Thomas Tryon Books

This is the perfect book for fans of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Tryon takes the reader back to a time when everything was glamourous and there was something almost magical about the movies. But he then proceeds to tell the very REAL behind-the-scenes story of some leading ladies, who share a common thread in that they were all involved with the same man at one time or another.

This is the kind of book you can't put down. There's lots of melodrama, intrigue, sex... and even murder! Also some pretty funny twists, especially the first story. (If you read it you'll see what I mean.) Glorious camp! Five stars.

I came across this book quite by accident, and couldn't put it down! Blending fiction with real life people, this book is engaging, funny and touching all at once. Tryon's characters come to life right in front of you, and you may find yourself asking "are these REAL people?" A wonderful story, an inside look at the workings of show business and lots of twists. "OH YEAH!"

My mom read this book right after she finished high school and still had it in the bookshelf by the time I was in high school. I read it one day when I had nothing else to read and finished it the same night. Yikes! Really creepy for a 15 year old with an active imagination to read. Fifteen years later I still think about it though I have yet to re-read it. Excellent book.

This is an exceptionally well written chiller. It takes place in Cornwall Coombe, a seemingly bucolic little hamlet in New England. It is to this idyllic locale that Ned Constantine, his wife, Beth, and their teenage daughter, Kate, move.

Ned had quit his job as an advertising executive in New York City and was now a professional artist, having established a studio in which to paint on his newly purchased property. In love with the three hundred year old house that they had unexpectedly been able to purchase, he and his family settled down to what he hoped would be a tranquil existence.

Alas, this was not to be. The town's very being revolved around ancient rituals dictated by the corn crop, and the town's ways were old ways. Its bucolic setting was deceptive, as there existed a malignancy that was becoming all too apparent to Ned. It was a feeling, however, that neither his wife nor daughter shared.

Cornwall Coombe was a town seemingly controlled by the Widow Fortune, an old woman with a knack for healing. The town had a secret, and its insular townspeople were all in on it. Ned was determined to discover what that secret was, even if it were to his detriment. He ultimately finds that some secrets are best left undiscovered.

This is a beautifully written book, almost lyrical in the telling. The author has a distinct gift for storytelling, and the tale that he weaves is spellbinding, as well as chilling. It is a tale that is sure to keep the reader riveted.

Greetings,
My book arrived before expected and in much better condition than I expected it to be despite the age of the book. I am very pleased with my purchase and the promptness of the seller.

Pros
The plot, the suspense, the characters, the finesse, the tremendous suspense.

Cons
If you want tons of action or monsters, they're not here, as they aren't needed.

The Bottom Line
One of the best horror novels I've read, along with Peretti and Dekker's House.

Full Review:

"The Other" tells the story of identical twin boys, Niles and Holland Perry, age thirteen, who have different birthdays (just before and just after midnight) and even different Zodiac signs. They are incredibly different in personality, but very close to one another, relationship-wise. One is a superficially-good boy who is secretly more than just mischievous. The other one is quieter but genuinely good-hearted. He keeps hoping that he can get his twin on the right track. Or, is that what's really going on here?

There are few other significant characters, except for the boys' grandmother Ada. She brings many traditions from The Old Country, including a "game" called "The Sight." When playing this game, one tries to fully understand another person or animal, to the point of experiencing what he, she, or it is experiencing. It resembles the concept of "grok" from Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, but it can be a longer experience and, if one is not careful, one can get dangerously lost in "The Sight." Ada teaches the twins this "game," and one of them becomes quite adept at it. Perhaps, too adept.

There are no monsters, no aliens, no escaped criminals, no people with superhuman abilities (not quite), and no demonic possessions, in this book. The writing is technically smooth and flawless, with no sensationalizing. What there is here, is true horror and suspense. Through very subtle, almost imperceptible means, the tension silently grows, until you know that something horrible will eventually happen. And, it does, and it's not what you expect, and there is more than one shocking surprise here. By the end, you actually want to start over a re-read the book, not only because it is that good, but because the story is so stunning that you want to make sure you caught it all.

