Eternity

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 512 pages
• Published by: Pinnacle February 1, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0786013109
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0786013104
• Book Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 7.4 ounces

Product Review
"A classic blend of terror and suspense. Masterfully brilliant!" -- Douglas Clegg

"ETERNITY will have you gasping-- and staying up well past your bedtime Another winner from Thorne." -- Booklovers

Product Description
WELCOME TO ETERNITY, A LITTLE BIT OF HELL ON EARTH Eternity, California is the sort of charming spot tourists flock to every summer and leave every fall when the heavy snows render it an isolated ghost town. Tourists and New Agers all talk about the strange energy coming from Eternity's greatest attraction: a mountain called Icehouse. But the locals talk about something else. For over a century, the seemingly quiet town has been haunted by strange deaths, grisly murders, unspeakable mutilations, all the work of a serial killer who some say is the same serial killer. Now as the first snow starts to fall, terror grips Eternity as an undying evil begins its hunt once again

Reader Reviews
Eternity, California is definitely one of those places you would rather visit then live. Its isolation is the first problematic thing about it. High up in the mountains along treacherous roads, Eternity promises complete solitude for those who wish to hide away from the real world. At the same time, the remote location of the town virtually insures that serious dangers will also be kept from prying eyes. When Zach Tully, a Los Angeles police detective, decides to accept a job as sheriff of this inaccessible little niche in the mountains, he learns that isolation is not always the safest escape from the big city. Tully leaves LA after his wife and young son die at the hands of the Backdoor Man, a grotesque serial killer who the cop came within minutes of catching. Now Tully wants some peace and quiet, a place where he can go to do some fishing and where the extent of his policing duties are the occasional writing of a parking ticket or busting up a beer bash. Imagine Tully's surprise when he discovers that Eternity has a sky-high homicide rate. Moreover, the last two men to hold the position of sheriff died horribly at the hands of a serial killer. To add insult to injury, the new sheriff finds himself at the mercy of the city council, a group of oddball characters with a lot of secrets to hide and short patience for an inquisitive cop. Then there is the assortment of escaped patients from the nearby asylum, strange lights in the mountains, a Stonehenge-like circle that emits weird energies, a local legend that Lemurians are hiding in the mountains, and more than one resident of the town resembles people who disappeared throughout time, like Ambrose Bierce, Amelia Earhart, and Jim Morrison. Rumor has it that the spate of serial killings in the area closely resembles those of the infamous Jack the Ripper. Sheriff Tully has his hands full right from the start, although he does strike up an acquaintance with beautiful Kate McPherson and her young son Josh. Overall, his stay in Eternity promises to be anything but mundane. While "Eternity" contains elements of a classic suspense tale, there is a significant amount of horror here as well. I quit counting the number of deaths after awhile, as the townspeople literally drop like flies every few pages or so. The murders are gruesome, involving much more than simple shootings or stabbings. The book opens with the unpleasant description of Tully's predecessor moving into the afterlife, setting the tone right from the start that this story is not going to be without its moments of stomach churning scenes. The characters are well done for books in this genre. Sheriff Tully receives the most attention since he is the main character. The author, Tamara Thorne, takes the reader into Tully's head quite often, especially when describing his dreams about the death of his family at the hands of the Backdoor Man and how he is bound and determined to not let this happen to Kate and Josh in Eternity. Tully is a tortured soul taking his first tentative steps back to normality, and the killings in Eternity stand squarely in his way. Other characters are not as well drawn, but should have been. For example, I would have liked to see more done with Carl Leland, Kate's domineering and manipulative ex-husband. This guy had great potential to cause a heap of trouble for our main characters, but Thorne allows him to barely make a ripple in the larger story. Books that deal with people isolated from society always suffer several plot problems unless the author adequately explains them away. Thorne fails to do such here. The biggest question that loomed large in my mind as I read the story and saw the death toll mount was: Why has no one brought in authorities from the outside? Here is a serious spate of serial killings, everybody knows they are serial killings, everybody is afraid of becoming a victim of the killer, yet no one calls in the state police or the FBI. The excuse that the town fathers do not want to damage the tourism industry just does not explain away this problem. But once you recognize this plot hole and allow yourself to get past it, the story holds the reader's interest while providing some pretty cool explanations for missing persons, Stonehenge, and unexplained serial killings throughout the last 110 years or so. I thought Thorne really knew her stuff about these incidents and wove them well into the story. There are a few other problems, namely not enough detail about the Lemurians and the Stonehenge circle in the mountains, but the story works well without them. Tamara Thorne's "Eternity" is an entertaining read. Despite a few unexplained threads, the story really works with its generous helpings of gore and suspense. I always enjoy a good yarn about Jack the Ripper, and this story makes him a major character. I also liked the way Tully discovers the identity of the killer. I would certainly read another Tamara Thorne book based solely on my experience with "Eternity."