Cailyn Lloyd

Shepherd's Warning by Cailyn Lloyd
Review of a NetGalley eARC.

This is a haunted house story in the vein of The Shining or The Amityville Horror (which is referenced explicitly in the text). The McKenzie family: Lucas and Laura, with Lucas's brother Nathan and his wife Ashley, along with Lucas and Laura's granddaughter Leah, arrive at the brothers' inherited house in the Wisconsin countryside. A grand old Tudor mansion, they decide to renovate it for HGTV, but things soon take a terrifying turn. As you would expect from a horror novel.

This first book from Lloyd shows its influences on its sleeve, while working in a lot of unusual takes that would make for something refreshingly new, if so much of it wasn't just confusing.

The Old English spells, the nearly immortal wizard, the circularity of the events are all interesting and unique. They add flavor to the book and would help it stand out a lot from the crowd, if the rest of the pacing and structure stood up to them. Unfortunately, I don't feel like they did.

Events unfold in an awkward way, with things that seem really important at the time just fading away. For example, in one scene a young contractor falls off the roof, breaking his arm and impaling himself on a rusty piece of metal. This event IS NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN by the main characters, and only vaguely referenced by a side character (a "ghost" that made it happen). Not only that, but people continue to work on the roof without taking any safety precautions, and indeed someone falls again.

Then there's the idea that they are renovating the house for a TV show. This dominates the situation for the first few chapters, then it's just... Gone. No more cameras, no more interviews, no repercussions. Which could be code for the whole book: lots of things happen with no real impact.

The pacing is overall quite uneven. The book opens with a couple of big events, but then nothing really happens until halfway through. There is a lot of pointless running around, and I'll be honest--all the "L" names warped it into one big, blonde blur.

There is also an odd insistence on specificity, especially regarding brand names, that almost reads like advertising. The main characters don't drink beer, they drink Spotted Cow (which halfway through the book becomes italicized); the 1,000 year-old wizard doesn't drink port, he drinks Old Tawny port; Laura doesn't use a genealogy website, she uses Ancestry.com; Tom Wolff doesn't wear a trucker's cap, he wears a Purina cap. It stands out in an odd way, rather than adding any kind of realism or immediacy.

These all seem like minor points, but they build up until the text becomes a struggle. And it doesn't help that the essential conflict centers, once again, on the corruption of the father figure through his repressed Id. Ugh. Does the father grow distant from his family because of his inability to deal with loss? Yep. Does the father fall into dissolution through alcohol? Yep! Does the father betray his wife, who just wants him to get help, and call her concern nagging and prying? Bingo! At least he wasn't a writer.

Overall, I really struggled to finish this book, and once I did I wasn't satisfied.… (mehr)

My first book by Cailyn Lloyd was Shepherd’s Warning and I loved it. I am excited to share my thoughts about The Mill. I love the blend of a serial killer and ghosts, Cailyn Lloyd did it very well.

Chase Riddell has OCD. When something is out of place, no matter how small a change, he will notice. He has secrets and will kill to keep them.

Lili knew spirits hung at the Mill and she wanted to speak to them. She is a psychic and owner of Revelations, a metaphysical store. She doesn’t have to physically visit a place. She can astral travel.

Emma, a spirit who resides at The Mill found out Chase Riddell’s secrets, and she felt she had to do something about it. She loves to read and really gets ‘into’ it. I thought the way she did it was so cool. She loves TV and movies. She is a great character, and they more I read, the more interesting she became.

Martin is the police detective on the case.

We know the villain and what is happening, but it doesn’t lessen the suspense. A serial killer who revels in his ‘job’, but there is so much more going on than the serial killer’s story. I am only halfway through and I cannot put it down.

I wonder about Chase, I wonder about Eamon and Frank and Emma, the ghosts.

The Mill is a riveting novel, filled with suspense, and the pacing makes me read word after word, page after page, chapter after chapter, never wanting to stop. The original concept for the ghosts had me smiling and cringing and I never would have guessed how it would be wrapped up.

I loved it so much, I hope there will be another book. We could have Martin, Lily and Emma functioning as a crime solving team. Do you have an idea lingering in the back of your mind, Cailyn? Are the characters still talking to you?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Mill by Cailyn Lloyd.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mehr)

A house in the woods. The man. The woman. A hidden entity.

Who doesn’t love a good haunted house story?

Lucas and his brother, Nate, had inherited the MacKenzie mansion in the small town of Lost Arrow. It had sat deserted for years and they were there to make it their home. HGTV would be along for the ride, documenting the transformation.

They had no knowledge of it’s reputation, the accidents, the things that go bump in the night.

Tom Wolfe had sworn to protect the house, while he waits for the owner, his love, Elizabeth, to return. He wonders why, now, they are people here. Is it at her whim? He likes that they are fixing it up, but once they are done, he wants them gone.

A premonition brought Kenric Shepherd to Wisconsin. His vision warns of danger, but he must wait for more to be revealed.

As soon as the chainsaw did it’s thing, I would have been long gone.

Laura had been treated for epilepsy and was bullied and teased growing up. She learned to enjoy her own company. I guess now she’ll learn it was so much more than epilepsy.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shepherd’s Warning by Cailyn Lloyd.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mehr)