Help for the Haunted: A Novel (P.S.)

A thriller that keeps you reading never knowing "Who done it" , until the last chapter. A couple tries to help those that feel haunted. Costing them to many sacrifices of their own and their own daughters. Intriguing way the author develops the story line. Surprising ending.

I decided to pick up Help for the Haunted after hearing the author do an online chat with another author, long time favorite Jodi Picoult, and hearing that this book was a combination of ghost story, mystery and coming of age. Now having finished the book I realize that it is indeed all of those things and so much more, most noticeably a look at what makes a person "haunted" and how someone's perception of that characteristic can influence their actions, sometimes in devastating ways.Growing up the children of parents dedicated to helping "haunted" people find peace, Sylvie Mason and her older sister, Rose, have never had lives that most would find normal. Their home is one that is not only open to the various paranormal possibilities but one that is also intensely devout, leading many outside their small family to either keep their distant or strike out against what they don't understand. Sylvie, the "good daughter" has gone along with their parents' unusual practices with little complaint while Rose, the wilder one, has bucked against the constraints her parents placed on them. Then one night their parents are murdered and everything changes in a flash.Sylvie, the only witness to what happened that night, is left to not only attempt to pick up the shattered pieces of her life but to figure out what really happened. Left with a distant, secretive and angry Rose as her guardian, Sylvie will have to learn to trust in her own inner strength and abilities and to let go of everything she thought she knew about her parents, her sister and the greater world they lived in if she will ever be able to discover the facts of their lives and move on to create a new life from the rubble.My first impression after finishing Help for the Haunted is that it isn't quite as scary as I thought it would be, at least not in the sense I anticipated. Like so many other factors within the book, once the truth is discovered and the deceptions laid aside the reality of the spookier aspects seem much more rational. What makes it truly frightening is the realization that believing in something and wanting it to be true can lead people to do some devastating things. When it comes to love, hate, jealousy, revenge and a laundry list of other intense motivators, sometimes these feelings can lead someone to do heinous things all while they justify the actions as necessary. When all the pieces finally came together at the end of the book, these facts are what caused the lasting chills for me.Sylvie is a remarkable heroine and one I think most people will be able to sympathize with. So much pressure is on her small shoulders to do and say what others expect of her, to be the "good" one all the time. On the flip side, Rose at first came across as completely unlikeable, earning her place as the "bad" one. However, once I discovered what was really going on in her life and what she has had to put up with, I couldn't help but feel for her as well. What I come away with is the realization that every single character is influenced and motivated by external sources that shape and distort who they become, leaving everyone a little "haunted".I don't want to give too much away as part of the excitement of this book is discovering the facts from the perceptions. However, I think most people will find various aspects of this book fascinating and quite a surprise. I am always happy to find myself completely shocked when the final page is turned and I discover I had no idea what was really going on. Help for the Haunted is one of those books and I am now really excited to go read more by John Searles.

While the name of the book and the illustration on the cover might make you believe that this is a ghost story or a horror story, it is not. It is a serious and affecting look at a 14-year-old girl as she contends with her parents, whose professions are strange, and her sister who has severe emotional problems. I read the book expecting it to be a young adult novel, and while I suppose it could be called that (it is actually defined as "coming of age" by the Library of Congress), it is such a complex novel that I found myself caught up in it in a different way than I usually am in the young adult genre, reading it with more attention and compassion.Early on there is the use of the "F" word a couple of times and instances of other crude language. This dissipates as the story goes on. All of the vulgar language is uttered by the troubled older sister. The older sister's behavior, which is cruel, thoughtless and egocentric, is not glorified and is not minimized. Our protagonist is what we used to call a "goody two-shoes"-- taking on the role of the stable, sensible and truthful member of the family. She is a reliable narrator, a likable person and someone we care deeply about. The murder of her parents--which happens at the very beginning of the book--is a mystery and the young girl, in trying to understand what happened,ponders her past, thinks about her relationships, and finally, actively searches for the truth.The mother and father portray themselves to the public as Christians. They are loving parents. They go to church at times, they pray, they quote scripture just enough to make the point. The mother is certainly a true believer and she is treated by the author with respect. Although I suspect the author himself would adopt the philosophy of another character in the book: "I believe and I don't believe," there is nothing objectionable in his treatment of Christianity in the book. If you believe, it won't rock your faith; if you don't believe, it won't disturb you.This is definitely a novel for a more mature reader. The themes are complex, the narrative moves back and forth in time, and the pace is thoughtful, though at times suspenseful. I was never bored. I found it compelling, but it is not a light read. The ending was consistent with the whole tone of the novel. This is not a mystery with planted clues where you are supposed to try to figure out the ending. We are more observers, watching to see the young girl learn how she fits in the world and in whom and what she can trust.

