Interesting twist on the Wizard of Oz. Definitely a dark novel! There are two different POVs, neither of which are Dorothy. One believes Dorothy is innocent and one believes shes guilty.

This is set in the late 19th century and has a lot of small town prejudice and bigotry.

This is a great read for anyone who is a fan of the Wizard of Oz!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

What an interesting take on a classic. This was one that kept me reading and wanting to know what would happen next. I enjoyed the exploration of thought and am grateful for the opportunity to have read this one. Thank you!

It is 1896 and a small mid-western town has suffered a cataclysmic event. A tornado has left the town in disarray and eleven-year-old Dorothy is missing. After Oz is a grippingly dark twist on the beloved story The Wizard of Oz. When Dorothy is found in a neighbor’s pumpkin patch the story unfolds as she relays in detail her trip to the magical Land of Oz. In speaking of her adventures, Dorothy mentions that she killed a wicked witch by melting her with water. Days later, the local spinster Alvina Clough is found dead in her home. Dorothy is found guilty of the murder and is sent to an insane asylum in Topeka, Kansas. After entering the asylum, Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford arrives to interview Dorothy. She befriends Dorothy and believes she is innocent. As Dr. Wilford investigates the crime, she exposes dark secrets, prejudices, deceit, and hypocrisy in the dusty mid-western town. As a huge fan of every Oz tale, this one does not disappoint! It is a delightfully dark and twisty tale!

Loved this take on a classic. This was my favorite growing up and now that I'm older and thrillers are my favorite thing to read this hit the spot! I really enjoyed everything about this and it kept me engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for a copy of this book.

This was such a unique take on The Wizard of Oz story. I enjoyed reading this take on the classic novel and the take on Dorothy being accused of murder. I would recommend.

This was an interesting idea of what might have happened to Dorothy, when she came back with her fantastic tale of Oz. While I did enjoy it, especially the second half, I felt the characters were a little flat. Would have loved to understand more about the doctor's back story, and how it factored into her motivations.

Books about Oz or related to the Wizard of Oz tend to always fall short for me. This one fell in the middle. I did like the darker twist of the story and found most of it interesting. Lagged a little in the middle but overall was a decent read.

After a tornado sweeps through Kansas, 11 year old Dorothy Gale is missing. Four days later she turns up with a fantastical story. At the same time, a local woman is found dead, burnt with acid. Dorothy, who claims to have melted a witch, is immediately under suspicion. After a hearing, she is sent to an insane asylum, where she meets Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford, who interviews her at length. Despite her new circumstances, Dorothy maintains that following the tornado, she was in the magical world of Oz.

This was an engaging story with a unique perspective. I enjoyed the characters and the pace of the story. I didn’t particularly like the letter writing in the middle of the book, I think this time could have been done differently. Despite this criticism, 4 out of 5 stars.

This was a dark, entertaining and original sequel to the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy returns to Kansas and after telling her story is placed in an insane asylum for murder.

I really enjoyed this story. A psychologist takes interest in Dorothy’s story and sets out to prove her innocence. As she does this, you learn all about the small town Dorothy grew up in, and the characters that reside in that town. While this is a sequel of sorts to Wizard of Oz, and the story is about Dorothy, she is not the MC on the story, and really non of the major players from the original book/movie come into play. It’s more about the psychologist’s quest and a narrator, who I’m not sure we ever learn who it is, telling the story.

Either way, the story is gripping, the plot an original take on what happens after Dorothy returns from the land of Oz. Very enjoyable and a fast read, I would recommend for any Wizard of Oz fans who might like to read a different take on the story.

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am usually a huge fan of Oz retelling but this one just did not land for me. It was weird reading a story with characters I’ve always loved and being so bored.

I think everyone knows the basics of The Wizard of Oz, but just incase - lets recap. Massive tornado hits a small farming town in rural Kansas and young Dorothy Gale is swept away to the magical land of Oz. Days later, Dorothy returns, regaling her formerly worried family of her fantastical adventures. The end! But what happens after?

When a tornado strikes the town of Sunbonnet, Kansas, it wreaks destruction on the small, rural town and carries away one of their own - eleven year old Dorothy Gale. When she returns, seemingly unharmed, four days later everyone is relieved - that is until she starts telling tales of the magical land she spent the last 96 hours in. As Sunbonnet is a devoutly Christian town, her tales, specifically her tales of witches, are cause for alarm and concern. The fact that she "melted" a wicked witch especially gives everyone pause. When the local irritable spinster turns up murdered, all suspicion lands squarely on Dorothy. After a slapdash hearing, Dorothy is sent to a mental institution in Topeka to live our the remainder of her days. But did she do it? Dr. Evelyn Wilford is determined to get to the bottom of the entire situation.

