All the Wrong Places

by Rebecca Fisher, Ricky Udave (Illustrations)

"In life I had suffered a thousand deaths, and in the midst of death I
encountered true life. I had looked in all the wrong places, until there, on a hill of
ivy, I was found."

Driving aimlessly through the stormy suburbs of San Francisco, Casey Wheeler is
fleeing from her abusive and unfaithful husband with her five year old daughter
Maddy asleep in the backseat. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, Casey
loses control of her emotions and her car, crashing into a hillside below a
mortuary. Desperately seeking shelter, and more so independence, she finds
herself taken in by the mortuary director who apprehensively offers her a job and
a place to live. As she stumbles through the ins and outs of her new and morbid
surroundings, Casey is forced into a hostile custody battle with her relentless and
increasingly violent husband. In the midst of all the chaos, she finds a new family
and even love in the eccentric and protective people of Golden Oaks Funeral
Home. But just when she has found all she could hope for, she will have to fight
to the death to protect it.

This semiautobiographical story of a single-mother and her journey to
self-discovery, independence and a true understanding of love will keep readers
captivated and yearning for more.

337 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2010

About the author

Rebecca Fisher was born and raised in Los Angeles California, the second of four children. Growing up with the influence of a long line of teachers with a passion for classical education, her time was filled with lessons in violin, cello, piano, ballet...and not-so-classical Girl Scouts and softball. At the age of twelve, she traveled throughout Europe with her Grandmother and aunts, who filled her days with the shared reading of classics such as Jane Eyre and Sherlock Homes, developing her love of literature early on.

At twenty years old and after many bizarre twists and turns, Rebecca found herself working in (and living in) a funeral home while raising her daughter. The mysterious underbelly of mortuary life became common place as she took on the daily, sometimes strange tasks of the business. Her experiences were tragic, comedic, morbid and altogether life-changing. When she began writing her character Casey - and exploring her struggles with raising her daughter alone - she knew right away where Casey’s chaotic life would crash land, bringing her clarity and a new perspective on life.
Her first novel, All the Wrong Places, chronicles many of her experiences living in a mortuary in Northern California; enduring a hostile and at times life-threatening marriage, divorce and custody battle; and raising her daughter alone.

Working three part-time jobs and struggling to balance life as a single-mom, she pursued her love of literature into college, earning a Bachelor’s of English from Cal State Northridge. She has since gone on to earn an M.S. in Education from National University, and is currently working to complete an M.A. in English from the same.

On her journey she met and married the love of her life and began her career as a high school English teacher.

She resides in Valencia, CA, with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Philomena Callan Cheekypee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this wasn't my kinda read but I was so wrong. This is a real page turner that I loved. It's s really heartfelt emotional story of Casey's journey. The author did a great job of portraying the characters emotions throughout the story and I felt as if I was going through the emotions with them.
Can't really say much about storyline without spoiling it. This is a really beautiful story that I'll certainly be re-reading.

[Sarah Reads "Reading in Sarah's Corner" · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very well written and full of detail. It places you right there with Casey Wheeler as she discovers that there are people who care for her and will fight for her. Rebecca Fisher writes about a mothers struggle to protect her child and fight for their freedom form the awful life they have been living. Casey starts a new journey in her life where people do want to help her if she will let them.

There are times I did get lost in all the wording and wished it would get to the next part.I am an emotional reader and need to stay connected to the leads when I read a story. But for the most part I really enjoyed this story.

Casey Wheeler has had it hard her entire life. She had an overbearing father who controlled her every move until she married her worthless husband at nineteen.. Both men never cared for Casey but for themselves and what they could gain. I wanted to Throttle Jerry her crazy husband throughout this book.

Casey Wheeler ends up stuck in the ivy by the Golden Oaks Funeral Home. Casey must get over her fears and calm down enough to let Merman in to help her. I loved her first meeting with Merman Patterson. Merman is one of those characters you will just never forget. He loves life and wants to make sure Casey and Maddy are protected.

Merman is the first person to show Casey love without strings attached.

Then enters Oliver a sweet surgeon who comes to the funeral home to help out when he is not at work. He likes Casey from the moment he meets her but does not push her into anything. He knows she has had a rough life and does not want to add to her troubles. I loved when Oliver would protect her and let her know that she deserved better than Jerry. Oliver won my heart from the beginning. He supported Casey and didn’t care what anyone else thought.

Maddy Wheeler is a little girl who is full of life. This little one tells them how it is and shows them that what they may think is bad is not all that bad. This little one had me teary more than once. Life through a child’s eyes is always so much sweeter.

This novel is full of characters that will have you laughing and growling. There are so many characters you learn to love.

[Gayle Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been on my Kindle for some time. If I'd known that it would be so engrossing and enjoyable to read, I would have read it sooner.

