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Eternity

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Welcome To Eternity
A Little Bit Of Hell On Earth

Eternity, California, is the sort of charming spot tourists flock to every summer and leave every fall when the heavy snows render it an isolated ghost town. Tourists and New Agers all talk about the strange energy coming from Eternity’s greatest attraction: a mountain called Icehouse. But the locals talk about something else.

The seemingly quiet town has been haunted by strange deaths, grisly murders, unspeakable mutilations, all the work of a serial killer who some say is the same serial killer for over a century. Now as the first snow starts to fall, terror grips Eternity as an undying evil begins its hunt once again…

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

41 people are currently reading
329 people want to read

About the author

Tamara Thorne

75 books291 followers
Tamara Thorne has collected ghost stories, true and fictional, since she saw her first Twilight Zone as a tot, and continues to this day. In addition to writing novels and stories of the paranormal, she also writes non-fiction and is an active ghost hunter. She makes her home in southern California with her husband and their feline family and when she’s not writing, can be found haunting ghost towns, phantom-filled hotel rooms, and other spooky places. Tamara loves to hear from her readers. Whether you have questions or comments or would like to share your own ghostly experience,come visit her at her website www.tamarathorne.com.

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5 stars
121 (42%)
4 stars
99 (34%)
3 stars
51 (17%)
2 stars
12 (4%)
1 star
5 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Phil.
2,437 reviews236 followers
January 22, 2022
Eternity mashes up a police procedural/serial killer with a bit of urban fantasy to make a really enjoyable read, and one that had me laughing out loud in parts as well. Our main protagonist, Zach Tully, was a detective in L.A., where he helped nab several serial killers; all except the one, 'the backdoor man', who killed his wife and young son. Three years later, and still having nightmares about it, Tully accepts a new post as a sheriff in Eternity, CA; a small tourist town way up in the mountains.

Eternity, with a population of about 500 permanent residents, seems to be plagued by another serial killer; something Zach finds out almost immediately after his arrival. Seems like Eternity is nothing like the idyllic 'Mayberry' he was hoping for. In fact, Eternity is outright crazy. The biggest tourist attraction is a mini-Stonehenge that plays havoc with compasses and just about everything else. Turns out it can also 'transport' people to/from other magical places on Earth and once one ventures through, the aging process stops. Hence, a number of people in the town, 'lifers', claim to be well over 100 years old, including people like 'Elvis', and perhaps Jack the Ripper! As soon as Zach arrives, the bodies start piling up, and I mean piling! It seems like everyone is a suspect!

Thorne's prose is witty and engaging as she leads us along the plot. Who is the mysterious killer? Is it possible he really is Jack the Ripper? What happened to the previous Sheriffs? The town is full of colorful characters although we often learn about them just before they are added to the body count. This was my first book by Thorne, but it definitely will not be my last. My Zebra edition was published in 2001, after I thought Zebra stopped publishing horror. Off beat and fun! Highly recommended for horror fans who also like police procedurals. 4.5 strange stars!!
Profile Image for Kasia.
404 reviews331 followers
October 9, 2011
Tamara Thorne always makes me happy when it comes to buying and reading books. Her imagination knows no limits and her style is fluid and concise, not to mention she knows when to make books racy and when to make them gory, she never throws everything she's capable of in, each book has its share of brilliance and is unusual in its own way.

This time the author has created a fictional town of Eternity, California, isolated of course from help and sanity and stirred in a whole bunch of wacky characters. Thorne is amazing at giving life to her creations; the main character was never the only person that stood out, the whole community that occupies Eternity was real in my eyes every time I plunged back into the book. When the town has bad luck with keeping their sheriff position occupied for more than few months, they invite Zach Tully to take the spot - freshly open after the last sheriff met with a gruesome death in the legendary Icehouse Mountain. Front the start he is aware that there are way too many mysteries about what is going in the town. Secret societies, serial killer on the loose, sightings of Bigfoot, people wandering around who seem to have lived for more than a century, it all seems too much for Tully, but after loosing his family to the Backdoor killer back home he found this to be an escape that helped him stay alive. Pretty soon he discovers that the mayor is anything but helpful when it comes to the investigation and dead bodies start to appear at all times. He must race time to figure out which one of the crazy characters is the killer before he's struck down himself. Twists and turns galore this book was intense and I loved every minute of the chase.

