All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By (edit title/settings)

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Liked It Rated 4 stars “A very good book, set around the early 1940's, about an old Southern family that may be cursed. There's lots of talk of voodoo and snakes, rituals, mutilations, murder and sex. It all makes for a very suspenseful book that's downright frightening at times. The book starts off a bit slow but picks...” see full review » see other reviews »

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  0 of 1 members found this review helpful

  • Rated 3 stars

  “Unfortunately this book did not live up to my expectations. The first 50 or so pages were pretty good, then I had to slog through the next 300 to get to the somewhat exciting 15 page conclusion. This probably would have worked much better as a short story or, at most, a short novella. Instead I got way too much character background for people that weren't even instrumental to the story in the first place.
  Basically, the plot revolves around a doctor, Jackson, who is thrown into a dicey situation wharn he helps out Champ, who is a member of a family that is rich and well-respected. An earlier ancestor of Champ did some explorations of the jungles of Africa and came back with a nasty case of voodoo enchantment or some such thing that coincidentally, doesn't cause a major problem for 75 years - until Jackson arrives on the scene.
  Overall, now that I've digested the story, it wasn't all bad, it just took way too long to get the idea of the story across (and as I stated above: way too much superfluous information. The other major problem: this is suposedly a novel of terror - where? There are only two scenes of violence and or crazy stuff going on, and those scenes were quite tame. I can't really say I would recommend this book except to fans of Farris or of voodoo.”

  Brad B wrote this review Sunday, October 18, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
  
  • Rated 3 stars

  “I like this story, not just because it's well-written, but because it's so deuced odd. I mean, imagine if you found out the woman next to you on the bus was an African goddess.”

  Eileen M wrote this review Tuesday, July 21, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
  
  • Rated 4 stars

  “A very good book, set around the early 1940's, about an old Southern family that may be cursed. There's lots of talk of voodoo and snakes, rituals, mutilations, murder and sex. It all makes for a very suspenseful book that's downright frightening at times. The book starts off a bit slow but picks up once Champ Bradwin, one of three sons of the Bradwin family, attends his brother Clipper's wedding. What happens at the wedding to a church full of guests is one of the most horrific scenes in the book. And it only gets better from there.
  
  Up until quite recently I hadn't even been aware of the author John Farris. It was only until I read the book "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn that I found out about Farris. Stephen King had written a blurb on the back of "Sharp Objects" and mentioned this John Farris book; he said something like the family featured in "Sharp Objects" was the strangest since the one in "All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By". Of course that intrigued me and I had to immediately read this book. And you know what? Stephen King was right. The Bradwins are strange. They're creepy. And they'll keep you reading until the very last page. This is one book that every horror fan should read. "All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By" is out of print right now but there are used copies out there. Do yourself a favor and get this one. You won't be disappointed.”

  Bookworm wrote this review Friday, May 29, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No