In John Saul's 1988 effort The Unloved, a man unwittingly pulls his family into his personal terrors by returning to his Southern family's estate to make peace with his dying mother and estranged sister. Vindictive and cruel in life his mother soon dies but her cruelty is far from over. This was a solid horror novel featuring juicy family secrets, palpable atmosphere, and some excellent murder set pieces. In many ways The Unloved is similar to Saul's Hellfire (1986) except he took the best elements of that prior novel and ratcheted the tension and violence even further. Saying that, the villain of the novel is very obvious. To Saul's credit though, he uses that to his advantage and jolts the reader with a surprisingly savage murder closely following the second character death. He lets you know quickly that his villain choice will not limit the violence or the kill count. 1988 Bantam Books Paperback Several influences are on display in this novel ranging from the film...