REVIEWS OF 'A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS':
5.0 out of 5 stars BOOKS LIKE THIS MAKE ME WANT TO READ NOTHING BUT "INDIE" ALL THE TIME!, November 21, 2014
By
TruthBTold - See all my reviews
This review is from: A House Without Windows (Kindle Edition)
I must take a deep breath before I begin this review. I will share with you why, I must take this pause. Only a couple of days ago I finished reading another book (see below, 11/20/14) and it was awesome. Straight off the heels of that read, I pick this one up and I didn't put it down until I'd completed the ENTIRE read! This book, A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS, has been on my TBR list for a very long time. Now, I have to honestly say, I hate it took me so long to get to it. Authors come to me for reviews because they KNOW that they will get only honest ones. That's evident, because every book you see sitting in my que, does not make it onto this page. Some don't even make it onto Amazon, as the review I might give, would hurt them so much more than me not posting a review at all. So, I don't know what you've heard before, but let me tell you the "truth" about A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS.
When I began this read, the first thought that came to mind was the Ariel Castro kidnappings. As I watched that horrid story unfold back in early 2013, I felt the same tightening in my chest with every page turned in this book. It was unreal! Why? Because this story about a kidnapped young woman and her daughter who were held hostage for almost a decade, in a tiny room without any windows or sight of the outside world, was beautifully crafted and so well-told. While driving, I found myself "still" thinking about this book, wondering how a writer could tell such a tale, in the most marvelous of ways, without having experienced the actual pain. Readers have asked me the same question about my own novel, Daydream's Daughter, Nightmare's Friend, wondering if any of it were true. As my novel is all fiction, and if this one is all fiction, too, Stevie Turner is a writer for the ages! To be able to create a story of this magnitude, the author has to be extremely gifted and talented! This author is! Someone asked me to tell them what I found wrong with the book, if anything. Well, I did come across a couple of punctuation hiccups that were so small, I don't feel the need to share it while raving about this FAN-TABULOUS BOOK! And RAVING about it, is what I plan to do for a very long time! RRBC members often email me and ask "Nonnie, what's a good book to read?" I always respond with "Any that are sitting on NONNIE'S "RAVE" REVIEWS page." Isn't that where this one is sitting? Well, I guess you better go get the book so you can RAVE about it yourself! Books like this make me want to read nothing but INDIE books all the time! Kudos to the author!
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Empathetic and heartfelt, recommended most highly, 2 Dec 2014
By
*****
This review is from: A House Without Windows (Kindle Edition)
Topical given the high profile cases of women kidnapped and kept in homestead dungeons in recent years (and sometimes even forced to raise families with their tormentors), A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS is an empathetic and heartfelt character study. It would have been easy to stay *just* within the "present" and make this a Hollywoodised "race against time"-type plot, but Turner avoids this expected route with panache. Instead, told via first and third person accounts, via diary entries, letters and emails, A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS is to me first and foremost a love story: one in which the characters are faced with unimaginable horrors, yet faith in themselves and in one another gets them through. Even better, none of these horrors are salacious or nasty, but matter of fact, keeping them realistic and not sensational. Even antagonist Edwin's motivations are understandable, if not condoned and an impressive resolution reminds us that even people whose actions are simply vile, are still people. I read this book all in one go and recommend it most highly.
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A House Without Windows by Stevie Turner March 29, 2014
- Print Length: 222 pages
- Publisher: Stevie Turner; 2nd edition (February 20, 2014)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00HUH6R7Q
Read and reviewed by Evil Witch
How would you like to be a happy engaged woman one moment and a prisoner of someone the next? Would you like to be a young pregnant doctor who hasn’t even told her fiancee that she is pregnant, suddenly prisoner in a basement with no windows? I know I wouldn’t.
However, if you like mystery this book is for you. Imagine having to give birth in a basement with no one to help you. Imagine having to protect your child from your captor and to do this you had to do unimaginable things.
There is no way to tell you all that happens in this story without giving too much away. I can only say READ THIS NOW. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED .
6 out of 5 stars
A+
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5.0 out of 5 stars Complexity Crafted Beautifully 4 April 2014
By No Labels
Format:Kindle Edition
The color scheme of the book cover was done wonderfully. The light bulb was a symbol of the torment Beth and Amy went through and the blend of the illumination and the shade of green gave it a creepy ambiance. Simple yet very effective.
