The first two reviews about All Things Cease To Appear on Amazon are less than glowing, which seem to be the exact opposite of what I have seen online about this book, and not at all reflecting my own thoughts of this novel, either.
Set in the late 1970s, a young professor, his wife and daughter move to an old farm house which has sat empty for an entire year. The house seems to be cursed: the parents of the three boys that lived in the house died tragically, orphaning their children.
When George comes home from his job at the college one day and finds his wife murdered in that same farmhouse, suspicion is immediately cast on him, yet he continues to profess his innocence. Franny, their three year old daughter, was home at the time of the murder, but she is too young to remember what happened or prove a reliable witness.
Through a look back at the couple's marriage, which is less than happy, more is revealed about George and his character prior to his wife Catherine's death. Co-workers, friends, George's girlfriend, and the three Hale boys that frequently appear to do work for Catherine all shed light on the Clare's life together.
The case is never resolved, and nearly two and a half decades pass. Franny, the daughter who lost her mother when she was just three, comes home to clean out the house where her mother was killed. It is there that Franny finally uncovers what really happened to her mother so many years ago.
I loved, loved, loved this book. There were times that I was at first unsure of who was narrating, as this shifted frequently. And if you are a reader who needs dialogue with quotation marks, this novel may be off-putting to you.
But, if you love suspense, well developed characters, and a story with twists and turns All Things Cease To Appear will keep you up well past your bedtime.
1 comment:
This sounds very good to me. Wonder if it will be available on audio. I'm going to be looking for another one pretty soon.
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