Bumstead's Well

by R.E. Swirsky

The dare was simple. Spend twenty four hours alone at the bottom of an abandoned well deep in the forest beyond the outskirts of town.
But things do not go as planned. Vincent's friends fail to retrieve him from the bottom at the agreed time and the sun sets for a second night. Sequestered in the darkness far beneath the ground, Vincent Pattison has many hours to reflect on his short life; how his mother ditched him at the age of ten on to his grandparents, how his Grams' illness has worsened since he rushed off to college, and how his elderly Gramps seemed burdened taking care of his Grams on his own.
How he ended up at the bottom of the well, and why his best friends chose not to return for him consumes his every thought. With little food or water he knows he must find a way out or he will die.
The Pattison family name goes back many generations. It is rumored that inside the Pattison estate lie many secrets; terrible dark secrets. It has been suggested that Vincent's Grandfather's name is at the root of many of those secrets. The worst, centered upon the very well Vincent now finds himself trapped, is about to be unearthed.

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2014

Reviews

[Cindy Ricketts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book in the fact that it kept me engaged. However, there was no ending. The book just abruptly stopped.

[Elizabeth Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was going to to be solely about someone stuck in a well, and his struggle to free himself. I was wrong. This is the start of the novel, but there is so much more to it than that, which was a nice surprise.

The pace was good and suitable; time dragging slowly in the well, for instance, and the pace faster above ground. The characters are well drawn, and multi-layered, especially Chris, and there is plenty of mystery and unanswered questions to prompt me to download the next instalment when it comes out in 2015.

That was my only dislike of this novel - that it wasn't wrapped up at the end. It simply stopped, at no logical break in the story. I wonder how much more there is to be revealed in the next novel, because as far as I could tell a few more chapters would have seen the end to it. Obviously there is far more than I anticipated, and I will definitely download the next one.

My recommendation would be to wait until the next book is out, because this reads more like a story cut in half than a series.
(review of free book)

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vincent was abandoned by his mother when he was little. She left him on the doorstep of her parent's house. He has been raised by his grandparents whom he deeply loves. Vincent is home for the summer from college when he takes a dare from two friends to remain at the bottom of a well for 24 hours. But what happens when the 24 hours are up and no one comes to get him?

Bumstead's Well is one of those hard to put down books especially the first half of the book. I would have given it 5 stars but I felt like it left me hanging!

[R.L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't care for stories that end before they are done, and the reader must buy a sequel to find out more. Other than that the story was good. The scene in the well was full of great detail. There were spelling mistakes.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I didn't notice that it was slow at the beginning. Maybe it was, but it was still interesting. I'm still trying to figure out if there are sequels to this book. I thought I read somewhere that there were but I can't seem to figure out where/what they are.

[C_lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put this book down. Very exciting.....and then the end just leaves you hanging. Last 2 chapters really took a turn. Did not care for how the book ended, but the rest of the book was good.