Ohio Pen - Book Club Gives Psychological Suspense Novel Eight Thumbs Up!

Trending...

Group Invites Local Author to Discusss Mind-Boggling Mystery

COLUMBUS, Ohio - OhioPen -- Four members of the Whisper Book Club of Columbus, Ohio, met at the Ohio Brewing Company to discuss their June selection, an unusual psychological suspense novel, An End to Etcetera. What made the meeting special was the presence of the author, B. Robert "Bob" Conklin, who was invited to field the group's questions.

The members declared this month's gathering as their favorite yet, since it's not every day you get to discuss your thoughts with the actual author of the book. This month's organizer, Jill Geiger stated, "It was fascinating to hear insight into the process Bob used to flesh out his novel, and everyone found it interesting that he never really knew how it was going to end either" as he was writing it.

An End to Etcetera was a departure from the club's previous selections, member Karen Jackson observed. "Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the suspense of the story, as well as the complexity of the characters."

More on Ohio Pen

Beth Gildenmeister said, "This month's book club selection was thought-provoking and kept me guessing from start to finish."

Dianne Buskirk concurred, stating, "I found myself trying to figure out who the so-called suspect really was as the story took a number of twists and turns."

Set in a small town, the novel follows the efforts of an obsessive psychologist to get at the bottom of the confession her teenage patient made to police that he drowned an autistic boy left in his care. What sets the novel apart from a typical whodunnit is that the alleged crime may never have occurred and the alleged victim may not even exist.

Geiger responded favorably to the author's writing style. "So many authors have a tendency to just tell you what they think you need to know," she said, "instead of weaving it subtly into the story and showing you. Bob's writing was descriptive and subtle, more showing than in-your-face telling."

Overall, Conklin thought the whole experience was both exciting and enlightening. "This was my very first book club gathering," Conklin shared. "The members asked lots of thoughtful questions and provided interesting insights. In fact, I learned a few new things about the novel from their reactions and theories."

More on Ohio Pen

Club members who were not able to attend the gathering with the author mentioned they also loved reading the book and were looking forward to discussing it. "We will all be recommending it to friends and other book clubs we are associated with," Gildenmeister said.

"Thank you, Bob, for meeting with us," Geiger concluded, "and giving us this fascinating opportunity to hear from an actual author about a book that captivated each one of us!"

For more information about the novel, visit Amazon or Goodreads.