.com Straub's recent series of books, while excellent, have been dense and rather cerebral as horror books go. This one, while employing many of the same devices about family secrets and mysteries half-buried in the past, has an action storyline with a viscerally satisfying villain and a strong female protagonist. The premise is that the history of a famous fantasy novel not only concerns some eccentric authors, but collides with a wily killer on a rampage. The settings--in seedy motel rooms, New England houses, a bizarre private club and an over-the-hill literary retreat--are especially fun.From Publishers WeeklyContinuing his shift away from occult horror toward terrors inspired by the ragged social fabric of American life, Straub (The Throat) turns in another violent yet richly nuanced thriller. As in much of his work (Mystery; Koko), the past impinges on the present through secrets kept, then revealed. Here, the secrets are both familial and literary. Four women in upscale Westerholm, Conn., have disappeared from blood-spattered bedrooms. Meanwhile, Westerholm resident Nora Chancel, who's newly menopausal, broods about a stalking wolf while her husband, publisher Davey Chancel, a decade her junior, obsesses about the novel trilogy (begun in 1939) written by Chancel House's most popular writer, Hugo Driver. When yet another woman disappears, Nora learns that Davey once had an affair with her. Then the woman shows up, only to accuse Nora of kidnapping and torturing her, leading to Nora's arrest. But also at the police station is Dick Dart, scion of an old local family, who is being questioned about the killings. Dart steals a cop's gun, grabs Nora as his hostage and, he believes, potential future accomplice?and the woman's real agony begins. Dart, a serial killer who has always loved "cutting things up. Loved it," rapes Nora and takes her on a grisly spree of terror. In time, Nora manages to escape, but in a surprising yet, with hindsight, seemingly inevitable turn of events, she again finds herself in mortal danger. Dart is a memorable villain, funny, bold and charming (and as difficult to kill as Rasputin). Nora proves his equal, however, gutsy and clever, and as the two clash, the secrets that Straub intimates early on reveal themselves. These secrets manifest neither easily nor predictably, however, for, as is said of characters in a Driver novel, Straub's own characters are "colorful and involved, full of danger, heroism and betrayal"?as is this supple, exciting book. Major ad/promo. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalStraub (The Throat, Dutton, 1994) delivers a complicated two-fold thriller. A former nurse in Vietnam, Nora Chancel lives in Westerholm, Connecticut, with her ineffectual husband, Davey. While visiting the local police station to identify the most recent victim of a serial killer, Nora is kidnapped by the accused killer, the satirical villain Dick Dart. Intertwined with the kidnapping plot is an account of the terrifying events that followed the writing of a horror story at the Shorelands writers' colony in 1938. Fighting her own demons from Vietnam, Nora becomes stronger and braver as the story progresses. The climax brings the two stories together, as Dart and Nora visit Shorelands. Horror meets horror in this bizarre, enigmatic tale, which reveals itself in onion-like layers. The Hellfire Club will be popular with Straub's fans as well as readers of horror.--Stacie Browne Chandler, Newbury Coll. Lib., Brookline, Mass.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. is selling on worth it The Hellfire Club
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. HELLFIRE CLUB made me love Straub all over againBy BBNTUDEI seldom read novels that make me think ...this one is an exception. Not that I avoid them, but in this genre few authors have finesse......Straub winds a fantastic tale of self awareness, fear and survival. I'm going to read it again.But not in an old hotel.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Dark StoryBy Early RiserHad a hard time getting into it, but once the story and characters were established, it was easier to follow it.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. My all-time favourite Straub. You'll want to read it again and again.By FantimoThis is my all-time favourite Peter Straub novel. I've just recently finished reading it for a sixth time, and I absolutely adore it. There's so much to savour. I have so many favourite parts: the history behind "Night Journey" (which is obviously reminiscent of "The Lord of the Rings") - Paddi Mann and The Hellfire Club of the title; Dick Dart's wonderfully twisted campness; Daisy's hysterics after misinterpreting Nora's opinions of her sprawling novel (the Poison family are hilarious); the brief but intense flashbacks to Nora's Vietnam experiences; the story of the tragic poet Katherine Mannheim and Helen Day, the 'Cup Bearer'; and finally the brilliantly brutal finale at Shorelands. I highly recommend this excellent novel. If you've read Straub before, you'll love it. If you've never read him before, this book is the perfect introduction to his world. The novel is so multi-layered, you'll want to read it again and again.