Life After Death
Title: Life After Death: An American Family Book Two
Author: Jackson Baer
Narrator: Dan Carroll
Published: November 5, 2018
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 15-19, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
The Childs family faced the unthinkable… now they have a second chance.
The Childs family has endured a terrible tragedy, but the FBI’s shocking discovery has turned their lives upside down.
His kids have all moved on from the death of their mother, as has Isaac from the loss of his wife, but now that the FBI has finally solved the case, the Childs family must face the loss of Ramie all over again.
Each has their own relationships and their own lives, but all are upended due to unforeseen circumstances. As they maneuver these new lives, they must deal with love, heartache, and jealousy as a family, and the choices they face will not be easy.
Their decisions bring out the best in some… and the worst in others.
Jessica’s Review:
Life After Death is the second and final book in An American Family series that follows the Childs family. I reviewed An American Family here. Life After Death picks up shortly after An American Family ends. I would recommend having both books to read sequentially, as An American Family ends a bit abruptly and I was ready for more story with the Childs’ family.
Life After Death deals with Isaac again and also more with his kids Olivia and Carter. As mentioned previously, all of these characters have many flaws and they have to deal with the aftermath of a terrible situation. If they had been perfect before, they would have been far from it after the fact!
This is a series where you cannot say much in the review without giving spoilers away, but it is just an average read for me. Yes, every family has some kind of tragedy, but for the Childs family the tragedies kept coming and became more extreme: This makes it less believable and also predictable as it became a “yep, this is going to happen next” kind of read for me.
Though predictable, I did enjoy the read. The psychology of the family experiences and how they coped kept me intrigued.
The narrator, Dan Carroll’s voice sounded similar to John Goodman to me.
Many thanks to the author Jackson Baer who sent an audible copy in exchange for a review.
An American Family by Jackson Baer
Author: Jackson Baer
Published: October 1, 2018
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened to: December 5-10, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Isaac Childs has the perfect life—until that life comes crashing down when his wife Ramie vanishes.
Isaac learns that his wife’s disappearance is the ninth in a string of similar cases. In the wake of this news, he struggles to cope, to be a good father to his daughter and college-bound son, and to reclaim something of an ordinary life even as he conceals his troubled past.
After the FBI makes an arrest, and his wife is presumed dead, Isaac begins to move on. Yet will his secrets catch up with him? Has he conquered his vices for good? And what of the FBI’s theory that the case isn’t completely resolved, after all?
Evolved Publishing presents the first book in the “An American Family” series, contemporary suspense thrillers that explore one family’s trials and tragedies.
Jessica’s Review:
An American Family is a character driven novel with a family of imperfect people. Each character has issues, the main focus is Isaac. It was hard to like and feel for him. This family went through something terrible that no one should experience but Isaac’s faults just kept coming.
The novel is far from perfect: the writing comes off as juvenile and could have been written better. For example, in the first chapter there were constant mentions of the crime shows that Isaac and Ramie watch and enjoy. I found myself wondering what I got myself into… and then something unexpected happened: I became invested in the story! I am from Georgia as is Baer, so I think part of what drew me in to the novel was hearing about locations I know: Whitlock in Marietta, The Chicken and the Egg (I have not eaten there yet, but know about it). I kept wondering if ‘The Big Chicken’ was going to make an ‘appearance’ in the novel. (It doesn’t but that would have been awesome!).
I wanted to know how each family member was going to cope and move on from their loss. Many of the twists were predictable, except for that final twist. There is a second book called Life After Death which you will want to start once you finish An American Family. I am listening to it now and should have it done quickly with the review posted soon.
**Special thanks to the author, Jackson Baer for sending me an audio copy to listen to and review via Love Books Group Tours. This was not part of a blog tour.**
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK