An interesting book that followed different people and their experiences with a stone. This was a book that was out of my normal reading attire. I found it to be written well just not a book I would read agin.

I thought this author did a great job at world building and telling an overall great story. Mystery, supernatural/sci-fi vibes that worked well for spooky season. My critique is that some of the plot gets lost in the small details. The book could have been a tiny bit shorter and done the job better.

I just finished the stitches on the stone by Christopher J Finn and here is my review.

Janis Mayfairs obsession with teenager Benji borders on the insane. Everytime she closes her eyes, she sees a mystical fire burning inside of him. Believing him to have the stone, she quickly heads to stalker territory and after what happened at the restaurant… The whole clash becomes explosive yet the town has on idea why the police weren’t called and how no one was injured….

Edward is a brute with rage issues. He scours the town for the perfect woman to cool the flames within his very soul…. The ones who fail end up beaten and locked up in his basement.
Can all these things be a coincidence or is something manipulating the town to serve its own purpose.
Can the town recover?
This book left me a little speechless. The writing style wasn’t my cup of tea for the most part but the story really hooked me in that the style seemed to matter less and less.
The character development was actually well conceptualized and really brought the whole story to life. I felt like the town of Lauradelle was a real place and I was really starting to fear for its safety. I honestly felt the plot was actually well thought out and had the writing style had flowed a little better, it would have been out of this world amazing.
Don’t get me wrong, it was still one heck of a read and I regret nothing! If you like the kind of horror books that are wholly original then this is definitely the one for you.
4 stars and they are well earned
Thank you to #netgalley and #finnfiction for my review copy.

A strange story centered around the town of Lauradelle, it's townspeople, a mysterious rock with painted eyes and stitches for a mouth. Lauradelle reminds me of the town of Derry from Stephen King's It. And like in It, there's something seriously wrong with the town and its people. And with the appearance of the rock, things begin to unravel and the strangeness of the town is revealed.
The novel is a page turner that will keep you guessing until the very end.

This is one of the most bizarre books that I have read recently. However this does not detract in the slightest as to just how good this book was.

Take one child, a dysfuntional array of friends and family and a river rock with a smudged painted face. The story revolves around Benji a teenage boy who is just trying to live his life, the way he wants to.

The story rotates around him and the rock. The devistation that it can cause is immence. Causing fissures, potential earthquakes and more general discord in the surrounding area.

I have spoken before, on my dislike of the G.R.R. Martin style of writing. Using characters pictures as a way of structuring the story. Here once again, as on many other occasions it unfortunately detracts from what otherwise, in my opinion would be a great story. In this case there is more than one occasion where it feels disjointed and jumps around in blocks rather than allowing the story to flow. However, please don’t let this put you off the book. As I have already mentioned, this is one hell of a book.

Both the plot and the characters are strong, the flow of the story is broken in places by the style of the writing. But, this is only one mark against it. The positives more than make up for this.

Would I recommend, yes I would.

Status: Completed.

Rating: 4.1/5.0