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Somewhere Past the End
Alexandria Faulkenbury
Publication Date: May 20th, 2025
Apprentice House Press | Loyola University Maryland
272 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Literary Fiction | Women’s Fiction
Another book about a cult where members disappear and it was pretty good, especially for a debut. In this one, the main character is Alice, and she knows it’s all a put-on when told the end of the world is coming, so she wants to use it as her chance of Escape, but then it actually comes true and over a hundred cult members disappear.
The best part of the book was the way the characters were written; they felt real, and their behaviour was exactly how I imagined cult members would act, especially the leader, Brother Richard. I was really proud of Alice, as young as she was, and everything she went through, she was such a smart and strong young lady. I also thought the author did a great job of dealing with the character’s thought process and internal struggles.
What I found lacking was the plot itself. Not learning about the cult as a whole and finding out how and why it came about. It’s supposed to be about this mysterious disappearance, and we never find out what happened. The book felt too short, the ending itself felt a little rushed and unresolved, and because we never find out what really happened and it left me feeling unsatisfied, and the book felt unfinished. I wish we had gotten more about the aftermath and its impact on other members.
Overall, this was a thought-provoking debut novel that shows what cult life is like. And while there was some lack of resolution I enjoyed it for the most part.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
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