Kevin McColley

Here's a few tips - if you're going to have a "surprise twist ending" don't tease that there's a surprise twist ending in the blurb on the jacket unless the story is so well-written and there's enough misdirection that it'll will remain a twist instead of having the reader figure it out in the first 20 pages.

The only twist I experienced was when I tried to justify a different ending as I read since it seemed way too obvious.

Two - don't have the synopsis tease that a large part of the story is about a murder/mystery from years back when that takes a backseat (or more like a trunk considering how secondary it seemed) to the main focus.

And one more blurb tip - don't have the passage explaining the title on the jacket. Putting that paragraph there when it appears almost at the end of the book robs the reader of a payoff for the work they've done.

Additionally, some of the crude language/thoughts shared by the main character and narrator throughout didn't feel like they fit or were necessary - they just came off as creepy and gratuitous. I got the same feeling when reading some of Orson Scott Card's work.

The story didn't have resolution, the characters were for the most part unlikable with just the local newsman and Emma being the exceptions...

I don't recommend this book.… (meer)