Having lost her parents in a tragic multi-car pile-up, Monica Harper is drawn time and again to fatal automobile accidents without understanding why. Living alone, she works next to the same section of highway where her parents were killed. But it isn’t survivors’ guilt trapping Monica in her dead-end life. Fred Schott is a tabloid reporter obsessed with Monica, and with other accident magnets like her. Despite her mistrust of Fred, Monica is eventually convinced to speak with other people with the same problems. But in arranging this tiny support group, Monica has pushed for a confrontation with an invisible army of living spirits. One by one, her new friends are picked off until Monica is left alone to face an enemy she cannot see or touch.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Lynn ODell
Format:Kindle Edition
Plot/Storyline: 1 1/2 Stars
The opening scene, with the exception of the point of view issues which will be mentioned again below, really drew me into this story. As a matter of fact, most of the first half kept me enthralled. Unfortunately, the book began to delve into the ridiculous.
My only issue with the plot in the first half is that the author seemed to vacillate between what should be happening to Monica and others as part of their `curse.' Supposedly, accidents are following them around, meaning that since Monica was the sole survivor of a car accident, everywhere she went she was pretty much a jinx to anyone in or around a vehicle. However, as more 'sole survivor stories' are related, it is revealed that not only do accidents happen around these people, they are supposedly drawn to areas where accidents will occur. Monica never seemed to be drawn to seek out these accidents until she discovers well into the book that others are so drawn. The only explanation given is that she chose to work near a highway. That just didn't seem like enough for her to later be running out of the house suddenly and speeding to a highway to witness an accident. These two scenarios seemed to conflict constantly. Had the author just stuck with one scenario or the other, the storyline would have worked out much better and not appeared to be so `patched together.'
The second half just got silly with the descriptions of the `creatures', some of which supposedly eat portions of accident victims. Not only do they manage to eat flesh without breaking skin, but it's also something that coroners never seem to discover.
One error in the story really got to me. Toward the end, a friend of Monica's is in the hospital. Monica pulls out her cell phone to call the hospital to check on her friend. The hospital tells her to come quickly. As she is on the way, another friend asks why they didn't call Monica on her cell. Monica pulls out her cell phone, the same one she called the hospital with, and says that they couldn't contact her because her cell phone was dead.
Character Development: 3 Stars
Monica started out as a pretty interesting character. However, as the story developed, she became less and less believable. The author portrays her as being naive because she was pretty much a hermit since the deaths of her parents. However, this was just taken too far. The girl had had jobs, so she interacted with other people, even if on a purely superficial level. Unless she just went home and stared at the wall, I have to assume that she read books. Also, she wasn't so young when her parents died that her social skills wouldn't have been more deveoped, albeit a little rusty.
The supporting characters were rather flat and uninteresting.
Writing Style: 2 1/2 Stars
As mentioned above, there were point of view issues in the opening scene. I do have to admit to POV problems being one of my pet peeves.
The descriptions of the various accidents were convoluted and difficult to follow. The dialogue was on the level of a pre-teen book.
The opening scene, with the exception of the point of view issues which will be mentioned again below, really drew me into this story. As a matter of fact, most of the first half kept me enthralled. Unfortunately, the book began to delve into the ridiculous.
My only issue with the plot in the first half is that the author seemed to vacillate between what should be happening to Monica and others as part of their `curse.' Supposedly, accidents are following them around, meaning that since Monica was the sole survivor of a car accident, everywhere she went she was pretty much a jinx to anyone in or around a vehicle. However, as more 'sole survivor stories' are related, it is revealed that not only do accidents happen around these people, they are supposedly drawn to areas where accidents will occur. Monica never seemed to be drawn to seek out these accidents until she discovers well into the book that others are so drawn. The only explanation given is that she chose to work near a highway. That just didn't seem like enough for her to later be running out of the house suddenly and speeding to a highway to witness an accident. These two scenarios seemed to conflict constantly. Had the author just stuck with one scenario or the other, the storyline would have worked out much better and not appeared to be so `patched together.'
The second half just got silly with the descriptions of the `creatures', some of which supposedly eat portions of accident victims. Not only do they manage to eat flesh without breaking skin, but it's also something that coroners never seem to discover.
One error in the story really got to me. Toward the end, a friend of Monica's is in the hospital. Monica pulls out her cell phone to call the hospital to check on her friend. The hospital tells her to come quickly. As she is on the way, another friend asks why they didn't call Monica on her cell. Monica pulls out her cell phone, the same one she called the hospital with, and says that they couldn't contact her because her cell phone was dead.
