Cover for Beyond the Higher Ground

The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Beyond the Higher Ground

Because Beyond the Higher Ground was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.

Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.

IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.

This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.

Ekta Kumari

896308
The book revolves around Tucker Mason who, after losing his wife, takes the assignment to manage the construction of a prison in Appalachian Mountains in Virginia as an opportunity to restart his life. He also rents a house on Bright's mountain. However, this soon opens him up to the numerous strange happenings in the area, and he comes to know about the drug menace that is prevalent in the Southwestern Virginia. The storyline explores the suspense and intrigue as he uncovers these events. I liked the premise but wouldn't have read the book as I'm not interested in historical fictions. Though, the thing I liked the most while sampling is the author's portrayal of Mason's character and that the book begins with the main subject right away. I also like how the author has interspersed details about Mason's personality in between the narrative. I didn't find any errors. So, I would rate the book as professionally edited. I did see an official review for this book. And I'll read the whole book as I liked the sample and the slow-building suspense.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 4:59 am by Ekta Kumari.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

va2016

119030
The cover is attractive but does not convey what the book is about, and so does not the title too. There are only 3 Amazon customer ratings, which is not sufficient to decide whether to read the book or not. The Amazon summary provides a crisp description of the story. As the Amazon summary describes the mysteries involved in the plot, I would have sampled the book even if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration describing the protagonist going in search of an house, once he reaches Wells County, Virginia. As I liked the plot, I am going to read this book in full. I found the sample professionally edited. I didn't find any grammatical or mechanical errors. What I liked most about the book is its plot. As an improvement, I would suggest that the narration be a bit more fluid, as it is currently difficult to read. Although I found one OBC review of the book, my decision to read this book in full is based on my own sampling.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 4:56 am by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Lorraine De Vos

140922
I would not have chosen to sample this book based on the title and cover. It led me to believe it was about someone climbing a mountain. The first ten pages were intriguing and the author did a fantastic job of building up the mysterious aspect. I found myself curious as to why anyone would want to move to a little mining town out in the middle of nowhere that has clearly run its course. The conversation with the “new neighbors” would already have had me running for the hills. The book does appear to be professionally edited. The official OnlineBookClub review was excellent and provided enough information to allow my curiosity to spike even more, as I saw some of the happenings that Mason would encounter. I will definitely be adding this book to my reading list. If I had to recommend improvements, I would take another look at the cover and title for it to be more suited to the story.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 4:29 am by Lorraine De Vos.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Annelore Trujillo

97769
I would not have sampled this book based on the genre, blurb, OBC review, cover and title. The reviewer mentioned poor editing, and I don’t like to buy books with errors. I also didn’t see the story as being that interesting. After reading the first ten pages, I won’t be finishing this book. I thought the book started off slow. It described the scenery as Tuck drove in a lot of detail. I think it was possibly too much detail for me. I did like the authenticity of the conversation between Tuck and the two men at house 59. The use of dialect made it more believable. However, the descriptions of the conversation seemed kind of off to me. It kept describing the conversation as abrupt, but it didn’t seem abrupt to me. I also noticed errors that told me the book might not be professionally edited. For example in “bed’s” there was a space before the apostrophe. As I mentioned before, I don’t like purchasing books that aren’t edited.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 3:34 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Aubrey Lewis

197111
The overall appearance of the book is neat and pleasing to the eyes. When I read through the official OBC review, it seems to be a historical fiction novel with touches of mystery and suspense. If I weren't a part of this program, I would still have read the sample since the review intrigued me a lot and the storyline itself seemed to be interesting.

When I finished sampling the first ten pages, I decided not to read the rest of the book. I spotted no grammatical errors so far, but the paragraphs were unnecessarily long. In my opinion, I think this book could be improved if the author placed line breaks in-between different dialogues as well as descriptions, therefore lessening the number of sentences in almost each paragraph. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, so I found it very distracting.

Meanwhile, in terms of the story, it seemed interesting so far; the recent death of the two people who formerly lived in the house Mason wanted to rent is quite suspicious and it makes me think that it's not a coincidence at all. However, although I'm intrigued a bit, I found the book to be too descriptive sometimes that it seemed dragging, so I decided to pass on this one.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 3:24 am by Aubrey Lewis.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Jeremie Mondejar

215415
The cover photo captivates my attention, which gives me a sense of travel memoirs. I sampled this book based on the program. While sampling, my expectations weren't meet. Mason decided to rent a house near his workplace. A man reported to him that a couple were found dead in his rented house. This scenario seems strange already and a little creepy. I don't like to read this kind of mystery. The OBC review is very important in my decision. Unfortunately, I have a tougher time understanding the slang conversation of the characters. I like the way the author weaves this tale, it is easy to follow and well-written. However, the slang language put me off. For improvements, to lessen some slang words to cater some wide-readers who can't easily decipher this style of writing.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 2:58 am by Jeremie Mondejar.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Chelsy Scherba

