It's great.. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to family and friend. This book was written for the younger generation. Thank you for the opportunity to read this type of story.

Wow this was a crazy awesome story with an ending I didn't see coming. Apparenlyt based on real event, that I was not aware of prior to reading this book. Very much a page turner, worth the read.

This is my last story from the Amazon Inheritance Collection. Harold is the Xenith man- the repairman for TV’s. In this story, he calls 911 when his wife dies. Interestingly, no one even knew he had a wife, and other than one person, no one had ever seen her. Foul play is suspected- I enjoyed learning their backstory and what happened moving forward.

This story was not as powerful as the others in this series with an abrupt feel to the ending. The story was quiet and enjoyable.

3.5, but had to round up

Rounded this one up because it’s a short story I’ll remember. A man lives in a town so small there are just four stoplights. His wife dies. Only thing is, no one knew she existed. Did he kill her?

When the death was announced, the townsfolk had a field day fantasizing about her scene.

“The local memory was a powerful tool, an instrument so sensitive it recalled events that hadn’t actually occurred.”

The tone of the story isn’t snazzy, but it’s so well-crafted I didn’t care. People call the story “quiet.” I don’t do so hot with quiet, or with small towns, so it’s a miracle that I liked this one. Even the characters stay still:

“Harold Pardee was as close to a stationary object as a person could possibly be.”

Why I liked this story: It’s a good little mystery, and the solve is delicious. You really get a sense of the man and his wife even though the story is so short. There are several cool little metaphors; there aren’t too many and they aren’t flowery. Here are a couple:

“She’d passed through life like vapor through a keyhole.”

“The rumors mutated like a clever virus.”

This is one of five short stories in Amazon’s 2019 Inheritance series. It’s a cheap (and quiet) thrill, so check it out.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

This is my second short story from the Inheritance series and I think this collection is just not for me.

There was not anything glaringly wrong with the writing it but it felt like a half-formed story that never achieved liftoff. I think the fact that the story was a SLOW unfolding of the lives of others contributed to the fact that the story felt too short for the way it was told.

Zenith Man is a sad story, but I felt it was a bit rushed at times. It is a charming story about devoted love though.

4.5★
“The local memory was a powerful tool, an instrument so sensitive it recalled events that hadn’t actually occurred.”

Ain’t that the truth? A woman has died. A wife. A wife whom nobody ever saw. Her husband was the local TV repairman who could fix anything Zenith ever built.

How Harold Pardee ever found a wife and got married, nobody understood – or perhaps believed. Nobody ever saw her.

If she did exist, maybe she was a captive! Ever think of that?

“Rumors waxed and waned like biblical plagues.”

And how did she die? Let's ask the paramedics what they saw when attended the scene. Fine, but they don't agree (no iPhone photos back then).

So we haven't even got reliable witnesses for after the fact. Police will have to assume - what? Oh, they'll think of something. Maybe look for clues. Of course!

The police get involved, an inexperienced young lawyer gets involved, and it starts to seem like the rumour factory is right.

Great story that doesn’t go where you think it will, but it does go where it should. Another satisfying outcome.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted. This is one of five (so far?) stories from the collected called ‘Inheritance’ from Amazon Original Stories.

I have read a few of Haigh's novels and loved them all. Her excellent writing shines through in this short story about a TV repairman and the death of his wife. Haigh's brilliance is illustrated by with the first three sentences. "This story begins with a 911 call. the first shock was that Harold Pardee's wife was dead. the second was that he had a wife." How can you not be completely intrigued after reading just those few lines? the rest of the story is just as intriguing and a great example of how we demonize those we don't understand. This is part of the Inheritance series and every one of the stories are well worth your time.

I had read Jennifer Haigh before but had not liked that particular book. I just couldn't stop thinking about this one. What a touchy story!

The story is about a woman who is loved immensely by her husband. But the town never knew of this woman's existence until her death. The man is under speculation by authorities, neighbors, people in town, where rumors fly in a blink.

A well narrated, heart warming story!!


Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for ARC in exchange of honest review.
Happy Reading!!!

Zenith Man has a great opening line of "This story begins with a 911 call." With this you are prepared for a crime thriller of some kind and you spend this short story expecting this but get something very different. This story was so unexpected and was a great short story. I would definitely recommend.

Zenith Man by Jennifer Haigh is a short story.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Amazon Original Stories, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 

My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

When Harold Pardee calls 911 to report his wife is dead, the small town is stunned.  They didn't even know the TV Repairman was married.  After 32 years of marriage, only one other person had even seen his wife.

When the coroner pronounced that the death was suspicious and Harold is charged with murder, the defence has a hard time proving his innocence, since they can barely prove the woman existed.

 
My Opinions:  

This is one of five stories (all by different authors), in the "Inheritance" Collection of Amazon Short Stories.  They are all about secrets within families, and the consequences that come from those secrets.

I absolutely loved this story.  It was refreshingly different, and a little quirky.  The whole premise of the book was great - a woman, so cut off from the world, but living right there.  I found myself smiling, and the situation was not really funny, but Harold's nonchalance about the whole thing was great.  The writing was wonderful.

For a really short story, this one had it all.  I will definitely have to look for more books by this author!

