All Comments on 'A Study in Scarlet: Epilog'

pathetic man, really

Emotional decisions are more often wrong than right. They are much better with time to reflect and with all the information. I would hope that we're I in the same situation I would make this same decision to forgive and try to forget, or at least understand, and seek my own happiness rather than suffer for threat of my life with the knowledge that I may have been wrong.

Thanks to Blue88 for a fine story and an emotion filled read.

Ok, so they both paid by being miserable. He decides life is better with her than without her. The problem is with the 2 meddling b*****s called friends. They both need to be horse whipped for their meddling. The cancer may ave driven them together, but Irene and Pat should have known better. With friends like them, who needs enemies?

Yes, his friends were busy bodies. No question.

HOWEVER...John wasn't healing. I think if John had gone out, found a big busted woman, dated, had fun, married her, Patty and Renee would have kept their yaps shut.

OR...if John had gone out and had a string of girls, looking for the right one...they would have seen him TRYING to move on. Esther...how do you help someone long distance?

So the problem is that John wasn't 'self medicating'. If he was getting to a healing place, they would have butted out. He didn't. So what were they supposed to do? Allow him to wallow?

No. Now, I would have liked to see them branch out for other girls but the only time he seemed happy was with Esther. The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. He was never indifferent.

"I think that I've hurt him badly, Renee," Esther whispered"

Ya think? Yer a goddam genius, Gump.

But seriously, I really enjoyed this story. I know I would have a tough time getting past what Dr Watson saw, but I 'think' I could if my wifes love was as strong as his. Betrayal is a tough one to get over as is a complete lack of trust of ones mate.

You HAD to fuck up an otherwise good story by tacking on a ridiculous ending and turning the male lead into a wimp. Next time quit while you're ahead or hire a man to write the endings.

Why you ask. Cuck/wimp writers gotta write cuck/wimp endings it's in their DNA.

What a good story.

FD45 summed it up well

Think he came to realise that living with regret was harder than living with suspicion. Especially once he worked out that there was little to be suspicious of.

Good stuff. Although the epilogue almost longer than the first 3 chapters. :-)

One of my favorites. Truly great ending. I was able to buy reconciliation not because of the alcohol angle, but because of the reasons Pat put forward as proof of Esther's love for her husband. What she did was bad, but she paid a heavy price. They both did. People are flawed. It is how we deal with those flaws that makes us human.

I really do like your story-Thanks!

All parts deserve 1 star. The women in this story are all despicable beings frocing John together with his ex. Just let the man be. He made his break but they all conspire to force him together with his ex. Whores, the lot of them...

So ah, it seems I am an alcoholic and I just couldn't help myself. In fact I didn't even realize I had a problem. My bad.

Friends like that would not be friends anymore.

She packed the panties before she ever left for the trip. Alcohol had very little to do with what happened. The lady wanted to get fucked before she left. The author did seem to forget large portions of his own story in order to make up a totally unbelievable reconciliation.

This is terrible tripe totally unrelated to the first three chapters. It makes me gag when someone does a well plotted, well characterized story and then throws it away for a happy ending that has no justification. The Sherlock Holmes character names make me want to puke. They make one think that the story is a parody which of course it turns out to be with this absurd epilog.

Just tripe. I had to wade through 6 pages of boring drivel to get to a insipid ending like this. I had some complaints about lack of proof reading on the first 3 chapters but at least those had reasonable storylines; this was awful, easily the worst chapter of any of your stories. A low 1*

As someone else noted, she packed and wore the lingerie, that her husband purchased, but never wore for him. As I recall, she said she did it because she was angry with her husband. She also indicted that her panties were wet, with Jim just sitting in her office. She allowed him to kiss her when he left the office. This occurred, without the use of alcohol.

After the New Years eve fiasco, and Jim's transfer, I would think that he would be the last person with whom she would work. She certainly shouldn't have kept his return a secret.

All of this occurred after she kissed Jim and slapped John, at the New Years eve party.

How stupid is this woman? How could anyone believe the lounge incident was simply an unfortunate "accident"?

Robert

Many comments blame the wife, calling her a slut... Well, how about a view from one with a different angle? Johnny certainly had his head up his ass.

