Book Review of The Pram by Betty Woodcock

Synopsis:

When Carrie buys a secondhand pram for her eagerly awaited grandchild, she becomes trapped in a horrifying nightmare world terrorised by her own aborted baby...
Already worried that only she can see the phantom baby in the pram, Carrie is appalled when her granddaughter is placed beside it and the two merge. Unsure if she has imagined this ... she tells no one.

And so her nightmare begins . . .

She is shocked when the phantom converses with her in her mind ... especially when it claims to be her own aborted child. Horrified, torn between a mix of love and revulsion for her grandchild and terror of the intimidating invading spirit, Carrie doesn't know what to do.
Then she begins to see ghosts and is convinced that she is losing her mind when her bizarre experiences escalate.
Carrie's fear increases tenfold when the baby's childish overtures of friendship change to accusations ... and it soon becomes clear that it is seeking revenge ... and it has an adult mind.
The mind-to-mind conversations become menacing and she panics and sometimes answers the baby aloud, which causes misunderstandings with her daughter. 
Carrie dreads that her grandchild will never outgrow this weirdness which is becoming terrifyingly entrenched, so when her long-ago lover's unexpected return to her life coincides with vindictive blasts of pain in her head, she can't resist asking for his advice.He is intrigued by Carrie's heavily censored story and, too late, she realises that she has made a mistake.
He also has a genetic link to the malevolent baby.
She must keep them apart because neither knows he is the father.

Review:


The Pram by Betty Woodcock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.

This is an intriguing horror story that gripped me from the first page and kept me hooked!

Carrie MacIntyre is an intriguing character. She is a proud mother and a soon to be Grandmother. I liked her, but found her inner monologues a bit rambling and long winded. However, I didn't like her attitude towards "Ghost Baby". She seemed cold and uncaring. Yes, she felt terror that she was losing her mind, but she didn't even consider the baby ghost's feelings.

The other characters were also rather annoying. I found Carrie's daughter whiny and very selfish. Her son-in-law was no better. Gervaise was the least annoying. I actually liked him, but his amused and humouring attitude felt a bit condescending to me.

I must admit that I don't read a lot of books in the Horror genre, but I was intrigued with the synopsis. This book is told in first person, and gives an insight into Carrie's thoughts and emotions. This was a suspenseful read that had me turning the pages! As I am not a mother, I have never experienced what Carrie and other mothers have - the joys and pain of motherhood or of being a grandparent. However, I can understand and sympathize with Carrie's experience. The pram seems to be the catalyst to a supernatural ability for Carrie to see ghosts. That pram has a lot to answer for! The horror that unfolds sent chills down my spine! Unfortunately, it was the ending that disappointed me; up until then, I would have given this story a 5 because I was enjoying it. I'm all for cliched endings, but I felt that it was an easy way out, and a rather abrupt one at that. However, I'll leave you to make your own decision.

Betty Woodcock has written a horror story that was gripping and suspenseful. I liked her writing style, which flowed well. I may consider reading more of her books in the future.

I recommend this book if you love horror, suspense or thriller genres. - Lynn Worton

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