Eli's Town

by Amy Cross

Every year, someone from the Denton family has to go and visit weird Uncle Eli. This year it's Holly's turn, but when she arrives she immediately realizes that something's very wrong. Eli's missing, and the locals are hiding something...

Holly soon discovers that a strange curse has struck the town. Every day, at exactly noon, one person drops dead. Convinced that this can't simply be a coincidence, Holly starts to investigate further, and she soon discovers that her uncle Eli has a morbid connection to the deaths. Can Eli be saved, or does he need to be stopped?

Eli's Town is a horror novel about an old man who makes a shocking discovery, and about a woman who uncovers the horrifying truth about her uncle.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2015

About the author

Amy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fiendish little tale. A really unique premise that'll keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the very end. Eli is a fantastic antagonist to Holly and, to a lesser extent, Tatty. Amy Cross created a simple, yet very uncomfortable atmosphere here, allowing the plot to flourish. I'm not sure if Dean, Holly's boyfriend, needed to be here. I suppose he gave some additional plot points to the story and depth to Holly's character, but that still didn't necessarily warrant him being there. I did also have some struggles with the changing perspectives, especially when it went beyond Holly and Tatty. Once again, Dean's point of view just unnecessary, and I feel like the story may have flowed better with a more general perspective, instead of hopping between the few characters. The ending was very ok, and didn't thrill me. But even with some of my critiques, Tatty and Holly carry the story, and Eli's crazy abilities provide some really great horror moments.

[Jeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just meh for me.

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read, but the first half felt quite slow.

[Inn Auni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy Cross have this ability of making her MC unlikable. Holly was different or so I thought. She was a doctor, supposed to be smart but, had an unhealthy relationship with her boyfriend. A smart person would have left him but not Holly. It's like she feel she have this responsibility to do and code to follow. And maybe that's also the reason she was the best candidate.

I always think the power of invisibility was cool. But, this power trump all. [Trump mean to beat (someone or something) by saying or doing something better. I hate to admit it, the US President have a cool surname.]

Anyway the book was okay. I don't know about originality but, 👍.

BEWARE of SPOILER

After years of being a hermit, Eli learned a skill. He can get into people's mind and controlled them to his will. He can also feel what they were feeling at that moment and the best feeling of all was death. So he started killing people by controlling their mind and making them to stop breathing. Holly, his niece, found out about it and tried to stop him. She succeeded by blowing Eli's head of with her own mind controlling. The man in black got hold of her -but we knew Holly got that power so no worry there- and Eli somehow managed to consume another person mind before his death.

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5 stars. My first taste of Amy Cross and her horror writing. Full review to follow.

[Alicia Huxtable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow

What a twisty turnt read. I didn't see any of it coming. Really great read once again by Amy Cross

[вяαт · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every year, someone goes to check on Eli Denton in the town of Tulepa. This year, it's Holly's turn to go and check on him; however, when she gets there, she can't find Eli and she senses that the town is hiding something from her. Every day at noon exactly, someone drops dead and no one in town seems to be the least bit concerned. They all brush it off as being coincidence. Holly takes it into her own hands to find out what is actually happening in Tulepa.

When I first started reading, I was hooked into the storyline; however, somewhere along the line it just fell kinda flat. It's not that it was boring necessarily, but I just lost interest. I did like Holly and Tatty, though. Dean was a pain in the ass *eye roll emoji*. The writing was okay, so it's nothing against the author on why I didn't enjoy the book too much. It's considered "horror" but absolutely nothing was scary about this book. A little creepy? Yes, but nothing close to horror. The ending was kinda eh. It leaves it open for a possible second book, which I found unnecessary. It would have been better to just wrap it up and put a bow on it. It's a quick read, though and I've heard some good things about Amy Cross so I'll probably still check out some of her other works. This one, however, was not for me.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another intriguing read, this time focusing on the mind and how the effects of experience can shape choices.

Again it was written from multiple first person points of view, which is great for character development and for a more in-depth look into how they think and feel.

Overall, this was a creepy yet thought provoking horror that hooked me from the start.

Recommended.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was...interesting. I knew where it was heading, sort of, the whole time but I would have liked a better reason for what happened. I don't want to give too much away because it really was a fun read and there were a lot of things I genuinely liked. This is one of those books though that I really do feel would be more fun as a movie

[Frank T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Amy Cross, and it was a good read and highly entertaining, I don't think it was completely original because I was trying to remember what other book I read that this one reminded me of and the book was "Body Rides" by Richard Laymon. I should point out that it was not a rip off, it was an original story it was just very similar. I will definitely be reading more by Amy Cross because this was a great story well written by the author and well worth a read.

[Adam Stanhope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book that keeps you guessing till the end, how would you feel if you came to a town that wasn't quite right whille looking for a family member.... The way Amy cross writes is amazing, she keeps you gripped within the story and keeps your reading till the end. One of my favourite authors

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first read by Amy Cross .. the concept was good and the characters were developed enough to be believable .. I just don't know whether I liked it or not .. did it go far enough, or was it a bit 'safe' ? Will definitely try another by this Author

[Susan Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY INTERESTING STORY

This clever author has taken the basic story line of a niece checking on an uncle in another town and blown it into a creepy unusual situation that takes the reader by surprise. If you enjoy horror novels, read this book.

[Ted Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family is responsible for uncle Eli

Checking on uncle Eli every year is the responsibility of some one in the family. When uncle Eli is neglected he has to adapt. And adapt he does. Everyone pays for that mis take.

[Jason Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh

The first half was predictable and formulaic, but the second half had promise. Maybe I read too much of this sort of book, but at least it was a quick read. Going to give book two in the series a go, but the bar is set low...

[SUE · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book. It was creepy, had you looking over your shoulder. Someone each year as a family member has to go visit Uncle Eli to be sure he was okay. At the end you realize he didn't need checking up on, others needed to watch out for him.

[MARTIN WITHERS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky read.

Great story about an unusual town and strange relative this town definitely a place to avoid. Well written and believable.

[Debra Barstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This was a good little read, a real page turner and kept me interested in the book. I would recommend if you want a good thrill.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was kind of a disappointing read. A definite miss for me. It's good if you like scary mind control voodoo zombie stories.

[Patricia White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange

Made it a bit difficult to follow the story because the perspective kept changing with the chapters. Not bad though

[Vlora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure i liked the ending

[Viola Prins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a scary story. But it was enjoyable to read.

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in less then a day. Really enjoyed this read. Kept me page turning all the way.

[Christina Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging story and an easy read

This is an interesting story. I like that it’s a quick, easy read, perfect for filling time between other things.

[Bill Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Brilliant book such a Captivating story from start to finish well worth getting.
Highly recommended to all you will enjoy it

[Samuele Kilkenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how Amy does it. I start reading and I am hooked.

[Shawna Mathieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't expecting THAT

This really gave Midsommar vibes, crossed with some of Stephen King's early stuff like Firestarter, the stuff involving the Shop.

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a perfectly passable horror-suspense novel, along the lines of M. Night Shyamalan's film work. It had a similar atmospheric feel. It kept me guessing until fairly far into the book and had a truly creepy antagonist.

I did think the ending felt a little deus ex machina. The boyfriend, Dean, felt especially like a caricature of a pickup artist boyfriend, which I found hard to believe considering how long they were meant to have been together. And I had a little trouble believing no one ran from town before they weren't able, considering how obviously odd it was. Even raised in isolation, I think people like Tatty would have high-tailed it out of there.

But all in all, it was an enjoyable read. I'd be perfectly willing to pick up another Cross book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very intriguing read

I cant think of a book I have read that is like this. I was very interesting and gripping from start to finish. Would definitely recommend giving it a read.

[Ramona Plant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eli's Town is a creepy story by Amy Cross. This author is very imaginative and came up with an interesting story what could happen to a loner, or can it really? It would be terrifying if it really could. The pace of this book is very good and has some nice twists and turns, some that make your stomach turn as well.

Eli is a character that is just plain horrific with no concept of morals, and interestingly his niece may be his downfall? Or will she?

This book has a lot of horror and a good amount of action. I read this one in almost just one sitting on the weekend and definitely enjoyed it. Again it has the usual editorial errors that I am starting to get used to but other than that this book is very entertaining if you are into that subject matter.