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Michael Kurland
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Button Bright Kindle Edition

by Michael Kurland (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 261 ratings
“Somebody was yelling in the room now, one of the strange men, and her mother was screaming and screaming. But Button was only dimly aware of the sounds. Her consciousness had shrunk down to focus on the body that was blocking her hole—

—and the warm, thick liquid that was dripping onto her hand.”

Button is an 11 year old, bubbly and intelligent girl who is haunted in her dreams by a tapping sound…

Living with her mother and father in Cottsborough, Vermont, Button had been trained to hide and not ever answer to her secret name, ‘Rachel’. One day, two men arrive at Button’s family home searching for her by this secret name.

Refusing to give Button up, things turn violent and the men shoot her father dead. Through a narrow crack in the floor boards, Button bears witness to the murder.

Eluding the two men who tried to catch her, Button uses her wits to navigate herself from Vermont to Boston and then to New York.

Button has a plan to find her uncle Dromkin.

When her search seems hopeless, Button is taken in by a resident of her uncle’s apartment building, Phil, who claims he can help.

But when they find Dromkin sprawled on the floor with his throat cut, Button is convinced she is somehow the cause of these family murders...

Will Phil be able to keep her identity hidden long enough for her to find out the truth?


Praise for Michael Kurland:


"A perfect tale of childhood terror." - Tom Kasey

Michael Kurland grew up in New York City and now lives in California with his partner, novelist Linda Robertson, a dog, a cat, and an occasional visiting family of raccoons. He has been nominated for an Edgar (twice) and for the American Book Award. His books have been translated into eleven other languages.
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  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    August 17, 2017
  4. File size
    1.7 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074XBTVJX
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 17, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 261 ratings

About the author

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Michael Kurland

Michael Kurland

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Michael Kurland has been a full-time professional writer all of his adult life, except for interludes when he briefly taught high school English, was road manager of an unsuccessful rock and roll band, directed plays for an amateur theater group, worked for a private detective agency, was managing editor of Crawdaddy, a national music magazine, and was even, briefly, a book publisher. He has also done free-lance editing, copyediting and book reviewing for various publishers and magazines.

After four years in the Army Security Agency, Kurland attended Columbia University and began writing professionally while still a student. He was nominated for an Edgar award for "A Plague of Spies," one of the War Inc. trilogy, and then again for "The Infernal Device," the first of his Moriarty novels, which was also a finalist for the American Book Award. His political thriller "The Last President" made it to several Best Seller lists. Kurland has also written a number of non-fiction books, notably "Irrefutable Evidence," and "How to Solve a Murder," on forensics, "How to Try a Murder," on how murder trials work, and "It’s a Mystery to Me," in which he attempts to pass on what he’s learned about writing mysteries.

Kurland’s most recent novel, "The Bells of Hell," is a political espionage thriller which travels from New York and Washington DC to Berlin and back in the days just before the start of WWII, and explores, among other things, the Fascist ideology prevalent in the US at the time and its infiltration by Nazi agents.

Kurland lives on California’s central coast, midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. His partner, Linda Robertson, is a novelist and a criminal lawyer. They share their house with a dog and a cat, and their back yard with at least two raccoons, several opossums, various representatives of the suborder Sauria, and perhaps two dozen fruit trees.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
261 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers thoroughly enjoy reading this book, with one review noting it's a good cross between sci-fi and fantasy with a happy ending. Moreover, the writing style is expertly crafted, and customers appreciate the character development, falling in love with the characters. Additionally, they find the book enlightening, with one review describing how it leads readers through realms of worlds. However, the pacing receives mixed reactions, with one customer finding it rushed.

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21 customers mention "Readability"19 positive2 negative

Customers find the book engaging and thoroughly enjoyable, with several mentioning it held their interest throughout.