Eternity is an insane place I would never want to visit, separated from everything that would keep one safe, basically its hell on Earth in bad winter weather and the dead bodies that appear to be killed in extremely creative and gruesome ways pile up like mad. I had a hard time trying to figure out who the killer was and I must admit that Thorne made sure it was hard but also very fun. With references to Jack the Ripper, the murderer was very clever and extremely good at his job, too many people were sneaked up on when they least expected it. I have thoroughly enjoyed this tale and can't wait to read more of her work, I only wish this book was a tiny bit shorter, it seems to have so much death I couldn't wait to finally get to the end and see who the maniac was.
Profile Image for Peter.
381 reviews29 followers
June 21, 2015
Eternity is a small fictional town in California. The last sheriff of this town met with a horrific in the Legendary Ice Mountains. The Ice Mountains looks like a small Stonehenge and many strange things have happen here that can't be explained. Zack Tully was offered the sheriff position and accepted it. Little did he know what he was getting himself into. Eternity harbored Secret Societies and killers and even an occasional sightings of Bigfoot. Tully lost his family to the Backdoor killer and moving to Eternity was a type of escape from the pain for him, Tully soon found out that the Mayor and the City Council are no help to him in his investigation. Dead bodies are turning up all over the place. Tully must fight against the hands of time to find out who the killer really is. The storyline contains many twist and turns along the way. This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend this book. Tamara Throne is a good writer and a excellent storyteller.
Profile Image for Melanie.
264 reviews59 followers
January 8, 2020
This is one of those books that reads more like a cop-thriller rather than a horror, but the I guess the Supernatural elements puts it in the 2nd category. There were quite a lot of characters in this, but they were easier than I would have thought to keep track of, and I got a great sense of 'place' in the small town of Eternity, particularly when the snow finally arrived.

I'll be back for more Tamara Thorne.

A HUGE thank you to my 2018 Secret Santa, who may or may not go by the name of Tosha. Thanks mate, this was awesome fun for my holiday read.
Profile Image for Lucretia.
Author 84 books115 followers
June 16, 2012
I sure had fun reading Eternity! The history Tamara Thorne created behind the town of Eternity was as real as any legend I have come across in humanities. There is a uniqueness to her style that allows it to be thrilling and yet humorous and then thrilling again. It really is a wonderful ride. This is a cross genre book that I would recommend to fans of mystery, thrillers, horror, suspense and probably a few I am leaving off. I am certainly going to be reading more by this author- probably starting tonight
Profile Image for Tiffany.
Author 4 books65 followers
May 1, 2016
I loved this book. I read it ages ago and couldn't remember the name of it. I recently found it again and bought it! Once I finished the books I have to read, I plan to read it again.
Profile Image for Allan.
187 reviews
January 10, 2012
A very well written book. Do you like Jack the Ripper? How about Elvis, Jim Morrison and some other's from histories mysteries. This book kept me riveted until the end.
Profile Image for Diana.
Author 1 book38 followers
December 27, 2015
I enjoyed Tamara Thorne's Haunted, so I thought I'd give Eternity a try. Thorne's style is well-paced and readable, and you don't even notice the pages as they go by. In this strange little town whose geographical anomaly brings people from different times and places together in one space, Sheriff Zach Tully must track down a serial killer who may or may not be Jack the Ripper. The story kept me guessing, which I love, and the overall weirdness of the place is akin to Twin Peaks, but more so.

I read the e-book version, and unfortunately, it has some problems. For starters, it seemed to think the book was 1,337 pages long, which it is not. There were also some weird typo issues; for example, letters that look similar were interchanged and punctuation was missing. Mostly, these things can be ignored, but sometimes, they can jolt you out of Thorne's make-believe world.

Finally, I'd really like to know the story of Deputy Settles, who seemed to be something important, but then kind of fizzled out. Maybe it was there and I missed it, but the story built up to something earth shattering, and then...nothing.

Despite these two things, the book is fun and worth reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Steph.
142 reviews11 followers
September 19, 2014
I didn't have high expectations for this book. I found it somewhere cheap and the blurb on the back seemed interesting so I thought I'd give it a shot. And I'm really glad I did.
The entire plot is focused on Zach Tully, the sheriff of a strange little town, trying to solve a bunch of murders. Usually I can figure out the murderer pretty quick in these books. Either it's because I'm reading crappy books that give it away in some way, or I just go with the person I would be most shocked to find out is killing everyone. For some reason, this time, I didn't figure it out until the main character did. I was suspecting everyone and was yelling for the cops to lock everyone in the whole town up until they figured it out. And then there's the whole time portal thing going on. Which just screws up Tully's way of thinking. I mean, it's gotta be pretty shocking trying to figure out who's killing people with Elvis and Jim Morrison walking around.
Overall, I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Profile Image for Melanie Marsh.
464 reviews21 followers
February 28, 2016
This was an incredibly creative and fun book to read. Eternity is a very unique book that I thoroughly enjoyed to the very end. Tamara Thorne has an imagination like no other.