This book could have easily been divided into a series based on the varying conflicts in the book and the character dynamics. However, the author opted to divide this into different parts. For me, the different parts told by different characters in the story really helped me to connect with them and explore each one's dichotomy.
My favorite character was youthful Amy. She was smart, candid, and very brave. Quite a few moments I was in tears and cheered for her to have a wonderful outcome. My feelings for Liam and Joss were conflicted but their flaws made them highly realistic. I love this author's flair for giving her characters complexity and her ability to have your emotions ride a variety of waves: encouragement, anger, despair--the whole gambit!
The author also took her time with describing various locations. I felt like I was learning geography and going on a vacation at the same time. The balance between dialogue, conflict, humor, and narrative was sharp and did not miss a beat. Pace never became sluggish during times of back story and that can be tricky with a work that deals with so much emotional, physical, and psychological topics.
I first started reading Stevie's work with The Porn Detective and continued on with The Pilates Class. Stevie has continued to impress. Just when you think she is at her peak, a "you haven't seen anything yet" moment arises.
This is what A House Without Windows is for me. It has solidified this author as a permanent mainstay in my collection--both electronically and hopefully at some point, in paper form.
I highly recommend this fine work.
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Review by: Arlena Dean on July 10, 2014 :
Title: A House Without Windows
Author: Stevie Turner
Publisher: S.T.
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4
Review:
What I got from the read....
Wow, this was really some read that this author presented involving some many characters with such
a story that in the end was well blended together giving the reader a well written read. It is my understanding that there was a real story taken from events that had happened in Lambeth London dealing with three women that had been held captive for thirty some years. This author in his novel "A House Without Windows" really did some research to give the readers a inside version of what happened to Dr. Beth Nichols, her daughter and son, Joss, her former boyfriend Liam and Edwin Evans. Be prepared for a read that is full of complexed emotions, physical and psychological issues as this author details a little of it all. "A House Without Windows" will be hard to put down once you start reading it because it will keep your attention from the start to the finish. I don't want to give any of this story away other than to say pick up this good read to see how this author brings this story line all out. Believe me, it will be some read. If you a in for a good drama, thriller, and mystery then I would recommend this novel to you.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)
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Excellent Read May 5, 2014
By KatieB
Format:Kindle Edition
This was the first book I've read by this author and I can't wait to read others. Fast read. Couldn't put it down. Made me think about the horror those three girls in Ohio must have endured.
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Cleverly written study of a complex issue 31 Mar 2014
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Stevie Turner follows up The Porn Detective and The Pilates Class with a study of lives affected by abduction. When Dr Beth Nichols is released from a basement after ten years of captivity she and her children are not the only ones forced to reassess 'life on the outside' as they adjust to freedom.
The story is told from the point of view of a number of characters, but rather than create a tangled plot of interweaving stories Stevie Turner breaks the book up into a separate section for each character, allowing the various personal experiences to be told in a concise and direct way. Lives and characters cross and intermingle, with the climax of the story bringing together every strand and storyline.
Based on the events surrounding a real life case in Lambeth, London, in which three women were held captive for thirty years, A House Without Windows presents some harrowing details early on when Beth and her daughter Amy are still imprisoned. The novel allows time to explore the various emotional reactions, from Beth's former boyfriend Liam, to her son Joss, and even those of the original captor Edwin Evans.
The subject matter is a potential minefield if handled badly, but A House Without Windows avoids cliche and melodrama to deliver a story of devotion overcoming obsession.
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Terrific, 27 Sep 2014
*****
By
Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: A House Without Windows (Kindle Edition)
As a crime writer myself, I found this novel absolutely terrific. It has everything a crime lover would want from a mystery story: a strong main character, twist and turns and detective elements.
I'm not surprised that it's been awarded by Readers Favorite.
5 well deserved stars. Do check it out folks.
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Wonderful and thought-provoking, 21 Sep 2014
*****
By
This review is from: A House Without Windows (Kindle Edition)
I was given a free copy of this book for an honest review and I must admit I felt privileged to read this novel.
House Without Windows is a very original work, based on real cases of abduction, I suppose. Told from multiple points of view - from Beth herself, through her children to even the abductor himself - this novel made an amazingly rich read that was very difficult to put down. The characters were complex, imperfect, realistic. The scenery - wonderfully real. The psychological issues it faced were brave, with no cliches or unnecessary melodrama. Highly recommended.