Character Development: 3 Stars
Monica started out as a pretty interesting character. However, as the story developed, she became less and less believable. The author portrays her as being naive because she was pretty much a hermit since the deaths of her parents. However, this was just taken too far. The girl had had jobs, so she interacted with other people, even if on a purely superficial level. Unless she just went home and stared at the wall, I have to assume that she read books. Also, she wasn't so young when her parents died that her social skills wouldn't have been more deveoped, albeit a little rusty.
The supporting characters were rather flat and uninteresting.
Writing Style: 2 1/2 Stars
As mentioned above, there were point of view issues in the opening scene. I do have to admit to POV problems being one of my pet peeves.
The descriptions of the various accidents were convoluted and difficult to follow. The dialogue was on the level of a pre-teen book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A.M. Harte
Format:Kindle Edition
A thrilling and fascinating read. The world-building is superb and the plot's strong enough to keep you reading until 2am in the morning (yep, guilty as charged...).
I was a little hesitant when I started reading this, fearing it'd be ultra scary horror. But my interest was piqued as I began to learn more about Monica's background. Monica is a magnet for car accidents. Does she follow them? Do they follow her? It's a bit of a mystery; all Monica knows is that right before a crash, her shoulder goes numb with cold and a voice tells her, "Get ready". Monica's been plagued by car accidents for years, and this has pushed her into a dead-end job and a dead-end life. It takes some insistence from tabloid reporter Fred -- and another tragic accident -- before Monica's pushed into action.
The story's reminiscent of Final Destination: it had that same inevitability of death, along with dramatic and thrilling freak "accidents". Monica is not the classic heroine who comes to save the day, guns blazing. If anything, she's a little defeatist about it all, yet somehow finds the determination to keep going regardless. But what I really enjoyed was the world-building: the setting felt rich and well-researched, the living spirts were fascinating and unlike anything I've read before.
A couple nitpicks: Monica's complete ignorance of technology was a little unbelievable so I was pulled out of the story whenever she struggled with a cell phone. While the car crashes were described in great visual detail, they didn't really enthral me. And I found the FBI annoying and unbelievably stupid.
Other than that, I quite enjoyed the story. The romantic subplot was sweet, and there were several genuinely shocking moments. The final chapters were particularly surreal, and I was happy to see Monica show a lot more strength of character by the end.
I was a little hesitant when I started reading this, fearing it'd be ultra scary horror. But my interest was piqued as I began to learn more about Monica's background. Monica is a magnet for car accidents. Does she follow them? Do they follow her? It's a bit of a mystery; all Monica knows is that right before a crash, her shoulder goes numb with cold and a voice tells her, "Get ready". Monica's been plagued by car accidents for years, and this has pushed her into a dead-end job and a dead-end life. It takes some insistence from tabloid reporter Fred -- and another tragic accident -- before Monica's pushed into action.
The story's reminiscent of Final Destination: it had that same inevitability of death, along with dramatic and thrilling freak "accidents". Monica is not the classic heroine who comes to save the day, guns blazing. If anything, she's a little defeatist about it all, yet somehow finds the determination to keep going regardless. But what I really enjoyed was the world-building: the setting felt rich and well-researched, the living spirts were fascinating and unlike anything I've read before.
A couple nitpicks: Monica's complete ignorance of technology was a little unbelievable so I was pulled out of the story whenever she struggled with a cell phone. While the car crashes were described in great visual detail, they didn't really enthral me. And I found the FBI annoying and unbelievably stupid.
Other than that, I quite enjoyed the story. The romantic subplot was sweet, and there were several genuinely shocking moments. The final chapters were particularly surreal, and I was happy to see Monica show a lot more strength of character by the end.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
THE SOLE SURVIVORS' CLUB
By Zoe E. Whitten
Cover Art by Nick Rose
Aphotic Thought Press 2010
Monica Harper tragically lost her parents in a horrific car accident which she survived, but saw something that scared her. Within the next few years she would also lose her grandfather and grandmother in separate car accidents that Monica also survived. Monica has since noticed that she seems to have become a magnet for auto accidents. Fred, a freelance reporter, has written many stories about her, giving her an alias to protect her identity. Fred tells her about Carl, a man who seems to be a magnet for elevator accidents and who also has seen something during his first accident. Fred then dies in an accident while speaking to Monica about Steven, the sole survivor of a plane crash who is talking about the things he saw feeding on the dead. Fred believes they all suffer from the same problem. Monica believes she is cursed but Carl has another theory and thinks he can help her. With the help of Bernice, Fred's mom who knows all about Monica, they will do what they can to try to help Steven and rid Monica of her "curse" once and for all.
