Customer Reviews

Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I just finished this book for the second time last night. It is unlike any other book I have ever read - or seen. Yes, you have to "see" this book because it is a work of art! It is presented as an altered book journal created by Amy Zoe Mason and you can see from that little note on the cover that things don't turn out too well for Amy in the end.

The first time through the book I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Then I had to read it again to look for all the clues I might have missed and just to enjoy the artwork. It truly is like reading through someone's scrapbook/journal. In fact I really had to remind myself after that it was just a work of fiction, because I really felt like I had read someone's diary! - LOL!

It was fun to read something like this just for myself. It also made me want to alter a book! I've always felt funny about doing that because books are so special to me, but it would be fun to find an old book and give it new life with my own art.

This book is unlike any I have read before. It is the journal of Amy Mason, a very gifted artist and mother. She keeps her diary on an old book, so you are sometimes able to read the background story. It's amazing! The story in the old book somehow seems to parallel Amys story. I still have to explore this! I have spent hours looking at each page. Amy was such a gifted artist - she has taken journaling/scrapbooking to a whole new level. I know that this is supposed to be fiction, but Amy seems so real, I'm not sure...I feel like I know her, and wish I could help. It is so interesting to see how her relationship with her husband changes, and to see how her depression affects her art. I haven't been able to get Amy off my mind. There are no easy answers or conclusions at the end of this book, just like in real life.

As a work of art, this book succeeds. It is beautiful to look at. As a mystery, it is far from complex, but it did hold my interest for the hour or so I spent on it. I did study the pages looking for hidden "clues", but didn't really see any that weren't completely obvious. I like the idea of creating intrigue around the case of this "real" woman, but it's obviously not true. The myspace link is also pretty clever. This book reminds me of the "Blair Witch Project" in its artificial documentary style. Pick it up and enjoy it for what it is. Might be a nice coffee table book or something to place in a guest bedroom for relatives with trouble sleeping. It's fun. It's pretty. That's about it...

First, let's get one thing clear. Relax, this is fiction. It's fantastic, thrilling fiction but it is fiction. This book looks like a real decoupaged jouranal. Everything about the design from the newspaper clippings to the photos, to the drawings are perfect. It is the story of Amy Mason, a sweet, shy young mother who's husband Bob, has taken a job in Boston. He's been gone for months coming home only for a quick weekend. Amy and the children will join him in the Spring once their Texas home is sold. At first Amy is upbeat about the whole thing but gradually she begins to feel differently. Bob's e-mails notes are passionate at first and then he abruptly starts writing short, workmanlike rather cold notes that leave Amy confused. And he's not answering his cell phone like he used to. On top of this the real estate agent who is selling the house is sophisticated, beautiful and travels back and forth to Boston.

Is something going on between Bob and the real estate agent? Is Amy being paranoid or is she really in danger? And why does it feel like the real estate agent is slowly taking over her life?

Each page of the book advances an increasingly nervewraacking story. The things that Amy doesn't say in her journal are hinted at by her "choice" of artwork-- there is a picture of two card players cheating a victim, and scraps of a tragic poem are scattered throughout the book. Other artwork includes a drawing of woman clinging to a man who appears to be pulling away and a photograph of a turn of the century couple with the woman's face cut out.

Journal: The Short Life and Mysterious Death of Amy Zoe Mason is a lot of fun and the ending is disturbing in a Blair Witch/Twin Peaks kind of way. I loved it.

Kristine and Joy Atkinson bought a desk at a Houston resale shop. They restored the small desk and found a secret compartment containing the nineteenth century journal of thirtyish wife and mother Amy Mason. However, Amy uses the novel Lucille by Owen Meredith to tell her year of discontent.

Amy's husband, physician Robert relocates from their Houston home to take charge of a cardiology institute in Boston. He leaves behind his wife and their two small children with plans for them to follow once he finds them a home and sets up standard operating procedures on the job. While he dives into his medical practice and joins high society, he rationalizes that socializing with the Brahmin comes with his vocation. Artisticly inclined Amy feels lonely and increasingly despondent. She makes a new friend, her Houston real estate agent Vanessa Garamond, but feeling abandoned Amy begins to have suspicions about her realtor and her husband. Not long afterward Amy is dead. The Atkinson duo (and readers) ponders murder, suicide, or accident.

JOURNAL is a refreshing creative tale that uses a journal, post cards, newspaper clippings, and other items to tell the story of the last year of the life of Amy Zoe Mason. Readers will appreciate this unique mystery as the clues are laid out, but not in a linear method with the audience accompanying the sleuth. Those who prefer an open and shut case will need to pass; however, fans who cherish something different will want to read the Atkinson siblings' historical scrapbook.

Harriet Klausner

This was a fun and interesting mystery to read. It was like
finding a stranger's diary. I really enjoyed it,
and almost had myself, thinking it was a true story. It has the
look of a altered book inside, with notes, news paper clippings,
and pictures and collages on the different pages. The last page
of this journal came too quickly, and I wished the saga could have
continued. Reading this book was a great way to spend a quiet
afternoon. If you are looking for a gift for a friend who reads
mysteries, or enjoys altered book, this is the book to buy.

My mother recently purchased this book and it looked so cool that I picked it up and started reading. I found this book so intriguing that I could not put it down until I had finished the whole thing. Several days later Amy Mason's journal was still on my mind. I ended up going back through the pages looking for additional insight into exactly what happened to this very creative woman.

One additional note: While this book is listed as fiction, everything seems so real. I ended looking up some of the characters in the book and found that some of them are real people. Amy Mason's daughter even has a myspace account. It makes me wonder if the ending is also real....

This is an attractive book which combines scrapbooking and mystery.The reader gleans information about the characters and plot of the story by piecing together the information in the scrapbooked pages.
There is a certain satisfaction in the ending where the reader is required to use a bit of deductive reasoning based on the clues given to solve the mystery.

This is one of the most beautiful, interesting books I have ever read. I know the publisher has to say it's fiction, but like some of the others reviewing the book, I'm not so sure. Amy Mason's daughter DOES have a myspace page, and a website, and there is lots of evidence on the internet that some of this, at least is true. Even if it isn't, it's still a great read and again, a really beautiful, moving story and book.

I stayed up until 4am to finish this one! Easily read in one sitting. Simply forgo reading the back cover or any detailed reviews/critiques before you begin. A unique premise, creatively executed, that might have been even more enticing had the authors not included the disclaimer on the copyright page that it was fiction.