I don't believe in ghosts, the Devil or demonic possession but I find people who do - or rather, people who make a living out of them - endlessly fascinating. Help For The Haunted by John Searles is the story of Sylvester and Rose Mason, who make their living performing exorcisms and delivering lectures on the subject, and their daughters.The elder daughter, Rose Jr, is named after her mother and the younger child, Sylvie, who narrates the story, after her father. That may give you some idea of what sort of people the Masons are: it's clear that they expect their daughters to share their beliefs and values, no matter how inflexible they might be. This hasn't necessarily been a problem for kind, studious Sylvie, but the rift between the rest of the family and Rose, whose behaviour is not only challenging but at times borders on the sociopathic, has been growing painfully by the day.One night, the errant Rose calls home late at night to arrange a desperate meeting with her parents at their former church, setting in motion a series of events which leads to their deaths before the altar.What follows is hard to categorise. There are elements of supernatural horror, of psychological thriller, of murder mystery, of family drama and of a coming-of-age novel as 14-year-old Sylvie tries to make sense not just of her parents' murders but of the strange family life they led in the years preceding them, and of her parents' dangerous and sinister work. What's real and what isn't? Who is leaving mysterious packages of food on the doorstep for Sylvie and her sister? What is the significance of the old ragdoll locked in a rabbit hutch in the basement?Sylvie is a perfect mix of resourcefulness and vulnerability, with that characteristic combination of intelligence and naivety so often seen in exceptionally bright teenagers. Torn by conflicting loyalties and neglected both by social services and by manipulative, unpredictable Rose, who at barely 19 is now her legal guardian, Sylvie is in a horribly difficult situation, and it's hard not to want to reach into the pages of the book and give her a hug. Being generally eager to please and grieving for her parents, the memory of whom she is understandably reluctant to sully with her investigations, Sylvie isn't naturally tough or feisty, which makes her quiet determination all the more admirable.John Searles also does a fine job with the character of Rose. She's callous, disruptive and spiteful, yet far from two-dimensional, and the more we learn about her the more we can understand her. The supporting characters are gratifyingly complex, particularly the Mason parents themselves, who we visit in flashback throughout the book, Sylvester's troubled brother Howie and journalist Sam Heekin, author of a controversial book about the Masons and their work. Murder suspect Albert Lynch and his 'haunted' daughter Abigail are also fascinating, if not a little a disturbing.It's the ending that stops Help For The Haunted being a five-star read for me. It's certainly gripping, and in a way, oddly satisfying, but it's also rather rushed and appears to have an irksome plot-hole (I don't know if John Searles has ever experienced an injury that entails being slumped on the floor with a leg bent out at an unnatural angle, but if he has, I'd like to see how the hell he achieved what he makes his afflicted character do next).Despite this, Help For The Haunted is a compelling, sometimes unsettling and often moving read that questions how much any of us really know about the people closest to us.

Read this book in two days.It kept me intrigued and the ending was certainly not expected.My only grouse would be the way the story kept swapping back into the past without warning and then after a number of pages returning to the present.

a really gripping read, would recommend

This was quite good.........

I absolutely loved this book. I don't really want to spoil it for anyone - but I think to me it was just pitched in the right place. It felt like the writer kind of has a good idea of what is haunting the haunted, but isnt 100% sure there might not be more to it...If you a fan of Ed and Lorraine Warren you will probably hate the book for its portrayal of them. If you are a Skeptic with a capital S, you will probably hate the book for being too gentle. I personally found it a balanced and subtle portrayal.The ending maybe a bit contrived, and may seem to come out of nowhere... but so do real endings as well I expect. The central character is also brilliantly and sympathetically drawn.