I had only one expectation from this book - it had to keep me awake and distracted during work. It did that, more or less.

I make a habit of avoiding Nicholas Sparks because I generally find his work too cloying for my taste. (I very much enjoyed the film version of The Notebook, but from what I've heard the movie deviated drastically from the book, which I have not read and have no plans to read.) I picked this audiobook up out of desperation for something uncomplicated to listen to while at my job, and because my friend Kerry singled it out as less annoying than his usual stuff. I will give it that (hence the two stars instead of one). I enjoyed the mystery and the suggestion of supernatural phenomena, although I had hoped there would be more of that and less of Sparks's other usual nonsense.

Said nonsense in this case includes a formulaic and thoroughly boring romance, an overwhelming dose of Big City Meets Small Town mixed with Yankee Meets South, and then a second helping of the tired old city/townie and north/south cliches when the main character's buddy rides into town. Couch all of this non-fun in the author's need to spell out and explain every single detail of every single action and thought, in both narration and dialogue, and the result makes you want to stab yourself in the foot just for some excitement. Read Nicholas Sparks at the risk of your own brain cells. And feet.