Zenith Man (Inheritance collection)
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(as of Jan 28, 2025 05:07:23 UTC – Details)
Whatever had been going on inside the shuttered old house, the couple who lived there kept it to themselves. Among the locals, there’s only chilling speculation.
Neighbors are shocked when Harold Pardee reports his wife dead. No one even knew the eccentric TV repairman was married. Within hours, horrible rumors spread about what that poor woman must have endured for thirty years. Until the Pardees’ carefully guarded world is exposed. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Haigh delivers an endearing short story about our misguided perception of strangers, the nature of love, and the need for secrets.
Jennifer Haigh’s Zenith Man is part of Inheritance, a collection of five stories about secrets, unspoken desires, and dangerous revelations between loved ones. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single setting. By yourself, behind closed doors, or shared with someone you trust.
ASIN : B07ZP2W8SJ
Publisher : Amazon Original Stories (December 19, 2019)
Publication date : December 19, 2019
Language : English
File size : 4174 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 24 pages
Customers say
Customers find the story entertaining and interesting. They describe the book as a quick, enjoyable read that is worth the time. Readers praise the writing quality as excellent and perceptive. The love story is poignant and touching, drawing empathy from the readers. The characters are described as realistic and feel like they know them in real life.
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11 reviews for Zenith Man (Inheritance collection)
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Jacky-Lynne –
Very good!
I just recently started reading these Amazon original short stories and I really enjoyed this one. It was interesting and to the point, with a bit of a surprising ending 🙂
LynnS77 –
Winesses
What if you married a woman who never went out to be seen by other people and suddenly she dies by suffocation? The small town is certain you murdered her, and the rumors are flying and all you have is a very young public defender?The last page of this story says that it was based on true events. Four stars.
Debora Santo –
Headline: A mysterious death of an epileptic woman in her sleep
Plot: When a woman that barely anyone knew while she was living dies in her sleep, her husband is accused of killing her. We then start learning more about how they lived until the case is resolved.Likes: This story is inspired by real event, has an ok pace and interesting resolution of the case.Dislikes: I think stories of common life of some tad bit odd folks is just not my cup of tea. This story didn’t stir up much emotion in me.Audience: Well, not me :)Rating: I give this story 3/5 stars as it is my least favorite Amazon Original story that I’ve read so far. The writing and story are fine, I just personally didn’t find much interest in it.
K. Robin –
Excellent
This is another one of Haighâs beautifully and cleverly crafted stories. Itâs about a mystery and secrets, and love. Haigh transports us to Bakerton, PA, the setting of many of her previous novels and stories. The town is fictitious but the people always seem familiar and the themes are universal.The story is intriguing and suspenseful, and the characters are real and vivid. Haighâs writing is intelligent and perceptive and she is an expert storyteller. She treats her characters and her readers with respect, writing with insight and sensitivity, not sentimentality. This a short, compact story but we are given the entire span of the main charactersâ extraordinary and poignant lives. Haigh gives us the big, whole picture, and as usual, she gives us fiction that is the truth.
Kimberly –
Good story
When a man calls 911 and reports that his wife died, the town is confused. They had no idea that Harold was married for the past 32 years. Only one person ever saw his wife, a friend of his.But her death looks suspicious, and after some investigation, they want to charge him with murdering his own wife. Until a miracle occurs that gets him free.
JP –
Inspired?
This needs a spoiler alert, although the story is so short, you wonât have any suspense destroyed by what Iâm saying in this review. Thereâs really not much to the story. Man reports his wife dead. Town is shocked because they didnât even know he had a wife. Suspicion of murder is resolved in manâs favor. Thatâs it.The ending of this story states that it was inspired by true events. Inspired? Look up hypergraphia on Wikipedia. Youâll find the inspiration for the story in the last few paragraphs. Alvin Ridleywas saved from murder charges in the death of his wife, Virginia Ridley, because of her hypergraphia. She had been housebound for 27 years. Her journals showed that it was her choice. Thereâs a link that shows a little more detail about the case. Hmm. Based on the info, more like taken from a true story, with slight changes to the location and ending. Not much of a story, if you ask my opinion. Good thing it only took about 15 minutes to read.
Jessica –
Short quick read
Even though it was short and quick i did gain something from reading it. Don’t want to give u any clues but it’s worth the 30 mins it took me to read it. Hope the justice system still works this way. If u r innocent then that truth will come out and if not so will that truth. Unfortunately it wasn’t so easy then and especially not now. But if our judicial system really does do its job, the job we all know and hope it does, then it gives us and others hope in the future when they have been accused wrongly. AMEN
Dee –
Hmmm ð§
The saying ânever judge a book by its coverâ sums up the story pretty nicely, this was a thrilling short read and the ending was so unexpected ð³, I was actually hoping for something sinister ðð¤. I absolutely loved it
S Srinivasan –
Based on a true story which I had already read about. Just a rehashed account, nothing new. Disappointing to say the least.
Wide Eyes, Big Ears! –
In a small US town where Harold had lived for decades, people were quite shocked when he reported the death of his wife – no one even knew he was married, theyâd certainly never seen her. Speculation runs riot as Harold is blamed for her death. This book is part of the stunning Inheritance Collection, five short books by different authors focusing on secrets. While I liked the gentle humour in this, I didnât feel the story had the emotional sting or characterisation of the other three books Iâve read. However, great narrative performance by David Colacci!
Kindle Customer –
There is no story. Nothing happens. Thank goodness it was short- 30 minutes of my life I’m never getting back.