Sorrow Wood

Awesome story, very enjoyable!

A mystery, and a love story. I enjoyed the quirky characters of this small town, but the story is so much more than that. The life experiences and lessons learned are beautifully told. The murder-mystery is solved in a way I never saw coming, but worked well. Highly-imagined, witty and wise, this tale of life, struggle and death is just awesome. Raymond Atkins is my newest favorite author. Highly recommended!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Another offering from one of the best writers in a long time!

Atkins' first book -- Front Porch Prophet -- was an enjoyable story with a great cast of characters. It stood out, though, because of the author's superb writing style. His tongue-in-cheek humor and rich, pithy descriptions make an ennobling experience all by themselves.

Sorrow Wood is more of the same, but deeper in subject matter. Love stories can be hokey, but not in Atkins' hands. Wendell and Reva are destined for fame. The story has thoughtful overtones of the continuity of life's spirit. If that sounds deep and dreary, read the book and be surprised.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful Book

Set in the south this book pulls you in from the 1st page. Found that once I started reading it was hard to put down because I was invested in the characters and their lives. I would highly recomnend this for a book club, although I could not find discussion questions. Another book by Raymond Atkins is Front Porch Prophet...also a great read.

Great Read!

Without a doubt, Raymond Atkins can do more character development in a single paragraph than most authors can do in an entire book. You can identify with the characters and their motivations. His books seem honest and straightforward. When the story is finally over, you can imagine the future for the characters. While the ending is not a "happily ever after," all the loose ends are addressed. I would recommend any book by this author.

Dethstar

Helps slypup so he heals perfectly

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Slypup and Fangkit

Fangkit- i told you not to go in the forest towards those eyes! Slypup- I know. *chokes on blood from internal wounds*

CONFUSED.

Should I have read a previous story? I could not get into the read. Did not go beyond the first chapter.

Rainbreeze

"I might have known a Blacktail but I think it was a different one that you were talking about," Rainbreeze says as she padd into the Nursery.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing

I enjoyed The Front Porch Prophet so much that I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately,this book is nothing like the first. It meanders and jumps around making it very hard to find the story. The entire first half of the book goes on a 'walkabout' before getting to the meat of the murder. Wendell makes a half-hearted attempt at investigating and then the mystery is solved out of nowhere with 3 pages left in the book. It felt like the writer ran out of ideas (or time?) and just went straight to the end. I'd give this one a pass.

Excellent

The second book by this author that i have found. Fantastically written so imaginative and always touching.

Good read

This was for me a riviting story about a couple deeply in love--a love that spans the ages. Give it a read. It is well worth it.

A good read

Every so often a writer comes along who, when you read him, it doesn't feel like that's what your doing, it feels like you're sitting on a bar stool listening to him tell you a story. Raymond Atkins is such a writer. His style is conversational, not pedantic. He is not talking at you, he is talking to you. Both this and his previous book, The Front Porch Prophet, spend most of their time and pages in flashbacks and reminiscences, there's very little present day action to move the story along. But that's ok. All great story tellers give you enough back story so you don't walk away scratching your head in befuddlement. And this is how you get to know the people (notice I didn't say "characters") in Atkins books. Through memories. In a lesser writer, these would be filler, an attempt to take up space because there isn't that much to the story. But not for Atkins. These are the heart and soul, the meat and potatoes of the story, that which makes it worth reading. And worthy it is. If you haven't read Sorrow Wood or The Front Porch Prophet, get them both and read them in order. You won't be disappointed.

Hometown Author

Just finished Sorrowood and Front Porch Prophet. Both books are excellent reading, but Sorrowood is in a class of its own. What fun to read a book and know the places the author drew from. After all he's a hometown hero. Well done Raymond! You did an awesome job! Rome, Ga Cardiac care Nurse

Highly recommend this book

I really enjoyed the book and will be looking for more books by Raymond Atkins. I was so suprised by the ending; enjoyed the love story and the journy through life(s) of Wendell and Riva. I liked how the side stories finally explained themselves at the end.

Excellent read!

I had just finished The Front Porch Prophet when I found this story. After reading such an outstanding book, I wasn't sure that Mr. Atkins could live up to "Prophet" in his second book. As I started reading, I thought that my fears had been confirmed but then something wonderful happened.