"...Nitpicking aside, I fell in love with the characters and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book...." Read more

"This is a good read...." Read more

"It started off as a good story line and held my interest.Then in the middle to me the story went all over the place...." Read more

"...Reading fiction “relaxes you, gives you pleasure, entertains, and enlightens”. Button says “stories are magic”!..." Read more

15 customers mention "Storyline"15 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storyline of the book, finding it interesting with a happy ending, and one customer describes it as a good cross between sci-fi and fantasy.

"This is a good read. The story is a good cross between sci-fi and fantasy which makes it a very hard one to keep functioning properly but the author..." Read more

"Not a very easy read but is a very good story. Had a happy ending. Great characters. Really enjoyed the book." Read more

"It started off as a good story line and held my interest.Then in the middle to me the story went all over the place...." Read more

"...This storyline is unique and marvelously creative! The author talks about “the three primal professions being Priest, whore, and storyteller”...." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing style"7 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, noting that it is expertly crafted and well-articulated.

"First, I’d like to state that this story was very articulate and well-written. I had to look up perhaps over 10 words...." Read more

"...makes it a very hard one to keep functioning properly but the author makes it work.short" Read more

"...Button was super. Mr. Kirkland did a super job. He is a great author!" Read more

"This book was written like an expert author wrote it.Can't wait for next book.Could Kurland be a name for an established author" Read more

7 customers mention "Enlightened reader"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and well-researched, with one customer describing it as a great adventure that leads readers through realms of worlds.

"...It enhanced my knowledge in certain areas and for that I am grateful, as that is the purpose of reading!..." Read more

"...Reading fiction “relaxes you, gives you pleasure, entertains, and enlightens”. Button says “stories are magic”!..." Read more

"A very disturbing and thought provoking book. I usually do not read Si-Fi but this book is a paranormal sifi...." Read more

"...I loved the characters. I also found this writer to be well researched and erudite. A very satisfactory ending." Read more

6 customers mention "Character development"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with several mentioning they fell in love with the characters, and one noting how the author took time to develop them.

"...Nitpicking aside, I fell in love with the characters and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book...." Read more

"...Had a happy ending. Great characters. Really enjoyed the book." Read more

"...and her mother gets kidnapped Button is on the run and meets quite interesting characters - some of whom she can trust and end up helping her...." Read more

"What a great story. Wonderful. Wonderful. Great characters. Button was super. Mr. Kirkland did a super job. He is a great author!" Read more

4 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive4 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book rushed.

"...At times, the conversational banter dragged on; at other times it felt rushed. It also felt like the dialogue was the same for everyone...." Read more

"...The ending seemed uninspired and hurried." Read more

"...this was a fantastic read. The beginning is a bit slow. I nearly stopped reading. I'm so glad I kept on!..." Read more

"...Starts skipping around and there is a lot of missing time. Kind of disjointed." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Mandy A. Farrar
    5.0 out of 5 stars A book to enrich your life
    Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    First, I’d like to state that this story was very articulate and well-written. I had to look up perhaps over 10 words. I could not put the book down.

    *SPOILER ALERT*

    However, it was not without its flaws. At times, the conversational banter dragged on; at other times it felt rushed. It also felt like the dialogue was the same for everyone. I didn’t feel like normal intelligent people in todays’s society speak this way to their close friends. I get these are not normal intelligent people. Which brings me to another point: this started to feel like science fiction about 3/4 of the way in. In addition, the “Others” motives made no sense, or wasn’t clearly established.
    Another thing, it was stated in the story that “plain of existence is comparatively young, a few tens of millions of years old...It came into being with the formation of the planet Earth around the Sun, at just the right distance and with just the right atmosphere and physical makeup to encourage the formation of life.” (p. 215). Um, no. Try a few hundreds of millions of years. Perhaps billions; however, this equation has yet to be solved so I won’t nitpick a few million. At any rate, let facts be facts where you find them.

