"Needful Things"

“Needful Things”
Book written by Stephen King
Review written by Diana Iozzia

Be prepared, because this review of “Needful Things” is going to be a very honest, very long, and kind of mean one. “Needful Things” by Stephen King had a lot of promise in my mind. I was really hoping to like this, because if I had to pick a favorite author, I’d pick Stephen. Can I call him Mister King? Can I call him Stephen?

The plot follows the small town of Castle Rock, the infamous Castle Rock that appears in a large percentage of his books (I can’t be bothered to look up the exact percentage). Castle Rock is famous for being a small, little strange town created by King. The characters are numerous, some have appeared in “Needful Things” when they have appeared elsewhere. For example, we are reintroduced to Alan Pangborn from “The Dark Half” and Ace Merrill from “Stand by Me”. With a book having at least 20 characters to remember, you can imagine that it might be hard to keep track of certain characters. Alan, Polly, Leland Gaunt, Brian Rust, Lettie, and a few others are most memorable, but it becomes difficult in Part Two of the book to remember many of them. Part 3 is absolutely atrocious for mentioning characters. The main ones were easy to remember, but I lost track of certain plot lines.

Mr. Leland Gaunt, a peculiar fellow, opens a shop called Needful Things. He begins selling items to townsfolk that could be an item they’ve always lusted over or an item that symbolizes their main desires. From baseball cards to fox tails to a framed picture of Elvis, they are not ordinary objects that you’d imagine people would be driven insane over. Mr. Gaunt accepts money, but he also creates an agreement with the customer to do him favors and “pranks”. These favors and pranks eventually pit the citizens of Castle Rock against each other, ensuing in crimes, violence, and different types of murder.

This was a fantastic premise, but the book could have done well with having 50 percent of its material cut. The copy I have has about 500 pages in very small print. This took me a month to struggle through. The first part was great. It set up an interesting plot, that became less interesting the less I read.

I think this book reminds me of “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”, an episode of the television show, “The Twilight Zone” where aliens pit neighbors against each other and cause havoc on one small street. Stephen King seems to “take inspiration” from many different stories, but this one felt eerily familiar.

I’m glad I read this book, because I had wanted to read it for some time. But I’m much gladder that I finished it. I could say I recommend it, but I can also say that you should steer very clear. Proceed with caution. I still can’t tell how I actually view this book, if in a positive light or negative light. I have heard that the short story “It Growns on You” in King’s book, “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” is a sort of epilogue to “Needful Things”, so perhaps I can find some closure there.

The aspects I liked:

Polly Chalmers and Alan Pangborn were great main characters.
The feud between Wilma Jerzyck and Nettie Cobb was a great storyline.
The climax and resolution.
“Answered Prayers”
Leland Gaunt’s Faustian personality.

The aspects I didn’t like:

Ace Merrill, terribly rotten in personality and plot line.
About 75 percent of the book. It was very descriptive to a fault.
Too many characters to keep track of.

The aspects I’m not sure on:

Danforth Keeton
The Rust Family

"The Woman in Cabin 10"

"The Woman In Cabin 10"
Written by Ruth Ware
Review written by Diana Iozzia



"The Woman in Cabin 10" was a good read, but in no way is this my newest favorite psychological thriller. This book starts out with a burglary for poor Lo Blacklock. As she's recovering, she's invited to cover and report upon a beautiful, glamorous cruise. This book unfolds like a game of "Clue" as if written by a writer inspired by Agatha Christie. Who was the woman pushed over the balcony into the water? Who pushed her?

There is a handful of guests upon this cruise, reporters, businessmen, and the hosts. Naturally, everyone becomes a suspect. However, all too quickly, the book becomes predictable and it is quite obvious how the book will unfold. I guessed the plot solution, before I had even finished the first half. I'm not sure if that is how Ruth Ware would like it to be, but I am not one to enjoy a book with a surprise twist that twists only half way into the book. The last half was the solution to the problem and the twist, but it was a poor solution. It felt very similar to an episode of Law and Order, where you know who the villain(s) are, and then you can predict how the villains will be stopped. It felt very procedural, and I was not as pleased as I was when I read Ware's first novel, "In a Dark, Dark Wood".

As I mentioned, this plays out like an Agatha Christie rip, and it wasn't too pleasing. I like the setting of a cruise, but hardly any of the glamor is there. Practically the entire time, Lo is drunk or hungover or tired or nervous or uncomfortable. Or she's flirting with her ex, and then fighting with her ex. This feels very soap opera like to me.

In conclusion, I liked the book, but I equally disliked it.

* I purchased my own copy of this book. *

"Woman No. 17"

“Woman No. 17”

Written by Edan Lepucki

Review written by Diana Iozzia

          In the beginning of “Woman No. 17”, I found myself developing a serious love-hate relationship with this book. As I continued on, it mainly became the latter. This book screamed at me: “mysterious, sexy, sinister, noir”, but I was left with “whiny, alcoholic, sad, and slightly pathetic”, but this wasn’t a good thing. Sometimes, when I read books that claim to be all of the things this book does, I can be pleasantly surprised when the book turns out to be different and better than the description. For example, “The Roanoke Girls” by Amy Engel was very similar to the good side of what you weren’t expecting.

          This reminds me of a Sunset Boulevard pathetic vibe, but mixed with a “these people need to grow up and stop acting like 15 year olds” 90210 vibe. We read about S (Esther) an artist who becomes a nanny for a divorced mother who only likes one of her children. Imagine how creepy and sinister this could be? Nope. S and Lady are 22 and 40 respectively, but they act like thirteen year olds. They drink excessively and don’t properly take care of the child. Lady’s older son is mute and has a sexual relationship with S, the nanny, which is a borderline-interesting relationship at best.

          Lady struggles to understand her feelings after her divorce. I think the most interesting thing about this book is that Lady and S mirror each other well. I think this is a summer, read-in-your-beach-chair novel at best. This is in no way as dramatic and sinister and interesting as I had hoped it would be. This was a serious let-down, unfortunately.

          I received this book as a complementary reader’s copy from Blogging For Books.

"Long Black Veil"

“Long Black Veil”

Written by Jennifer Finney

Review written by Diana Iozzia

                I was thoroughly disappointed with the book, “Long Black Veil”. I had received this as a complementary advanced reader’s copy, and I was very hopeful based on the description. The book blurb tells that this fictional story is about a group of friends who had broken into the Eastern State Penitentiary. However, one of them didn’t make it out alive. Then, years later, a mysterious woman named Judith finds her way into this murder investigation.

            This sounded like an interesting murder mystery/thriller. I admit: the first chapter of this book is very intriguing. The first paragraph hook is fantastic, really setting up the scene for the beginning of the book. There are many characters introduced very quickly, and it becomes very confusing to keep track of these characters.

            This book becomes more about the woman, Judith, who has a connection to these friends that is later revealed. In addition, you find the answer to the mystery half-way through the book! This doesn’t create a thrilling conclusion, it just ruins the surprise. It’s not even that a great surprise, who killed the victim and why. Just bland.

            I enjoyed the creepy and eerie chapters where the characters are walking around the Penitentiary. The characters had done this in the eighties, and the murder investigation kicks off in the 2013-2015 range. I had visited these penitentiary ruins last summer, so it was great to read a book about the place, but it was hardly about the prison. The main story is the murder investigation, but it hardly feels like that. It’s basically just Judith’s past and present story and how it relates to everyone else. (Spoiler: it’s not that interesting a connection.) I found myself often skimming this, because I just wasn't that interested.

            The positive points are: LGBT friendly, lots of suspense in the prison exploration, some twists and turns, and the characters Maisie and Rachel.