Amazon knows the value of repeat customers. They know that if they claim it's not their problem, people will be less inclined to buy again from them. They don't want customers to have to deal with the post office because it leaves a negative impression about the whole transaction in their mind and that affects business. They have the mentality that it is their responsibility to get the item to the customer in perfect condition, no matter what it takes. I'm having a similar problem with some items I bought from another company that never showed up. The seller is ignoring me, the post office says it was delivered and i'm out $166. I only wish I had ordered through Amazon because I know I'd have my replacement already. But I know for a fact I will NEVER order from this company again because of their attitude towards the whole thing. While Amazon is not obligated to reship it, it's in their best interest. I know I have personally purchased thousands of dollars of items from Amazon, including Prime membership, because they are such a pleasure to work with. I made a mistake once in not canceling a recurring subscription that I meant to, and when I called to see my options, they not only refunded my money but let me keep the item that was sent to me. Even though it was my fault, they still bent over backwards to make me happy and it was a profitable decision for them because I have had many transactions since with absolutely no problems. And THAT is the difference between good customer service and "sorry, but it's not my problem" mentalities.

I also don't understand why folks write reviews that are plot summaries; I always imagine that their high school English teacher required them to do this and somehow they just carried on thinking that's what other people want. I do write reviews of many books I read, I'm not sure if any of them qualify as "lengthy" reviews. I write them to say what I would say if a friend asked me "Hey, is this book worth reading?". I say what I liked or found useful, what I thought was off, and if it's a novel, I say people who like X, Y, or Z might like it, and if it's a book having to do with my profession, I say what kinds of practitioners might also find it helpful or what they may want to be wary of. Mostly I write reviews because I find the process helps me to "digest" the book, but also because I want to do for others what good reviews have done for me--lead me to great books and away from bad ones.

Kathy- I just got The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey and so far, I love it! Thanks for the recommendation : ) I finished the book....and I really enjoyed the first half. I think if it had ended there, I would have recommended it to many of my friends. The second half seemed like too many gaps in time and not enough detail. Almost like a different book. Maybe that was intentional or just to keep it short, but I didn't care for it. The ending was not my favorite (don't really like that type) but before any of that was even suspected, it started feeling a bit different around the topiary park. That was when it seemed unrealistic to me. I mean, do people all really act like that? One and done...then long term relationships? And Maya was so cute as a little girl. I felt like I missed a lot of her growing up. Also, I really liked the chief, but thought the closet find (and his reaction) was too contrived. Maybe someone else, but not him. This really helped though, so thank you for the recommendation! It made me realize what I like and didn't like about the pacing and this will help me layout my own story. Oh, and it was funny that I signed up for a free month of Unlimited Kindle to read the book, after starting the free peek on Amazon. Then, I got to his rant about e-readers! LOL

Well, this is not as easy as I thought. I waited for a little break in the rain. Thought I can just put the package on the porch or somewhere else dry. There was a gate right at the driveway with a “beware of dogs” sign. Rang the bell, no answer. I didn’t have a big enough bag in the car to leave it at the gate (it’s already raining again). Thought about leaving a note in the mailbox, but the flag was up. The Amazon driver turned into my driveway right behind me to deliver my missing package. He didn’t want to take the other one. Said to contact Amazon customer service.