This is a totally unforgettable story with totally unforgettable characters. It was the first horror story that I read, at about age thirteen (hmm, now that is spooky), and nothing that I have read since then, has passed "The Other" in quality. It is creepy without resorting to the unbelievable, and the plot twists are stunning. It is one of those books where you keep saying, "I'll read just one more chapter," until you realize that your alarm clock is set to go off in only an hour, and you have forsaken sleep for the sake of the story. Stephen King writes good horror stories; he has never surpassed Thomas Tryon's "The Other" and I am not sure that Mr. King has even equalled this book in quality. If you read "The Other," it will never truly leave you.

Recommended:
Yes

This is an exceptionally well written chiller. It takes place in Cornwall Coombe, a seemingly bucolic little hamlet in New England. It is to this idyllic locale that Ned Constantine, his wife, Beth, and their teenage daughter, Kate, move.

Ned had quit his job as an advertising executive in New York City and was now a professional artist, having established a studio in which to paint on his newly purchased property. In love with the three hundred year old house that they had unexpectedly been able to purchase, he and his family settled down to what he hoped would be a tranquil existence.

Alas, this was not to be. The town's very being revolved around ancient rituals dictated by the corn crop, and the town's ways were old ways. Its bucolic setting was deceptive, as there existed a malignancy that was becoming all too apparent to Ned. It was a feeling, however, that neither his wife nor daughter shared.

Cornwall Coombe was a town seemingly controlled by the Widow Fortune, an old woman with a knack for healing. The town had a secret, and its insular townspeople were all in on it. Ned was determined to discover what that secret was, even if it were to his detriment. He ultimately finds that some secrets are best left undiscovered.

This is a beautifully written book, almost lyrical in the telling. The author has a distinct gift for storytelling, and the tale that he weaves is spellbinding, as well as chilling. It is a tale that is sure to keep the reader riveted.

This is an exceptionally well written chiller. It takes place in Cornwall Coombe, a seemingly bucolic little hamlet in New England. It is to this idyllic locale that Ned Constantine, his wife, Beth, and their teenage daughter, Kate, move.

Ned had quit his job as an advertising executive in New York City and was now a professional artist, having established a studio in which to paint on his newly purchased property. In love with the three hundred year old house that they had unexpectedly been able to purchase, he and his family settled down to what he hoped would be a tranquil existence.

Alas, this was not to be. The town's very being revolved around ancient rituals dictated by the corn crop, and the town's ways were old ways. Its bucolic setting was deceptive, as there existed a malignancy that was becoming all too apparent to Ned. It was a feeling, however, that neither his wife nor daughter shared.

Cornwall Coombe was a town seemingly controlled by the Widow Fortune, an old woman with a knack for healing. The town had a secret, and its insular townspeople were all in on it. Ned was determined to discover what that secret was, even if it were to his detriment. He ultimately finds that some secrets are best left undiscovered.

This is a beautifully written book, almost lyrical in the telling. The author has a distinct gift for storytelling, and the tale that he weaves is spellbinding, as well as chilling. It is a tale that is sure to keep the reader riveted.

This is an exceptionally well written chiller. It takes place in Cornwall Coombe, a seemingly bucolic little hamlet in New England. It is to this idyllic locale that Ned Constantine, his wife, Beth, and their teenage daughter, Kate, move.

Ned had quit his job as an advertising executive in New York City and was now a professional artist, having established a studio in which to paint on his newly purchased property. In love with the three hundred year old house that they had unexpectedly been able to purchase, he and his family settled down to what he hoped would be a tranquil existence.

Alas, this was not to be. The town's very being revolved around ancient rituals dictated by the corn crop, and the town's ways were old ways. Its bucolic setting was deceptive, as there existed a malignancy that was becoming all too apparent to Ned. It was a feeling, however, that neither his wife nor daughter shared.

Cornwall Coombe was a town seemingly controlled by the Widow Fortune, an old woman with a knack for healing. The town had a secret, and its insular townspeople were all in on it. Ned was determined to discover what that secret was, even if it were to his detriment. He ultimately finds that some secrets are best left undiscovered.