Before I was married, my girlfriend was on a trip and fucked some guy. She never told me - I found out by accident. We had a rough few months, BUT, I did eventually let it go. Sure I was pissed, but I also realized that she came back to Illinois and to ME. There were many, many circumstances that I was not aware of, and I eventually forgot about it.

So, it isn't always what it seems. And to those morons who can't understand the "problem" that Essie had with alcohol, I hope that you never have to deal with a problem like that. It isn't fun. The deamons are real.

Can't have kids? Why not adopt? I have never understood why people who say they want kids, but can't have them don't adopt? People adopt pets and love them, why not kids? Is it ego? That is the heart of the problem. Without progressing on to having kids, a marriage continues to revolve around only two people. Part of the experience is growing your love to encompass more than your lover. You have to develop less selfish love to grow and be happy.

Racfguy I'm happy you feel that way.

She came back to you and you are safe she can go do the same thing again . Since again the person she does it with won't care afterwards she has you to come back to.

She is a lucky girl, the best of both worlds.

You are number one in her eyes,the trouble being there are number twos.

loved your story, I really did. I am surprised that it took so long for john to realize things, but at last he did. I find it interesting that a guy will commit 100%, and its final, where as with a woman its never 100%, maybe its just me. good story

This explanation for Esther's behavior is absolutely believable. As I grew up I observed that all my paternal relatives were either tee totalers or alcoholics. Before I was old enough to drink; I decided there was no way in hell I was going to be an alcoholic. I can safely enjoy a couple of glasses of wine or a couple of beers, but I have to watch it. If there is a six-pack of beer in the fridge, I guarantee I'm thinking about it on the drive home from work. Would I lose all inhibitions if I got drunk? Can't say, it's never happened, but I certainly believe it could be possible. My wife was so sensitive to the anesthetic agent used in her first surgery, she almost died because she couldn't be reviewed.

In spite of my previous comment; I find it hard to believe a college graduate would be unaware of a problem with alcohol! Aside from that, (and John being a wimp) great story! I did not think it possible that I could approve of their reconciliation.

Thanks for a well written story. It had me engrossed from the very beginning to the happy ending.

A believable fable of misunderstanding played out against astonishing mutual love.

Thank you for hours of enjoyment.

I like a happy ending as much as the next person, but this was just too forced for me.

Among other things, despite what Patty said, John DID know about her alcohol problem, when they reconciled after the New Year debacle she promised never to drink without him there.

While her reluctance to tell John about Jim's return is SOMEWHAT understandable, what ISN'T understandable was her accepting him as team member. She should have told her supervising partner that they had uncomfortable history, and that she couldn't/wouldn't with with him. THEN she could have told John about him being back and how she refused to work with him. Just about everything else could have then been avoided.

Frankly, keeping John and Patty apart was just too pat, and then the Deus ex Machina of Esther's cancer reconciling them is too much!

KarenE is perfect. I never knew.

She had to have cancer, right?

The biggest idiot I ever met was a top flight Oxford Don, PhD Maths and he had trouble counting the coins in his pocket to buy a beer!!!

So our guy here is clever but... really dim; alas his dear wife is not much better!!!

But we have a story of two idiots circling the drain and boy they screw up royally.

But... guess what -- they do love each other and finally, finally, between good friends and cancer defining life the way it does, well they just have to get back.

It's a great STORY, write more like this... all is forgiven at the end... Loved it 5*

So Ester deliberately chooses to drink copious amounts of alcohol with a man that she knows has no qualms taking advantage of her(The New Years Eve Incident).

She deliberately spends time with him knowing that he only wants to have sex with her. Finally to top it all of she slapped John for getting pissed that his fiancee was necking some random guy. Unbelievable, if their genders were reversed we all know that Ester would have possibly gone to jail and there would have been no talk of continuing a relationship. Seriously considering all these factors how could his so called friends possibly expect the guy to react. If he was the cheater, his female friends would have definitely told the wife to dump him like yesterdays garbage. Double standard B.S. Good story terrible ending.

A better ending would have been the whiney 'holier than thou' John turning up at the hospital only to find that Esther had moved on with a more mature new husband.

