nomadreader

The basics: Julia, a first-year student at a small Pennsylvania College, is recovering from tragedy. Sam, a loner who works at the college and harbors a fascination with Julia, is struggling to come to terms with turning forty. Marcus, a fellow first-year student, seems to have secrets of his own, as well as a fascination with Julia. My thoughts: Everybody seemed to rave about Finny , Justin Kramon's debut novel I somehow never got around to reading. When I heard he wrote a thriller for his second book, I was intrigued. When I began the novel, I was enchanted. Kramon succinctly and beautifully described characters as he introduced them, and as characters observed one another. The stage was set for a creepy, literary novel, and this time of year is perfect. Unfortunately, the novel soon began to flounder for me. The well-described characters soon began acting more like fictional characters than believable people. Kramon seemed to be letting intrigue drive the story rather than c...