This is a beautifully written book, almost lyrical in the telling. The author has a distinct gift for storytelling, and the tale that he weaves is spellbinding, as well as chilling. It is a tale that is sure to keep the reader riveted.

I just re-read this after many years. I didnt remember any of it. And i just wasnt crazy about it. It took SO long for anything to happen! The writing style was OK sometimes, sometimes NOT. I just think the story had potential to be so much more. Once it got near the end, it did get exciting and kinda fun to try to figure out. But i was sorta disappointed.

This creepy novel is a favorite of mine, and the ending is one that stays with you long after you've put the book down. From the opening pages of Harvest Home, as we meet one interesting character after another, the reader cannot help but feel an anxious dread that all is not well in Cornwall Combe, even as the narrator -- Ned Constantine -- and his family eagerly try to adapt themselves to the 'old ways' of the isolated New England village. But like a character in a Greek tragedy, Ned is driven to uncover the mysteries of the place no matter where they lead; and what seems at first an innocuous question ("What happened to poor Gracie Everdean?"), leads inexorably from one disturbing disclosure to the next. So much of what we heard and saw in the earlier parts of the tale come back to haunt us in the closing pages -- that delicious "so THAT'S what that meant" moment of insight a good writer gives the reader at story's end. Harvest Home is best read in late fall ... when the skies are overcast, the air musty with decay and the corn is just coming in from the fields ...

I recently joined an online book club and this was one of the first month's selections. I was in the mood for a little mystery since Halloween was around the corner so I picked this book. Although several of the book's visions can induce the creeps, I don't think I would classify this as horror.

This book is apparently no longer in production so if you are interested in it, you need to get your hands on a used copy...which is no problem at here.

The story is of a middle-aged couple (Ned and Beth Constantine) and their teenage daughter (Kate) that want to leave the hustle and bustle of New York City. After searching for a lengthy period of time for that perfect home, they happened upon a 300 year old house in the tiny, isolated New England village of Cornwall Coombe. Ned gives up his job as an advertising executive to pursue his lifelong passion of becoming a serious painter, and moves the family to the quaint little village.

Amazingly, everyone from Cornwall Coombe still live their lives by the old ways. Some still use horses and buggies to get around, the farmers use mules and good old fashion elbow grease to plant and harvest their crops, and many rely on the healing powers/herbal remedies of the Widow Fortune, the town's influential matriarch, instead of using the doctor from a nearby town. Naturally, outsiders have a hard time fitting in and adapting to the "old ways" but thanks to the unexplained kind words about the Constantine family from the Widow Fortune, the town grows to accept Ned, Beth and Kate as their own.

We also discover that the town was founded by the Penrose family centuries ago and nearly everyone in the town can trace his or her roots back to the family. Indeed, the house the Constantines bought was from Missy Penrose, the town's postmistress and it had been in her family the time until there came a point when she could no longer afford to keep it up.

Just when all is cozy with the Constantines in their new town, the mysteries start to crop up and arouse Ned's curiosity. Why is there a grave of a woman named Grace Everdeen, buried outside of the cemetery gates and severely overgrown? Who is the father of Missy's daughter, also referred to as the "village idiot"/prophetic child? How does the Widow Fortune have such healing powers to help their own daughter when all other doctors have failed? Who or what is the ghost of Soakes' Lonesome? Why are these woods so heavily guarded by the tobacco-farming family, the Soakes? Who really did such atrocities to the new town peddler, Jack Stump, and why?

The townfolk are full of secrets and superstitions, all that revolve around one big secret that "no man knows and no woman will ever tell." Ned gets deeper in trouble as he unravels each secret that in turn only leads him to a few more. He discovers just how closely the town covets its corn crops and what they'll do to keep it flourishing. When unraveling the final big one, he gets to a point of no return.

