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Faces of Fear: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: John Saul
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $8.48
You Save: $17.52 (67%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 4971
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 5.8 x 1.2
ISBN: 0345487052
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345487056
ASIN: 0345487052
Publication Date: August 12, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
New York Times bestselling author John Saul is a master at writing novels that chill the bones, curdle the blood, and tap into our darkest fears. He creates characters so real that you’ll feel as if they’re friends or family, and throws them into situations so terrifying that you won’t be able to look away until you turn the final page. Now, in Faces of Fear, Saul proves that there’s a fine line between perfection and madness.
Fifteen-year-old Alison Shaw may not be beautiful, but she doesn’t really care: She’d much rather read a good book than primp in front of a mirror anyway. But Alison’s gorgeous mother, Risa, knows that beauty can be a key to success and wishes only the best for her daughter, especially when Risa marries a widowed plastic surgeon and moves Alison from Santa Monica to Bel Air. Beauty may be only skin deep, but to the denizens of Bel Air it means the world. Everywhere mother and daughter look, they are surrounded by beautiful people, many of whom have benefited from the skills of Alison’s new stepfather, the charismatic Peter Dunn. Peter is certain he can turn Alison into a vision of loveliness, and Risa–drawn in by his cool confidence–is delighted. Reluctantly, Alison agrees to undergo the first procedure, and her transformation begins.
But soon Alison discovers a picture of Peter’s first wife. To Alison’s horror, she notices a resemblance between the image in the photo and the work her stepfather is doing on her. Though Risa refuses to acknowledge the strange similarity, Alison becomes increasingly frightened. Digging further into her stepfather’s murky past, Alison uncovers dark secrets–and even darker motives–and realizes that her worst fears are fast becoming her reality.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Great Read! September 4, 2008
A very good book from start to finish. Once I got started, I had to keep on reading. Good plot with interesting characters. I love all of John Saul books, and he has never disappointed me. His books are true to form and you can always look forward to reading something new and different. I will be looking forward to the next book. S.L. Chessor author of Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers and My Tongue Fell Out.Poodlums, Boogeymen and Booglers: A Poetry Collection
 Unbelievable September 4, 2008
The plot and characters were both unbelievable. I usually love his books, not this one. The plastic surgeon cannot fix his wife's face fast enough (she was in an accident and her face is ruined)--she kills herself. He finds a sixteen year old that he can mold into his perfect woman and marries the mother to get to her. Give me a break! Please check this out at the library and save your money.
 HOW DEEP IS SKIN DEEP? September 2, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
As many know John Saul is a master at penning thrillers, chilling thrillers. His 35th offering, Faces of Fear, may well be the chillingest. What could be more frightening than marrying a man you think you know and then discovering that he is not at all the man you thought he was? The answer to that question is it is even more terrifying when said husband means to harm your child.
Prominent plastic surgeon Conrad Dunn has had a hand in (or scalpel, if you will) in creating some of the most beautiful people to be found in Bel Air. Among them was his late wife, Margot. After scarring her face in an accident she took her own life.
It only took a year for Dunn to find a second wife, the lovely Risa Shaw, mother to 15-year-old Allison. It's quite a leap from the Shaw's former home in Santa Monica to a plush mansion in Bel Air, but Allison is happy for her mom and tries her utmost to adjust to a school full of very rich kids and what is in essence a very different life. Once a down to earth kid not too interested in appearances, she suddenly finds herself among the prettiest of the pretty.
Risa is a firm believer in while beauty may be only skin deep it's also a key to the good life, so when Dunn proposes improving on what nature gave Allison she enthusiastically approves. Before long Allison comes across a picture of Margot, and is shocked to see the resemblance between the face in the photo and the work Dunn has planned for her.
Of course, knowing this author that's only the beginning of the horrors to come.
- Gail Cooke
 Disappointing - 2.5/5 Stars September 2, 2008
Alison's world changes when her mother marries plastic surgeon Conrad Dunn. She moves into a huge mansion in the Hollywood Hills, leaves her public school behind for a prestigious prep school, and makes new friends. Her new friends have all had cosmetic work done on them by Alison's stepfather and give her suggestions on what she should have done.
Although the thought of it creeps her out at first, she agrees to accept breast augmentation as a 16th birthday present. Soon after, Alison discovers a picture of her stepfather's first wife. To Alison's horror, she notices a resemblance between the image in the photo and the work her stepfather is doing on her. Though her mother refuses to acknowledge the strange similarity, Alison becomes increasingly frightened. Digging further into her stepfather's murky past, Alison uncovers dark secrets-and even darker motives-and realizes that her worst fears are fast becoming her reality. At the same time, murders are being committed around L.A. by the so-called Frankenstein Killer.
I actually gave up reading John Saul a few years back but decided to give him a try one more time. Although this was a quick read (not a lot of thought goes into reading Saul's novels), I was less than thrilled with this book. It was pretty boring and predictable.
Pretty Darn Good for a John Saul novel! September 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Saul's 35th Novel! Plastic surgery, My Space and homosexuality, oh my! Other themes in this book include: wealth, perfection, teens, online predators, self, perception, image, change and ego. This was not bad for a John Saul novel, not bad at all! Right away I found the story intriguing and Saul was able to keep my interest throughout the book, although as the story went on, it became just a little unbelievable. The one thing I am impressed with more than anything is this book's ending! I've been a Saul fan for over a decade (since I first read The Blackstone Chronicles: The Serial Thriller Complete in One Volume (Blackstone Chronicles) as a teenager), and this ending was not typical off the wall John Saul; the ending was normal with a nice conclusion to the story.
This book was originally "The Face of Fear" but Saul changed the title slightly so it wouldn't be confused with a Dean Koontz book by the same name. I would still rank The Homing and The Manhattan Hunt Club higher on the list of Saul's best, but I think fans will enjoy this story of "The Frankenstein Killer"!
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