Strangeville Part 1

Strangeville #1

by Kenneth Tingle

Need a good laugh? Strangeville is a different kind of story that draws the reader in and keeps them wondering what will happen next. The story is a dark comedy about a suicidal young man named John Campbell who, after a failed suicide attempt, heads to Virginia to visit an aunt he hasn’t seen in ten years. But his rental car runs out of gas deep in the mountains. When he decides to walk in the middle of the night, he winds up in a town that is isolated from the rest of the world—Strangeville. Unable to leave, he meets an assortment of loveable oddball characters—the beautiful Delilah, Klemm Johnson, Clarissa Puddworthy, Biff Flannigan, Jeboriah Varmint, Cleetus McChoparooski, and others.

So if you want a different kind of reading experience, and you’re tired of the same old cookie-cutter writing, check out Strangeville . Readers love it!

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Ebooks, Short Stories, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance

98 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Author of the local bestseller The Girl in the Italian Bakery. Now available on Kindle and Nook.

Reviews

[Bèbè ✦ RANT ✦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars



SUMMARY. John Campbell gave up on life. Losing his parents at early age he had to find a way to survive and every time he tried to live, it seemed like he never had good luck at anything. Even when he already decided to kill myself, he just had to go to the bathroom and stink up the whole place. But that same day he got a call from his aunt who wanted him to visit her and he decided to go. But of course with his luck the car ran out of gas and he had to walk until he got to Strangeville, a place that looked like it was stuck in time and was behind about 60 years. With mayor not wanting him to leave the town and John falling in love with mayor’s daughter, he had to make a choice.

THOUGHTS. I would say that this was a fun read. In the beginning of the book, I was laughing my ass off and was really glad because this was marked as “Humor” genre book. But as it went along, it went from Humor to Action to Romance to something completely Strange. I do have to admit that the ending was really cute but overall even though it was a good and fast read, it wasn’t something I obsessed over. It was free on Kindle so nothing is lost.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite sure what to make of this one. Great name, nice cover, auspicious start and then...Young man with strong suicidal tendencies drives south to visit family, gets lost and stuck in a...well, very strange place that's like a theme park of sorts, if themes were backwardness, ruralness and 1950s. So it ought to be horrifying and it is at first, but then it turns into a tale of camaraderie and second chances at love and it's a tad confusing...is this suppose to be spooky or one of those waxing nostalgia morality tales.(The latter I personally don't buy. Sure it's easy for some to view the past as quaint and certainly simpler times and fall under the plain folk aw shucks kinda charm, but that can hide plenty of ugliness, closemindedness and stupidity).Here maybe it's a combination of both somehow. It's written well enough to peak the reader's curiosity, which presumably is the point since it is marketed in 3 parts.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this first part of the book free on Amazon.com for the kindle.

I was pleasantly surprised with its beginning. The writing is interesting, different, and refreshing, and the story is definitely not what I was expecting.

I would recommend this title- and I will definitely continue reading the upcoming versions.

[Robert Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story so far. I am loving it. The characters are great and I was either smiling or laughing when I was reading it.

Can't wait for the next part.

[Maria Costantino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book went from making me think I was in the Twilight Zone to utterly delightfuly, and ended up with a heartwarming conclusion. John Campbell ends up in a town that still lives in the 1950's, with no way to find his way home, thanks to the mayor and his goons who won't let him leave and expose their town to the outside world. John manages to make his way, attaches himself to the town's quirky characters, and makes a difference in their lives in positive ways. A very entertaining book.
It A free book not sure If I will get the book 2 but who knows If I want a good laugh I just might
get it.

[Katie Sunsdahl · Rating 1 out of 5]

a very odd book. Got it free off the kindle list at bookbubs, and I see why it was free! The first few pages were funny, then it was just a very odd book. Thankfully a very quick read. Read it in a few hours.

[Barbara Duckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

)interesting little story so far. Reminds you of how things used to be.

[Sally Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It was strange, but then, I expected that from the title.