The plot has murder, ghosts, rape, incest, and bizarre pagan rituals. It took me a while to get into it, but overall I found it riveting. Tryon is a very detailed writer which made it much easier for me to picture each detail of the village and its occupants. Whereas some plot twists caught me by surprise, quite a few were still predictable. I was also somewhat letdown by the "big secret" as it didn't seem like much of a secret to me, especially among the villagers. The outcome of the secret is easy figured out that it can't quite be a secret among the town's people after all, unless is the ritualistic way that it happens that is the secret part, which still wasn't that surprising to me.

Overall I recommend this book. It's a great read for a pre-Halloween autumn night (although it took me more than one night to read it). Just don't expect any "sleepless nights" horrors from it, but just enough punch to give you some of the creepies.

"Harvest Home" is a novel that has haunted me since I first had the pleasure of reading it two decades ago. Thomas Tryon is a wonderfully descriptive writer whose elegant turn of phrase makes this novel a memorable horror story told in a very light way.

This is a horror story. What can be more horrible than what Ned Constantine, the narrator/protagonist of the story had to witness during the climax of the novel? There is a great element of greek tragedy present in this novel as each main character has a tragic flaw that determines his or her fate. With Ned, it is his insatiable curiosity, with his wife Beth, the fear of men due to her domineering father and the daughter Kate, her frailty as a result of living with constant stress, the result of the hustle of NYC life and the tensions between her parents.

The Constantines move to Cornwall Coombe, a hamlet in Connecticut nominally under the rule of the benign yet forbidding Widow Fortune. The Constantines are initially amazed at the archaic lifestyle of the villagers but the women soon involve themselves and grow to love the rustic ways of the village. Ned, to his misfortune, rejects the charms of the villagers and their ways and moves to undermine the widow through his encouraging of the dissatisfied young Harvest Lord, Worthy Pettinger, escape to a better life and his obsessive quest to solve the msyery of what happened to the disgraced Gracie Everdeen, a young village woman who allegedly caused years of famine for the village by cursing the corn.

There are tales of adultery, legend and subtle violence throughout the novel which works so well because the reader cannot fully empathize with any character. Tryon has fleshed out his characters so well, and his description of the village life and countryside is so lyrical that a reader cannot help but fall in love with this book and be haunted by the ingenious plot for years to come.

A great novel by a great writer. A novel that transcends the horror field to rank with those of Faulkner and Dickey.

I see quite a few glowing reveiws posted here for "Harvest Home", and I would love to add one...but I can't. It's been about 3 days since I finished reading Tryon's novel and I am still not sure if I liked it or would recommend it. It took me a couple days and about 100 pages to really get into the story, Tryon's writing style is very descriptive, almost too flowery at times. The story does not grab you by throat, (sorry if you are looking for details look at other reviews, I hate reviews filled with spoilers) you are eased into the world Tryon created. The suspense builds slowly, I mean very slowly. And the payoff is okay, but not the "Repeat to Yourself It's Only a Book" kind of payoff the cover promised. The characters of the Widow and Ned were done well, but the rest of the characters were just so much background noise. On the flip side, the story did pique my curiosity, and I did keep coming back to see how everything would come out. I see plenty of reviews here that say you can see the ending coming from a mile away....I didn't. I thought the novel was pretty inventive at times, and it kept me guessing throughout. So while I am not sure I would recommend this novel, if you happen to stumble across it, you could do a lot worse than losing a few days reading it.

This had such good reviews I had to buy it & read it... I don't know why exactly, but I just didn't get into this book. It was good, but it wasn't great to me. Maybe I'm to young to really appreciate it. I think people my parents age would really enjoy this book more (people who grew up in the 40's-50's) & I might have too, if I read this back in the 70's or early 80's.

Anyways, it's a good realistic psychological horror & VERY well written. The whole idea of identical twins being born on different days, thus having different astrological signs/personalities. I thought was good. However, I wouldn't recommend this book to people under the age of 30.

Thomas Tryon began his career as a novelist after having a fairly successful run as an actor in Hollywood.

Tryon is a better author than actor. For that I am truly grateful!

