Elizabeth Brundage

There are too many potentially good books in the world, so I now quit reading books between pages 75-100 it they are not working for me.
This book didn't work for me at all. Here are the reasons why
1. I hate the new trend of creative writing where the author doesn't use quotation marks to indicate someone is talking. So you never know is what is being described: is it narration, third person dialogue, or who is saying what.
2. You know who the killer is after the first chapter. The other 390 pages are excessive wordy filler most of which adds nothing to the story.
3. Riddled with cliches, especially regarding the Hale brothers, and George.
4. The book as it turns out had the ultimate kiss of death for me, it had a Stephen King recommendation on the back of the book, that I somehow missed or failed to take into consideration. Stephen King books are usually good. Books recommended by Stephen King are almost always awful.
The was nothing scary, gothic, mysterious about this book. It was just boring.… (mere)

Thus far, I have been 3 for 3 with Book of the Month club. This was the third book that I picked from April's selection and it too was a winner. If you want to join, click the link:
https://www.bookofthemonth.com/referCode/?referCode=6f876dff12912

How do I even begin to describe this book? What I have been telling my friends is that it is a slow roller that picks up speed and you have no idea where it took off, but it simply did and by the end you don't want to put it down or allow the book to end.

This isn't a ghost story. I have to write that to be clear. There is a ghost, but the ghost isn't a major plot point at all, but is part of the overall narrative of the book- All Things Cease to Appear.

The book is mainly about a husband, wife, and their child who have moved into the home of a couple who died, yet who's three kids still live nearby. It is also about small town life, cheating, lying, murder, and a whole slew of other things. The book's title really is the overall narrative arc- all things cease to appear- hopes, dreams, a return to simpler times, etc. Those things will not return.

The book is also about women and how one man can ruin lives, while he is pursuing his own selfish needs. It is also about the women's husbands and their life together.

I am intentionally not trying to spoil anything, but I found the book very slow in the beginning and almost put it down, but I am glad I stuck with it because by the last 100 pages, I didn't want it to end, but I kept reading it well into the night. I will join the others who stated the ending is somewhat disappointing, not due to the writing, but do to the conclusion of the narrative. It is an ending that is appropriate and is somewhat real, but there was a desire for a different ending. Those that finish it will know what I mean.

I have recommended this book and would give it about 4.5 stars. Not a perfect book, but a great one.… (mere)