Zoe Whitten has written a really good story in THE SOLE SURVIVORS' CLUB. You can't help but sympathize with Monica and Carl. I also liked Bernice because she immediately decides to take Monica in and care for her even though she just lost her son. Fred dies fairly early on (so I'm not giving anything away) and I was a bit upset with his death because he really did want to help Monica and others like her. Bernice caring for Monica made up for that, though. She believes in the research her son was doing and feels she can help Monica. Getting Monica behind the wheel of a car and actually driving was pretty funny and sweet. After speaking to Carl on the phone a few times he makes his way to San Antonio to help both Monica and Steven. The reason for the supposed "curse" is something I wasn't expecting and the story Ms. Whitten builds around the antagonists is quite imaginative and amazing. The climax is a fantastic one with a fight to the death. I did think Carl and Monica's relationship progressed a little fast, but I'll concede that their shared tragic lives acted like a bond between them. I also would have liked to have heard more of Steven's story. Overall THE SOLE SURVIVORS' CLUB is a very good book that I recommend to anyone, but especially to fans of the supernatural.
Moderate violence and gore.
Colleen Wanglund
7/25/2010
By Zoe E. Whitten
Cover Art by Nick Rose
Aphotic Thought Press 2010
Monica Harper tragically lost her parents in a horrific car accident which she survived, but saw something that scared her. Within the next few years she would also lose her grandfather and grandmother in separate car accidents that Monica also survived. Monica has since noticed that she seems to have become a magnet for auto accidents. Fred, a freelance reporter, has written many stories about her, giving her an alias to protect her identity. Fred tells her about Carl, a man who seems to be a magnet for elevator accidents and who also has seen something during his first accident. Fred then dies in an accident while speaking to Monica about Steven, the sole survivor of a plane crash who is talking about the things he saw feeding on the dead. Fred believes they all suffer from the same problem. Monica believes she is cursed but Carl has another theory and thinks he can help her. With the help of Bernice, Fred's mom who knows all about Monica, they will do what they can to try to help Steven and rid Monica of her "curse" once and for all.
Zoe Whitten has written a really good story in THE SOLE SURVIVORS' CLUB. You can't help but sympathize with Monica and Carl. I also liked Bernice because she immediately decides to take Monica in and care for her even though she just lost her son. Fred dies fairly early on (so I'm not giving anything away) and I was a bit upset with his death because he really did want to help Monica and others like her. Bernice caring for Monica made up for that, though. She believes in the research her son was doing and feels she can help Monica. Getting Monica behind the wheel of a car and actually driving was pretty funny and sweet. After speaking to Carl on the phone a few times he makes his way to San Antonio to help both Monica and Steven. The reason for the supposed "curse" is something I wasn't expecting and the story Ms. Whitten builds around the antagonists is quite imaginative and amazing. The climax is a fantastic one with a fight to the death. I did think Carl and Monica's relationship progressed a little fast, but I'll concede that their shared tragic lives acted like a bond between them. I also would have liked to have heard more of Steven's story. Overall THE SOLE SURVIVORS' CLUB is a very good book that I recommend to anyone, but especially to fans of the supernatural.
Moderate violence and gore.
Colleen Wanglund
7/25/2010
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read
What a cool book. I'm always amazed at the different worlds she creates. Explaining many mystery's that exist today. Explaining why things happen (if they can't touch us.. Read more
Published on January 30, 2011 by Poohbear
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different kind of dark urban fantasy
A few years back Zoe Whitten and I frequented the same writing forum. At one point she asked if anyone would alpha read an early draft of "The Sole Survivors' Club". Read more
Published on July 7, 2010 by Becka Sutton
More About the Author
An experimental dark fiction writer, Zoe has written several novels and novellas that fuse fantasy, sci-fi, horror, crime fiction, black comedy and musicals.
Born in Denison Texas, Zoe is a high school dropout and a GED graduate. Despite these depressingly low qualifications, she has worked as a computer technician, a webmaster, an internet help desk operator, a video producer, a movie theater projectionist, an amusement park ride operator, a telemarketer, a dishwasher, and a wrestling federation commissioner. She briefly attempted to serve in the Army before injuring herself in basic training. (Instead of "Hu-ah!" it was more like "Hu-OW!")
Retired due to poor health, she lives in Milan Italy with her husband Luciano.
Born in Denison Texas, Zoe is a high school dropout and a GED graduate. Despite these depressingly low qualifications, she has worked as a computer technician, a webmaster, an internet help desk operator, a video producer, a movie theater projectionist, an amusement park ride operator, a telemarketer, a dishwasher, and a wrestling federation commissioner. She briefly attempted to serve in the Army before injuring herself in basic training. (Instead of "Hu-ah!" it was more like "Hu-OW!")
Retired due to poor health, she lives in Milan Italy with her husband Luciano.