The Other (1971) is a gothic horror story that tells the story of twin boys, Niles and Holland Perry, who live on a farm in New England some time during the Depression.

Niles and Holland are inseparable. Holland is particularly attached to his Russian-born grandmother who has been forced to helm their family in the aftermath of the twins' father's death and their mother's incapacitation due to shock over trauma she endured. The boys' grandmother is very loving and doting, but Niles isn't as loving as Holland. He likes to play pranks.

Tryon broke new ground with The Other. Subsequent authors have come forward and regurgitated and reworked material that Tryon created. None of the others have managed to create the actual horror that Tryon managed.

This novel was so wildly popular - an immediate best seller - that it spawned a film of the same name in 1972.

It would be unfair and cheating to tell you any more about the plot of this fine book. Rest assured the time you spend reading this will not be time wasted.

Pros
The plot, the suspense, the characters, the finesse, the tremendous suspense.

Cons
If you want tons of action or monsters, they're not here, as they aren't needed.

The Bottom Line
One of the best horror novels I've read, along with Peretti and Dekker's House.

Full Review:

"The Other" tells the story of identical twin boys, Niles and Holland Perry, age thirteen, who have different birthdays (just before and just after midnight) and even different Zodiac signs. They are incredibly different in personality, but very close to one another, relationship-wise. One is a superficially-good boy who is secretly more than just mischievous. The other one is quieter but genuinely good-hearted. He keeps hoping that he can get his twin on the right track. Or, is that what's really going on here?

There are few other significant characters, except for the boys' grandmother Ada. She brings many traditions from The Old Country, including a "game" called "The Sight." When playing this game, one tries to fully understand another person or animal, to the point of experiencing what he, she, or it is experiencing. It resembles the concept of "grok" from Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, but it can be a longer experience and, if one is not careful, one can get dangerously lost in "The Sight." Ada teaches the twins this "game," and one of them becomes quite adept at it. Perhaps, too adept.

There are no monsters, no aliens, no escaped criminals, no people with superhuman abilities (not quite), and no demonic possessions, in this book. The writing is technically smooth and flawless, with no sensationalizing. What there is here, is true horror and suspense. Through very subtle, almost imperceptible means, the tension silently grows, until you know that something horrible will eventually happen. And, it does, and it's not what you expect, and there is more than one shocking surprise here. By the end, you actually want to start over a re-read the book, not only because it is that good, but because the story is so stunning that you want to make sure you caught it all.

This is a totally unforgettable story with totally unforgettable characters. It was the first horror story that I read, at about age thirteen (hmm, now that is spooky), and nothing that I have read since then, has passed "The Other" in quality. It is creepy without resorting to the unbelievable, and the plot twists are stunning. It is one of those books where you keep saying, "I'll read just one more chapter," until you realize that your alarm clock is set to go off in only an hour, and you have forsaken sleep for the sake of the story. Stephen King writes good horror stories; he has never surpassed Thomas Tryon's "The Other" and I am not sure that Mr. King has even equalled this book in quality. If you read "The Other," it will never truly leave you.

Recommended:
Yes

In prose as easy as a floating dream with a story as frightening as a pre-dawn nightmare, Thomas Tryon's 1971 novel THE OTHER is one of the three finest horror novels of 20th Century America, easily ranking alongside Shirley Jackson's THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and Stephen King's 'SALEM'S LOT.

Holland and Niles Perry are twins on the brink of adolescence, residing with their large extended family on a comfortably ramshackle farm in 1930s New England. But their lives have been touched with tragedy: their father, killed in an accident; their mother, unable to recover from the shock. Grandmother Ada, Russian-born, has become the backbone of the family. And Grandmother Ada has a game for them to play together, a solace for them in a time of grief. But it is no ordinary game, this. It is one passed down through the blood from generation to generation. And it is through this game of the mind that Ada unwittingly unleashes a psychological horror that consumes everything it touches.

