Reviewed by Dan

TITLE:  Murmuration

AUTHOR:     T. J. Klune

PUBLISHER:     Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH:     324 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  October 28, 2016

BLURB:

In the small mountain town of Amorea, it’s stretching toward autumn of 1954. The memories of a world at war are fading in the face of a prosperous future. Doors are left unlocked at night, and neighbors are always there to give each other a helping hand.

The people here know certain things as fact:

Amorea is the best little town there is.

The only good Commie is a dead Commie.

The Women’s Club of Amorea runs the town with an immaculately gloved fist.

And bookstore owner Mike Frazier loves that boy down at the diner, Sean Mellgard. Why they haven’t gotten their acts together is anybody’s guess. It may be the world’s longest courtship, but no one can deny the way they look at each other.

Slow and steady wins the race, or so they say.

But something’s wrong with Mike. He hears voices in his house late at night. There are shadows crawling along the walls and great clouds of birds overhead that only he can see.

Something’s happening in Amorea. And Mike will do whatever he can to keep the man he loves.

REVIEW:

There is one thing that I absolutely hate about T.J. Klune’s books…I’ve found that I have to set an entire day aside for them, because there isn’t any stopping once I start one. Seriously, 324 pages, cover to cover without a break. I kept telling myself to put it down and finish it tomorrow…but no, here it is nearly midnight and I just finished.

What can I say about this book without doing any spoilers? Murmuration is the story of a man named Mike Frazier, a resident of a small town in the mountains. It is the late summer and early fall of 1954, and life is idyllic in Amorea. There is no crime, no one locks their doors, and everyone is happy for Mike and his guy, the cute waiter at the diner.  I couldn’t get the movie “Pleasantville” out of my head while reading the descriptions of the town and its residents. It is that sort of town…everything is perfect.

Sean Mellgard has had a thing for Mike since the first time he walked into the diner three years previously. Can they get past their mutual hesitation and go further with their relationship?

But something weird just happened to Mike. He woke up in the middle of the road, not remembering who he was…then he oddly met a horse on the road…then he walked by a sign welcoming him to Amorea…and when he gets to town all his memories are back.  But he is having strange dreams and is hearing voices.  And he might even be seeing things. It is almost like he is seeing visions of another person and another world. And what are the strange numbers that sometimes appear on his wrist?

I had several theories while reading the book of what was going on. I was partially correct, but certainly not totally. I truly enjoyed how Mr. Klune dragged us along, dropping hints, but never giving us the truth until near the end of the book.  And then he kept the suspense going almost to the last page. Let’s just say the ending was a little bit of a surprise for me, as it will be for you.  The book and story are very well written, if a little frustrating to the reader. I kept wanting the answers, and now damn it!

I highly recommend this story. Just make sure you have a wide open day and evening to start and finish the book just in case you, like me, get hooked! And finally, a shout out to Reese Dante, the cover artist. Great cover!

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Dreamspinner Press  

Amazon 

ARe