75151
I like the creepy town Mason finds himself in. The people aren’t friendly and just stare at him until he enquires whether or not he’s on the right road. The book is well-edited and I didn’t see any errors. The review had an interesting take on the story and made me intrigued to read the sample. I’m not really sure if I want to buy the book today simply because I’m not in the market right now for this style, but I did enjoy what I read thus far. I like the title and cover design and the writing style as well. I’ll keep this book on my list for future consideration. I would not have found this book outside of the program.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 2:39 am by Chelsy Scherba.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

AvidBibliophile

1437518
The cover art would initially lead me to believe this might be a novel based on spiritual aspirations and faith-driven goals. The Amazon product description is certainly intriguing, with mention of drug smuggling, the nefarious prison system, and a widower facing his demons on a remote Appalachian mountaintop. Prospective readers will be pulled in by the allure of danger, distrust, isolation, and mysterious occurrences. The scene descriptions offer a refreshing glimpse into rural life, where ramshackle structures, broken porches, rusting vehicles, and hollow stares meet travelers at every bend. As the dialogue progresses, communication between characters occurs through a sort of "translated coherence," punctuated by genuinely-believable grunts and gestures; even the character names feel regionally-relevant. This book appears to have been professionally edited, although on page 6, there is a typographical spacing issue before the apostrophe in: "bed 's." The 2 published OBC reviews are persuasively positive, as are the 3 currently posted Amazon user ratings. Since I enjoy tales of historical fiction with a hint of suspense, and with a gracious amount of focus placed on observations of the human condition, I look forward to reading this one in its entirety!

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 2:04 am by AvidBibliophile.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Juliana_Isabella

1210914
I might have chosen this book because I have enjoyed books in a similar genre in the past and because the review I read was very positive. I didn't find any errors in the first ten pages, and I liked the author's use of imagery, which helped me imagine Mason's surroundings. However, I really wanted to know what the first line meant, and the author just left it hanging there and went on to describe the town. Because of this, I won't be finishing the book.

First Ten review added on May 27, 2020, at 12:14 am by Juliana_Isabella.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Jsovermyer

1045410
The cover photo with the mountain is interesting. The title, Beyond the Higher Ground, is okay but not very exciting. This is a historical fiction novel about the dangers of life in the Appalachian mountains. This story is filled with suspense and mystery. Tucker Mason has come to head up the building of a prison in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. He meets his neighbor, Cecil Beckman, who tells him all of the gossip of the area. I found no grammatical or spelling errors in the sample pages I read. The official reviewer liked the story and said that the author was sympathetic to the mountain people. I went to college in the mountains of Kentucky and met a lot of people like Cecil. I found his way of speaking realistic and would like to read more. I will be finishing this story.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 10:39 pm by Jsovermyer.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

aacodreanu

323834
The cover of Beyond the Higher Ground is suggestive enough and the title is intriguing, the genre it is classified in seems to be a little distorted, as there are more elements of „other fiction” in it than there is ”history”, as far as I could understand from the review that I read. So it is definitely the ten pages that convinced me that the book is worth reading. I will read it because of the style, the lengthy descriptions usually dissuade me from reading but this time I believe that there is a point in describing events in slow motion. I could find no typos or grammatical errors in what I read so far. As I said before, I liked the most the feeling that I had, along with the main character, that I am in a dream in which I cannot move even if I want to.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 2:40 pm by aacodreanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Sarah_Khan

89585
At first glance, I would not have picked this up because the cover and title made me think this was a non-fiction book. After reading the Amazon blurb, I was significantly intrigued, the plot seems unique. Usually, I dislike when authors try to give characters accents because it makes it difficult to read. I am happy to say that this time the author was able to convey the accent of the older man, without making me have to reread the sentences. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the long descriptions. The OBC review was mostly positive, it mentioned some editing errors, but I did not notice any. Overall, the plot of this book is interesting and it seems like I would actually be able to learn something. Therefore, I look forward to reading the rest. My one suggestion for the author is to change the cover to more accurately match the plot.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 2:10 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

unamilagra

1197956
Before sampling this book, I may have picked it up. The OBC review made it sound intriguing, but the mentioned errors were offputting. In reading the first ten pages, I thought the descriptions of the dilapidated town were interesting, but I wasn't really drawn into the plot enough to wonder what Mason was doing there and why he wanted the property on Mills Hollow. I don't plan to keep reading the book. I didn't notice any errors in the pages I read.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 12:48 pm by unamilagra.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Cristina Chifane