THE OTHER is the first of the several novels Tryon wrote before his premature death and, although the novel HARVEST HOME is perhaps more widely remembered, to my mind it is his finest. The plot has been extremely influential, and some readers may recognize various turns from having encountered them at the less talented hands of later writers who shamelessly borrowed Tyron's ideas. But it hardly matters: the prose is absolutely flawless, dreamy, languid, and seductive even as it begins to unravel into a psychological void from which there is no return. It is a rare reader who will not unravel right along with it--and immediately re-read the novel to see how Tyron has so unerringly cast his spell. Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

everyone gave this novel such rave reviews that i thought it would be amazing, but it was a disappointment to me. i just read it, after it was recommended by my mother in law. after reading all of these great reviews i thought i would love it, but i really didn't - some parts were shocking, one part in particular that i didn't expect was what happened to "the baby"; that's why i gave it 3 stars instead of two. but i had a hard time getting into this book, mainly i think due to the pacing. it just never sucked me in the way a good book usually does.

i have read a broad spectrum of horror (shirley jackson, lovecraft, bradbury, king, etc) and just felt like this didn't even compare. sorry.

It seemed a little slow at first; at least I seemed to warm up to it slowly. It's not the kind I'm so absorbed in that I can't put it down, yet something kept bringing me back to it, & I ultimately found myself thoroughly enjoying it.

I started out typing up the description on the dust jacket flap in order to sell it, and realized it was based in Connecticut (where I live); so I started reading more, trying to find out WHERE in CT it was based. Since it never stated a real town plainly, I decided I'd just have to read it to see if I could figure it out. So while the STORY may not have been a mystery, it was a mystery for me, looking for the clues as to what real town the fictional town of Pequot Landing really was. I ultimately decided it was Wethersfield. I mention this because THIS was a BIG part of my enjoyment of the book--the local aspect, imagining it happening so close, believing I found The Green referred to, knowing several of the landmarks mentioned, and I think the laundry the mother worked at in Hartford is still there & I think of this story every time I drive by it! I'm interested in local history, and in historical fiction, and this brought the two together, enabling me to imagine life in a nearby town in a time gone by.

Tryon to this day, still remains an outstanding writer. This beautifully written love story will have an unforgettable impact on your life long after you finish reading it. Lady is second only to Harvest Home and The Other. Even though this story was written 25 years ago, it still remains of the best love stories ever written. Lady should be read by everyone, you will not regret or forget its impact.

Thomas Tryon left acting to write, and I'm so glad that he did! His novel "Lady" slowly builds to a crescendo, and then when I finally understood where the story was going, I just stared at the page, shocked and unbelieving. But what a wonderful love this was! I have read the book twice and will no doubt read it again. Thomas Tryon has an incredibly fertile imagination, and he really outdid himself in this novel. I recommend it highly to anyone who would enjoy reading an outstanding and very unusual love story.

I was originally drawn to this book because the synopsis sounded intriguing and suspenseful. My husband informed me that the author had written another book called, "The Other", which was turned into a 70's horror film. Based on these circumstances, I decided to try "Lady", only to find it boring, not suspenseful in the least, and very dated. The "terrible secret" (which I will not give away) leads you to believe that there is some supernatural tale involved, when in fact, it is a dated, uninteresting "surprise" that has no bearing on the story. It seemed like everyone else who reviewed this book loved it, so I had to write at least one review to the contrary. I had an EXTREMELY difficult time finishing it, and struggled through it just to say I finished it. I found it the "Secret" very anti-climactic and pointless, and the synopsis on the back of the book very misleading.

This book came to me by delicious accident: a friend found it in a box of books being given away in my apartment building laundry room. It sat on my shelf for years, until my supply of unread books began to dwindle, and I thought I'd give it a go, though I knew nothing about the book, or it's author. It's set in a previous generation, but deals with issues of the time that modern readers may not relate to, but can certainly learn from. It's overall theme is one of coming of age, and in a sense I believe it tells the story of all of our childhoods: what we see going on around us in our neighborhoods, the seemingly insignificant events that are tantamount to a child as he/she grows up, and the events of the world that, while we may not be entirely conscious of them or understand them, they shape us nonetheless. I'm sorry to see that this book is primarily out of print (and I'm certainly not giving up my 1974 edition), but do what you must to get your hands on it! You will fall madly in love with Lady as we all have ...

