Official Review: Visiting Uncle John by Frank Waltmire

[Prisallen]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Visiting Uncle John" by Frank Waltmire.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Eli Parker’s uncle, John, called him and requested they meet for dinner at a restaurant, saying there was something he should be informed about. When Eli got there, he was stopped by the police—his uncle had shot a man named Garret Brooks. People in the restaurant had witnessed the incident and said Garret had pulled a gun on John and was yelling, waving it around wildly, and pointing it at him. After he put the gun back in his pocket, John shot and killed him.

John possessed a trucking business, and Garret occasionally drove his truck in the past. Several years earlier while out on a job, he was pulled over for speeding and driving intoxicated, and cocaine was discovered in the vehicle. To get out of a prison sentence, Garret gave John up, sending him to prison for a couple of years.

After John was imprisoned for shooting Garret, Eli started visiting him, hoping to find out what his uncle had wanted to discuss. However, John was reluctant to share the information right away. While talking with him over time, more and more information was revealed, and Eli soon discovered there were shocking secrets in the family.

Visiting Uncle John by Frank Waltmire is mostly a character-driven mystery that deals with love, family relations, and family secrets. It is narrated from the first-person perspective, mostly from Eli’s point of view but occasionally from others’ viewpoints. The descriptive prose is easy to understand with believable dialogues. It is 278 pages long and is broken down into 28 chapters, each with a heading and the name of the character who is narrating. This makes it easy to keep track of whom the chapter is about. As John gradually reveals bits of his past and other information emerges, the pieces start coming together and climaxes in a surprise ending.

The characters are well developed and are my favorite aspect of the novel. Their personalities are revealed slowly as the tale progresses. Eli is a likable young man who is still trying to figure out what his purpose in life is. He was recently a guitarist in a band, touring the United States. However, it fell apart and he returned home, unsure of what to do with himself. Although Eli has a wild side (arrested for marijuana possession at 19), he treats everyone with respect. Nothing was described from John’s perspective, but we gradually grow to care for him because of his actions and others’ comments about him. Being an ex-Vietnam veteran with a restless side, he doesn’t always abide by the law, as evidenced by getting caught shipping the cocaine. Nonetheless, he also possesses a loving and loyal side, as is shown by his family’s love and respect for him. Additionally, he is kind and thoughtful toward others. The antagonist, Garret, is self-centered, easy to anger, and violent. It is easy to despise him as the story progresses.

Not everything was great, however. I encountered too many punctuation, grammatical, and formatting problems in the book. An example is, “It’s like he get’s what their all about,” which should have been written, “It’s like he gets what they’re all about.” It could use a professional editor. This was the only thing I disliked about the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed Visiting Uncle John and found myself anticipating the next revelation of information throughout the book. Subsequently, it achieves a rating of 3 out of 4 stars; one star was taken away because of the errors. Readers who like reading character-driven mysteries would appreciate this book. Some profanities are seen as well as a few sex scenes that were not very explicit. Subsequently, it is unsuitable for children or sensitive readers. If you prefer action-packed novels, you might want to look elsewhere.

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Visiting Uncle John
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[Lizziemarcel]

This book is interesting, knowing that there are some secrets to unveil. Thanks for this detailed review.

[Dayodiola]

An intrigue read, would be nice to sponge this book. Nice review.

[Mbrooks2518]

It's a pity about the errors, but I wonder what the secrets are that John is so reluctant to reveal?
I might go ahead and give this book a try. Thanks for the great review!

[Koltrast]

These kinds of family mysteries have ruined me. I'm still looking for the deep, dark secret in my own family. Alas, perhaps I'll settle for the fictional kind. Thank you for the review!

[Prisallen]

This book is interesting, knowing that there are some secrets to unveil. Thanks for this detailed review.

The unraveling of the mystery was very interesting!

[Prisallen]

An intrigue read, would be nice to sponge this book. Nice review.

Thanks for reading my review and commenting!

[Prisallen]

It's a pity about the errors, but I wonder what the secrets are that John is so reluctant to reveal?
I might go ahead and give this book a try. Thanks for the great review!

I think you will enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by!

[Prisallen]

These kinds of family mysteries have ruined me. I'm still looking for the deep, dark secret in my own family. Alas, perhaps I'll settle for the fictional kind. Thank you for the review!

I know what you mean! I hope you get a chance to read it!

[Vic Chimezie]

I can imagine Eli's frustration while waiting to hear what his uncle had to say. Thanks for a detailed review and the recommendation.

[Prisallen]

I can imagine Eli's frustration while waiting to hear what his uncle had to say. Thanks for a detailed review and the recommendation.

I agree; I would have been frustrated as well. I appreciate your reading my review!

[Priyanka2304]

Eli's character seems to interest me. Would definitely think about reading this book. Thanks for the review.

[Honest-reviewer]

The book seems to be intriguing and interesting. Thanks for your well-written review !

[Fernando222]

I enjoyed your review. I liked that the writer developed the characters successfully. I intend to give this book a read shortly. Thanks for the review.

[Adrianna Melillo]

Interesting synopsis. I'll have to give this one a try. Great review!