Violet by Scott Thomas

In the lineage of Peter Straub's Julia, Scott Thomas’ Violet is the disturbing tale of a woman haunted by her long-abandoned imaginary friend.

For many children, the summer of 1988 was filled with sunshine and laughter. But for ten-year-old Kris Barlow, it was her chance to say goodbye to her dying mother.

Three decades later, loss returns—her husband killed in a car accident. And so, Kris goes home to the place where she first knew pain—to that summer house overlooking the crystal waters of Lost Lake. It’s there that Kris and her eight-year-old daughter will make a stand against grief.

But a shadow has fallen over the quiet lake town of Pacington, Kansas. Beneath its surface, an evil has grown—and inside that home where Kris Barlow last saw her mother, an old friend awaits her return.


Many years ago Kris lost her mother to cancer while at their family lake house. Yet she remembers the lake house as a place of comfort. It is for that reason that she packs up her daughter Sadie and heads out to this long abandoned home in hopes of helping Sadie recover from the recent loss of her father. Time may have colored Kris's memories because they are far more cloudy than the waters of the crystal clear lake.
I picked up this book not only because of the description but because I loved the author's previous work "Kill Creek." After reading Violet I can now say that Scott Thomas is on my list of must read authors. Violet took me to a place of great emotional turmoil. It is a story of love and loss, and much of the first half focuses on the way our own minds try to deal with traumatic events. Gradually this story moves from unnerving to frightening as Kris Barlow remembers her past through her daughter's eyes. There is something at the lake house that Kris has forgotten, but it remembers her, and has been waiting for her return.
5 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.
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About the author
Scott Thomas is the Stoker-nominated author of Kill Creek, which was selected by the American Library Association's reader committee as the top horror book of 2017. Originally from Coffeyville, Kansas, Scott attended the University of Kansas where he earned degrees in English and Film. He has written TV movies and teleplays for various networks including Netflix, Syfy, MTV, VH1, the CW, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and ABC family. Scott was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his work on R.L. Stein's The Haunting Hour. He lives in Sherman Oaks, California with his wife and two daughters.