially published in six installments but now available in one complete volume. Saul divides his time between Seattle, Washington, and Hawaii.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twist of Fate: The Locket,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Twist of Fate: The Locket (Blackstone Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)
A new curse has come upon Blackstone. Jules Hartwick finds a locket in his wifes car. He becomes very jealous and nervous thinking everyone is after him. Could the locket have something to do with the way he is acting or did he just have a nervous breakdown. Is Jules so insane he might kill? To find out you should read this book. It is one part of a great mystery unfolding in Blackstone. Who will be the next vivtim to this insanity that has befallen Blackstone.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lorena's spell on the locket,
By A Customer
This review is from: Twist of Fate: The Locket (Blackstone Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)
Better than the first story in the Blackstone Chronicles. More frightening too because it didn't turn out as I expected. They did rush Jules into madness a little too fast. It would've been better if after he got "the locket" that he slowly became paranoid. Not in just one big dose. Still better than the first. --NA
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Light, but dark.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Twist of Fate: The Locket (Blackstone Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)
I am not acustomed too reading horror books, so I may not do Saul justice with my critisism. I should also admit that this is the second book of his that I have read, so I can't dislike them that much. Still, Saul's prose is heavy and his use of adjectives excessive. The plot has some definite and obvious holes, which pull the reader out of the moment the author is trying to create. Apart from this, the book entertains. The story moves quickly and seems to cover all the requirements of the genre. It is not extrodinary, but I think that it would be just about right for a shortish plane ride
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