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The Next Chapter
Sal, a writer who's lost his muse, finds a package bearing his name. In it, a strange manuscript detailing a girl's abduction. And a note that reads: Write the next chapter in her life or she dies. Her fate is in your hands. Included in the package is a plastic bag holding a bloody heart.
Sal struggles to balance finding a way to alert the authorities and still keep the killer from killing the girl. He soon realizes he's being set up for the abduction as well as a string of murders that happened years ago.
As the police close in on him, Sal flees knowing that to save the girl he must find her before the police find him.
Sal struggles to balance finding a way to alert the authorities and still keep the killer from killing the girl. He soon realizes he's being set up for the abduction as well as a string of murders that happened years ago.
As the police close in on him, Sal flees knowing that to save the girl he must find her before the police find him.
- GenresFiction
Kindle Edition
First published September 11, 2011
2 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 28, 2012
Bryn Jones started following me on Twitter, so I started following him back and checking out some of the books he's written. All are available on Kindle, generally for quite an affordable price. The Next Chapter is the third and first full-length story of his that I've read.
The premise, as stated in the Amazon summary, is that an author who has recently endured a family tragedy has become embroiled in a kidnapping and probable murder of a young girl. The kidnapper forces Sal to write the next chapter, ultimately ending (the kidnapper hopes) in murder. At the same time, a police officer, fresh from tragic events of his own, is slowly tying the kidnapping to kidnappings from decades earlier--as the bodies of those young women begin appearing, staged to match Sal's novels.
Jones writes Christian fiction in a subtle way. His books are certainly not "Amish fiction," nor are they pretty and all tied up in the end. While some of them have allegorical elements, most seem to match the every-day struggles many Christians face as they try to live out faith in a world that poses more questions than answers. The Next Chapter is certainly one of these. And, while some portions felt trite or "neat" or a bit far fetched, I think Jones wrote a clever story with a fast pace and characters for whom I wanted to root.
The premise, as stated in the Amazon summary, is that an author who has recently endured a family tragedy has become embroiled in a kidnapping and probable murder of a young girl. The kidnapper forces Sal to write the next chapter, ultimately ending (the kidnapper hopes) in murder. At the same time, a police officer, fresh from tragic events of his own, is slowly tying the kidnapping to kidnappings from decades earlier--as the bodies of those young women begin appearing, staged to match Sal's novels.
Jones writes Christian fiction in a subtle way. His books are certainly not "Amish fiction," nor are they pretty and all tied up in the end. While some of them have allegorical elements, most seem to match the every-day struggles many Christians face as they try to live out faith in a world that poses more questions than answers. The Next Chapter is certainly one of these. And, while some portions felt trite or "neat" or a bit far fetched, I think Jones wrote a clever story with a fast pace and characters for whom I wanted to root.
March 30, 2014
Thought I'd make it through and enjoy this one but I just do NOT understand cussing in a "Christian" book.
July 7, 2016
This was a very engrossing read. I have to say that I was on the edge of my seat and didn't want to stop reading at any time. The characters were interesting and well-developed, the writing style was good, and it just made for an exciting book. I listened to the Audible audio version of the book, but I have to admit that I wasn't as thrilled with the narration. I thought it was "just okay." While the narrator did have unique voices for the different characters, his main "narrator" voice was very flat. The narrator's pronunciation of certain words also irked me. For example, he would pronounce all versions of the word "escape" as "eXcape," which is one of my pet peeves, and also pronounced the word "chasm" with a hard "ch-" sound. Admittedly, I have issues with sound and get irritated easily, but if you don't have this problem, I don't think the narration would bother you like it does me. Overall, it is a good book and I'm glad I read it, but I might have done better with the Kindle or written copy rather than the audio version.
August 4, 2016
As a writer, the premise of this book was really interesting to me. An author being forced to write in order to save a girl. Sometimes I wish I had that kind of willpower alone. For me, audio books are a challenge. Because I have a 6-year old monster running around most of the time I can't listen to suspense/horror unless he's not listening, so it took me awhile to get through, and I'm impatient.
Not being a religious person, I had some minor struggles with some of the religiousness toward the beginning of the book, but once things got underway, there was less of that and more suspense. All of the elements were there. A heinous villain, an amateur sleuth, a rebellious detective, and a potential victim you hoped would survive. The shifting point of view in the story kept things moving along and making me wonder what would happen next. I read really fast, so there were definitely times I wished I had the book to read rather than to listen to so I could get to the resolution quicker.
Not being a religious person, I had some minor struggles with some of the religiousness toward the beginning of the book, but once things got underway, there was less of that and more suspense. All of the elements were there. A heinous villain, an amateur sleuth, a rebellious detective, and a potential victim you hoped would survive. The shifting point of view in the story kept things moving along and making me wonder what would happen next. I read really fast, so there were definitely times I wished I had the book to read rather than to listen to so I could get to the resolution quicker.
August 15, 2016
The plotline for this book was very captivating and the book had a lot of twists and turns - however, Christian fiction isn't my thing, I know that for sure now.
I'd have loved if the author had started out with a plot prologue, to glue me to the seat, but it didn't happen. It starts out very slow with the main character's writer's block, how things are in the publishing world and his own personal family tradegy. Many authors - and especielly new ones - make their main character an author as well - like this is the world they know. The idea is getting old, however, with a plot like this, it works.
The book gets better and more suspenseful along the way, but the narrator doesn't seem to be living up to this suspensefulness. The narration is very flat and monotone and sometimes his voices for the different characters made me cringe. It does get better througout the book as well, but it's hard getting used to.
*This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review*
I'd have loved if the author had started out with a plot prologue, to glue me to the seat, but it didn't happen. It starts out very slow with the main character's writer's block, how things are in the publishing world and his own personal family tradegy. Many authors - and especielly new ones - make their main character an author as well - like this is the world they know. The idea is getting old, however, with a plot like this, it works.
The book gets better and more suspenseful along the way, but the narrator doesn't seem to be living up to this suspensefulness. The narration is very flat and monotone and sometimes his voices for the different characters made me cringe. It does get better througout the book as well, but it's hard getting used to.
*This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review*
July 15, 2016
There's not much to recommend this book. The plot is weak and underdeveloped, and the characters are likewise. David J. Bell gives the characters distinctive
voices, but his performance seems a bit unpolished. The conclusion is rushed and ends abruptly. Worst of all, the book is objectionably preachy. I can't
recommend this one.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for this unbiased review.
voices, but his performance seems a bit unpolished. The conclusion is rushed and ends abruptly. Worst of all, the book is objectionably preachy. I can't
recommend this one.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for this unbiased review.
July 29, 2016
review to come
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews