A teenage boy just might be at the center of two historical events: the disappearance of seven kids in the Moon Woods that was never solved and happened years before he was even born and the nuclear bombing of Geneva that happened in the boy's present life--being locked up in a juvenile detention center. He claims, and has claimed since he was very young, that he holds the memories of one of the kids who went missing. Does he have some sort of past-life connection; reincarnation? A psychiatrist writing a book on the unsolved case seeks to find out. Some pieces line up while others do not. But what makes it all the more pertinent is the boy's memories or visions of Geneva, seemingly just before the bomb exploded. The FBI has connected that bomb to a Catholic clergy member with a militant outlook and an open wound of the world turning its back on organized religion. This Catholic terrorist also has a connection to Victor Zobel, who is another key player at the center of these two historic events. Zobel was not only the founder of the cult that drew people away from churches but his stepdaughter was one of the seven missing kids.

Can you sing dun, dun, duuuuunnnnnn?!

This story is complex, webbed, tangled, layered, interwoven. You must pay attention not only to follow along but to catch the hints and clues. Each character is complex with their own little piece to add to the bigger puzzle. The timeline stretches from 2037 to way back in 1910! So, new and unknown-to-us tech is used as well as relics from our history books. Despite all this, I didn't struggle following along, I never got confused. In fact, I quite enjoyed tagging along and working to solve the mystery.

The writing was superb! Smart, individualistic, and flowed like a mountain stream. The characterization was believable. The plot, with all its twists, landslides, and explosions was absolutely gripping in every conceivable way. It was chilling, goosebump-inducing, and it had the little hairs on my arms and the back of my neck standing straight up. This story was a masterpiece from start to finish and Beier is an instant favorite from who I look forward to reading more.

I have mixed feelings on this book.

I liked the writing - I could picture the story and the characters. I could feel myself sympathizing with Jonathan and wanting to shake the people who didn't understand him. I was emotionally involved.

What I didn't like - I thought it was a bit confusing. Jonathan held the memories of others - I get that. But the book chapters changed characters, changed timelines... At times i wanted to scream - who the heck is this now? What is going ON?

Now that being said, I realized it was part of a series. Way too many questions left open. I am off to find the rest of the story - I guess that's enough of a recommendation, right?

Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the copy to review - this did not impact my review. 3.5 stars - rounding up to 4!

I enjoyed reading this book much more than I thought I would, I couldnt put it down. It was such an interesting premise for a storyline and it delivered. This is exactly the type of sci-fi come horror book that I love

This was honestly pretty scary and haunting. I don’t really let horror get to me but this was one that actually spooked me but in a good way of course. I had lots of fun going through this and of course Matthew J Beier is someone ill keep on a watch out for in the future when it comes to these books!

This is a really different kind of story, a little sci fi, a little paranormal, a little family drama, just a good mix of several genres. Good thing I like them all. This is the first book in a planned seven volume series. A good author saacrifices some pacing and action in the first book of a series to build and develop the back story and all of the main characters. Matthew Beier managed to execute his eye opening back story, populate it with some very memorable characters and still keep the story moving quicker than most stand alones. That alone is one sign of a skilled writer with a fantastic story to work with.

THE CONFESSIONS OF JONATHAN FLITE is told in two time periods, 2010 and 2034-37. In alternating chapters, we learn how the unexplained, unsolved disappearance of seven teenagers from Idle County, Minnesota will influence the actions of a large group of people in 2034 and beyond. While Jonathan Flite is the central character, he is born in 2020, ten years after the teenagers disappearance. As he grows, he begins to tell his mother stories that belong to the Idle County 7. Refusing to believe her son, she has him hospitalized where his actions will eventually have him declared incompetent and committed. Into this setting comes a doctor, seeking to treat Jonathan but also insuring the past remains in the past.
Running along side Jonathan's story, we will be introduced to the family of one of the missing teenagers. The first is sister to Molly Butler. Beier gives her character a solid story and we will see the lengths she will go to find her sister.

All in all, this is an excellent start to a series to follow. Im sure I will.

This is a great book I love sci fi particularly the concept of multiple universes and was attracted to the book because of this element in the story .I was not initially aware that this book is part of a planned 7 book series snd did not discover this until I was 90% of the way through and it began to dawn on me that there was no way that all the multiple threads of the book were going to be tied up satisfactorily by the end .I did find this frustrating as I’m a person who likes explanations but I suppose I will have to look for the next book and vomit for the long term !
The book is complicated but not impossible to follow ,I occasionally got some of the characters confused and needed to double my concentration.
The central characters Jonathon Flite and his mother were interesting quirky people well described and with lots of potential for further development in future books
The book zips along at a fast pace with some very exciting scenes such as the raid on the special unit housing troubled boys
I loved the concept of Jonathan holding memories of others who had lost their lives decades before and see the potential here for the 7 planned books in the series .I’m hoping that this special skill is explained more in future books as I was left feeling rather cross that I hadn’t discovered even a little piece of the puzzle by the end of the book

I read a copy on NetGalley Uk and having now read a good selection of books on this format icon my kindle I was expecting formatting errors as this is usual with early copies .I was however pleased to find the book beautifully formatted ,I particularly liked the circular image at the beginning of each chapter which remains on your retina as you move to the next page on your kindle and makes you feel like you were falling into the story .I don’t know if this was deliberate but found it fitted the circular imagery in the book rather satisfactorily