From the description, this seemed like a fun take on a whodunnit that incorporates parts of a story we already know and featuring a known, and beloved, character - Dorothy. However, Dorothy only factored into maybe 15% of the book - if that. The majority of the book is the recounting of Dr. Evelyn Wilford as well as an unnamed member of the community of Sunbonnet. Which, would be fine, but the extreme amount of religious fervor that took over the story was a turn off for me. I get it - the time period and location lends itself to religiosity and very conservative views - but I felt like I was almost being beaten over the head with it to the detriment of the narrative. While it was a quick read, there wasn't anything particularly MEMORABLE about it. None of the characters really made an impact, which meant I didn't particularly care about the outcome of any of it.

Admirable premise, but it just fell short for me.

I thought I was going to enjoy this based on this part of the description:

In a small town full of insidious secrets, Evelyn sets out to save Dorothy from her terrible circumstances but can't help but fear whether something menacing may be lurking just out of sight.

As I read this story it began decent, the direction it continued on was a bit slow for me.

Once it really got into motion, I began to enjoy it but for me it took too long so I was often bored and overwhelmed with finishing it.

We all know how the story goes – a tornado hits a rural Kansas farming community, Dorothy Gale is missing for days, and upon her return she has a fantastical tale about the land of Oz. But what happens after Oz? In this re-imagined follow up, Dorothy finds herself in a mental institution. The conservative leaders of her town find they don’t believe the fantasy land the girl insists she visited, and there is a damning detail that can’t be ignored – Dorothy’s mention of “melting” a witch on accident. Why would they focus on this? Because in the time Dorothy was missing, a recluse woman on the outskirts of town was found murdered – with her face melted by acid.

Enter Dr. Evelyn Grace Wilford, a 28-year old psychologist from “the big city” who comes to the asylum to listen to and help Dorothy. While all the men in the town condescendingly endure the doctor’s questions, Dorothy and Dr. Wilford converse freely. Through these discussions, Dr. Wilford determines that the case against Dorothy is not as open and shut as the town elders would have her believe, and she sets off on a mission to find the truth.

I really enjoyed this twist on a classic! The nod to Frank L. Baum in Dr. Wilford’s correspondence was nicely done. The asylum aspect reminded me of the beginning of “Return to Oz” (a super creepy movie that you should absolutely watch). And the men around Dorothy and Dr. Wilford thinking they knew better than all the women-folk? Unfortunately still relatable. A great read that incorporates some elements of fantasy with a murder-mystery. Follow the clues and see if you can figure out who is really at the heart of the witch’s death!

I was really not impressed with this book, For how much the summary references Dorothey and Oz, you'd think there would be more about Dorothy in the book! However, she felt like just an afterthought and was only in the book about 20%. I almost DNF but powered through it. I would not recommend this book to anyone other than an enemy.

After the big tornado, Dorothy goes missing for days. She finally turns up and of course recounts her visit to Oz. The towns people who are very religious don't believe her tales and think she might have murdered an elderly lady from town instead of "The Wicked Witch". They sentence her to an insane asylum. Everyone wants to know if she is insane or not. I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I was looking for a unique take on the Wizard of Oz but I didn't like all the religious hysteria.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC of ‘After Oz’. What an awesome idea for a novel. I love The Wizard of oz and I think this was such an awesome and interesting, slight dark, take on the story. I love opening up the idea of what happened after Dorothy comes back and has this totally outlandish story to tell. Definitely a lot of Bible verses scattered throughout the story, but! I suppose it makes sense to show how deep the townsfolk are in their religious beliefs and how that plays a part in Dorothy coming back.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. It was a bit slow for me and it took a lot for me to stick to it. The premise was good, just didn't capture me.

This was a really amazing imagining of the whole Oz story. Pulls you in like a twister and shakes up what you think you know about it. Poor little Dorothy who is at the mercy of a stupid religious community. A lot of women’s issues that remind me of what is going on right now and how we have to fight to be heard.

Although I enjoyed the story, it seemed to drag out a bit with the writing style. The characters were well thought out, and the twist in the story was good.
Thanks for allowing me to read and review!

Five stars!!! Read this book!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting. The mystery was unraveled at the perfect pace and I loved the extension of one of my favorite stories, The Wizard of Oz. This is a realistic look at what it would have actually been like in the small Kansas town struck by a tornado in the late 1800's and an 11-year old girl who tells a larger-than-life story.
 
Just as in the original source material, when the tornado hits, Dorothy Gale goes missing for four days, but in this book, we don't follow her to Oz. We stay in Kansas with her family and community desperately looking for her. When she is finally found, she tells a fantastical story about her time in Oz, where, though she didn't want to, she was forced to melt the wicked witch to save her friends. Everyone thinks she is completely off her rocker, and they send her to live with the town pastor who might be able to dispel these "devilish" imaginings. However, a few days later, a woman who is not well liked in town is discovered murdered in her home, and the townspeople start to suspect that Dorothy may have fabricated her story of Oz to cover up the fact that she killed the woman.