418146
If it hadn't been for the first ten program, I wouldn't have read this book solely based on the cover and title because I would have thought it to be either a geography book or a family saga. However, I was drawn to the OBC reviewer's description of the book as having lots of mystery and suspense. Although there are only 3 customer reviews, they all give it only 5 stars. On the one hand, I liked the atmosphere of an isolated mountain community that the author captures at the beginning of the book. On the other hand, I was put off by the long-winding descriptions of both the setting and the characters. I would suggest the author to make the paragraphs shorter and to cut down on some of the lengthy sentences. In this way, he could add more tempo to the story. Even if I'm intrigued by what would happen to Mason in his new surroundings, the pace of the story is too slow to keep me tuned in. I didn't notice any editing errors, but I'm not going to add this book to my reading list.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 9:55 am by Cristina Chifane.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Theresa Moffitt

857578
I like the cover art and the title of this book. They caught my attention and made me want to know what the book is about. I would have picked this book up based on the cover alone. I haven’t read a customer review of this book yet, but I did read an Online Book Club review. The OBC review was very complimentary and gave the book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. The OBC review provided a lot of detail about the book and its story that i didn’t know from reading the first ten pages. The OBC review made me want to read the book more. The only negative aspect listed in the OBC review was a large number of errors in the book. I also saw some spacing errors in the book that lead me to believe that the book was not professionally edited. For example, on the third page, the spacing error is “sitting on a front porch”. The area the author could have improved upon is proofreading and editing. The first ten pages were interesting and made me curious to finish reading the book. Mason arrives at the airport and rents a car. He has trouble finding the house he wants to rent and stops at a house to get directions. He has an interesting conversation with two men at that house. I enjoyed the author’s writing style. The OBC review said this is an historical fiction novel. I enjoy reading historical fiction and would like to finish reading this book.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 9:13 am by Theresa Moffitt.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Vickie Noel

249577
I'm not sure I would have opted to read this book outside the First Ten program. Reading the sample has left me feeling a bit confused. Not that there's anything wrong with the story, but the writing style left me undecided regarding whether or not I'd read further. For one thing, the author is very skilled at painting pictures with words. His expert use of similes is a delight to read as they, sure as day, bring life to his descriptions. I had a swell time reading the sentence, "...the older one cocking his head slowly, as if Mason's words were just now reaching his ears, dribbling in from the cool mountain air and reassembling into some form of translated coherence." Incidentally, I observed that the presence of the comma after "slowly" is a punctuation error which should be removed. Many such beautiful descriptions outrightly had me chuckling. However, my patience was tried as I generally don't like to read narrations as much as I prefer dialogue. Unfortunately, the author worsened this by using long-winded sentences that resulted in convoluted writing. An example is found in this sentence, "'We,' referring to Leo himself and whoever from Estimating had been to Wells County to check out the site and bid the prison project and then again to finalize the contract details in a crowded meeting at the airport, when Mike Beal was there, and it was to be his job." I had to reread this sentence several times before I understood the point. Coming across three more of its kind amidst the endless narration did me in. Therefore, I've decided to struggle till the end of the sample, grab a couple of expressions I'd like to imitate and end my reading journey there. I doubt if I can keep up with Brigger's sentences constantly knocking the wind out of me. He should try using shorter ones. I'd still peg the book as being well-edited though not exactly professionally since a good editor wouldn't let Brigger get away with those labyrinthine sentences. I saw an OBC review, but it didn't influence my decision.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 8:00 am by Vickie Noel.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Sanju Lali

739725
I could not guess anything about the book from the cover and the title because "Beyond the Higher Ground" meant many things to me. Therefore, I was not sure whether or not to buy this book before reading the official review. The official review was helpful enough to let me know that this book follows Tucker Mason, the project manager in the construction of prison on Bright’s Mountain, who is threatened by someone to leave the place. This idea motivated me to sample the book before making a buying decision. After reading the first ten pages, I found that this book was not professionally edited as I found a few grammatical errors. For example, the sentence, " Mason regarded both men carefully as he walked through the yard, the two of them sitting there with neither motion nor apparent cause as he approached, simply staring at him in the same transparent wonderment that infants display from the arms...", which was difficult to read. The sentence could have been, "Mason looked at both men carefully as he walked through the yard, the two of them were sitting still when he approached, staring at him curiously like infants... " The thing l liked the most in this book is the premise of the story with a mix of demons and drug smugglers. However, the story could have been elegantly presented in the book by taking the help of a professional editor. My suggestion to the author is to consider my above statement. Noting all these aspects of the book, I decided not to purchase and read this book today. I decided to wait until the author considers my suggestions.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 5:47 am by Sanju Lali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

