John Saul’s ‘The God Project’ is a Parent’s Worst Nightmare [REVIEW]

Something is amiss when babies start turning cold in their cribs in John Saul’s classic thriller, The God Project. (Photo courtesy Canva)

In one small town, when children die doctors can’t explain what happened. When other children vanish, police can’t find them. Who can two distraught mothers trust, and will they be able to get to the truth before something happens to any more kids? Find out in John Saul’s classic thriller, The God Project. 

Bantam

There was a time when the small hamlet of Eastbury, Massachusetts was just another quiet New England community. But when Mrs. Montgomery’s little girl dies in her crib, it brings her world crashing down around her and plunges her into a nightmare from which there’s no escape.

Soon after, Mrs. Corliss’s little boy just disappears. The police say he probably ran away, but she knows better. She just can’t figure out what happened. Did her ex take him? Was he abducted? Or is it possible that he actually did leave on his own? Nothing makes sense until the two mothers start talking, and suddenly they realize their children have more in common than they thought, and that similarity is shared by countless others.

But what is it? And why is it taking the children? Even though people question their sanity and chalk them up as just two more distraught mothers, there are others who decide to help them even though the answers they find defy belief. Because what monsters could possibly dream up the God Project?

I’ve been reading John Saul’s novels for a long time, and he always delivers the kind of creepy stories that are filled with things that go bump in the night. He has a knack for crafting plots that terrify, but which make it impossible to put his books down until you’re finished reading them. The God Project is no different. Its characters are individuals we empathize and grieve with, and just when we think we have them figured out, they have a knack for surprising us too.

A cross between Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives and Robin Cook’s Coma, The God Project is also reminiscent of Saul’s own novel Creature. It is the kind of book that makes you want to hold your children close and question everyone’s motives. Small towns are seldom as exciting as they are in Saul’s books, but when drawn by his pen, they become places filled with suspicion and malice, where evil lurks in the least expected places, and where even the most innocuous child may be the boogie man. If you’re in the mood for a jolt, you’re in the right place. John Saul is about to shove your finger in a light socket.

John Saul

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Saul is the New York Times bestselling author of 37 thrillers, including The Devil’s Labyrinth, Faces of Fear, and House of Reckoning. His bestselling serial novel The Blackstone Chronicles became a bestselling adventure computer game and his book Cry for the Strangers was made into a film. He has also written a number of plays and published under various pseudonyms.

Born in Pasadena, California, John graduated from Whittier High School before attending several colleges around the country, all without obtaining a degree. Besides writing, he also has a passion for theatre, has acted and written several one-act plays which have been produced in Los Angeles and Seattle.

He currently lives in both the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. He enjoys motor-homing, travel, and golf. He is also an avid reader, bridge player, and loves to cook.

To learn more, visit his website at JohnSaul.com and like him on Facebook.

THE GOD PROJECT
By John Saul
384 pp. Bantam. $7.99

Purchase The God Project direct from Jathan and Heather’s Beach Reads Book Shop or from one of these other fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, IndieBound, and Powell’s.