Eternity California is a strange place. I’m not sure where Thorne got her inspiration for this town, but I’m not sure I would ever want to visit there despite my early impression that it sounds like fun.

The characters are so interesting, I couldn’t wait to learn more about them. As the story went on, we are given just enough details to keep the reader interested without revealing all of Eternity’s secrets early on. I was totally surprised by the ending. Every time I thought I knew who the killer was, something would happen to prove otherwise. The way the historical elements are woven into the story really added a little something extra to the story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good murder mystery with hints of paranormal-ish ideas.
Profile Image for Rachel Brand.
1,043 reviews104 followers
December 30, 2009
This book was mistakenly shelved as "Teen" in my local library, and I was allowed to borrow books from this bookcase when, at 11, I'd read all the books in the kids department. After eating up all the Point Horror books I found this, and was completely and utterly shocked. There are some really disturbing, gruesome, and somehow sexually explicit murders in this book. The story was totally insane too - there's some sort of cult formed out of people who have been sucked out of the Bermuda Triange, who are now immortal. I can't remember what this had to do with the murder. Neither can I remember how this ends. Just the disturbing murderers. Seriously, even as an adult I would be shocked by this book. What is going on inside Tamara Thorne's head?!
Profile Image for Kim.
282 reviews14 followers
July 28, 2014
This was a really fun story, but there were a lot of typos and errors that were very distracting. In one instance, a character whose name I think was supposed to be Al was mostly referred to as AI, so I'm not sure what his real name is. He was a minor character, but he was referred to a lot, and it was an annoyance. And there were several instances of the word "bad" being used when it should have been "had." And a couple of other instances of the letter "h" being replaced with a "b." Some quotation mark issues showed up, too. This would really benefit from a good editing to take out the confusion and distractions. The story was too much fun to let it be marred by easily fixed issues like this.
Profile Image for Jessica George.
163 reviews1 follower
December 9, 2014
Scary & fun read, best in winter for added atmosphere-much like "The Shining!"

I love this author and so far everything I have read by Tamara Thorne has surpassed my expectations and always brings new and original twists to ideas that are already suspenseful and scary even on their own. I had hope that Jim Morrison might be in the story more, but that's so minor of a detail it wouldn't be worth mentioning if he weren't part of what drew me to the description! :-) It was so good, and the mysterious Circle and characters more than made up for that minute complaint, however. I will recommend and need to find a new book of hers to read, stat.
62 reviews
January 29, 2016
First few sections started out pretty good then started downhill. The story is about a serial killer but got too much into the murder side rather than the investigation. Not a believable story, to many strange things.
Profile Image for Erin.
139 reviews
February 16, 2014
I loved this one! Great mystery/whodoneit and loved the theme once it started to piece together, very clever!
31 reviews
November 3, 2014
Fun supernatural/suspense/ mystery. I like the way Thorne writes, always a page turner. Recommended.
Profile Image for Shelly.
408 reviews
January 2, 2015
Loved it!! It has a good mystery, wonderful characters, and a unique setting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
682 reviews9 followers
May 16, 2021
ETERNITY BY TAMARA THORNE AND NARRATED BY JAMISON WALKER.
Zach Tully quits his LAPD homicide job to take a job as sheriff of Eternity. Little does Zach know that this small,isolated town has a high homicide rate,due mostly to a serial killer who Zach battled back in LA,and who also murdered Zach's wife and child. Zach's first impression of Eternity is a crazy old guy who runs a dive that promotes Big Foot and two headed snakes. Zach not only is battling the serial killer but also a secretive and very odd city council, assorted weirdo's who think they are Elvis, Jim Morrison and Amelia Earhardt and his own demons and memories.

To say that ETERNITY has registered a ten on my weird book o meter is an understatement. As I listened to this book as an audiobook I will also say that the narrator, JAMISON WALKER did a really good job keeping the weird book o meter well up there!

