Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
A Guide for Murdered Children
A Guide for Murdered Children: A Novel | Sarah Sparrow
16 posts | 11 read | 27 to read
"In her astonishing thriller, Sarah Sparrow has joined the ranks of Shirley Jackson and Stephen King. A warning: there is no safe place to read this book." David Cronenberg Terrifying, thoroughly original and hauntingly written, A Guide for Murdered Children is a psychological thrillerand otherworldly surprise. Weve heard it said that there is no justice in this world. But what if there really was? What if the souls of murdered children were able to briefly return, inhabit adult bodies and wreak revenge on the monstrous killers who stole their lives? Such is the unthinkable mystery confronting ex-NYPD detective Willow Wylde, fresh out of rehab and finally able to find a job running a Cold Case squad in suburban Detroit. When the two rookie cops assigned to him take an obsessive interest in a decades-old disappearance of a brother and sister, Willow begins to suspect something out of the ordinary is afoot. And when he uncovers a series of church basement AA-type meetings made up of the slain innocents, a new way of looking at life, death, murderand missed opportunitiesis revealed to him. Mystical, harrowing and powerfully moving, A Guide for Murdered Children is a genre-busting, mind-bending twist on the fine line between the ordinary and the unfathomable.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
starlight97
post image
Pickpick

Don't let the cover dissuade you (I think it's awful). This is a book with a very unique and interesting premise. The author tangles and untangles the story lines masterfully, with a great twist at the end.

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Deifio Title and cover don't match at all! Very confusing! 5y
starlight97 @Deifio right?! 5y
30 likes2 stack adds2 comments
blurb
starlight97
post image

The best combination 🍺📖

Tagged book is really interesting. Murdered children's souls travel into an adult's body who just died (say, of heart attack) and the two souls in the same body try to find the child's killer and serve justice. Mind blown 💥

LiteraryinPA What a crazy premise! Would you say it‘s really terrifying? I don‘t do well with horror but love suspense/thriller/mystery books. (edited) 5y
Catherine_Willoughby Brought some beer to relax with a book tonight . Non alcoholic , forgot to read the label when I did my online shopping 🤦‍♀️. 5y
ju.ca.no Sounds intriguing! Yay for the combination🍻 5y
See All 10 Comments
starlight97 @LiteraryinLititz no, I wouldn't say it's terrifying! It's a bit weird, but so far I wouldn't say it's horror 🙂 5y
starlight97 @Catherine_Willoughby dang 😆 that's just not the same 😃 5y
starlight97 @ju.ca.no 😄🍻 5y
BookwormM Wow sounds amazing stacked 5y
starlight97 @BookwormM ☺️👍 5y
Crazeedi Thank you for card! Be writing asap! 💕💕 5y
starlight97 @Crazeedi I'm glad it arrived! ☺️💕 5y
37 likes5 stack adds10 comments
review
Laru79
Pickpick

It took me a while to wrap my head around this, but luckily it wasn‘t as scary as I had anticipated. I really liked the revenge concept, which reflects badly on me, but if I was murdered I would want to come back!! It was sad to see the deputies go, but a really interesting kind of story! I‘d have a go at her next book if she writes more!!

blurb
Laru79
post image

Reserved this book at the library ages ago and am now getting the time to read it. But... just reread the inside jacket to see it‘s going to be super scary. I‘m a pretty big wuss, so will have to see how I get on, and whether I need to sleep with the lights on!!

31 likes3 stack adds
blurb
Clwojick
post image

Book one for #Screamathon

I don‘t know much about this, but thought it looked intriguing. @4thhouseontheleft

alisiakae I have so many questions about that title... 🤔🧐 6y
Ddzmini 😮😨😰 6y
BookNerd9906 Definitely let us know how it is. 6y
66 likes2 stack adds4 comments
review
Bookish.SAM
post image
Pickpick

I liked it... the premise was definitely unique... but I was expecting a little more. When the blurb compares it to Stephen King and Shirley Jackson, expectations are pretty high

tpixie What a title!! 6y
Bookish.SAM Right @tpixie ?!? How could I resist? And the bubble gum pink cover with a glittery unicorn... the combo was too fun 😄 6y
tpixie 🦄💕🦄 6y
61 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
Bookish.SAM
post image

#booksandbooze and my favourite reading buddy 😍 relaxing at the cottage.

