Well book number 2 is done (1/18/2006). Gerald's Game by Stephen King from 1993. This book was a quick read only taking about a week reading a half hour or so at a time in the evening before bed. Very intriguing and a page turner that was very suspenseful up to the last few chapters. However, fairly typical with King's novels, the endings leave something to be desired sometimes. This is no different. Up to the last two chapters or so, the book moved quickly and was a page turner...the last couple chapters really felt just like "oops, I have some loose ends to clean up, let me try and explain everything now"...while it was interesting to see the reasoning behind everything, it also took away somewhat from the "thrill" of the story.
Having said that, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick horror read. I would say, the best way to read this is late at night having put the kids to bed, climb into your own bed, with just a reading lamp with just enough light to read by and read a few chapters. This will maximize the thrill as once you turn the lights off, you can put yourself in the place of the lead character and feel a little bit of what she must be feeling. Certainly a creepy feeling.
I won't say this is one of King's best overall novels, but it is one of his better in bringing the reader into the story. Very worth the short time it will take to read. I'd say about a 7 out of 10 for this one.