A young man with basically no family around decides to go visit an aunt. On the drive, he runs out of gas, falls down a hill, and winds up in a town that's stuck in the 1950s because the mayor will not allow the people to live in the outside world.

Really sweet story, complete with a love story, funny hillbillies, and heartwarming scenes of friendship and devotion.

I enjoyed it.

[Sal Noel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Need a good laugh?

So the blurb started.
Wasn’t funny in any way. I have no idea what was meant to be funny. Did it draw me in? No.
Was I kept wondering what would happen? No.
Did it read like a kid had written it- maybe.
This happened, then this, then I ate something.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Interesting premise in the beginning but it started to drag a little towards the end. The beginning had some good humor but the humor was pretty nonexistent after the first quarter of the book, so I definitely wouldn’t classify this as a comedy. I’ll see how book 2 plays out.

[Leslie Maier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but have to admit I don't care for a book ending sharply referring you to the next book. I love series of books but each book should have something more of an ending.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sample of Strangeville was good enough to get it. The premise, a suicidal young man running off the road and finding himself in an off-the-map town that seems stuck at the turn of the 60's, had a Twilight Zone like possibility.

Why does a town that's hiding from the world have a "Welcome to Strangeville" sign? When he finds out that the mechanic is named Ratchet, even the protagonist wonders why the other characters have such pointedly odd names.

Three or four times I nearly abandoned the book because of the clunky plot development and unreal, badly dialected dialog and, but I soldiered through, only to be greatly disappointed by the ending. WTF with the parents showing up?

I understand why some readers gave Strangeville only 1 star. I'm mystified by the 5 star reviews. This is nowhere near that level for me. I don't see Strangeville as funny.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read- started and finished in the same day. It's about a man, John, who wants to commit suicide, yet instead finds himself lost in a town called Strangeville. It is a black comedy and starts off kind of quirky. To be honest, I actually enjoyed the story with his inner dialogue as much as when he arrives at Strangeville- maybe even more. It ends at kind of a strange place- I was expecting another chapter and instead it was the end of the book. Still deciding if I want to go on and read the second book...

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was strange, that's for sure. I think I need to read part 2 of this story to give this a proper rating. A man runs out of gas on his way to visit family and stumbles into Strangeville--a town with a very questionable mayor and absolutely no contact with the outside world.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was pretty good..until it ended! Leaving me hanging for part 2. I didn't know...so I was quite disappointed. Since I didn't have it available to read, and will undoubtedly read many in between, the total affect may be lot. For that reason, I was quite disappointed.
:(

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed out loud the first chapter was a funny failed suicide attempt. Then everything goes down hill and he walks into strangeville. It so reminded me of an episode of twilight zone! There are 3 parts so to be continued...

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok so I some how managed to find this book on the free books section. It was an interesting book that kept me entertained. I ended up finishing it in one day, so it was a nice easy book to read! Read it, it's not what you expect!

[Rohit Kilpadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost put it down after the first few pages, as it was a bit too scatological, but am glad that I stuck with it. The rest of the book was really quite good. Definitely different and simple. The last chapter with his parents showing up was quite unnecessary and felt tacked on to the book.

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an all right book but not one of my favorites. Just like the title states, strange. It did have a good moral to the story though, you have to make your own happiness and sometimes you find it in strange places.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a read full of comedy. It took me a bit to try and read the "slang" lines from different characters. Now I can't wait to read Part 2. (Note: there is also a 3rd part which I didn't know before reading)

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too, too short!

I wish I had known I was getting only part one of Strangeville. Perhaps I missed that when I made my choice on e-books daily. Strangeville is definitely strange, but whether in a good way or a bad way I'm not sure. I may decide to buy part two later.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freebie on Amazon ... But interesting enough to now go look for part 2

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and fun read! Gotta read Part 2 to find out what happens!

[Mioshee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky story but an enjoyable read. Reminded me of the Dean Koonz short story Black River

[Glenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

My goodness ..... on to part II

[B K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goofy but interesting. I'll read part 2.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different, quick read.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story to be continued....can't wait to read part 2!!

[K Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, fun quick book.