Time’s Up, Afton by Brent Jones: Jones Wraps Things Up with a Suspenseful and Successful Conclusion

Time's Up, AftonTime’s Up, Afton

by Brent Jones
Series: Afton Morrison, Book 4

Kindle Edition, 142 pg.
2018

Read: October 29, 2018

She tugged at the edges of her apron, giving me a facetious and halfhearted curtsy. “We all wear masks, Afton. Sometimes it’s worth finding out what’s hiding underneath.”

Tia’s words to her unexpected friend encapsulate the core of this book — we find out what’s underneath several masks. But first we’ve got to tie up some plotlines, see the fall-out and repercussions of the third installment (well, all of them, but the third particularly), and deal with a a few more grisly deaths.

This picks up right after Nice Try, Afton where we see Afton try to come up with an explanation that anyone will believe for the bloodbath surrounding her. From there, she has to design and implement her endgame to — once and for all — stop her tormentor before she leaves town.

This volume is really Afton pulling back the mask little by little to those around her — library patrons, her brother, friends, and even herself. While that occurs, she learns a lot about her brother, friends, and her enemies. A lot makes sense that didn’t before — even if you didn’t realize it needed the explanation until you got it.

I was less than satisfied with what was hidden under one mask — but not enough that it ruined things for me. And, hey it leaves a door open (at least a crack) for Jones to use if he wants to return to Afton’s world. So I’m really not going to complain.

I’m going to keep this short because I’m afraid I’ll spill something if I keep going. This ends up nowhere near where I thought it was going when I finished Go Home, Afton some four months ago — it’s far better. I really encourage you all to pick these novellas up. Some interesting characters, some very compelling action scenes, and a story that will take you places you don’t expect.

—–

4 Stars

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3 Comments

  1. Brent Jones

    What’s going on, HC?

    I appreciate the glowing review of Time’s Up, Afton. Thanks for sticking with (and reviewing) the entire series. Who knows? Maybe there will be more books to come in this series down the road.

    Just thought I’d mention that it looks like you’ve got some HTML formatting issues near the top of this post.

    Now, if it’s all right with you, there are a few things in your review I’d like to comment on:

    “A lot makes sense that didn’t before — even if you didn’t realize it needed the explanation until you got it.”

    It makes me so happy that you said this.

    As you probably know (or guessed), I read through each of my manuscripts (along with my editor) at least a hundred times before they were published. And each time, I’d note little things that either needed to be resolved later, or needed to get cut. That was a big part of why I kept each book as short as I did (and as short as I could). I didn’t want to waste keystrokes. I didn’t want to take the reader out of one continuous story told over four parts.

    If something got mentioned in book two, there was a reason for it. In some cases, that reason was simply to reference another title I’d published. There were dozens of Easter eggs throughout The Afton Morrison Series, which I added as little rewards for loyal readers. In most cases, however, if something didn’t get resolved in these four books, it was there to serve as material for, let’s say, books five, six, and seven, sometime into the future.

    “I was less than satisfied with what was hidden under one mask…”

    May I ask whose mask? Could it have been Ray’s, or Tia’s, or Chris’s? Afton’s, even, given her startling letter to her brother? I’m curious.

    “This ends up nowhere near where I thought it was going when I finished Go Home, Afton some four months ago — it’s far better.”

    Yes, when I read your reviews of Go Home, Afton and See You Soon, Afton, I wasn’t sure if you were going to continue with the series. Not that you said anything bad about either of those books, just that you seemed underwhelmed. I’m glad you kept reading, and I’m glad I took this series in a direction even you couldn’t predict.

    As always, HC, thanks for reading and reviewing. If you’d like some free bonus material (short stories) as a thank you for supporting my work, just drop me a line.

    —Brent

    • I’ll reply to the rest later, but for now, thanks for the heads-up on the HTML, Brent. Nothing more fun than seeing that note in the morning and knowing I can’t even look at it — much less fix it — until I get home from work… ugh.

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