I have read a few John Saul's in the past but this one was a bit different, it went deeper into the psyche of the characters he created making their grief and pain so much more realistic. The parallel travails of two girls, separated by a century in time makes for some very riveting reading. Michelle herself has 'foggy vision' when she is with 'Amanda.' She claims to have met the original Amanda who died in 1880 and that she and the dead child share the doll named after her.īut was Amanda real? Was a blood stain really in the potter's shed on Michelle's property? If so, whose blood is it? Who left the mysterious sketches? Was Amanda really dead or had she somehow been reanimated? Was Michelle imagining things? Several younger children with whom Michelle has made friends die in bizarre accidents. She names the doll Amanda and suddenly.Amanda's fury grows. Despondent, Michelle turns her affection to a mysterious doll she finds in a closet. Cal rebuffs her and no longer has anything to do with Michelle. Michelle, like Amanda is injured in a fall from a cliff. Things change for the worse for her when June gives birth to Jennifer and stories about Amanda and her shadowy history crop up. Michelle initially makes friends quickly with the local children and shines in the class she attends at Paradise Point. The former honor student who had no demerits or other negative marks on her previous report cards in Boston does an about face in Paradise Point. Taunted by her peers, Amanda is forced off a cliff to an early death.Īmanda's travails parallel those of Michelle.

Set in 1980, the locals fear the century old story of a 12-year-old named Amanda who was blind. Cal and June Pendleton, along with their adopted 12-year-old daughter, Michelle, leave their urban lives in Boston for the peaceful, slower paced life Paradise Point has to offer.ĭespite the idyllic name and New England locale, Paradise Point is seething with secrets.

Comes the Blind Fury by John Saul