ISBN: 0451212800
Pub. Date: September 2004
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 400pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
The Resort is one creepy read, if you are into haunted houses that is. This horror story begins when the Thurman family checked into the exclusive resort - The Reata, which is located in the isolated Arizona desert; nonetheless this resort is often patronized by the rich. Lowell Thurman chosen this resort is because he wants to get away from meeting his old friends for an after school reunion. It appears most of his friends all hold a better career than him and he hates being compared with. Another thing is the resort offers discounted off-season rates in the summertime that they can't turn it down. So they booked a five-night stay at the resort, thinking they will have the perfect vacation in their life.
Their nightmares first begin when they found a strange intruder occupying one of their rooms. They managed to get their rooms changed, but then more strange things followed thereafter. Lowell's wife, Rachel thinks she sees an evil face in the clouds. Their three teenaged sons (Owen, Curtis and Ryan) think they see a dead body at the outdoor pool although they convinced themselves it is only the shadow that is playing tricks on their eyes. And Lowell feels a hand grabbing him when he is swimming at the indoor pool. But what most puzzling is the resort's activities coordinator 'coaxing' them into joining various sports games and he seems not to take no for an answer, claiming that it is a great way for their guests to break the ice and have some fun while getting to know one another.
When David (a boy whom the three sons befriended at the resort) told them he had caught his parents engaging in a bizarre game with some other guests (i.e. the wives being tied onto a post while their husbands hit them with a golf ball), they feel something isn't quite right. And this further adds in to their suspicions when they stumble upon an abandoned ruined resort not faraway later.
I could easily visualize this as a great horror movie material (however, I would rate this a 'PG' since there is a mild sexual element and a few gross scenes in the story). I cringe and find it a little disturbing when I read the parts whereby the guests engaged in sexual games as their minds are being taken over by the evil. Nevertheless, The Resort is highly entertaining and there are times I feel like I am taking a roller coaster ride.
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By your review, sound like this one was a bit of challenge to read. Even though as you said, it was highly entertaining :)
Great review, can't wait to read your review for The Road
This sounds like it was the perfect choice for R.I.P. II, Melody!
Thanks, Julia and Debi! :)
From your description, PG might be a little too low of a rating. Haha
LOL! Perhaps... ;P
Sounds scary and I'm not a big fan of horror! Creeeeepy... LOL.
I haven't read the Resort but have several of his others. The Revelation is particularly creepy, and House is ultra disturbing in a sick, twisted way. Some of his are hit and miss, it all depends. I need to look this one up sometime.
Hey Alice! No wonder I didn't see any horror books on your to-buy list, hehe.
Hey Erin! This is the first book I read by Bentley Little. Thanks for your recommendation, I'll have to look up his other books as well. :)