ritah

236447
Based on the cover and title, I wouldn't have sampled the book because it did not pull me in. I read the official review and sampled Beyond The Higher Ground. I liked the author's use of description. I could feel the initial tension between Mason and the two men he asked directions for...their initial silence was intimidating. I found no errors in the pages I read nor did I see any areas that need improving. The narrative captured my attention and I felt compelled to keep reading, which is why I will be reading the rest of the book.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 5:13 am by ritah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

gen_g

697597
Based on the title and cover image, I would not have sampled the book, as the image doesn't tell me much about the possible genre that this book belongs to, so, unfortunately, I am not intrigued enough to sample it. However, I have come across a positive review of the book. After sampling, there are a couple of errors present. For example, there is a missing determiner "a" in "...with dust-laden windows and (a) mossy black roof...". I would also suggest more editing, as there is also a tendency to use long, run-on sentences. However, I appreciate that the author gave quite some background context in order for the readers to better immerse themselves and understand the story. For example, we learn that when Mason went to find the Newleys, the latter's neighbour informed Mason that there was no one living their house anymore. Ansel Newley died last fall in her bed, and no one is in the house, except for the owner who sends people out there to fix up stuff. However, I will not be purchasing the book, as I am not in the market for realist fiction, and the run-on sentences detract rather significantly from the reading flow, personally.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 2:23 am by gen_g.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

J_odoyo

1344976
Having sampled the first ten pages of this book, I have realized that Beyond the Higher Ground by Thomas A. Brigger is an engrossing historical fiction. In the pages I’ve read, Thomas narrates the story of Tucker Mason, who has been assigned to manage a prison construction project in the remote Appalachian mountain (Wells County, Virginia). Having lost his wife, Katherine, Mason is determined to start a new life in this part of the country. He finds a rental home; however, there is a lot of history behind this home: its former occupant had died mysteriously, and his wife (the former occupant’s) was found dead in her bed. It seems like Mason has just dipped his toe into trouble besides his haunting past. The progress of this book is so promising, and I can’t stop guessing what is next.


I have nothing against the cover page and the title; they are both attractive and professional. His storyline is gripping and well written, and there wasn’t anything to dislike about it. I didn't find any error in the pages I've read. This could make it easier to wager that it was professionally edited; however, the reviewer indicated that there are several errors in this book. It's very impressive that editorial reviews were accessible: thanks to the OnlineBookClub for such an insightful review. I think the author should consider posting some professional reviews on the Amazon website for his potential readers. Having read the sample and the OnlineBookClub review, I’m not going to finish reading this book. Even though I’m a fan of this genre, I don’t like drug crisis stories, and I think this will hinder my enjoyment of this book.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 2:19 am by J_odoyo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Catherine Hsu

104096
If I had not read the sample, I would not have read the book. It does not seem like my genre. After reading the sample, I have changed my mind. The writing was really interesting and I enjoyed the visual and auditory details like a "little mouth moving in advance of words like a puppet" or the "constancy of the breeze." One thing I think the book can improve on is dividing up the paragraphs more, especially so that the dialogue can stand on its own. Now, the dialogue is embedded in large paragraphs which makes it a little overwhelming to read. Some of the sentences, especially compound ones, also seem a little long and more editing could make the reading more fluent. The official review did not affect my decision but it also mentioned the book needing more editing.

First Ten review added on May 26, 2020, at 2:18 am by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Kaitlyn Canedy

1401101
I would have skipped the sample of Beyond the Higher Ground had it not been for the OnlineBookClub having it as the book of the day. The description on Amazon.com was not intriguing to me at all; ghost stories are not the kind of books that I can get into. There were no grammatical errors to report at all in any bit of the sample that I read. I loved that the descriptions were so vivid, but it seems that the official OnlineBookClub review did not seem to think so. Even though it seems wordy and unnecessary, having those descriptions makes the book more lively. I cannot think of anything that the author could do to improve the book so far. Unfortunately, despite how Beyond the Higher Ground is going so far, I will have to pass on it. Sadly, the official OnlineBookClub review was not able to change my mind.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 11:16 pm by Kaitlyn Canedy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