I don't recall if I commented on this tale the first time I read it or not. I liked it very much. The psychobabble about the problem with alcohol is very real with various people. Esther's euphoria over having completed a long legal problem plus her alcohol intolerance clears up the confusion for all except John (DUH). Finally he wakes up. Cheers!

a situation like this. She lied to him, she flirted with the other guy when he came back. She packed sexy underwear that her husband had bought and she hadn't respected him enough to wear for him. She planned on cheating and held the guy off to give him an edge in the negotiations. She knew she had problems with alcohol and both times she was with the other guy she drank, heavily. She never got over the thrill of that other lawyer and she evidently harbored animosity towards her husband, for what ever reason. I remember now why I quit reading your stuff.

Guy had a shitty life going on. Slut wife who didn't respect anything he did, crappy friends who didn't respect his wishes and then the man hating author who didn't respect him enough to let him have any backbone or testicles.

I was hoping it would end with John capping himself after the talk with Pat, they'd find his body days later.

And that Ester would succumb to cancer. That way, two sad souls could fly.

But Blue? Freakin' awesome story!

Anonymous 12/01 ......

All,the points you raised are so very valid.

Felt like I was watching a football game and someone passed me a soccer score.

Not coming right home the day Moriarty returned, telling John "that sonuvabitch Jim Moriarty is back" and then going into the office the next day to tell the senior partners that they should never try to pair him up with her on any project because she'd quit before she'd work with him, that's not believable, unless she was getting a thrill out of his obvious interest in her.

A very lovely story. I always hope in these types of stories that we can get some more catharsis at the end, see some romantic payoff for all the trials, but I'll take what is offered. Very touching and in the end, satisfying to read.

Always good to find a 'new to me' author. Solid story,

Trying to polish the turd.

Ignore the comments of the one-dimensional hard asses. Very well written, thanks.

the news of not being able to have kids was defining, in that it showed her conviction to her career, along with her character. good story.

was better without this. most characters are bunch of nosy, annoying fuckers. don't like raac. cancer was just a big deus ex machina.

Is a whore and you can't change them , no matter how much you care for them

this 'addendum' was a complete misfire.

... can't stand the wimpy protagonist.

The SECOND time ANYONE of those harpies had accosted me and tried to stick their beaks in where I had told them the FIRST time not to go, I would have shined them on for a very long time....

HE'S Responsible? Give me a break! He did everything to improve their relationship, she did NOTHING... "She didn't plan to cheat!" But she did... she KNEW how alcohol affected her, she KNEW how poorly she'd been treating her husband and their marriage. She KNEW (because she hid Jim's return from her husband!) how her having ANYTHING to do with this predator would affect her husband and their marriage, yet she put herself in a compromising position.... TORCH THE BITCH!

AND.... let the fire extend to any of those who attempt to justify her hateful behaviour!

"I'm a man! But why do I hurt so bad?"

Because sometimes it hurts to be a man!

That said, the story was fairly well told, and I DID enjoy the read....

Not sure I would buy the alcohol theory either if I was John, maybe if it wasn't the same guy again it would be more of a factor. She new he was after her, he kissed her in her office and made her wet. So she knew she needed to be on guard she also stated early in the story she was hot for him. I'm fine with them getting back together, to each their own. But I don't feel Pats little spiel was very factual or that Esther was fully honest based on the author's writing of her inner thoughts.

you can usually tell how much love was involved by the time it takes to heal. someone young, that hasn't had time to relish in it, is only vaguely aware what is there, versus a marriage of years. Good story, I gave it a five because of the amount of details.

Still an enjoyable conclusion. For me, it didn't live up to the expectations of the opening chapters. First, it was annoying how Pat and John went back and forth over why she no longer drank. If I'm not mistaken, she told him at the time that she would not drink much in the future because of that incident. It was no mystery why she didn't drink. Secondly, the very reason for not drinking was because of the incident with Moriarty. If Pat is to believed and Esther carried that around with her for years, then it is unlikely that she would forget (let her guard down) when faced with Moriarty himself. Third, it was simply an odd plot device to have this graduate student come to the exact same conclusion that the retired psychologist had. Suddenly she becomes wise beyond her years and has all the answers. A bit hard to swallow. Finally, It was nice that you threw in the bit about the scarlet underwear. Makes sense. It was just puzzling that this detail, so important that it is reflected in the name, completely escaped his post divorce deliberations. I bet if he had thrown that fact at Pat during her lecture that she would have had an explanation for that as well.

The misogynist Commenters out there obviously haven't read the story or are twisting the words to suit their beliefs and dislike of women. The alcohol resistance mentioned is very real for a small number of both men and women, as are the comments by the shrink and the soon to be shrink.

