This sounds like a movie I saw on TV (Tim Matheson), probably based on a Stephen King story. Not suggesting plagiarism or anything - actually this sounds like a good book! The TV movie was good too. :-)
The horror isn’t a huge part of the story; it’s more a mystery with a bit of horror thrown in, though certainly enough for me. You would probably enjoy it.
This sounds intriguing - especially this part: Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn't the day his sister went missing. It was the day she came back.
So I just read the book. Finished it in one go, so that's a plus. :-)
It took her a while to hit her stride; the beginning was full of paragraphs like:
She reached out her hand and grasped the doorknob. Turning it, she pushed, and the door swung inward.
AAAAA! FFS, just write "she opened the door." My god.
Thank goodness she hit her stride soon after, and the pace picked up. I enjoyed the story, but honestly (harking back to our previous conversation about Viola Shipman) it was clear a woman was telling the story, and it threw me out of the supposed male protagonist's point of view quite a few times, mostly because of her focus on fashion. Men do NOT think "She was wearing skinny jeans and Doc Martens." Men who are not actively in fashion know jack about women's fashion, and the main character was not a guy who would be in the know. "Skinny jeans" is a marketing category, like "stiletto heels" or "sheath" (which a man would simply call a dress). The character is constantly describing women's clothing the way a woman would. A man
( ... )
I did notice the overemphasis on clothing, but it didn’t bother me. Well, not much. *g* I think for me, the protagonist having so many other flaws kept me from lingering on the descriptions.
I do think she’s gotten better. But a lot of that was probably her delving into horror. I’m starting to enjoy mysteries more than I did, but they’ve still far and away from being a favorite genre.
Yeah, the protagonist became a worse and worse human being as the story went on, but never so bad that I wasn't rooting for him. He was a real messed up guy, but his intentions at the end were, in part, good. I was OK with that. But did I like him? No. :-)
For me the clothing descriptions just broke the fourth wall. Writer, you keep stopping me and reminding me a guy, your protag, isn't looking at what I'm seeing, that it's you, a woman. STOP IT! (I'm a pretty critical reader - this is why I don't read much fiction anymore)
I'm not a mystery reader; prefer horror. But she struck a very good balance in this book, I think.
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Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn't the day his sister went missing. It was the day she came back.
How 'horror' is it?
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EDIT: Or rather I won't, as for some reason the book isn't available on Kindle :-(
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It took her a while to hit her stride; the beginning was full of paragraphs like:
She reached out her hand and grasped the doorknob. Turning it, she pushed, and the door swung inward.
AAAAA! FFS, just write "she opened the door." My god.
Thank goodness she hit her stride soon after, and the pace picked up. I enjoyed the story, but honestly (harking back to our previous conversation about Viola Shipman) it was clear a woman was telling the story, and it threw me out of the supposed male protagonist's point of view quite a few times, mostly because of her focus on fashion. Men do NOT think "She was wearing skinny jeans and Doc Martens." Men who are not actively in fashion know jack about women's fashion, and the main character was not a guy who would be in the know. "Skinny jeans" is a marketing category, like "stiletto heels" or "sheath" (which a man would simply call a dress). The character is constantly describing women's clothing the way a woman would. A man ( ... )
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I do think she’s gotten better. But a lot of that was probably her delving into horror. I’m starting to enjoy mysteries more than I did, but they’ve still far and away from being a favorite genre.
Glad you enjoyed the book 📖. And you’re welcome!
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For me the clothing descriptions just broke the fourth wall. Writer, you keep stopping me and reminding me a guy, your protag, isn't looking at what I'm seeing, that it's you, a woman. STOP IT! (I'm a pretty critical reader - this is why I don't read much fiction anymore)
I'm not a mystery reader; prefer horror. But she struck a very good balance in this book, I think.
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