CrescentMoon

56447
After reading the blurb, I don't think I would pick this book up. Historical fiction isn't really a genre I'm interested in so I'm not the target audience for this book. After reading the first ten pages, I spotted a few grammar errors. In chapter one, "...that dissolved into a heavily wooded area, then rising to a sharp curve..." the tenses in this sentence are not consistent. For example, the beginning of the sentence started out with multiple verbs in past tense, so to keep the tenses consistent I would write, "...wooded area, then rose to a sharp curve." What I liked most about the book so far was how descriptive it is. I could easily imagine the scenery and background such as the trees and flowers growing along the highway. However, I do think the writing could be improved. There were multiple long, drawn out run-on sentences in multiple paragraphs and it really made it difficult for me to understand what the author is trying to say. There was an onlinebookclub review, however I wasn't hooked into the story so I won't be reading the rest.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 11:14 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Stephanie Runyon

1424579
Based solely on the OBC review, I would have sampled this book. I like the character development of Tucker Mason and the Beckmans. I felt that the start of the story was a little slow due to wordy descriptives, but in the same sense the descriptions gave a good picture of the surroundings. I think another round of editing would be beneficial. One glaring example of an error was, "Mason was then handed forth, the decision being made with no more affection than Tom Doentiz's brief glare at Leo and Leo claiming unspoken again the rights to compentency, all in a moment, all in the instant of an agenda check-off in a weekly meeting of the project team." Saying all of that out loud made the sentence sound out of place. Due to the errors I will be passing on this book, but would be open to reading after it has been edited.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 11:06 pm by Stephanie Runyon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Shrabastee Chakraborty

614426
The cover seems to portray a travelogue. The official OBC review rates this book 3 stars. The first ten pages were without editing issues. They describe the homecoming of Tucker Mason to West Virginia. He drives to find a predesignated place, navigating via the GPS. He meets two locals whom he initially finds unresponsive to his queries. Although the review mentions elements of suspense, the first ten pages never reflect that. The pace is slow, the focus being on describing the surroundings. Although I would not suggest improvements, because a homecoming might be accompanied with reminiscences and a general view of the surroundings, this just didn't hold my attention. Consequently, I am not reading this book.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 10:54 pm by Shrabastee Chakraborty.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

edztan15

1593937
Judging by the premise of the book, I had a lukewarm reception about it. Though I love mystery and thriller books, I'm not sure if I can really relate to it with the fact that it focuses on a historical aspect of Southwestern Virginia. The first few pages are well-edited. While I appreciate the atmosphere building of the author, especially when he painted a vivid picture of the neighborhood in Mills Hollow, I found it to be a little slow for my taste. It also gets a little repetitive when he kept on describing Cecil Beckman's mannerisms. That's not to say the book isn't any good, I bet it is interesting and as per the review, there's a surprise ending in it. Again, the book being a historical fiction about Southwestern Virginia makes me think that it might not be my cup of tea.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 10:49 pm by edztan15.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

HRichards

741384
I normally wouldn't have picked this book up since the summary and OBC review didn't really interest me. Having read the sample I won't be continuing on with the book since the content didn't really appeal to me. The sample deals with Mason, who is looking for a house to move into. He finds out the house he was looking for was inhabited by an elderly couple who died in the house. The writing is fine, but there was a comma error in the sentence "...budding trees and flowers flowing into the magnificence of the Blue Mountains..." where there was a comma needed after "flowers". I didn't find the writing very interesting, but those who like dramatic books might like this book. The author seems to have a well thought out plot, but I'm not really interested in these types of books.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 9:43 pm by HRichards.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

MsH2k

1404847
Given the title, genre, and book cover, I would not have sampled this book if I had not been part of this program. Nothing attracted me to this book. The blurb was a surprise, and my curiosity was piqued. I love the juxtaposition of the local dialect and the author’s narration in the sample pages. This story is interesting, and I want to find out what is going on in this operation. I like Mason. He seems to have sense enough to know when he doesn’t know something. His interaction with Cecil and Jeff was sad and humorous at the same time. Surprisingly, I will buy this book. It is unique, and I am curious about how this story will unfold. I noticed only one grammatical error in the sample pages. At loc 78, “was” should be “were”: feeling as if he was about to experience something.

I have no suggestions for improvement. The featured OnlineBookClub review was favorable, and it noted the C/T/M/H feel of the book, which I also picked up on. The review reinforced my decision to buy this book.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 8:07 pm by MsH2k.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Brenda Creech

1236408
In first seeing the cover and title of this book, I would not have checked it out if I wasn't going to do this review. After reading the official review, I decided to check a little further, so I read the sample. The portion I read is well-written and edited without any errors. I am a historical fiction fan, but I don't believe I have ever read one with the same premise as this one. The ones I have read are typically about WWII and the Civil War, and often with some romance thrown in. I enjoy reading descriptions of the landscape in different states, but I felt some of the specifications offered too much information. I could not seem to get involved in the storyline as I was reading. A book has to capture my attention in the first couple of chapters to keep me interested in continuing to read, and this one didn't. Therefore, I will not be reading the rest of the book.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 7:32 pm by Brenda Creech.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Jorge Leon Salazar

1225511
The book sample focuses on the main character, Tucker Mason, arriving at Bright's Mountain where he has been hired to work in the construction of a prison. There is a strange mystery in relation to the house he wants to rent due to the former owners, an elderly couple, who died recently in there. Odd events occur and when Mason goes to the airport to return home, a truck collides his car and causes an accident in which Mason is injured.