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One of the best, 30 Sep 2014
*****
By
This review is from: A House Without Windows (Kindle Edition)
Excellently written story that has you gripped from the first chapter. Brilliant. One you can't put down.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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The Mundane Made Significant April 4th 2015
*****
By
Michael James Gallagher
Stevie Turner's writing sparkles in A House Without Windows. The author succeeds at smothering the shocking story of years-long kidnap in prose that takes the reader gently into the maelstrom of mental illness and leads the reader to the reality of a bright young woman's nightmare experience. Ordinarily this type of story would frighten me, but Turner deadens the shock with the mundane. Often seen through the eyes of a child born in the cellar prison, who knows no other experience and must live life vicariously through descriptions in a single book, the strength of the kidnapped woman takes center stage not the sordidness of her years-long ordeal.
Masterfully written with an unexpectedly positive tone, especially considering the scenario presented, the author adds cultural nuance using right-on-the-mark language and expressions in the mouths of children on both sides of the 'big pond'. Having lived in both the UK and Canada, this reader can attest to the author's careful attention to detail. The 'Beaches' in Toronto feels and looks as real as the train station in Croydon. Remarkable tension builds in the ordinary if being imprisoned in a cellar could be by any stretch of the imagination considered mundane. Suspense, carefully stitched into the plausible reactions of a son wanting to meet his estranged father despite the fact that the older man is suffering from delusions in a mental institution, carries the reader forward with trepidation to an unexpected ending.
A House Without Windows goes one layer deeper though. Not only a human drama, the story displays the underside of a penal system infatuated by its own good intentions. Despite frightening his parole 'cum' social worker with empty cold eyes above smiling lips, the kidnapper wheedles his way back on the street again and bides his time to strike again. Remarkably, this social realism doesn't bog down a beautifully crafted story, instead the reader is left to judge or not on his own. In the same way that English character triumphed over Hitler, Stevie Turner enlivens and celebrates the strength of the human spirit particularly in the person of the protagonist but all of her people ring true.
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Spellbinding! May 14th 2015
*****
By
Shirley Harris Slaughter
At first I didn't know what to expect with the title but the way Stevie Turner writes allowed me to ease into the horror gently. I felt as if I had woke up into a dark room without knowing where I was. The writer brought me right into the story and I felt like it was me being imprisoned. A good writer can make you feel like you are in the story. I was held hostage all the way through. And so I was happy to learn that everything turned out for the best while getting into the mind of a mad man. Stevie you did a superb job with this one. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to it. Fantastic Job!
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Jesper's review
Jul 11, 15
5 of 5 stars
Read in July, 2015
A fantastic read, and well worth picking up.
It's not super long, but the events - especially early on - take quite a while to get through, because you can spend hours reflecting on each page, simply because the situation is so mindboggling. Especially the girl Amy's perspective is truly a story of Plato's thought-experiment with the men in the cave. It just makes your mind reel when you start thinking about her perception of reality and the world itself.
Quite happy that I stumbled across this gem, I must say.
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A must read!, August 11, 2015
5 of 5 stars
By
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This review is from: A House Without Windows (Paperback)
It was hard to put down!! I usually like to casually read my books throughout the day- a chapter here, a couple of pages there. I finished this in less than 24 hours. I couldn't put it down! Good story, full of heartache and happiness, and well written. I will definitely have to read another Stevie Turner book in the future!
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Great read!, 12 Aug. 2015
5 of 5 stars
By
Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: A House Without Windows (Kindle Edition)
The first half of this book when Beth is kidnapped and help prisoner for 8 years is very cleverly written and the inclusion of the references to Enid Blyton's writing was very imaginative. Once I started reading I couldn't put the book down and you really feel the emotions of Beth and her daughter, held prisoner in a small room with no help of escape. I loved the descriptions of Beth's daily life and how she tried to educate and bring up a child in impossible circumstances.
The second half of the book jumps to the future and to avoid spoilers I will just say it is a great read. The characters, especially the evil kidnapper are very vivid and realistic.
All in all, a well written and suspenseful story that grips you from the first few pages.
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Review by Teodora Totorean for Readers' Favorite (Gold award winner)
5 of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading A House without Windows from different perspectives as Turner captures perfectly the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters. Amy’s perspective is heart breaking as the captivity is the only reality that she knew at her age. The book keeps readers interested throughout and, as the perspectives change, you want to know more about each character and how the story will come together in the end. The book has all the ingredients of a good read: positive characters, a villain, suspense, authentic dialogues and a narrative style that keeps readers interested to the very end.