Chasing the Dead

Starred review from August 14, 2006
Abandon hope, all readers who enter Schreiber's taut, scary debut: you're not going anywhere until you devour every one of its tension-filled pages. Sue Young, a 34-year-old single mom living in Boston, gets a phone call from a man who informs her he's kidnapped her infant daughter, Veda, and chastises her for an ancient crime she committed with her childhood friend and mysteriously missing ex-husband, Philip Chamberlain. The creepy, psycho kidnapper soon subjects Sue to an agenda that includes grave robbing, child killing, shotgun murders, zombies and various other assorted undead. Sue, an ex-ambulance driver, is tough, smart and determined to rescue her daughter. With its rural New England setting, this horror-fest pays respectful, clever homage to Stephen King's backyard. The author adds his own fresh supernatural twists to what starts out as a conventional suspense thriller. Readers will anxiously await his next outing.

October 15, 2006
From 6:18 p.m. on December 21 to 8:29 a.m. on December 22, single mother Sue Young is forced by an unknown caller to travel through stormy weather and follow specific orders if she wants to get her abducted baby daughter back. Her estranged husband always said, [T]he past is never done with you, not in any substantial way, and she learns firsthand that he was right. Her travels through the sleepy small towns of Massachusetts involve a garbage bag with unsavory contents, corpses, zombies with shot-out eyes, and serial killers from the past. This fast-paced novel tips its hat to Stephen King and is filled with both human and supernatural terror. Schreiber packs a lot of horror into 200 pages, and while the writing is sometimes more choppy than suspenseful, this noteworthy debut is recommended for all public libraries."Samantha J. Gust, Niagara Univ. Lib., NY"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 29, 2007
Raudman delivers a bravura performance of Schreiber's excruciatingly suspenseful first novel. Set over the course of one horrific night, the book chronicles the trials of Susan Young, a wealthy divorcée, who receives a call from a mysterious stranger, informing her that he has abducted her one-year-old daughter and will kill her unless Susan does exactly what he wants. But this is far from a simple kidnapping; the detailed instructions given to Susan takes her deep into a horrific realm of murder, grave robbing, mutilated corpses and zombies, all controlled by the malevolent, uncompromising voice on the other end of Susan's cellphone. Raudman's smooth, intimate narration pulls the listener into this supernatural thriller with ease and consequently heightens the horrific incidents that pile onto Susan. The skillful narration is matched by individual character interpretation—each is given a distinctive voice and relayed with a natural, realistic delivery. This is most effective during the creepy cellphone conversations between Susan and her twisted tormentor. Not a story for the faint of heart. Simultaneous release with the Ballantine hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 14).