A family in mourning confronts ghosts from the past in this “complex, surprising, and haunting novel” from the New York Times–bestselling author (Tod Goldberg, New York Times–bestselling author of Living Dead Girl). After a fatal car accident, the only remaining members of the Kehoe family are Sammy, his sister Charlotte, and her four-year-old daughter Maggie. Together they visit their beloved … Maggie. Together they visit their beloved family home on remote Fox Island, Maine, to support each other and find healing. Much to their surprise, Sammy and Charlotte each have relationship sparks with island locals. But the budding idyll is shattered when Sammy and Maggie’s unexplained abilities to “see things” are put to the test. Ghosts from the past are beginning to resurface. And they’re making Fox Island a very dangerous place to be.
Peabody Award–winning television writer and New York Times–bestselling author Phoef Sutton offers “a page-turner of a different kind: mysterious, weird, and deeply affecting” with this novel of family and suspense (Tod Goldberg).
“I loved this book—it’s the best take on ghosts and how they work that I’ve ever read. Scary and mad but real, with crackling dialogue, From Away is a rare creature: a proper novel and a proper ghost story. I massively enjoyed it.” —Steven Moffat, creator of Sherlock and executive producer of Dr. Who
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It’s unusual to find so many enjoyable characters and situations in one book. I read this while vacationing in the Bahama’s so that may have contributed to the magic but this is a must read.
The island itself is one of the strongest characters in From Away — beautiful, comforting and familiar, but with hidden and sometimes terrifying nooks and crannies. I found the story compelling and some of the writing truly masterful. I thought the device of relating the events through a supposed letter to a child didn’t quite work, though. Almost from the start, the author had to invent workarounds for things the narrator certainly wouldn’t have shared with her — even if she were to read it years later. It was unnecessary and cumbersome to tell the story that way, and I would have preferred not to have that layer between the events and the relating of them. That complaint aside, I was gripped by the main character’s struggle over his purpose in life, and I appreciated the strong bonds between the characters, perhaps especially when they were tested.
From Away includes elements of what I loved most in my favorite Stephen King novels (which include The Dead Zone and the Mister Mercedes trilogy):
– quiet horror
-arising from psychological danger as much as from physical peril
-grounded in compelling characters
-who struggle to do their best in a world filled with fear but also with hope
It’s written as a letter from Sammy to his niece, who is four years old and in a coma, for reasons that don’t become clear until much later in the book.
It took me a bit to get into the story and warm to Sammy, as at first I didn’t see where the story was going or how engaging he was, but I’m so glad that I did.
Once the book clicked for me I put aside everything else I was reading and watching until I finished it.
Very good. Triggering topic for some. Good realistic/non realistic/child view of past events.
Not your ordinary ghost story and perhaps not a ghost story at all. Excellent read with wonderful characters!
I probably would not have gotten this if it hadn’t been free to me. That turned out to be very unfair. About the first quarter of the book moved pretty slowly, and the characters did not interest me very much (they did not feel real). Somewhere along the way though, the author breathed life into the characters and I began to care about them and what seemed to be happening to them. I’m glad I stayed with the story long enough to find that out. Without giving any spoilers I will say this provides a little different way of thinking about ghosts and afterlife. I felt a little unsatisfied by the ending, but I don’t know where else he could have gone with it, I will say I will be watching for other books by the author, and am ready to try another.
I enjoyed this book. It kept my attention, and the characters were realistic.
A new twist on a ghost whisperer.
Very entertaining. One of the few books that had a beginning – middle and end.
II thought it had excellent writing and easy to read. Good for a summer novel !
This book drags along a bit in the beginning to build up the characters and tell their story but once you get through that the book is great. It’s about a brother and sister that lost their mother, father, and older brother in a car accident. The family had a vacation home in Maine that they would visit every summer. One Christmas the siblings and the sisters 4 year old daughter decide to go from Christmas. This is when the brother learns that the hallucinations he has been having are not hallucinations, but spirits. On the island in Maine they discover a dangerous spirit from their past.
A novel idea for a novel. I grew to care about the characters and worried about them. I was disappointed when it ended and strongly hope for another book featuring these characters.
Enjoyed the book very much.
This was one of the few books I couldn’t put down before reading through the middle of the night.
Once I was hooked by the characters, I couldn’t put it down!
Those who experience the paranormal regularly aren’t like most people. Especially if they are, as the taciturn locals on Fox Island like to say, from away. In lesser hands, the premise of this novel would have played out as maudlin and uninteresting. But the way this author describes Sammy’s state of mind as he tells the story—accompanied often by wry, even side-splitting observations—drew me into this strange family, wanting more than anything to learn how they would extricate themselves from their collective morass which, if left unchecked, could have a lasting adverse effect on Charlotte’s daughter, Maggie.
If you like ghost stories that are fresh and modern and feature plenty of humor, then I highly recommend From Away. You won’t be disappointed.
Excellent
The main character gives me hope that even the socially inept can find happiness, eventually.
This story is a wonderful idea. I was not thrilled with where the book ended. I wanted more. At times I felt the author needed to edit some of the parts that didn’t directly relate to the story. Overall a good book and I would try another by this author.
I kept reading hoping it would get better. It never did. The book was written in an odd conversational tone it seemed like a long letter.
It was not a bad book the characters are well defined the scenes are believable. What I didn’t like were the ghosts. This was billed as a ghost story but the ghosts were not well defined and really did not show up till the end of the story. I do not recommend this book.
I enjoyed this novel very much. Good combination of mystery and the paranormal.