The Book That THEY Do Not Want You to Read, Part 1 - by Andy Ritchie - A Review

***EDITED after speaking with the author who was kind enough to address my critiques and explain them. I have never edited a review before and the author DID NOT request/suggest that I do. I felt that in light of his explanations I should so I did.**

I give it 5 stars. 

Jethro Postlethwaite finds himself face to face with an alien while taking photos in the countryside. What should have been a simple ride across town with said alien turns out to be much more, ruining Jethro's cozy existence and plunging him into a life on the run. It's a series so there is no tidy ending but it does leave you wanting more. I've already purchased Part 2.

The reason for the lower rating is the amount of typos in the book. One good re-read by the author or a beta reader would clear that up, and I expect a clean book when I purchase from an indie author. **EDIT: The typos were added to lend credibility to the fact that it is a diary and would likely have typos. That makes sense.**

The story is super original. The diary format is imaginative and fresh, though I felt that the collator's notes were jarring and pulled me out of the story at times. That may have been intentional, not sure. Sometimes it drifted into reading like a technical book instead of a story or an account. The book is still very good in spite of that. If you like stories about aliens that aren't too cliche, then this book is for you!

What I really liked and was surprised by was the occasional internal struggle that JP experiences at different points along his journey. We get a glimpse of his backstory, fed a little at a time so as to not overwhelm the reader. I liked those moments the most.

I would have read the books simply because I'm a hard-core anglophile, but I'm happy I did for more than just that it's set in England. Run to the store and buy some McVities HobNobs, some good tea, and curl up with this book. If you're an American you'll notice many words are spelled differently. I liked that.

An issue I noticed is that several times the reader is told to reference Appendix A, but my ebook didn't have an Appendix A. I looked twice. I would have liked to see that.**EDIT: Appendix A was only included in Part 3, but the author will now include it in Part 1. Excellent!**

Ok, now I have to read part 2 to see what is in Jethro's neck!