Thereafter by Anthony Schmitz

Quoted from Amazon.com:
Clarissa Brimsley, the narrator of Thereafter, is long dead, but she still has work to do. The object of her attention is her mother, Audrey. Sixty years after the fact, Audrey is stuck trying to make peace with the idea that she killed Clarissa in what was not entirely an accident in the home. She has never moved from the once-splendid house, now fallen into ruin, where Clarissa died. She has never truly stopped thinking of the girl.


After Audrey's sons ship her off to a nursing home, they sell the house to a young couple, Mag and Wald. They intend to rehab the old wreck, sell it, buy another and build a fortune. Those plans get derailed when Mag senses that the house is speaking to her. She finds a trunk of abandoned photo albums, filled with pictures of Audrey and Clarissa. In those photos Mag imagines a path to the future. She will make herself as happy as Audrey seems to be. She will have a child of her own.


Mag learns more of the truth about Audrey and Clarissa, but only after she is pregnant. Her efforts to ensure the safety of her child lead her into a complex relationship with Audrey. The old woman’s reluctant attempt to help Mag is complicated by unintended consequences and an unexpected choice.


I really loved the idea of this story. A dead child spends 60 years watching her living family from the "Thereafter". What a great concept. I was really excited to begin reading!
I wish I could give this book a wonderful review. However, it is a mediocre read. I hate giving negative review, and this one isn't entirely negative. I do promise to give fair reviews and my opinions are not always positive.

Let's start with the good. The author, Anthony Schmitz started with a great concept. His writing is easy to read and really has a nice pace and flow that is not at all distracting from the story. The characters are interesting. The relationships between the characters could have resulted in some intriguing situations.

So, what was the problem? I had to think about this for a few days before I could identify exactly what was missing from this book. There were several things I had problems with. Most of it was lack of information. I wanted to know more about the characters, more about the Thereafter and more about the relationships between the characters. The ending of this book was too abrupt and convenient for me. I also became distracted at times, by trying to figure out who was speaking and having to re-read parts. I was most disappointed by the lack of a strong plot line. I felt like the story drifted along aimlessly until the author got bored with it and finally wrote the abrupt ending. I think that with a stronger plot, many of these problems would resolve.

Okay, Why do I have two book covers?  I wanted to comment on the alternate covers.  The one with the baby is just creepy, given the subject matter.  The e-book that I received had the cover with the door, which really like.

Overall, this book left me feeling unfulfilled, but I would not take this author off my "to read" list just yet. Schmitz has lots of potential and some wonderfully creative ideas. I would certainly read his future efforts.

Thanks to the author and LibraryThing for the copy of this book through the Member Giveaways. In return for the copy of the novel, I offer my unbiased review.I really loved the idea of this story. A dead child spends 60 years watching her living family from the "Thereafter". What a great concept. I was really excited to begin reading!
I wish I could give this book a wonderful review. However, it is a mediocre read. I hate giving negative review, and this one isn't entirely negative. I do promise to give fair reviews and my opinions are not always positive.

Let's start with the good. The author, Anthony Schmitz started with a great concept. His writing is easy to read and really has a nice pace and flow that is not at all distracting from the story. The characters are interesting. The relationships between the characters could have resulted in some intriguing situations.

So, what was the problem? I had to think about this for a few days before I could identify exactly what was missing from this book. There were several things I had problems with. Most of it was lack of information. I wanted to know more about the characters, more about the Thereafter and more about the relationships between the characters. The ending of this book was too abrupt and convenient for me. I also became distracted at times, by trying to figure out who was speaking and having to re-read parts. I was most disappointed by the lack of a strong plot line. I felt like the story drifted along aimlessly until the author got bored with it and finally wrote the abrupt ending. I think that with a stronger plot, many of these problems would resolve.

Overall, this book left me feeling unfulfilled, but I would not take this author off my "to read" list just yet. Schmitz has lots of potential and some wonderfully creative ideas. I would certainly read his future efforts.

Thanks to the author and LibraryThing for the copy of this book through the Member Giveaways. In return for the copy of the novel, I offer my unbiased review.