I will wager that if the genders were reversed in this story the same commenters would be admonishing the wife for not being sympathetic to the husband.

John was being a self absorbed selfish shit, refusing to talk to or listen to anybody in case they contradicted his need to wallow in self pity. It took a caring cop to force him to listen to reason and not let him run away by locking him in.

Remember that Esther had done nothing remotely inappropriate before the lounge incident although John accused her of having an affair for many months. He had no proof and would not listen to anyone else's council.

The biggest problem was lack of communication. If either of them had talked earlier and especially before the trip there would have been no issues. At minimum Esther should have told about Jim's appearance and John should have aired his unfounded suspicions. But then there would not have been a story - so the moral from the story is - TALK.

If this was on paper I would be using it in the outhouse. Why this piece of junk was written is beyond me.

Narration and dialogue was messy, should have been proof read and edited. Previous chapters also exhibited said problems. At least the writer did not shy away from painting an unbiased portrayal of lack of communication and trust issues. John came off as a paranoid man then a jerk, Esther a not really innocent bystander, and Irene a woman who wanted to stick her nose in other people's business and made things worse. No one was left unharmed, but the ending was rushed,

the wife hadnt done anything inappropriate? she let the guy talk about how he was gonna fuck her and then let him kiss her while she was sober and at work and never told him to stop. she brought lingerie on a trip away from her husband where she would be with a guy she found extremely attractive. i think anyone would think it was shady to not tell your husband that the guy who tried to seduce you and almost broke up your engagement was back and trying to seduce you again. then to drink with him and make the exact same mistake with the same person... the only thing a rational person could think was that she resented being married to her husband when she was around moriarty. first she slaps her husband when he stops them from making out during new years and then when he comes back years later she becomes unloving and hostile to her husband again.

When Patty locked him in her house he should have kicked it open and reached an immediate understanding with the two interfering women. Shut them up, shut them out and gone and made better friends.

anon jerry

So fucking retarded. If she didn't have the Magic Alcohol Sluttiness Disease, but had instead just had twice as much to drink, with the same result, what then? Clearly written for morons.

5*

I only wish there were some more about their reconciliation.

Well done!

With commentators like several of those who hide behind anonymous it is litttle wonder that Blue88 stopped publishing stories on Lit.

Just a garbage excuse.

Thanks anon for the phrase!

The story, that is. Only one other observation to make, John Watson is a pussy, a girly-man. You tried to butch him up but he came out a bitch.

After reading the original story, I had to come back and read to epilog. I just couldn't leave it in an unsatisfactory state. So, having read through the epilog, I am finally completely happy with the outcome. It was a somewhat long-winded story, but I think it is well worth following through to its end. I don't remember that the "culprit" was ever retaliated against in this story, but the pleasant and hopeful ending has seemed to set that necessity aside for the time being. This is a well-done, quality story which leaves the reader with a good feeling. Congrats :-)

I give it a 5* in the story line. You could add a follow up story with Patty and angry Frank.

Still five stars. Still a favorite. Still stand by my previous comments.

went off the scale with this one.

You should have left the story as it was. You ruined it with all the bullshit you wrote. A lame RAAC attempt ignoring most of the things you previously wrote about "dear Esther" and her intatuation with Jim. You probably were too high or drank too much when youw rote this one.

She describes Jim as a hunk to fiance-then is in arms of hunk at midnight. Reverse situation-how would she react?

Years later, by her own admission, just looking at Jim gets her panties wet.

Alcohol, no alcohol, euphoria over closing deal or not, she was ready to be seduced...her intentionally not telling husband about Jim's return, not to mention they worked closely together late into the night for six months indicates her attraction to him.

Her flimsy excuse as to why she didn't tell husband is laughable. She is intelligent enough to know her betrayal by omission would be much worse when husband found out her ''deception''.

I truly enjoy your writing, but in this story wife enjoyed the warmth of playing with fire as to her relationship with the hunk!

Even more confusing is that the law firm not only retained a sexual predator, but also transferred him back and partnered him up with his quarry. That bit of your plot is unfathomable to me

Thus was 90% melodrama and BS. I really came to gate those two meddling bitches, apparently they knew better than John how to run his life. The smattering of plot seems to be all about blaming the alcohol so the author can force a reconciliation with Esther.

