Fiddleback

by Jeff Vrolyks

Mae Clark is a ten-year-old girl with abusive parents and an imaginary friend named Breuer. Breuer has ideas to help Mae, ideas that aren’t very nice. Breuer isn't as imaginary as Mae thinks. Tag Baylor is a bartender who writes fiction as a hobby, posting his works on an amateur website. The heroine in his stories is a young woman named Mae Clark. A man claiming to be Mae Clark’s husband emails Tag, threatening tremendous bodily harm if he continues writing about Mae. Tag is Mae Clark is a figment of his imagination. Or is she? Book depicts explicit acts of violence. Discretion advised.

Genres: Horror

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2012

Reviews

[scott thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't pick this up if you've got anything else to do tonight! (Unless it's reading part 2)

More twists a bucket of snakes eating licorice and fast paced to boot! Recluses could have played a bigger part in the story.

[Jamie Foos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly captivating

I am an avid reader and this is probably the best novel I had read in many years!! The story is so intriguing and we'll written that I can not wait to read another from this author!

[Jeff French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiddleback has issues, and yet, it was hard to put down, unpredictable and I found myself loving it despite these issues. One of the issues I had was with the character of Breuer. He is prominent in the first part of the book, then disappears midway through and makes an appearance at the end. Although Vrolyks explains why this is, once Bruer does his disappearing act, he isn't even mentioned, as though he had never existed. Another issue was the character of Mae. She was a victim of abuse as a child and I found it hard to believe that she would fall so easily into that pattern again. She seemed stronger than that, especially with Breuer's "guidance". The 'when' of the setting is problematic also. Tag is writing about Mae as an adult, but we know her as a child/young adult. Then when they meet, she is an adult. It all seems sudden, especially the resolution. All of this sounds very negative, but I found Fiddleback to be a refreshing and enjoyable read nonetheless.

[whatemsreadingx · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW - abuse and gore. (Neither of these will be mentioned in my review but please be aware before looking up this book online or selecting it to read).

ARGH I'm so disappointed by this book! You have no idea how much I was looking forward to reading this book and it just did not live up to my expectations at all. That being said, it wasn't completely terrible, hence the 3 star rating.

We were thrown straight into this book with meeting Mae and her abusive parents, and within the opening chapters there was MASSIVE plot twist, which honestly shocked me to the core I didn't see it coming at all.

From this point onwards the plot just kept hooking me in and was like being on a rollercoaster ride. I definitely was swept up in this story.

We were all over the place with this book but in a good way, despite being split between two characters, the sections from each of them were lengthy and didn't just drop off every other chapter with a cliff edge.

However, the writing itself wasn't brilliant, and there were definitely points where I grew frustrated with this and I felt as though there wasn't so much thought put into the actual writing as there was the plot.

And the ending for me just spoiled the whole book, I was so disappointed in it... I don't want to give too much away but it certainly felt like a cop out ending and it really ruined it for me.

On the whole, I definitely enjoyed this book I just really felt let down with the ending, it spoiled the whole book for me :(

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a good story here. I have some issues with the characters though, and the fact that we seem to have two different books that aren’t integrated to me. It seems as if a good part of the book is just backstory rather than starting at the beginning and finding a way to explain. The characters though, they sometimes feel like they say what the author needs (or sometimes just wants) rather than having things actually come from them. At least one really needs some explanation for what the hell happened to make that character, but that felt lacking. At the same time, there are some scenes that don’t fix those issues or seem to add much and I would have trimmed in favor of addressing the above. Some of the best stuff never really got used, or only reappeared 2/3rds of the book after being introduced so it seemed just dropped at the end, which felt like a cheat given the way it was introduced. I liked it, but it felt like it promised much more than it delivered.

[Melanie Massey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story. It was different from anything I have ever read. It was interesting throughout. It can be explicit ... that would be my only warning. Also, it leaves you wanting a sequel! Don't know if there is one in the works or not. Maybe the author wants you to connect the dots and figure it out ? It is a very good read, and I highly recommend it.

[Debra Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real "can't put down" read. I would definitely recommend 5*. Can't wait to read more of his books

Just travelled all the way with me from the UK to Spain..poolside, barside, and beach 🌴🌴🌴 Absolutely loved this book

[Bruce Dunbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists and Turns

Couldn't put it down! I was really disappointed when it ended...I wanted more. Will definitely be looking for other stories from this author!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was definitely well-written, don't get me wrong. I wanted to know what happened next, so it was a successful story. But I feel... and I'm not sure how else to word this... but the character Mae was two-dimensional, almost an idealized version of a woman created by the author instead of a real person. Her actions did not seem fitting to her childhood. I feel like the abuse was portrayed almost in a stereotypical way to invoke emotions but fell short. It felt to me too gimmicky, which I think is wrong for the subject matter.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this book down. Loved it!

[Celesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy, awesome book! Couldn't put it down! And it was free from Amazon, which makes it that much better.

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading a book like this. Takes me away from reality while reading it ! ! !

[Jan Karg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want a friend like Breuer

I generally don't write many reviews, however Fiddleback, was one of the most engaging and creative thrillers I've had the pleasure of reading in a while. I enjoy thrillers, suspense, horror, extreme horror, bizarro, and other forms of chilly writing, and frankly, I'm not quite sure where this story fits into any of those categories, so we will just go with thriller.

The main protagonist is endearing and you root for her through out the story, even though the author leaves a little twist of a mystery unsolved, that gives you that creep up your spine.

And her friend, reasonable doubt, but you won't care.

Highly recommended.