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ramseyhootman's review against another edition
4.0
You'll enjoy this book if you go into it understanding that everyone is going to make bad choices and nobody is going to come out a better person in the end. It's sort of noir-ish, sort of thriller-ish, with a lot of tongue-in-cheek observational humor made by terrible, selfish people about other terrible, selfish people. (I kept thinking, this is the sort of book my dad would really appreciate.) It's a slow-rolling train wreck that's hard to look away from. In general, I prefer to feel at least some element of sympathy for the anti-hero, but Alton (the protagonist/antagonist) makes this very difficult. Nevertheless, it was fun to read and I just kept turning pages. I read it on my kindle, and when I got to the end I was very surprised to see that the print version is 400 pages - it felt much shorter!
shankl's review against another edition
3.0
#thrillerthursday
How I’m Spending My Afterlife
@spencersboringpix
@woodhallpress - September 7, 2021
Paperback: 406 pages
After you’re gone, what will they say about you? Alton Carver is about to find out after deciding to flee from a federal investigation abandoning his wife and daughter.
His plan is simply:
Stage his death out in the ocean
Flee to Central America
Take the money he stole
But instead he is drawn back into life, witnessing his memorial and uncovering scores of secrets about his perfect job and family.
How I’m Spending My Afterlife slowly unravels Alton’s deception, the betrayal by his wife and every decision gone bad with his plan. The story is told through Alton’s point of view and his wife. Quick, easy read that was just OK.
Thank you @tlcbooktours and the author for the complimentary copy of the book.
How I’m Spending My Afterlife
@spencersboringpix
@woodhallpress - September 7, 2021
Paperback: 406 pages
After you’re gone, what will they say about you? Alton Carver is about to find out after deciding to flee from a federal investigation abandoning his wife and daughter.
His plan is simply:
Stage his death out in the ocean
Flee to Central America
Take the money he stole
But instead he is drawn back into life, witnessing his memorial and uncovering scores of secrets about his perfect job and family.
How I’m Spending My Afterlife slowly unravels Alton’s deception, the betrayal by his wife and every decision gone bad with his plan. The story is told through Alton’s point of view and his wife. Quick, easy read that was just OK.
Thank you @tlcbooktours and the author for the complimentary copy of the book.
oomilyreads's review against another edition
1.0
How I’m Spending My Afterlife written my Spencer Fleury
Attorney Alton Carver is under fed investigation for embezzlement & fraud. He stages his death but stays to watch his own wake & realizes his life wasn’t what he thought it was & people didn’t even like him. Well I didn't either. I was expecting some fun, dark humor which I found in a couple of places but overall this was a really unlikeable story with extremely repulsive characters. I didn’t even like the 4-yo kid that much. Alton & his wife Nicole are complete morons.
Moderate spoilers ahead. This story is told in alternating POV btw the halfwits Alton & Nicole. Alton never plans anything through & when I say NEVER, I mean never. The entire novel was him saying “fuck it, I’ll burn that bridge when I get there”. AKA He never has an entire thought before he does something. Instead of getting the hell out of Dodge, he stays 6 weeks in a nearby run-down motel & breaks into his house every few days to take a nap & drink coffee. He even draws a creepy mustache using….wait for it….AN EYELINER. An EYELINER? What the hell?
“Next time I stage my own death, I’m going to remember to set myself up with transportation first. And a disposable phone.”
Surprised you survived childhood.
A week after Nicole’s husband goes “missing”, she hosts a wake (who DOES this a week after?) & gets completely trashed & that’s when we meet her lover. She starts bringing him over sloppily with her 4 yo in the house. She is just the absolute WORST mother. Someone (Alton) is breaking into the house & she does nothing to catch him. She just keeps getting drunk & getting annoyed with her daughter’s “grief” for her daddy. I wanted to reach into the book & slap her in the face!
Alton kidnaps his daughter & Nicole reacts by having sex with her lover & drinking wine. Alton ends up abandoning his daughter AGAIN but this time at a random McDonald's bathroom! Where she's could have been kidnapped & killed. What an absolute POS! I wish they actually did end up at the bottom of the ocean. I simply don’t like stories where I think all the characters were dumbasses.
Attorney Alton Carver is under fed investigation for embezzlement & fraud. He stages his death but stays to watch his own wake & realizes his life wasn’t what he thought it was & people didn’t even like him. Well I didn't either. I was expecting some fun, dark humor which I found in a couple of places but overall this was a really unlikeable story with extremely repulsive characters. I didn’t even like the 4-yo kid that much. Alton & his wife Nicole are complete morons.
Moderate spoilers ahead. This story is told in alternating POV btw the halfwits Alton & Nicole. Alton never plans anything through & when I say NEVER, I mean never. The entire novel was him saying “fuck it, I’ll burn that bridge when I get there”. AKA He never has an entire thought before he does something. Instead of getting the hell out of Dodge, he stays 6 weeks in a nearby run-down motel & breaks into his house every few days to take a nap & drink coffee. He even draws a creepy mustache using….wait for it….AN EYELINER. An EYELINER? What the hell?
“Next time I stage my own death, I’m going to remember to set myself up with transportation first. And a disposable phone.”
Surprised you survived childhood.
A week after Nicole’s husband goes “missing”, she hosts a wake (who DOES this a week after?) & gets completely trashed & that’s when we meet her lover. She starts bringing him over sloppily with her 4 yo in the house. She is just the absolute WORST mother. Someone (Alton) is breaking into the house & she does nothing to catch him. She just keeps getting drunk & getting annoyed with her daughter’s “grief” for her daddy. I wanted to reach into the book & slap her in the face!
Alton kidnaps his daughter & Nicole reacts by having sex with her lover & drinking wine. Alton ends up abandoning his daughter AGAIN but this time at a random McDonald's bathroom! Where she's could have been kidnapped & killed. What an absolute POS! I wish they actually did end up at the bottom of the ocean. I simply don’t like stories where I think all the characters were dumbasses.
amanda_fyi's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, the premise is great. Alton fakes his own death so his daughter (Clara) and wife (Nicole) get the insurance money with the hopes they will all one day meet up in Costa Rica and grow old together. Alton's not quite ready to hit the road yet, so he decides to stick around a bit and decides to attend his own memorial service where he sees a dude making out with his wife when the party's over.
Alton continuously going back to the house was a dumb move. I also thought it was awful how he was manipulating Clara, telling her he was a ghost and mommy doesn't believe in ghosts so don't tell her I've been here. He could have used about...3 less visits to the house to make this book more enjoyable. .
I really wanted to like this book because the premise was intriguing to me! But it seemed the author didn't know how to wrap up the book and kind of gave up 200 pages in. Wouldn't recommend.
I really wanted to like this book because the premise was intriguing to me! But it seemed the author didn't know how to wrap up the book and kind of gave up 200 pages in. Wouldn't recommend.
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