John also really needed to man up and move on instead of friendzoning the women that might have offered him a new life. He was just a pathetic emotional mess.

This whole chapter could have been cut down to a third without sacrificing anything important.

It outstayed its welcome.

But beforehand read comments of others. Found anon-back to engagement- had already submitted my thoughts.

Including I enjoy your writing although from the few stories I have read there seems to be pattern...loving wife cheats-has week moment-husband gets divorce-years later they re-unite and live happily ever after.

yes it is. I think his reaction at the first incident was correct, as was his reaction to the second incident. I believe she was looking forward to being taken by her partner in crime. Why, is anyone's guess. She did go up and put on that bra and panty set that her husband had never seen on her. Am I glad they got back together, yes. I don't always go with reconciliation, but it is the right course here I believe. I think it's one of those regrettable mistakes that adults make from time to time, and she realized it after she was caught. The story is a nice emotional score, well played.

Flushes Parts 1-3 down the toilet. 1*

Not for everyone but I liked it a lot.

I'm not a fan of RAAC either.

An epilogue that disregards all your prior writing to create a reconciliation. Your lack of integrity as an author is stunning and pathetic.

Very disappointing compared to the first three. I don't mind reconciling, but the way they went about it was pretty bad. His angst in dealing with the divorce was painfully wordy. The "psychology" behind her cheating is complete BS. No professional counselor would accept her rationalization for wearing the special underwear. Everything leading up to her cheating was intentional even if the reasons for her behavior were subconcious. From the first day Moriarty came back into her life she was gearing up for infidelity.

Damn, this one had me reaching for the tissues, excellent series.

She was constantly pushing and then when she thought he might have been hurt THEN she started crying and was remorseful?

The old saying is true, "A woman will stab you faster than a man will and also be the first to cry at your funeral! " lol

A long story with a beginning, a middle and an end. Nicely done. I think you gave the characters personality and I am satisfied how it turned out. Love can win, life doesn't have to be zero-sum.

A terrific story. An author that truly speaks English, understands the importance of spelling, punctuation and sentence structure. A true relief and a joy to read.

Thank you

What. A long long boring story.

If she was't planning on cheating, why did she take her special scarlet underwear with her? Her husband gave the set to her but she had never worn them for her because she said that she wanted to save them for a "special" occasion.

Good Story - Believable beginning to end !

...you got the ending right. I wouldn't call this a reconciliation as much as a mutual acceptance.

while the stress/ alcohol issue was interesting, facts don't change.Irene needed to be sent packing, nosey busy body should mind her own business.

A well written effort. However there is a lot of fails in the reasoning that tried to force John back with Esther. I'm sure you sense the same, that why you gave her cancer. A weak resource to force a reconciliation when everything is failing.

My main problem is that alcohol is not a rape drug, alcohol just lower your inhibitions. So there is the fact that she hide from him about Moriarty, that she brought the special underwear to the trip (was she drunk when she packed or was she thinking about bedding her ex?) and she wore it for him. While the kiss and the fingering was happening she was lucid enough to ask him to stop and to realize that what she was doing was wrong. So, she was not drunk enough to lose her free will. She CHOSE to cheat.

"The door's locked, and you're not leaving until you listen to my drivel."

"Really?" Takes out phone. "Hello 911?, can you send the police? I'm being held against my will."

The ONE blessing is this cheating WHORE wife Apologist, RAAC loving writer has not submitted a story in years (most likely locked himself in his bedroom closet waiting for his Three Hole Cum Dump Loving Wife to bring home her next "real man" to service her slimy holes). Hopefully he keeps it that way!

They would throw out baby with the baby water. what a bunch of heartless bastards. who of you when drunk think rationally or acts rationally, I know I don't, but I gees you fuck tards do.

All I can say is that if I'd ever had a friend like John I'd have left him. What a sad loser he was. Then again his friend Woody was no better. Geez with men like them the human race would have died out eons ago. I'm sure that if his Mom had known what a whining little bitch he would be. She would have drowned him at birth.

Agreed that Esther did cheat, agreed also that cheating is not just sex/intercourse/fucking. The wimp simply closed his mind to everything. Even his useless friend Woody saw that. He was probably more at fault for letting it go on. But let's be fair he was a lawyer so that pretty much says a lot. Yeah, I hate lawyers too but then again who don't?