I am suprised Night of the Moonbow was never made into a feature length film.

It would have been good.

I am suprised Night of the Moonbow was never made into a feature length film.

It would have been good.

In the summer of 1938, when Leo Joachim arrives at the ironically named Camp Friend-Indeed, he brings with him a set of serious problems. He is an orphan living at an orphanage, having previously been hospitalized for some sort of terrible trauma involving the deaths of his parents. Camp is supposed to provide him with some sort of respite from the terrors he has already faced in his life. Though he is a talented violinist and a naturalist with an interest in spiders, he has no interest in baseball or any other athletic contest by which the various camp units compete for the Hartsig trophy, given to the best unit at the camp.

Paired with Tiger, a sympathetic young man who appreciates Leo's talents and tries to ignore his differences from the other boys, Leo gets along pretty well, at first, though he remains somewhat apart from the other boys, preferring to ignore the special baseball practice and stay in the woods to observe an owl and practice his violin. When he violates some of the "sacred" camp traditions, Reese Hartsig, his counselor and the son of the camp's wealthy founder, worries that Leo may cost the Jeremiah unit the Hartsig trophy, and Reese becomes Leo's active enemy.

As he has done in so many other novels, Tryon builds inexorable suspense. As Reese begins to promote the "you're with me or against me" mentality among the other campers in the unit, the pressures on Leo increase cruelly, and he finds himself being shunned, mocked, cast out, and placed in increasingly dangerous situations, until he is finally summoned before a kangaroo court and tried by Reese and his camp-henchmen.

Though the characters are sometimes clichéd and the action sometimes predictable, the psychological torment of Leo is all too realistic, and most readers will recall similar nightmarish incidents from childhood. The setting in 1938 draws obvious parallels with the rise of Hitler, and Reese is clearly a "golden boy" who expects always to be part of the winning team, surrounded by yes-men. The cruel torments of Leo and his friend Fritz, the lone Jewish youth, show, within the microcosm of a boys' camp, the macrocosm of events in Europe. The climax is stunning, and while it may play on the heartstrings and be an easy way for the author to resolve the problems of Leo's torture, no reader will be disappointed by the final drama. Though this is not a psychological horror story on the level of Tryon's The Other, or even Harvest Home, it is a well-drawn novel of suspense which will appeal especially to young adults. Mary Whipple

Once I started reading this novel I really began to notice just how narrow-minded and ignorant people are. A lonely orphan boy comes to a boys camp(Bible camp full of good Christians no less)and is befriended by his cabin mates. After a series of unintentional screw-ups by the main character, Leo, he is branded as a jonah and is constantly harrassed by the other boys. They play mind games with him, unaware of his hidden past. No matter what he does he cannot be accepted into their society. Even the Reverand shuns him. This book takes on a lot of little twist and turns that surprised me along the way. Especially the ending which was pretty darn nifty. I highly reccommend this book to fans of pyscological suspense novels along with people who are just looking for a good book to read.

I missed Moonbow when it was published and so recently sat down with considerable excitement to reconnect with one of my favorite authors. What a disappointment! While I see the bones of a good story here, he's watered it down so heavily with cardboard characters and predictable plotlines, not to mention scenery chewing melodrama and a saccharine ending that simply had me shaking my head.

He does do some interesting things with characterization; I especially liked his nod to the pre-war Hitler sympathizers, a piece of American history that is generally swept under the carpet. And he does do an admirable job capturing what life in a summer camp is like, and the dynamics of young boys. I also enjoyed the way he gradually stripped away the facades of the so-called heros of the camp. The main character, Leo, is particularly well done.

But in the end, the story itself has no guts, no tension. The build up about the moonbow is over done and in the end, inconsequential. It takes too long to get to the denouement and it is not worth the effort when you do.