After a couple of books that I couldn't quite get sucked into completely, THE BELOVED was just what I needed. Something that pulled me in and wouldn't let go until I finished it. It took me a couple of extended marathon reading sessions to devour it but I was very pleased and satisfied.

The story follows a Ronnie Baker and his sister Elizabeth. Ronnie is out of a divorce and relatively new to the dating scene when he meets Diana via an online dating site. The two hits things off and he ends up quickly moving her and her two children, along with his own daughter, to a house in his hometown. However, Elizabeth doesn't like her brother's new girlfriend and senses that something is wrong. The story alternates between the two characters until suddenly there is more evidence as to what is really going on.

As I mentioned at the start, I was immersed into the novel and could hardly put it down. As a reader, I knew what was really happening but it was still engrossing to watch it unfold and affect all the characters. The richness of the characters really helped to keep me involved with what was happening and kept the pages turning. My only complaint was that Gregg, Elizabeth's husband, was a bit two-dimensional in the first half of the novel. Considering what an important character he was during the second half, I would have liked for him to be fleshed out a bit earlier. A minor complaint really. Considering the emotions that the novel invoked and the uneasiness that it left, Gonzalez did a great job! ( )

There’s something rotten in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

It corrupts relationships, threatens children, drives people to murder, and leaves a wake of destruction wherever it appears. It would be one thing if it were a hideous monster or some crazy murderer on the loose.

What if it was your boyfriend or girlfriend? The Beloved tells the tale of Ronnie Baker and Diana Marshfield, a new couple facing resistance from Ronnie’s family. Ronnie, a recovering drug abuser recently divorced from Cindy, met Diana online. Now Diana has agreed to move in with Ronnie, despite never having met his family. Once the family meets Diana, they find that she is a little off. The family also notice her two children exude the same uncomfortable strangeness as Diana. Having a Rottweiler named Himmler also doesn’t help.

Read the rest of the review here:

http://driftlessareareview.wordpress.com/2010/11/23/the-beloved-joe-bob-briggs/ ( )

I really enjoyed reading this book, which was the 2nd that I've read by J. F. Gonzalez. There were a couple of things that were a bit cheesy and the ending was a bit of a let down, but it was still a good book. This one was a bit graphic at times, but not nearly as sick and twisted as Survivor (by the same author). I look forward to searching for more books by J.F. Gonzalez. ( )

J. F. Gonzalez rocks!!! As does this book. I devoured this novel in a couple of sitting, and was gripped with dread through the entire thing. I really cared what happened to the characters, especially the children, and I've learned from reading some of Gonzalez's other works that he will take your favorite characters, bite their head off, and spit them out if that is what the plot calls for. I won't ruin the book by telling you who bites it and who doesn't, but let me assure you that you will not be disappointed. Read "The Beloved", love it, and then go out and buy something else by this master of horror, because as far as his writing is concerned, it is all good. ( )

The plot concerns a high school teacher named Elizabeth Weaver. She has a good (if occasionally tumultuous) marriage to Gregg, and a young son. Her younger brother Ronnie is recently divorced from his alcholic wife and has custody of their daughter Mary. When Ronnie gets a new girlfriend, Diana Marshfield, who is recently divorced herself with two kids, he brings her to a family barbecue to meet his parents and his sister's family. But something about Diana doesn't sit right with Elizabeth. Is she being overly cautious because Ronnie's ex-wife is a loser and she's afraid her brother has latched on to another? That's what it appears like at first.

The novel builds slowly yet suspensfully, with subplots introduced. It seems Diana is not who she is making herself out to be. She has seduced Ronnie so completely that soon all he thinks about is her. Soon, he begins to neglect his daughter, his house, his finances, and himself.

What Gonzalez has done is create a horror novel with a creature barely used in horror fiction these days - the succubus. Only this succubus is different than the others we've read about.

The family dynamics in this novel are the heart of this story, and the characters are lively and believable. In short, a superb horror novel that succeeded brilliantly!