The ending of the first story certainly valid and the anti-wimp and BTB crowds were ecstatic.

The Epilog could have been a stand-alone itself and the anti-wimp and BTB crowds were apoplectic.

Each community has a story as they liked it. Yet AW-BTB crowd just couldn't stand it.

Just shows ta go ya:

♬ya can't please everyone, so ya gotta please yourself.♬ - Ricky Nelson

As risq stated, the ending is lacking and several points that reflect poorly on Esther's behavior in the previous chapters that were conveniently overlooked in this story. Also I do not like the way you introduced and then emphasized alcohol as the reason for her behavior. It felt like someone shouted out an answer, even though no one even asked asked a question. And then, after the characters conveniently had that answer, they it was used as an argument to excuse Esther's actions. Finally, I do not like how everyone was trying to give John a "kick in the butt." I think it was poorly executed (and somewhat annoying). Patty felt awful after pushing John for information about his marriage and divorce the first time. She was scared she hurt their friendship. So why would she do it again and risk her friendship with John after meeting Irene one time?

the story would have been much better without the epilogue.

I would have preferred this to have been the final chapter in the original story rather than a somewhat separate epilogue. But it was nevertheless an interesting study of an emotional cripple, a man who was so out of touch with his emotions that the slightest hurt or perceived rejection was greeted with anger, hatred and a complete refusal to try to understand why things happened as they did.

Esther reacts to her pain and loss by moving away and trying to use her skills to help people in need, John does nothing except wallow in his pain and loss, raging against anyone who tries to help him gain a greater understanding.

I am at a loss to understanding why so many Literotica readers consider his behaviour to be 'noble' and 'manly' when he is clearly an emotional coward, afraid to look beyond his own pain and unwilling to face his own insecurities and fears.

A sad excuse for a man beautifully dissected.

LA

Yep, what they said....

I didn't like the original ending. This made me feel better.

She got help. She was truly remorseful. They belonged together. I can live with the reconciliation . Now go take care of Jim.

The three chapter of the original story are just over six pages, the a six page epilog?

Outside of country and western songs or Lit, are there really men who can't move on after being cheated, or almost cheated on? I literally do not know one of them. Sure I know some who have stuck together with a woman who cheated but I don't know one who left a woman and couldn't move on. I do know meddlesome women with silly bs theories like these two, but I do not know one man who wouldn't be able to move on in six months to a year from a woman like this. Anyone?

What a finish to a 3 part story. You are a master of the pen. To bad you stopped writing . You really got John to see the light. I can see his point of view but you made his 2 friends into these crusaders . Not really possible to have all these shrinks reversing his trend of thought. And the cancer at the end ? But a fine piece of writing

Kidnapping, forcible confinement, drugs perhaps? How many laws DO they break? All for a RAAC? As one other has asked, why can’t the victim move on? The spouse was unfaithful, the victim couldn’t forgive the slight. The marriage was over, they divorced. Done end of story

Why make a 6 page epilogue all for the sake of an unbelievable reconciliation?

Need to get Esther well (who paid for the surgery, don't think she had great benefits from Legal Aid?). Then each can tell other that now, they both understand why the two incidents with Jim happened.

Then John can change his decision "suspicion or regret", realizing he didn't have to be suspicious, and you can have the damn RAAC ending in style.

It always amazes me at the lack of basic human compassion and understanding that some commentors have. This was a beautiful story, well told, and well written. Every base was covered for anyone with any intelligence to root for this final reconciliation. 5* all the way. And you can tell when dumbasses either dont truly read the story or are sociopathic...their comments arent worth even reading

Terrible epilogue to a story that needed none. Whatever the author's motive for hammering a fairy tale ending onto a compellingly grim account of the end of a marriage, it is done only at the cost of infantilizing and neutering John and falling back on that most threadbare of RAAC plot devices - a spousal medical emergency.

All the pop psych bloviating to excuse Esther's behavior and shift to blame to John was just as bad. The John of chapters,1,2 and 3 would never have let Irene get away with the misrepresentions, omissions, contradictions and cheap rationalizations she spouted in the climactic, cathartic confrontation when, astonishingly, he allows himself to be locked in a room and forced to listen to her monologue about poorf misunderstood Esther. Somebody should write an alternative epilogue with the same John we met in the previous chapters.

Interesting and insightful critique.