''Suffer the Children'' is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

by author

John Saul John Saul (born February 25, 1942) is an American author of suspense and horror novels. Most of his books have appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller List. . Biography Born in Pasadena, Saul grew up in Whittier, California, and grad ...

, first published by

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

in 1977.Hanscom, Leslie. ''No Ghosts, but horror's still creepy'' The Montreal Gazette. Jul 23, 1983, p I-3. The novel follows the story of a child abductor, who murders a young girl one hundred years earlier. The young girl returns and begins taking out more children one by one. ''Suffer the Children'' was initially published in paperback and has sold over a million copies since its release.Deutsch, Linda. ''John Saul's Words Make Readers' skin crawl''. The Item. Jul 28, 1991, p 24.

Plot

After a young girl is murdered one hundred years earlier in Port Arbello prior to the beginning of the novel, the one responsible comes back and begins taking out more children, one by one. As people scramble to find the culprit, everyone comes to a shocking realization that an evil history is repeating itself.

Development

Saul claims that the book took him 28 days to writeDeutsch, Linda. ''JOHN SAUL'S FORMULA FOR FRIGHT MAKES HIM CHILLER-THRILLER STAR''. Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, Fla. Aug 9, 1991, E1. and due to his editor's response to the title, he wrote another book before the first was published. Of the subject matter, Saul stated that "I always find ... that when you have a scary scene, it broadens the scope of possibilities if you have children involved."

References

1977 American novels 1977 debut novels {{1970s-novel-stub