Only about 1/2 way into this book... still curious, waiting for the sh*t to hit the fan.

blurb
MidnightBookGirl
post image

Anyone else get a thrill when they see their name in a book? My first name is pretty popular these days, but seeing my maiden name (especially spelled the same) is always a cool surprise. My married name is super uncommon, so I'd be shocked to find it!

PenguinInFlight I‘m always super excited. My first name isn‘t super common, but I have seen it in a few books. Bev was actually a character in The Sun is Also A Star, which was surprising to me. And Bev in IT. Those are the only two I‘ve found so far, but that Stephen King used my name really thrilled me! ☺️😂 6y
knittedgnome I almost never see my name, Tera, because it is spelled odd. Actually I have never met someone IRL with my name the same! 6y
MidnightBookGirl @PenguinInFlight Bev is a great name and Bev from It is one of my all time favorite characters. King also used my maiden name for Lily's last name in the Talisman books. 🎈 @knittedgnome Love the way your name us spelled, even if you're unlikely to find your name on gift shop souvenirs. 6y
TheEldritchProfessor The Scottish TV series “Shetland” had a villain in season 3 who had my surname. As someone with tons of Scottish ancestry but whose name never shows up on Scottish kitsch (tartans, coats of arms), I felt SO VALIDATED. Have never been so proud to have a crime boss share my name! 6y
Clare-Dragonfly Hmm, I think I‘ve read books with different spellings of my first name, and I‘ve definitely read books with different spellings of my nickname (not Clare), but I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen a book character with my name spelled correctly! It‘s always fun to see characters with my maiden or married last name, but they‘re so common that it‘s rarely important characters. 6y
47 likes5 comments
blurb
MidnightBookGirl
post image

Starting this book and it promises to be bizzare!

Crystalblu I am very curious about this one keep us posted! 6y
56 likes5 stack adds1 comment
blurb
Asktheletters
post image

The positives: really interesting world building. The negatives: Combining magical whimsy with brutal descriptions of murdered children and violent sexual assault isn‘t working for me. At all. Having now reached the point where the protagonist just fantasised about his ex-wife because of her ability to orgasm easily, I no longer care whether this is meant ironically or not. I almost never bail on a book, but I‘m getting damn close...

Kaye Yuk. I would‘ve bailed on this from page one. I admire those of you that can keep on reading something you‘re not enjoying. 7y
Asktheletters Stories that are dark or violent don‘t typically bother me, and this one was original enough to keep me reading. But yeah, I‘m now at the point of 😖 7y
7 likes2 comments
review
amb
post image
Pickpick

The author of this book has an amazing imagination. Sure it's dark and twisty, but it had my rapt attention throughout. A support group for murdered children inhabiting the bodies of the recently deceased in order to find justice by killing the one who killed them. That's not a spoiler, it's the plot full of mysteries, and interesting characters and heartbreak. Most unique thing I've read in awhile.

4 likes1 stack add
blurb
Matilda
post image

New round of #inmyears

review
Tera66
post image
Panpan

Dark, dark, dark. I knew the subject of this book wouldn't be pleasant. But I guess I wasn't up for how unpleasant. And it was really confusing at first. I did read a galley, final product may be better.

4 likes1 stack add
blurb
Matilda
post image
doves154 What a delicious looking pizza! 7y
Matilda @doves154 first time making pizza crust with almond flour and it did turn out really delicious. 7y
46 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
rachelsbrittain
post image
Pickpick

This one had a rough beginning that I struggled to get through, but once it sorted itself out I really enjoyed it. Very dark--obviously, it's about murdered children coming back to find retribution for their deaths--but also very interesting,& the story definitely pulls you in once it gets going. Good for fans of thrillers & crime dramas, especially if you like a speculative twist.

Almost a so-so bc of the rough beginning, but ultimately a pick.

Tera66 I agree about the beginning, maybe they will sort that out before the book release. It was super creepy! 7y
18 likes2 stack adds2 comments
blurb
rachelsbrittain
post image

Working my way through several ARCs at the moment and trying to get caught up. This one started a bit slow and confusing, but I'm starting to get into it now

kate_reads I really liked this! Def takes a while to get into but I thought it was super interesting 7y
rachelsbrittain @katekrug I'm really glad to hear that! I think I'm finally past the slow beginning and starting to get invested, but I was worried at the start 7y
13 likes2 comments