This is a wonderfully touching story that is every bit as rich in character as The Front Porch Prophet, although it may take a bit more time to see it clearly. Wendell and Reva have a love to last the ages and it's wonderful to see it unfold. I am not much for "romance" novels but this feels more like the truth than most of that genre - just living and loving as a part of daily life. I think that it is a love story first and formost with a huge dose of Southern humor and wisdom sprinkled about. It takes hold and doesn't let go even in the last pages. Of course, my parents were married for more than 65 years so this seems familiar and comfortable to me...like a warm fire on a snowy evening. I cannot wait for the next book by this author.

Wonderful read!

I purchased Sorrow Wood after reading the free download of Front Porch Prophet. Atkins did not disappoint. . . He delivered yet another touching and entertaining story. The synopsis of this story does not do it justice. It is so much more! Will continue to look for new works from Raymond Atkins.

Love it!

Absolutely loved this book. Hold on to your hat...it takes some interesting twists and turns.

A surprisingly good read

I loved "The Front Porch Prophet" by this author so I thought I'd give his other book a try. It didn't start off with the same punch, nor have as many laugh out loud moments, but I quickly found the same southern rhythm and quirky sort of characters that endeared me so much with the first book. The flashbacks to previous lives seem to me to be a bit hooky and unnecessary though. The story would be just as great without them. I hope to see more from this author.

An Impressive Tale Of Supernatural Romance

After only their second date, Wendell proposes to Reva, the newfound love of his life, with whom he's felt a profound spiritual connection since they first met - and without whom he can't imagine spending the rest of his life. Eventually settling together in Sand Valley, Alabama, Wendell becomes the town police chief while Reva serves as a probate judge. After decades of a quiet, peaceful, murder-free existence, Sand Valley soon witnesses the gruesome burning death of Christine Hendricksen, a self-proclaimed witch with a controversial reputation for unscrupulous "free love" - masked as mystical occultism. As his investigation into Christine's death proceeds, Wendell soon discovers a host of disturbing truths, not only about her, but also about him and a series of previous lives that he's supposedly lived - all of which were designed to prepare him for the shocking twist his present incarnation is about to encounter...

With a keen eye toward the supernatural, author Raymond Atkins has crafted a compelling suspense thriller in Sorrow Wood. In masterful fashion, Atkins seamlessly weaves spiritual poignancy with tender romance in order to create an engaging tale that offers tentative answers to some of the lingering questions we all find ourselves pondering from time to time: why are we here? What lies beyond the grave? Have we ever been here before - and if so, why? Not that Atkins professes to know all the secrets behind our storied existence in the present dimension, but his thought-provoking tale certainly provides readers with a helpful nudge in the right direction, encouraging them - like Wendell - to further explore the mystical realms of fate and circumstance for themselves.

Engrossing, entrancing - and with an ending sure to leave you wanting more - Sorrow Wood is more than just a garden variety love story. A thoroughly entertaining read.


Renee Washburn
Apex Reviews

This is the story of two ordinary people who fall in love and marry

Wendell Blackmon left home when he was sixteen after he tossed his abusive father into a well. Reva lost her parents and had her leg amputated due to a drunken train engineer. Wendell is sailing in the South pacific, but comes home because his ship needs repair. He and Reva meet in a bar and feel an instant connection as if they lived and loved in past lives. On the second date, Wendell proposes because he loves her and wants to be a father to her son. She accepts and they marry before he has to ship out again.

When he returns, they start their life together, but just as they adapt, he is called up again and sent to Korea. When he returns this time, they move to Sand Valley, Alabama where he becomes the police chief. After decades of no violent crime, a murder occurs of a woman who claimed to be a free spirited witch; her burned remains found on Sorrow Wood land. Wendell investigates only each clue about the mysterious woman and her violent death leads back to his and Reva'spast.

This is the story of two ordinary people who fall in love and marry. Yet as everyday as that sounds; their tale is very poignant reminiscent of Erich Segal's Love Story. The story line takes place during WW II, the Korean Police Action, and up to 1995 when the homicide occurs. Though the police procedural suspense comes late, fans will enjoy love through the ages on a par with the epics of Barbara Delinsky and Danielle Steele.

Harriet Klausner