    And one last but minor thing that I couldn’t stop thinking about: why didn’t Janice recognize Phil? 🤔

    Nitpicking aside, I fell in love with the characters and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It enhanced my knowledge in certain areas and for that I am grateful, as that is the purpose of reading! I would read more from this very capable Author.
    One person found this helpful
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  • John Shearer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Button Bright
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is a good read. The story is a good cross between sci-fi and fantasy which makes it a very hard one to keep functioning properly but the author makes it work.short
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  • Jennifer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great story
    Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Not a very easy read but is a very good story. Had a happy ending. Great characters. Really enjoyed the book.
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  • BrendaT
    3.0 out of 5 stars Fair story
    Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    It started off as a good story line and held my interest.Then in the middle to me the story went all over the place. Doesn't tell how people were captured,how minds controlled was done. Bring people in that you have no ideal who what where they are or from .This just had me lost even at the end you don't know what has really happen to these characters. Needs more work on giving more insight into the story.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Susan1
    5.0 out of 5 stars More Paranormal, Less Science Fiction?
    Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I also don’t read science fiction, but I really enjoyed this book! There is mention of aliens from outer space, but mostly this storyline is about children, one in particular, with mind abilities far beyond a high I.Q. Button Gramm is an 11-year-old prodigy, who appears very “normal”, small for her age, and giggles a lot. She’s smart enough to hide her exceptional skills and I.Q. and find her way to people who will help her after her father is murdered and her mother is taken. Philip Kasselman is a Psychiatrist with wonderful friends, who listen to Button’s story with amazement.

    This storyline is unique and marvelously creative! The author talks about “the three primal professions being Priest, whore, and storyteller”. Reading fiction “relaxes you, gives you pleasure, entertains, and enlightens”. Button says “stories are magic”! You will agree with her after reading “Button Bright” by Michael Kurland. A thoroughly engrossing and engaging read!
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Angela
    4.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first 2/3 of this book
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first 2/3 of this book. Amazon presents it looking like a bloody horror story - a genre that I do not like. But it is the opposite: this is a book told out of the eyes of an 11 year old girl. Coming from an Author like Michael Kurland we know right away that there is nothing 'usual' about this kid! People who meet Button tend to call her 'precocious'. But the more we learn about her and find out about her early life we get this sneaky feeling that there is a lot more to Button than we know so far.
    After her father gets shot and her mother gets kidnapped Button is on the run and meets quite interesting characters - some of whom she can trust and end up helping her. I really enjoyed reading MK's short, one paragraph, descriptions about the towns which Button and her friends visit. You feel like you've been there - or really want to go and visit!
    Unfortunately the story suddenly sort of falls apart in the last third when it gets 'supernatural'. I can not go into details without spoilers
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Beverly Killough
    5.0 out of 5 stars Button Bright
    Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    A very disturbing and thought provoking book. I usually do not read Si-Fi but this book is a paranormal sifi. It grabs you from the very beginning with the young child in a fearful and suspenseful situation. As the child's character develops the reader begins to realize that she is a very lucky or/and special child. The story leads you along step by step to an ending or another beginning which is very thought provoking.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rate the book!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    What a great story. Wonderful. Wonderful. Great characters. Button was super. Mr. Kirkland did a super job. He is a great author!
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Archer City
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Thriller AND Brilliant Sci/Fantasy
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The only thing I didn't like about this book was that there isn't a sequel! It is so well written and such a clever idea that I was frequently in admiration of the story line and the use of language. As a Texan now living permanently in England, I find that some American authors can be difficult for many Brits to read and equally some British writers are not easy for Americans to read. Michael Kurland never falls into either camp. Whether you live in Yorkshire, Nebraska or indeed anywhere else in the anglophone, this story will just zip along as you read it. I was frequently "on the edge of my seat" and my imagination was given a real juicy treat to consume. I have given this book five stars. I only wish I could give it more! It is a truly brilliant read. Whether you like thrillers, fantasy or just a wonderful well written book to get your teeth into, Button Bright is the book for you.
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