
Teri Polen of Books and Such blog hosts #BadMoonRising, a terrific series of posts about horror, supernatural and dark fantasy books, that runs for the whole of October every year. Whew! What an undertaking. Hats off to Teri.
I am one of the participants of Bad Moon Rising and you can read my post here: https://teripolen.com/2020/10/16/badmoonrising-through-the-nethergate-by-roberta-eaton-cheadle-ya-horror-paranormal/. Thank you, Teri, for hosting me.
About Teri Polen

Teri Polen reads and watches horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related are likely to cause fangirl delirium. She lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband, sons, and black cat. Sarah, her debut novel, was named a horror finalist in the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Sarah by Teri Polen
“The writing style and general creepiness reminded me of Diary of a Haunting, which I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed this book.” –Barnes and Noble
Seventeen-year-old horror fan Cain Shannon thought helping a ghost find her killers would be the supernatural adventure of a lifetime. Now, he just hopes to survive long enough to protect his family and friends from her.
A bet between friends goes horribly wrong, resulting in Sarah’s death. When she returns to seek justice against those responsible, Cain agrees to help her. But when he discovers Sarah has been hijacking his body, he realizes she wants retribution instead of justice.
Terrified of what could have happened when he wasn’t in control, Cain commands Sarah to leave his house – but exorcising her isn’t that easy. She retaliates against her murderers in bloody, horrific ways, each death making her stronger, then sets her sights on Cain. With the help of friends, Cain fights to save himself and his loved ones and searches for a way to stop Sarah before she kills again.
My review of Sarah
I listened to the audio book of Sarah by Teri Polen. I thought the reader did a good job and narrated the story at a good pace and with sufficient expression and interest factor to keep the listener engaged.
I thought this book was really creepy. It is a YA book and the characters are all older teenagers which I think worked well for this plot as teenagers, particularly males, do not see risk and are likely to react to situations with a lot more bravado than an adult would in the same circumstances. The almost underhanded and devious way the ghost of Sarah, a murdered school girl, introduces herself to Cain, a jock with a kind heart, lets you know in a subtle way right up front that this is not a particularly friendly ghost and that there is more to her than initially meets the eye.
Cain has assumed the role of man of the house after the death of his father and is protective of his Mother and much younger sister. His compassion, youth and naivety does not stand him good stead in identifying the potential threat posed by Sarah although, as he finds out more about her death, he gradually realises that she is after retribution against her killers and is not looking for help to move on from her current status.
The author’s descriptions of Sarah as she becomes more and more evil and travels further down the path of revenge are very vivid and disturbing. Sarah’s evil thoughts and deeds are reflected in her ghostly face and form.
Fortunately for Cain, he has good friends on his side in the form of Finn, an intelligent and clear minded childhood friend, and Lindsey, a lovely young lady with an aunt who deals in the occult and is able to provide talismans and assistance in fighting Sarah as she becomes more deranged and angry. The clairvoyant aunt was a bit convenient but I did not detract from the story for me.
I enjoyed your interview, Robbie! Thanks for sharing Teri’s book!
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I always like your reviews, Robbie. Sounds like it fulfills the requirements of ‘horror’!
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Oh definitely, this is not supernatural fantasy, this is horror like CArrie by Stephen King.
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Great review… Sounds very scary. Cognrats, Teri!
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This book is scary, Teri. Sarah is one scary phantom and I enjoyed this book very much.
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I enjoyed your review Robbie and add this to my TBR list.
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HI Denise, this is a good horror story. I loved Sarah.
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Yikes! Sarah sounds absolutely terrifying!!
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This was fun, Robbie. Great review. Congrats to Teri! 🙂
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My pleasure, Gwen. I’ve read all three of Teri’s novels and they’ve all be awesome.
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Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
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I’m glad in this case the retribution did not destroy the person trying to help. Sounds like a good personification of the dangers of seeking revenge. (K)
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Yes, that is true, Kerfe. An excellent book.
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great interview…
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Thank you, Jim
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How nice of you to feature Teri here. Sarah was the first book I read of Teri’s, and I haven’t stopped reading her books since. A great share.
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love the review………….it sounds way too scary for me to be able to sleep after I read it.
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Off to check out your interview at Teri’s place, Robbie. I enjoyed her novel, Sarah. It’s a great creepy read for this time of year.
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It is Mae, I really enjoyed Sarah and have enjoyed Teri’s subsequent books too.
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Excellent review as always, Robbie. Sarah by Teri sounds like a thrilling novel to read this time of the year.
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Yes, I really liked Sarah, the character. I seem to make a habit of getting attached to dark characters.
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I think dark characters evoke deeper emotions.
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My older son told me last week that highly intelligent people can never be very happy as they overthink everything. What do you think about that Miriam?
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I think he is right, Robbie. But never say never. It’s true, as people say, the more you know, the more you know you don’t know. Highly intelligent people may not be happy with their current achievement and keep seeking improvement because they know they could do even better. But they can come to a point to slow down and enjoy a simple life, like Bill Gates. He was the top billionaire for years and competed with Apple. Now he is only doing thelanthopy. I hope he’s happier.
What Greg said can have many meanings and interpretations. Ask him what he meant by it and give you some examples. I like his thinking, Robbie! Let me know what he thinks.
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“philanthropy”
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Thank you, Miriam. I will probe it more with Greg and let you know. Greg is quite a philanthropist himself. He takes after my grandfather who was a minister of the Church of England.
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I’m interested in this one. Currently 3/4s through Subject A36 and LOVING that one! Teri is a really great storyteller.
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I liked the premise of Subject A36 very much. Sarah is traditional horror without the sci-fi angle. It reminded me of Christine except with a person and not a car (by Stephen King).
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Ooo right up my/our alley!
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Exactly!
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That cover freaks me out, lol. Wonderful review, Robbie- congrats to Teri!
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It is a great cover, Jacquie, a bit different from romance covers thought [smile].
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