The year is 1979. Malaise, stagflation, turmoil in the Middle East, and a gas crunch; these things are but background noise for what unfolds when a lovesick businessman and a sociopathic drifter cross paths. John Nix, business manager of a Silicon Valley semiconductor startup, picks up Horace Fullworth, a ne’er-do -well heir of a wealthy California family, who has returned to San Francisco after … after surviving the Jonestown Massacre.
After John discovers his girlfriend cheating, he drives to a bar in the small rustic town of La Honda. He meets Ellie O’Neil, a pretty young woman he offers to drive home. Feeling misled by her, he leaves her on the side of the road, where Horace finds her. John hears that Ellie has gone missing and is overcome with guilt. His struggle with his conscience leads him back to those rugged coastal foothills of the San Francisco Peninsula.
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I was guilted into buying and then reading this novel. I would definitely like a refund, for the waste of time from my life, that I will not get back. I am glad, I am not alone with the bad reviews out there. This author found me on goodreads.com, and commented positively on one of my reviews then posted a link to this novel. The characters were pretty weak along with the story line. It was somewhat predictable until the twist at the near end of the novel. There was really no suspense ever, It held my attention until about a little half-way thru. I skipped ahead to just see how it ended, was vaguely surprised.
Ugh!!! The first 40% of Pumpkin Farmer moved like molasses in January, I almost stopped reading it. There was nothing likeable about any of the characters. Maybe that’s the point I’m not sure. The last 60% of Pumpkin Farmer is okay. It just didn’t have the suspense I was looking for. There was just too much descriptive writing the I found very boring. First part of book gets 1 star last part of book gets 3.5 stars so I gave it 3 stars. Michael Hughes did give my a couple of surprises so that gets a star. I found things to choppy. I would not recommend. I read on Kindle Unlimited.
Michael Hughes – Pumpkin Farmer – Reviewed 6/28/20 – Read 6/13-15/20
Jonestown Massacre – Dying Uncle – cheating girlfriend, leads two men to cross paths!
John Nix is working with a semiconductor startup company and was surprised when they lost its biggest contract, forcing the company to close its doors. To make matters worse he had caught his girlfriend in the arms of another man. Then one of his dad’s friends recommended a local bar that might suit him. John meets a young lady that struck his fancy. When they left the bar together, she mentioned that she had a boyfriend. He felt the betrayal immediately, pulling over to the side of the road he told her to get out of the car… NOW!
Horace Fullworth had joined a group that ended up serving lemonade that was laced with poison. He had figured out what was going to take place, so he pulled out and started back home. While hitchhiking to his uncle’s home, who was critically ill, John Nix gave him a ride. This crossing of paths was the beginning of the story…
What did I like? Having lived through these times, such as the Jim Jones situation, this book rang true for me. The mind of a sociopath is very clearly shown on the pages of this book. Even as horrible as he was, the storyline is amazing! You can clearly monitor John, his rejection from the girlfriend, the job loss, then following the course in trying to find the girl that he had wrongly put out of his car.
What will you like? Intense action, thought-provoking storyline, emotional breaks throughout. Fascinating characters with an intriguing ending that you will never see coming!! The descriptions and details are so beautifully written with them pulling you right into the book, and you will cringe with the descriptions clearly showing each step of the horrible events that take place. An excellent read for those of this genre.
• File Size: 928 KB
• Print Length: 184 pages
• ASIN: B081TZ79L9
• Genre@ddeegott : Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Suspense Thriller
Murder, drugs, heavy alcohol consumption,
greed, betrayal, kidnapping, a torture room,
a pumpkin farm, two main characters with
psychological problems but different
personalities sum up this very slow paced story.