If There Be Thorns
Edition: Book Club edition
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1981
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 276
Copyright date: 1981
Description: Dark horror continues to haunt the children who were so horribly imprisoned by their mother, in this stunning sequel to the best-selling Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind.

As adults, Cathy and Chris Sheffield still suffer the ugly scars of their upbringing, living together as man and wife, hoping that the hate-filled evil of their past will never return to harm them. Cathy's two children, 14-year-old Jory and 9-year-old Bart, have never been told about their mother and stepfather's past, but it is only a matter of time before the secrets are out.

An elderly widow dressed in a gloomy black gown and veil moves next door—a woman who calls friendless Bart her grandson and showers him with gifts and loving attention. But her crafty butler, John Amos, gives him something dangerous—the private journal kept by the late Malcolm Foxworth, the fanatically hate-filled man responsible for Chris's and Cathy's troubled past. The old man's malicious spirit still lives. As Bart reads the journal, evil page by evil page, he can feel himself grow more and more powerful, even stronger than his older brother.

Until now, it is Jory who did everything better, Jory who got all the love and attention. Now it's Bart's turn to be special. He has the power, and no one, not even his family, can stop him. Chris, Cathy and Jory can only watch in horror as the normally quiet, withdrawn boy gradually undergoes a transformation into a spiteful, vengeful stranger. Then John Amos reveals his secret to Bart: Chris and Cathy are really brother and sister living together in sin. They must be punished, and it is up to Bart to conquer the devila nd redeem their souls—no matter what the cost.