books:

	Bless the Child Cathy Cash Spellman Pocket, 2000 - 608 pages average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

AN INNOCENT CHILD IN MORTAL DANGER.
AN AGE-OLD BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.

Praised for creating fiction that "will keep you turning pages night after night" (The Dallas Morning News), bestselling author Cathy Cash Spellman imagines a terrifying realm of devilish menace in a novel that will touch your heart -- and chill you to the bone.

Vibrant, youthful, and a grandmother at forty-two, Maggie O'Connor has lovingly raised her drug-addicted daughter's child ever since the newborn appeared on her doorstep three years ago. But when little Cody is kidnapped and sequestered inside a satanic cult, Maggie's world is shattered by unimaginable evil. Drawing strength from the bond she shares with her granddaughter, Maggie vows to fight anyone and everyone who dares to claim this child for themselves.

Even the Devil.

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Truely a Great Read

One of the best books I have ever read, from a seriously talented author.
I couldn't put it down.
True the movie was utterly dreadful, but the book came first and the two are worlds apart. So if your a fantasy fan looking for an unforgetable page turner get this one you won't be sorry.


Wow, what an imagination!!

When Maggie O'Connor's drug-addicted daughter, Jenna, abandons her ten-day-old baby, Cody, in the comforting arms of Maggie; Maggie - being the good-hearted person that she is - lovingly accepts and manages to care for the infant girl, with the help of her housekeeper, Maria. Over the years, it is Cody's laughter that touches Maggie's heart; it's Cody's innocence that embraces her soul . . .it is Cody just being Cody that imprisons the very fiber of her being - but, sadly, all that comes to a shattering halt when Jenna and her 'darling' of a husband, Eric, 'kidnaps' Cody!

Poor Cody, why is she being physically abused? Poor Cody, why is she subjected to the agonizing sounds of the "screamers"? Poor Cody, why is she being forced, by the witch of a lady named Ghania, to watch animals undergo fits as they are killed? Poor Cody, why is Ghania frightening her with Malikali, a massive and very intimidating python, when she knows Cody is terrified of it? Cody doesn't know it yet, but she is a very, very special little girl - it's just a pity that she's held captive by her new family, who happens to be satanists.

According to the Ancient Egyptian prophecy, there is a battle to be fought, and as the satanists prepare for this Ultimate war between Good and Evil, so does Maggie. Painstakingly, she manages to scrap a few allies (who help her grow spiritually), including Mr. Wong, Maggie's martial arts teacher and a wise man; Peter, an open-minded priest who has performed exorcisms before (yippey!) and then theres, my favourite, Ellie, an informative witch who practises white magic.

Soon enough, the time will come when all preparations shall be put into practice . . .and, yes, it's going to be a tough fight.

I'll be the first to admit that I found the size of the book very intimidating, but Mrs. Spellman's story-telling is amazing. Size doesn't matter. It's the way you rock the boat that counts, and Mrs. Spellman does more than rock the boat - she bloody tips it over!!!! Bless the Child kept me up many nights - and early mornings, come to think of it. It also has one of the best endings I've come across to date. Read it, you'll see why.

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AVOID the horrible movie -- read the book!

"Bless the Child" is a pulp novel, but a classy one, and it kept me engaged to the very end. Even the truly absurd plot elements are believable due to Spellman's deft prose and her occasional sly one-liners ("Nicholas Sayles was almost beautiful, if you didn't take his soul into account"). She also has a true gift for writing vivid, believable characters, evil as well as good, and the banter she writes between buddy cops Devlin and Garibaldi is delightful.

Where Spellman falls short is in the rather dull, even annoying protagonist, Maggie O'Connor. I found myself not caring all that much about her, and wanting to skip over her parts to get to the other stuff. The book's main villain, Eric Vannier, is also fairly dull, at least until the end, when he comes alive. Spellman has a tendency to drop plot and character points, both minor (Ghania is introduced as speaking perfectly good English, but then inexplicably speaks broken English to Cody in a subsequent scene, only to go back to perfectly good English for the rest of the book) and not so minor (Sayles's death is not shown on-page). I must say that the sex scenes, which strive to be loving and sensual, are unintentionally funny, and if Spellman intended for ageing southern belle Amanda's use of the racist term "darkie" to be cute and colloquial...well, it isn't.

However, this is a most enjoyable yarn, one I've read several times. The movie based (loosely) upon it is absolutely dreadful; I advise readers to skip it completely and stick with the book.

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Great book!

Spellman obviously did her research before she wrote this book. I enjoyed her well-crafted story permeated with Christian mysticism, Egyptology, black magic, rituals, and more. It took a little determination to get started, though. The first couple of chapters had me thinking it was going to be a "chick book." After I warmed to the story, though, it was tough to put down.


reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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