The story looms interesting with touches of mystery and horror, which already arouses your curiosity as to how the plot will unfold. Enough well-described characters have already been deployed. The edition seems remarkable since I did not find any typo. I consider that I would eventually read this book.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 7:02 pm by Jorge Leon Salazar.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Verna Coy

1064106
Had I not sampled this book through the First Ten program, I would not have chosen it because the cover does not appeal to me. For this reason, I don’t intend to buy and read the whole book today.
Reading the first ten pages didn’t change my mind about buying the book. The early part of the book had an almost creepy feel to it. Based on what I read, the book seems well-edited. Although I noticed that the Official Review mentioned that it had several minor errors, I didn’t see errors in the first ten pages. What I liked most about what I read is how the author described the surroundings in each scene. The vivid imagery is an asset to this book. I know that fans of the genre CTMH will like aspects of this novel. As far as improvements, proofreading for minors errors would be good, as mentioned in the Official review. I did read the Official Online Book Club review and found it insightful. It didn’t affect my views of the book.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 6:35 pm by Verna Coy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Kelyn

741624
If I were not a member of this program, it is unlikely that the cover, title, genre, or author of this book would have caught my attention. Neither the cover nor the title indicates what the book might be about except possibly being set in the mountains. The genre, which I took to be general fiction, is not specific enough to have stirred my interest. What type of fiction is it? Sci-fi? Fantasy? Paranormal? Romance? Action? Or is it just general fiction? Even the blurb does not reveal the type of book, although it did make me lean toward general fiction. The description of the plot did not catch my interest either. The author is unknown to me, so that would not have been a factor in my decision. The few customer reviews were positive and extolled the author's writing style. Unfortunately, from reading the sample, I found neither the writing style nor the content of the book particularly stirring. Mason is a likable character, and I empathize with his uneasiness around strangers, especially ones like the 'hillbillies' (no offense intended) he encounters but, insofar as the sample shows, his journey was not particularly of interest to me. I did not see a review from this program on Amazon, but I did read the one on this site. If I had seen one on Amazon, I would have definitely taken the reviewer's opinion seriously. At any rate, the review on this site brought to light a possible paranormal aspect, which did catch my attention slightly. But the reference was vague and not determinative. Since I generally do not enjoy books written simply as 'general fiction,' preferring something more focused, I decided not to continue reading the book. The book seemed fairly well-edited. I found no countable errors in the sample.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 5:32 pm by Kelyn.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Nikolas Farmakis

1469016
This is a historical fiction novel about the adventures of a man named Mason. I would not have read this book based on the title, the cover, or the genre, as I do not read fiction from this historical period. I will not read this book, as I found it boring, uninteresting, and monotonous. The book was not professionally edited, as I found some errors (e.g. 'broad shouldered' instead of 'broad-shouldered'). What I liked most in this book was the originality and creativity of the author, as the book was not cliche. To improve, the author must add more dialogue to the text, adding more emotions and tension to the atmosphere in the story. The book had an Official OnlineBookClub review, which did not affect my opinion.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 4:55 pm by Nikolas Farmakis.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Laura Lee

1513376
The Amazon blurb was well-written but what really gripped my interest was the book review. The review contained enough teasers to make me want to read the book and find out what happened.

I wouldn't ordinarily be interested in a book of this genre, but from what I read in the sample pages, this book is going on my Want To Read List. I won't be purchasing it today, but I would like to read this book at some point. I didn't find anything that needed changing or could be improved upon. The editing in the pages I read was done well. What I liked best was the author's ability to capture the essence of the area in which the story was set. This was in no small part to the author's ability to phonetically write out the local dialect. This, along with the author's pacing and vivid descriptions, added a lot of flavor to the story. If you like any form of fiction, but particularly thrillers, I'd encourage you to give this well-written novel a try.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 4:32 pm by Laura Lee.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Laura Ungureanu

