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The Worsening

 

 

This fast paced thriller is full of unpredictable suspense that will pull you from the urban streets of Philadelphia PA, to the mysterious mountains of West Virginia and into a world full of dark secrets. Carla, the oldest of three siblings has abandoned her family for what she deems a better life but an ominous phone call and an unexpected visit from her brother Matty will change all that and force her to face what she has been avoiding– 'The Worsening.'

 

 

Christopher Zisi gives it 5 out of 5 stars : Ms. Stanton's "The Worsening" is a definite page turner.

 

We forgive many writers for using familiar plot devices, especially if they tell a good story.  Ms.

 

Stanton tells a great horror story, avoiding cliche plot devices.  What keeps the reader so unsettled

 

is that there is no familiar territory to take comfort in.  As uncomfortable and vulnerable Carla is

 

in these pages, so is the reader,  Perhaps this is how this great horror author built empathy

 

between us and her protagonist.  If you want shocking horror, read "The Worsening," by Olivia

 

Stanton.  

 

 

 

Ilp - rated it 5 of 5 stars

SUPER HIGH SUSPENSE AND TOTAL DISTURBANCE. STYLISH, GREATLY SCARY AND ALSO VERY SEXY! THE WORSENING IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ. 

 

 

Jane - rated it 5 of 5 stars

In this shocking thriller, we find Carla. A girl who seemingly has it all. A beautiful young woman making her own way in the city. All alone, her family lives back in W. Virginia. But Carla has a past, a past she thinks she's far removed from. One night, as she's walking home, an eerily familiar voice from the past calls to her. It's her brother Matty, there to deliver a shocking blow. Her father has died. Carla makes the decision to leave with her brother and their mother for a few days to they lay their dad to rest. As they leave Carla's safe haven of Philadelphia & head to the foreboding West VA mountains, it becomes clear that Carla's mother, Abby is precisely just who Carla was keeping her distance from. Carla soon finds herself practically a prisoner of Abby's & Mattys dysfunction. And Carla is soon faced with all the things she's tried so desperately to forget. Things take an even stranger turn when she begins seeing apparitions that make her question her own sanity.

Will Carla make it out alive? Or do Abby & Matty have other plans for her.

THE MOST UNIQUELY TERRIFYING BOOK I'VE EVER READ.

MS. STANTON'S BOOK BOAST NO GENERIC PLOT OR SIMILARITIES TO ANY SUSPENSE EVER CREATED.

AMAZING READ FROM BEGINNING TIL END.

 

 

Peter Dickerson rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Worsening is a black horror story. As Olivia has described, it is in the tradition of Stephen King. It is a relatively simple story about ghosts, madness, death, a dysfunctional family.

The setting, a filthy trailer in freezing back wood mountains, is frightening in itself.

The description of the smells, sounds, and Carla's despair are graphic.

It seems that Carla did not manage to eat anything during the 4 or 5 days of the story. This may have affected her judgement. Like any horror movie I was wishing that she would simply leave and never go back.

Carla only seemed to get a few hours sleep near the end. This also I think affected her judgement.

As a piece of writing, The Worsening is well crafted. It is a page turner. However it is definitely black and disturbing. I was reminded however that I did read Crime and Punishment years ago which I recall was similarly and famously about madness and death and equally black and disturbing.

 

 

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