I am a fan of Haigh’s work. I wasn’t aware this was a short story as I was reading it and was disappointed when it ended. Which is not to say it isn’t a great short story, I just wanted more.

The Zenith Man by Jennifer Haigh was perhaps the quickest read of all five in the Inheritance collection but no less enjoyable.     All five were worthy reads and this one has inspired me to check out some of her full length novels.   

In this story there was a terrific hook in the second sentence which made me want to rush to the conclusion (this probably took less than 30 minutes in total).     Central to the story was  the conundrum <i> “How to prove a woman had been murdered if you couldn’t prove she’d ever lived?”</i>.     In a few short pages Jennifer Haigh made observations on the rumour mill,  the way people love to take an unusual situation, cast aspersions on those involved, spread a bit of gossip and generally spice up the story.    I was very pleased with how the story played out. 

I'm not sure if the intent is to package the Inheritence collection into one book or to release them separately but either way they are an excellent way of introducing readers to the talents of some big name authors and I hope this will be the first of many.      Naturally I'd heard of all five authors but had only read two of them previously yet I now intend to incorporate the other three into my reading roster for this year.  If you haven't already done so I'd highly recommend sampling these delights for yourself.    My thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quiet story by an author who was new to me. Zenith Man is a hard look at how much you really know about those living around you, even in a small town where everyone thinks they know everything about everyone else. Harold Pardee is the town fix-it man, a skill he picked up during Vietnam. He has one friend Cob Krug -- who he doesn't speak to much, even when they're together -- and it turns out Harold had a wife, too, although we find out she's dead in the first sentence. The problem is, no one else (but Cob King, who saw her once) ever knew that she existed. So, of course it's immediately assumed by the members of the town that she was horribly abused by Harold and he killed her. But things aren't always as they appear, which this story goes on to show. It's not particularly suspenseful, and it's not a whodunnit if that's what you're hoping for from the description. However, it's am interesting commentary on small town life and how much privacy someone can expect in a society.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of this short story in exchange for my review. It did not influence my review.

My review may be slightly skewed as I read this last in the Inheritance series. I was waiting for some big-bang murder mystery short story, and this was not that at all. In fact, I'm not sure what genre I would put this in. It certainly started out as a possible "whodunit" but quickly transformed as we learned more about the relationship between husband and wife through her "diaries." It kept me on my toes until the end., but the whole Olympic star death at the end who suffered from the exact same affliction seemed a little too convenient. in my opinion.

Kind of a bizarre little story about the death of the local tv repair man's wife, who no one in town knew existed. Small town gossip can be cruel, and people are better off minding their own business. But Zenith man took it to another level.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Jennifer Haigh to read this installment of the Inheritance series of short stories. I am not typically a short story fan but these are just so good!

This story involves a reclusive tv repairman, Harold, and what happens when he discovers his wife had died. But no one even knew Harold had a wife. How can they prove he didn't kill her if they can't prove she was ever alive?

Just another story in this great series that will make you think. This one will make you reflect on how we judge other people.

ZENITH MAN
BY JENNIFER HAIGH

I really enjoyed another of the short stories in Amazon's Inheritance Series. This time the story seemed much shorter compared to the ones written by Alice Hoffman and julie Orringer which both were excellent and captivating in their own ways. ZENITH MAN, was more the length of Anthony Marra's THe LION'S DEN but it easily could have been a little shorter. This is my fourth sampling of these terrific short stories about love, lies and deception. Etc. The ZENITH MAN 'S short story can be read in about five minutes and I would encourage all readers who enjoy fiction to pick up these five short stories written by accomplished writers.

The ZENITH MAN asks the reader to consider whether or not Harold Pardee who is the small town's TV repairman killed his wife of thirty years or not. There is compelling evidence that leads the reader to ultimately draw their own conclusions. To list what that is would surely spoil this very short story which is very engaging. Jennifer Haigh writes sparingly and with an economy of prose to fit everything in this very short story. What I did find interesting was how quickly this small town gossiped and made conjectures about the death of Harold Pardee's wife. It took on a life of it's own with wild speculation ranging the full gamit.

I am no doctor or legal scholar but I can promise you that you will find the way the Pardee's lived quite peculiar. Did Harold Pardee kill his wife? Does he get exonerated or convicted? You will have to read this engrossing tale for yourself to find out these answers. I promise you that you will be swept up weighing both the pros and cons but you will definitely have an opinion. Even if you don't know the answer you will hear evidence, details, the quirky ways of the Pardee's marriage and the way his wife chose to live or did she? She didn't live her life in the most conventional manner but how she lived is entirely possible. Enjoy!

Thank you to Net Galley and Amazon's Inheritance short stories for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is my fourth in the series and I can without a doubt say that they all have been excellent and I have enjoyed them all immensely. All opinions are my own.

3.5 Another author I enjoy, and have been patiently awaiting her next novel. In the meantime, I'll have to make do with this short story. It is set, where most of her novels are, in Bakersfield.

A man reports his wife has died. The problem is, no one even knew he had a wife, and no one has actually seen her. A good story, with many morals. How an accusation, even without prior, can cause damage to a person's life. Also, how easy it is to judge another person, when really no one except those involved, actually know what goes on inside another person's life or marriage.

ARC from Netgalley.