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The Benefactor Kindle Edition

by Scott Griffin (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

97 ratings

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A taut, suspenseful and pulse-pounding psychological thriller with a killer twist.

He's the family you wish you never had.

When Sean and Maggie win a holiday to Miami it's an ideal opportunity to forget a death in the family as well as rebuild bridges with their seventeen-year-old daughter Sophie and twelve-year-old son Liam.

But when they meet a stranger who knows more about their collective inner thoughts than they do, they realise their private Facebook and blog entries haven't just been subscribed to by close friends.

As they become prisoners in their walled holiday villa the stranger teaches them why their family has fallen apart and why they should never have carelessly discarded a computer hard drive five years previously.

The Benefactor is an edge-of-seat suspense thriller, perfect for fans of Harlan Coben, James Patterson and Linwood Barclay. It combines modern technology with classic suspense to create a heart-pounding contemporary thriller.

'This is best debut thriller I have read in years' - Tom Kasey, author of the best-selling Trade Off.

'The Benefactor will keep you awake half the night' - Matt Lynn, author of the best-selling Death Force thrillers.

Print length

53 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

July 5, 2012
File size

1412 KB
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J. M. Gregson
173
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Alan Scholefield
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Bill Blum
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John Gardner
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Alan Scholefield
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Annette Mark
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008I1DTMO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books (July 5, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 5, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1412 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 53 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,788,411 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,097 in 90-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads
- #16,466 in 90-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads
- #59,087 in Suspense (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
97 ratings

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2.9 out of 5

97 global ratings

5 star		23%
4 star		16%
3 star		21%
2 star		11%
1 star		29%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Willfulone

the benefactor

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 27, 2012

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This is a rather short suspense - thriller type that manages to do what many shorter length offertings cannot: it actually contained suspense, it had mystery, it did not "tell" major devices (rather it showed the paces of tale), it contained twists beyond the halfway mark, there was no rushing of any scenes and there were no contrived conveniences used by author to further his tale (or make it work without author doing detail work). Add to that the devices were plausible and did not require a huge leap into suspension of belief issues. Lastly, it was a fairly novel premise and was well edited. It is not often I leave 5 stars and (rarely) for shorter works. The author has hit a high note in this reader's mind with this offering.

This is story about Sean and his family (wife and two kiddos). They are on a much needed vacation after a tragedy has struck and after a lengthy family separation period. It looks like life is headed in the right direction toward becoming a nuclear family again. Then fortune frowns and becomes misfortune during this (anything but) "lucky vacation win." While vacationing Sean and his family find out that their "luck" was really orchestrated by someone who has intent of their own based in several year's cumulated data related to the family. There are twists related to the misjudgement of Sean by this other party who believes Sean weak and a patsy and unable to provide what his family needs. There is a twist at the end related to the finish of book that did not offer the expected ending. I am always happy to read a story wherein the author continues to the end and where the story takes them without providing a "typical" ending based upon some formula given (for genre or based upon reader preference overall leaning toward "happilyeverafter).

This is a great preview of author ability and I look forward to reading more by this author.

Christine

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dylan Grissom

???

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 24, 2012

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I hated how this ended...there is no closure here...I am just hanging....it was pretty eventful and then just stopped suddenly

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Amazon Customer

Could have been longer

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 25, 2013

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This book was somewhat "empty" and could have fleshed out the characters more. The author needed to create a more intense storyline. I was impressed with the way it ended, but the premise of the plot was left lacking. Or else I just missed it.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 26, 2014

Did not enjoy it!!

The Benefactor is a very good book.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 26, 2012

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I like good mysteries and although I have never read this author, I am enjoying the book immensely. It is hard to put down once you start reading.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 5, 2013

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A great read but a disappointing ending. A lot of British references I didn't understand. All in all, though, great story.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 14, 2013

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Read like a plot line for a tv episode. No development of the characters. Ridiculous story line. No resolution to the story. Appallingly bad. Pity it was published at all.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 19, 2019

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Wow, I wasted an hour reading a story that shouldn't have gotten past the type writer, or computer. Was too disjointed.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

AlexO'B

Perils of technology

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 14, 2013

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As far as short stories go The Benefactor by Scott Griffin is a must-read for any avid thriller fan. A tale of mystery and suspense, the novel grips you from the word go and leaves you demanding more right up until its brutal and unexpected end.

Five years previously Sean threw out his old computer hard drives believing they would be left to decompose on a landfill site, forgotten. Now on an all-expenses trip to America with his family, in the hopes of rebuilding the broken relationships he had left behind the year before, Sean, Maggie, Liam and Sophie realise that the Internet world they had come to trust was not the refuge they had thought it to be. A man appears, knowing too much about each of them - information which he says had been "discarded or willingly presented" - and his aim: to show Sean what he had walked out on, and to the family the secrets they had kept from each other but had been so eager to divulge to the world at large. A family on the brink of collapse is thrown into a prison within their holiday home and are forced to address the very reasons they have grown apart. But will this stranger let them go?

This novella cites the perils of living in an age of technology where nothing online is untouchable or safe from preying eyes. It leaves us questioning the very safety of our lives; who can see what we write online and to what end will our willingly offered up information prove fruitful to those who find it?

J. Smith

Promising but beware it's short

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 30, 2012

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Why do I read? Well in the case of fiction it is to 'enjoy the ride' and to be fair to this short story by Scott Griffin I did find it a compelling read. The premise was interesting and I could not put my kindle down - I flew through the book, but for two reasons 1) I was enjoying it and wanted to know what happens 2) it was short.

I have given other work by Scott 5 stars, this has only scored 3 because I found the ending a little weak - previously consumed work left me questioning my conclusions - where as this just ended.

Many reviewers have questioned the price tag - to be honest I got it on promotion so can't comment. I enjoyed it - worth £1.99? Read it and make up your own mind - the description clearly states its only 50 ish pages long.

Catzoomi

Scott Griffin is a writer to watch

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 27, 2012

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Short as this book was, it had all the finest ingredients for the perfect thriller.

I've already enjoyed The Donor by Griffin and was impressed enough to keep a look out for his future works. If this is a sign of what is to come, I will keep him on my favourites list.

This story kept me tense all the way through as you feel the terror of the family being held by their demented 'benefactor'.

I feel the shocking ending was the perfect way to end this tale. Not all tales need to be ended 'happily ever after', as another reviewer already said.

I am looking forward to reading more from this writer. Move over, Linwood. :)

2 people found this helpful

TheWillowTree

Great short story, no ending..

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 21, 2020

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I really enjoyed this and didn't expect what was coming but I'm a little disappointed with the ending in the fact that nothing was resolved, you never find out how it truly ended, questions were left unanswered, apart from this it was enjoyable.

DJW13

A short story, not a novella or a novel

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 24, 2014

Verified Purchase

This story may have gone somewhere - but ended! I, like many others, had not noticed the number of pages (53) before downloading and reading. Some reviewers suggest that this is a novella rather than a novel - I have no idea what the technical requirements are but for me this should be clearly stated as being a short story.

There was an interesting idea behind the story, but there was no time for character development before the end. If you like short stories, as many reviewers evidently do, this may well be a good example.

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