I recieved this audiobook free in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Sue.
1,013 reviews10 followers
May 31, 2021
Format: audiobook
Narrator: Jamison Walker

This is an incredible story that’s interesting, riveting and keeps you guessing as to who the murderer is, There are many possible suspects especially in a place with as many secrets as Eternity, I don’t want to put any spoilers in so I won’t go into detail but I didn’t guess the culprit until just before sheriff Zack Tully realised who it was.
I’ll be looking at what else this author has written now.
The narrator has a good delivery and a chilling voice that’s perfect for this story, definitely a good bit of audio casting, I’ll also be checking out what else this narrator has done.
Profile Image for Terry and dog.
1,009 reviews36 followers
September 24, 2024
Well this was a lot of fun. After a string of DNF books, I guess I was in the right mood to latch right on to this one and get sucked right into the story very quickly. I think this is my first Tamara Thorne story, I am usally into horror or science fiction but this actually has elements of both, along with mystery and a teeny touch of romance. It is cholk full of interesting and quirky characters, it has a spectacular location and plenty of deaths with gruesome details. I liked the ties ins to the past. I did figure out who the killer was before the reveal, but there was still a surprise I wasn't expecting. Good stuff, I'll probably go on to read the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Tammy Bulcao.
918 reviews11 followers
May 24, 2021
Another great horror story!💜

I love Tamara Thorne’s writing style. Gruesome, creepy and a touch of paranormal. The community of Eternity is full of crazy people, or is it? The thing is, there are so many suspects that you never know who it is until she reveals it. At least this has been my experience. This was a page turner for sure.
The narration is freakin creepy as hell. Jamison Walker was born to narrate this genre. Absolutely brilliant, and like I said creepy lol.
This was a perfect pairing of Author & Narrator.
I highly recommend this book!

Sisters Spotlight 💜
Profile Image for Shirley.
118 reviews1 follower
September 3, 2019
Interesting read

I enjoyed the book, the author mixing supernatural with history. The characters were strong, complex, especially the main character, Tully. He was law enforcement but He was riddled with guilt for not saving his wife and child from a madman. He goes to this town called Eternity but unknowingly it is being orchestrated by the man he has been hunting....A man once known as Jack the Ripper.
Profile Image for Mary Dean.
747 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2022
Another great supernatural mystery from Tamara Thorne. I enjoyed every second of it. Eternity is not a town like any other. It has a past and current secrets. When there are murders things start to come to light and no one is safe. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn't trust anyone and I had good reason. Also I didn't know what was going to happen next. The ending, I didn't see coming. I loved this book! This narrator did a great job bringing it to life too!
Profile Image for Wendy Shores.
80 reviews10 followers
March 10, 2024
Very interesting concept and again, very Stephen Kingish when it comes to her writing style. Loved this book and it kept me reading from beginning to end and I still had no clue who the killer was until it was revealed by the author. Hard to do that with me so I was pretty appreciative lol I usually guess who the killer is by halfway through a book. Definitely recommend this one! It's a great read!
Profile Image for Rina.P.
297 reviews4 followers
February 24, 2024
Das Buch war leider nicht ganz so spannend wie ich erwartet habe. Aber die Idee fand ich recht gelungen. An manchen Stellen hat die Umsetzung etwas gestockt aber es lies sich recht flüssig lesen. Es gibt Thriller Elemente und SciFi Elemente.Es waren paar nette Stunden. Ich fühlte mich zwar unterhalten aber 100%ig überzeugt hat es mich nicht.
Profile Image for Miss M.
12 reviews2 followers
May 26, 2021
The first couple of pages of Eternity take off and never really land. Mixed with some history and the supernatural, this is consistent page-turner. I am actually surprised at how underrated this novel is!
828 reviews6 followers
September 9, 2021
I normally figure out Mysteries by 1/2 way through the Story, but this one I did not figure out the killer until the Author let the reader know who it was. I love when a Author can keep me mystified to the very end. Narrator does a good job with the characters and storyline.
Profile Image for Paul.
Author 57 books64 followers
September 15, 2022
This should have been a rehash idea and a throwaway book, but Thorne does her usual solid job of filling up the book with enough tension and good characters to make it a lot of fun. I was more or less glued to the ending.
Profile Image for Amanda Burton.
28 reviews
December 30, 2020
Can't wait for more

I was so excited to read this having met, and enjoyed, some of the characters in other works. A very interesting premise and a great variety of characters, some dark and twisty murders, a little love and redemption- how can you go wrong? Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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