The Eaton

I have attempted to read many books by local authors set in my State without success.Mr Addis is an exceptional writer with an amazing talent for gripping his reader. The concept is fascinating, the characters believable, and the setting in greater Lansing, Michigan becomes one of the characters, woven artfully into the plot.I wait with great anticipation for his next novel.

Loved the book, couldn't put it down. Living in Lansing, I may be biased but I don't think so. I typically know by the first chapter if a book will keep my attention and this one did through out. Highly recommend if you like horror / scary books.

Concept is fantastic, and I was riveted, as the characters discovered and explored the hotel. I was just as taken with the flashbacks to the hotel’s construction and those subsequent events.But, my gosh, I’m no prude, but the sex scenes/descriptions were annoying, as was the author’s obvious adoration of nipple piercings. It’s not the subject matter, but that it felt awkwardly forced into the story multiple times, just to have it there. The present-day character’s backstories were long winded and completely took me out of the story, as well. Again, they felt forced and unnecessarily long. Found myself skimming through these bits, because they were so boring, and perpetually ruined the pace of the story.This is also a prime example of stupid characters repeatedly making stupid decisions. **BUT** the story is still interesting enough to continue past this annoyance.I feel like the author could remove a good fifty+ pages, and had a much tighter story. He could give the characters “The Descent” level intelligence/decision making, and create an absolutely stellar book.As it is, I really didn’t care who lived/died at the end, but I did finish. 3-3.5 stars; quick summer read, but easily forgotten.SPOILER AHEAD!!!!----Also the “can’t kill the monster” trope is so overdone. The characters were genuinely stupid. Like…I’m an idiot, but I’m a MENSA candidate compared to any of them. That said, when the monster just cannot truly be slowed/stopped/outwitted/captured/trapped/etc… or the characters are too dumb to make use of the knowledge they’ve obtained, it takes the fun out of the mystery. As another reviewer pointed out, the stupid thing hated people and didn’t want to be disturbed, so of course it arbitrarily murders people, and surfaces at the end to lure a guy to open a secret panel that no one would have otherwise found, just to murder him. Even the monster doesn’t know what he wants.The story was fun enough, that I endured my own eye rolls, because I flipping loved the setting the author created.

I found this book on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited list. I chose this book for a couple of reasons. The first is because of Whisper Sync. Do you know Whisper Sync? It's an awesome feature with Amazon, where you can have an ebook and an audiobook in one! With The Eaton by John K. Addis, it was as close to an audio drama as it could get! Secondly, the cover was weird enough to strike my fancy Thankfully, the story was a good choice. It wasn't scary, but offered situations and deaths that were as close to a horror movie as it could get. It entertained me and kept me listening, even when I thought I was getting bored with it. That's hard to do! read.Picture The story is about a young man who's finally living his dream, owning his own nightclub. With his fiancé and best friend, Sam takes a tour of a future purchase: a building. Surprisingly, they discover it's atop a 12-floored hotel... that's below ground! Thinking he's gotten more than he'd ever imagined, the three, along with a professional decorator and a family friend who'd assisted him in gaining a tour the facilities. But something is down below, waiting. It wishes to not be disturbed and is very unhappy. The Eaton tells two stories, well honestly it tells several. The main storyline takes place in the here and now, but the one that gives all the what's and why's takes place in the past. The author, John K. Addis, did well with keeping the periods separate and offered up an explanation that tied everything together flawlessly. Though a bit wordy from time to time, it didn't hurt the tale nor annoy me. The horror was in great taste and rather gruesome, but that's what I like in haunted stories. I don't think he could have done anything different. What also helped was the Whisper Sync, which turned my ebook into an audiobook! There were times I was able to read in bed, or listen while cleaning house and I'm going to tell you- the screams and crabbiness in the voices was pure perfection. This book was a trip and a half and I can't wait to find my next Addis book! Check out this haunted story while I move on to the next read!

This is a pretty good book, albeit a bit wordy, but it takes a really cool concept and evolves it from a great windfall to an extraordinary nightmare.The character development is pretty good, there are a few twists, turns and intermingling of things that you (or I) would not expect. At face value it seems just like it could be a "creature feature" but it is actually a great deal more than that. There are a lot of details and intricacies added that make it feel much more psychological and a mindful thriller than just the equivalent of a jump scare in a movie. There are a good number of universal themes on display as well, lending to easier relation to the characters and in turn, the story.I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook and even though parts were a bit predictable, other parts were absolutely not and there were some turns and twists that made this a very enjoyable success in my book (pun not intended).I also like the afterword from the Author at the end.Recommended if you like psychological thrillers that happen to have some evil mixed in for good measure.

A real page turner indeed. The author constantly throws you off and keeps you guessing what's going to happen next.