620179
Based on the cover and the title, I thought this must be non-fiction, probably some travel book. That perspective definitely intrigued me, but I'm afraid I wasn't so excited when I learned from the OBC review that it's a mystery book. The review looked decent anyway, so I figured that it might be a good mystery. The book starts with Mason arriving at 62 Mills Hollow. I liked the description of the two men encountered by Mason. However, the sample lacked the action or mystery I was expecting. It would've been nice to give me chills from the first pages. I was kind of let down by it, so I'm not going to keep reading. I haven't found any typos.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 4:11 pm by Laura Ungureanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Caffrey_19

1666729
I decided to sample a few pages of the book, Beyond the Higher Ground by Thomas A. Brigger, after reading its obc review and comments. I must say that the book portrays a sense of mystery right from the first page which is one of the features I read about the book. I don’t plan on buying and reading the whole book because I feel the book explores a world of dead and reincarnated characters. The book seemed professionally edited and I rarely encountered any typos/errors. I liked the accent of the old man that directed Mason to the house he was searching for. I think the book could do with less attention to unnecessary details.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 3:11 pm by Caffrey_19.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Howlan

1471486
The cover is pretty decent. The synopsis gives a proper introduction to the book. The Official OBC Review is present and proves great insight into the book. The first ten pages start off with a guy called Mason, as he moves to Wells County Virginia for a prison building project undertaken by the company he works for. He meets a couple of odd men, one of whom mentions him of the death of the residents of the house he is about to rent. We are then introduced to the conditions at work that led Mason to work on this project. We also meet Cletus Wellman, the man who shows Mason around the rented house. Well the narration is quite monotonous with long worldly sentences and the plot hardly moves. Frankly from the synopsis, the plot is quite common and the first ten pages did not interest me. Again the cliched foreshadowing of ominous events by the odd men also did not make the story any more interesting. Very little development takes place in the first ten pages. As such I am not going to buy and read this book as the first ten pages failed to interest me. No typos were found in the first ten pages. For improvement, I think the sentences should be short and to the point. Long sentences and describing things in a roundabout way feels very tiresome to me and also fails to interest me.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 3:07 pm by Howlan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Kajori Sheryl Paul

997537
'Beyond the Higher Ground' is a book written by Thomas A. Brigger. The title, cover, and Amazon review did a good job at convincing me to give this book a try.

The sample of the book leads me to believe that it revolves around Tucker Mason. After losing his wife, Tucker takes on a job in the rustic Wells County, Virginia. I like the way the author portrayed a town down on its luck. I found some errors. For example, the sentence construction is faulty in “..that the GPS proclaimed to be Mills Hollow Road, turn right..” I do not think that it is professionally edited. The editing can be improved. I will give this book a try as I like reading books of this genre as of now.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 2:25 pm by Kajori Sheryl Paul.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Scerakor

45879
From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I might have read it. It actually sounded quite harrowing and exciting, leavinge me wonder who wanted to keep the main character away from the house. After reading the first ten pages, however, I changed my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I liked the emotions the author is able to convey early on. For example, when Mason introduced himself to the characters on the porch, the author was able to convey hesitance, invasive presence, and an overall lack of desire to have Mason there. I easily got the feeling that these would be themes that are persistent throughout the book. That being said, I really didn't enjoy the writing style. I get the impression that the author's construction background pervades his writing as was apparent when discussing "renewal" in the context of the house early on in the book. I just don't think that it is for me. I didn’t see anything specific that I would have wanted to change within the sample that I read, but it did seem well written and edited despite the fact that the reviewer found more than ten errors, I didn't see any from reading the first ten pages. The official review did not affect my decision at all.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 2:14 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Twylla

1548676
I would not have sampled this book if it had not been BOTD. The artwork on the cover is too serene – I never would have guessed it was so suspenseful looking at the cover. My favorite thing about the book is the suspenseful nature of the story. I thought this might have been a religious book (ie, the Higher Ground reference).

After reading the sample text, I would definitely buy and read this book. It sounds like the old couple that passed away was trying to send him a message to leave. Does this book have a paranormal theme?

Since it categorized as historical fiction, I would like to see a blurb in the front of the book describing what makes it historical fiction – the time period? The prison that was being built? What facts does the book build on?
This book is well written and professionally edited. I didn’t see any errors in the sample text.