It is rare for me to take to a story right away and not get antsy for it to end. The writing in this story is fluid, economical, illustrative and nearly flawless. The pace of the story kept me interested, reluctant to put it down, and eager to pick it up again. The characters are vivid and unique. The plot is well constructed, and I did not anticipate the resolution of the conflict.

Writing well is not easy. The author makes it look easy, and that is a gift.

It is a pleasure to be able to recommend this book without reservation.

[Lynn McClelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cast of characters in this novel ... really enjoyed their unusual interaction. Story moved along quickly and led to a series of frustrating events creating terror for the main character, a young mother who is only trying to reclaim her life and protect her daughter in the meantime.

Story is relevant to the sometimes slow-moving wheels of justice in the legal process today, with women having to jump through hoops to have the system protect them in abusive domestic situations. You will want to read it quickly to find out whether or not there is a happy ending.

[Lovethebook Launchparty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were real. And engaging. The story moved along at a good pace. I cheered, worried, wondered, and waited with the characters as each scene came into play.
I highly recommend this book. Wonderful read, unique story and even more unique setting.

[Carolina Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

• Author: Rebecca Fisher
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Rebecca Fisher Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780615418292
• ISBN-13: 978-0615418292

All the Wrong Places is a fictionalized account of the author’s own real life experiences as the single mother of a young daughter who just happens to live in a mortuary. The story begins with the protagonist, Casey, driving aimlessly through the dark and rainy San Francisco night with her daughter Maddy in tow after having left her abusive, unfaithful husband, Jerry.

After crashing her car on a hill and having nowhere else to go and no one she can call for assistance, Casey is forced to seek sanctuary at the nearby Golden Oaks Funeral Home. Here she meets Merman, an attractive accommodating man who lives and works at the mortuary and who eventually offers her a job and a home in the form of an apartment above the mortuary. As she acclimates to her new surroundings, Casey meets a handful of colorful characters including Oliver, a handsome doctor with his own story to tell, and Eddie who defies description.

Having secured employment and a home for herself and Maddy, as well as surrounding herself with a network of supporting friends, Casey begins the stressful and arduous process of divorcing Jerry so that she can move on with her life and perhaps find new love. With every small victory she claims, Jerry becomes more and more vindictive and determined to take everything away from Casey, including Maddy, because she dared to defy him.

All the Wrong Places is a story that really draws you in once you start reading. The pacing is even and there were no lulls in the main-plot. The few subplots felt neither unnecessary nor did they detract from the overall story. The author does an excellent job of balancing the bits of humor with the seriousness of the subject matter and in just the right places. The legal aspects of the story seemed quite accurate and Casey’s reactions to the process seemed realistic without going over the top.

Although I enjoyed the overall story, I found some plot points unrealistic in that things just seem to fall into place a little too neatly for Casey. However, since this is a work of fiction I was willing to suspend my disbelief. Had this story been presented as non-fiction, I would have had a bigger problem accepting some of the coincidences. The character of Uncle Stanley, the owner of the mortuary, was noticeably underdeveloped as it seemed he was included solely for creating an outside conflict to match Casey’s inner apprehension about working with the bodies of dead people.

Although Casey was a sympathetic character, she seemed unable to take responsibility for her own part in the dissolution of her marriage and her circumstances. She blamed her distant mother, her over-bearing father, her controlling husband but it was she who ignored what was going on around her. She suspected her husband was cheating, she suspected he was a drug-dealer (as it was implied) but she didn’t care as long as the bills were paid. I also find it hard to believe that as the daughter of a lawyer, who was being groomed to become a lawyer herself, that she wouldn’t have had access to any of their accounts or would sign a contract without reading it beforehand.

All the Wrong Places is not a book that I would have typically chosen for myself to read, as I did not feel that I fit the demographic toward which I felt it was directed. However, the more I read it, the more I wanted to read! As a child of divorce who was raised by his grandparents, I identified with Merman and I could understand why he wanted to help Casey succeed. Despite its few flaws, I really enjoyed All the Wrong Places and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to hear Casey’s story.


Carolina Dean

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!
I really enjoyed this book by the end of it but it was a hard start. It took me several chapters to really get into it and several more to gain any real direction. One reason for this is that there was a lot of exposition. This story was completely centered around the mental state of Casey, the main character. She is going through a difficult time wherein she separates from her abusive husband and is trying to find a new place for herself and her daughter, Maddy. This story is about that journey and completely character driven. It is a little weird in spots as Casey went through the entire process but it is beautifully written.
The secondary characters were amazingly well done! The whole relationship with Merman created a secondary point of interest that was unexpected at the beginning but definitely enhanced the story by the end. His friendship was a great support but he definitely was an acquired taste. He ranged from a crazy dude to a butler-polite type to a fighting machine. I really enjoyed his character. Celia was similar but different. She and Casey had an interesting start as they got to know each other and figure out where they each stood but in the end she was a ray of sunshine. Eddie was just flat out strange but in a very lovable way. Maddy was so adorable and lovable. Oliver, of course, was gorgeous and caring and amazing and just all around wonderful. Even Evelyn, Don, Uncle Stewart and James, even from the littlest parts were wonderfully developed and seemed like actual people. I loved the little thing with Anne at the end. I was unexpected and wonderful but really beautiful.
As for Jerry, he really was the perfect bad guy. Rebecca Fisher wrote him fabulously. He goes from smooth to slimy to scary throughout the book. Casey's reaction to all of this is heartbreaking and so encouraging. She is a trooper and I was right there with her pretty much from the beginning.
I have contradictory feeling about this book. It was a really slow start but the story starts in the middle and not the very beginning so you are right there from the first page. It is all from Casey's perspective so you are dropped into her head and it's so well done that you are there from the first page. That said, the reason I say it is slow going at the beginning is that you have to go back and get the beginning before the story can move. Some of these scene changes are hard to follow so you go from the past to the present and back again with very little notice. There was a lot of this at the beginning, making it a little bit difficult to really submerge myself in the story, even though I was with Casey.
I usually read romances, most of which just follow a basic formula, for the most part. This story is not like that. There are some romantic pieces to the puzzle and there is absolutely a HEA at the end but the goal is less a romantic happy ending and more of a personal fulfillment. Casey goes through entire roller coaster with Jerry and then has to deal with the aftermath and come out whole. There is a huge emphasis on this main focus. The fact that Oliver happens to help out along the way is just a bonus.
I was also amazingly impressed by the attention to detail. I can not think of a single trail that wasn't followed through to the conclusion. Rebecca remembered every little detail and tied up every loose end. That was a really nice touch.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the Wrong Places was wonderful! It was so real and emotional and had me hooked from the beginning. The characters were fantastic and heartwarming. Very well written and I will definitely keep an eye out for more books by Rebecca Fisher.

Casey is in a bad relationship and finds herself with no where to go and no one to turn to. When she finds her husband cheating on her, she knows it's time to get out. She goes to her father for support, but he just wants to put Maddie in an all girls school. When leaving her family's house, she drives aimlessly in the rain until she loses control and runs into a hill. The only shelter around is a funeral home and Casey is terrified by what she might find.

This book is such a sweet, romantic, must read! So many struggles, but Casey stays strong and courageous.

[Emerald Lavere · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I've started a lot of self pubs lately that I couldn't finish. I stuck with this one because I found the plot interesting. The writing is clean, but not strong. Too much "telling" vs. "showing." An abundance of "had"s. A plot line that is built for suspense, somehow rarely was. I'll be honest and say that I generally don't care for "based on fact" stories, because I spend so much time wondering which parts are actual fact, and which are fabricated--so that's on me, not the author. It was difficult to suspend disbelief on one section, but I won't mention it for spoiler reasons. On the up side, besides the plot, I also thought some of the characters were well-developed and engaging. I especially enjoyed the character of Merman, and thought Ms. Fisher did a nice job with several supporting characters as well.

[Burn After Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of Rebecca Fishers all the wrong reasons for my honest review.
This is a story of tragedy to triumph, its uplifting and heart wrenching. From the start of the story I was pulled in. I found myself traveling through time remembering my own mother and the similar situations she was put in sadly, she wasn't as strong as Casey. In short I loved this story and I especially loved Merman I think that he and I are cut from the same cloth. Cant wait to read more from this author.

With light and love.... Ellie

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the story line and the characters. Eddie was my favorite. That being said I found it to be a little choppy. That is nothing a little polishing and maybe a second set of eyes could help. Thanks to Rebecca Fisher for telling your story thanks to Goodreads First Reads for the opportunity to read it.

[Malinda McConnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the usual type of book that I read and I did't really enjoy. I read books to escape reality for a little while and this one was a bit realistic. It deals with love, loss, infidelity, and picking up the pieces and moving on to find a better life. So for me, it was not an ideal read but for those of you that don't mind that kind of realness in your books, you will enjoy this book.

[Gloria pohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the right stuff !

Set in the San Francisco Bay Area, this ambitious story was mostly enjoyable. The characters were likable and I found myself rooting for a happy ending. At times, it felt like the story was over written, none the less I enjoyed it and will look for more from this author. I recommend giving it a read.

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an uplifting and passionate story. the characters were likable and very real. the storyline kept my attention until i had finished the story. it had a lot of twists and turns and made you feel better about the world. I am so glad i got to review it

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! It had a great story. Easy to read an kept me interested. I encourage you to read it.

[Linda Johnson]

I rec'd this book from Goodreads First Reads. Review to follow.