When I first began reading Abandon, I thought it was going to be a ghost/haunting story. When I first realized that it was not, I was initially disappointed. However, my disappointment waned as the story progressed.
Abandon was the name of a remote mining town. In 1893, everyone simply disappeared. The town was discovered empty on Christmas day, with food on the tables, no signs of struggle, everyone just gone. The story goes back and forth between 1893 and 2009 (the year of the original copyright), telling the story of what happened in the town, and following a history professor, his journalist daughter, and some others, including a couple of “psychic photographers,” as they gain access to this town.
Eventually we find out what happened to all of the people in the town, so that mystery is solved. The point of the story, at least what I got out of it, is what greed can do to people. Essentially, that is what this story is about . . . greed. You see, “thar’s gold in them thar hills!”
At some point, the owner of the mine was robbed and killed by some folks who lived in the town. His gold was stolen, and then hidden in the mine. But due to circumstances, they never got back to retrieve it. The history professor knows about this gold, and that is why he is going to Abandon, pretending to be interested in the history of the town. Unfortunately, there are others who know about this gold, as well.
It’s a thrilling story, indeed, complete with betrayal on all sides and unexpected, sometimes tragic, plot twists. The ending isn’t entirely satisfying, but it is fitting, because it illustrates the consequences of greed when it completely takes a person over.
TTFN, y’all!
The Constant Reader 