The official review from onlinebookclub.org is very good and very convincing that this is a good book.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 2:05 pm by Twylla.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Diana Lowery

1202329
The cover did not catch my curiosity, and I thought the title made it sound like a religious book. The blurb did catch my interest, and the first ten pages convinced me that I wanted to finish reading this book. I fell in love with the author's descriptive writing style and his ability to cause me to connect with the characters so quickly. The name of the road "Two Stump Road" reminded me of driving around the Ozark Mountains. As the reviewer mentioned, there were some comma errors in those long, complicated sentences, but they did not hinder my comprehension, and I would not want them changed anyhow. I am sorry that she had to deduct one star for them.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 1:47 pm by Diana Lowery.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Odette Chace

1623591
I don't particularly like the title or the cover of this book. I also don't think that the cover or the title match what the book is ultimately about, based on the synopsis on Amazon. I am curious to see if the primary genre of this book will be historical fiction, as that's how it's listed on Amazon, or if it will primarily be a horror story. The official Online Book Club review gave the book a 3 out of 4 stars, deducting one star for typographical errors, so I am interested to give this book a try. I noticed a few errors while reading, including: "'We,' referring to Leo himself and whoever from Estimating had been to Wells County to check out the site and bid [on] the prison project..." (23%) of sample. I enjoyed the sample more than I thought I would. I am curious to see how the story develops, so I will be finishing the book at a later date.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 1:40 pm by Odette Chace.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Maria Esposito

1518462
I knew I would not be interested in reading this book before I sampled it. The blurb does not interest me. The cover design and title also do not catch my interest. The book does not have any customer reviews on Amazon, which further confirmed my initial lack of interest in the book. Reading the first ten pages did not make me change my mind. The narration begins as Mason leaves the airport and drives to Wells County, where he meets two local men and asks them for directions. The author's style is descriptive. The book seems to be well-edited as I came across no errors. However, there was nothing about the book that caught my interest or encouraged me to buy it. The book has an official review on this website, but this had no impact on my initial decision.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 1:30 pm by Maria Esposito.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Emy Katherine

94929
As I am not interested in reading historical fiction novels, I would not have read the book based on the genre. Neither the OBC review nor the sample changed my mind. The story follows a project manager with a dark past named Tucker Mason, whose life changes for the worst when he gets a job in Virginia and rents a house that seems to be haunted. I must say, the author did a great job of portraying the characters. The writing style was also captivating, and there was enough mystery to keep me engaged throughout the sample. Unfortunately, I found some punctuation and grammatical errors. For example, it should be written "broad-shouldered" instead of "broad shouldered." (location 84 of 570 • 15%) Except for another round of editing, nothing needs to be improved.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 1:08 pm by Emy Katherine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda

712962
I don't think the cover of the book truly conveys how much goes on in this novel and I found it unattractive. I found the plot in the blurb interesting, but I think it's missing that "wow factor" that was provided in the review. So, even though the book has good ratings I wouldn't have chosen to buy it.
I liked the first ten pages but not enough to continue reading the novel. My favorite asset of the sample was the dialogues and the interaction between Mason and the two men on the porch. The culture that Mason regards as "unyielding" is different from what he's used to and the culture shock is painted clearly without explicitly saying it, although I didn't like that he seemed to regard these men as a form of amusement. I didn't find any editing mistakes. I would suggest improving the cover and the blurb to be a bit more revealing and attractive. The pacing was too slow for my taste and I didn't manage to get involved in the story. However, the official review showed me a whole new (and spooky) side of the story and it clarified that the approach to the Appalachian people is respectful, so I decided to give the novel a chance.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 12:55 pm by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Tonika632

1741749
By editorial reviews, and customer reviews I would definitely choose a sample of this to read it because I love mystery books and I can tell that his one is part of the C/T/M/H category, not only historical fiction category. I like the cover too, it's simple and it draws my attention. I am not going to buy this book and read it whole, I actually like the theme of the book and style of writing, but I don't like how the author describes the environment and what comes along in too much detail. While reading the sample, I could feel that I've lost my interest because of that. I can tell this book was professionally edited and I didn't find any errors.

I like the style of writing; I can see that the author has a lot of knowledge about terms and is educated since there is a really nice mix of words in every sentence. What I would change is the amount of 'describing'. I have found it really tiring, but that's only my opinion because I don't like reading too many descriptions and too little conversation. This book has an Official OnlineBookClub review and I read it: it actually draws me to the book.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 12:01 pm by Tonika632.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Melisa Jane

1660668
I wouldn't have sampled the book based on the cover because it doesn't hint on what the book is about. I'm not going to finish reading this book because, after sampling it and reading the official OBC review, I've learned that it has very thrilling scenes. I'm not in the mood to be frightened. Since I didn't find any grammatical errors, I like that this book was exceptionally edited. I also like the author's descriptive writing style. I do not have any improvement suggestions though.

First Ten review added on May 25, 2020, at 11:16 am by Melisa Jane.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Total ~ 32%

Beyond the Higher Ground earned a score of 32%.

In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 32% plan to read the whole book.

IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.

Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.

Go to main Bookshelves page for Beyond the Higher Ground