# Do you like neat and tidy endings or a little ambiguity?



## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

My beta readers seem to have mixed feelings about endings, so I'm taking a reader survey. For crime fiction especially, do you like endings that wrap up everything, or do you like a little ambiguity with some threads...as long as the main question/mystery/crisis is resolved? Personally, I like a little a ambiguity, because that's how life is and it gives me something to think about after I finish story. What are your preferences?
L.J.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

I think some ambiguity or "loose plot threads", if you will, is good for a book because it gives readers something to speculate about  But YOU, the author, MUST know what happened, particularly in a tightly plotted mystery or thriller. Of someone is killed, there are a half dozen suspects, and by the end it isn't clear what exactly happened (because the book is really about a father/son relationship, for example), that is OK, so long as there IS a solution that makes sense, somewhere, and the readers can piece it together from the available clues. But to just leave it hopelessly murky is doing a disservice to the faithful reader.

For some examples, there is the ending to AMC's "The Killing". I dunno if they are going to pick it up in season 2, but as a complete season of a TV show it is frustruating that they left it as they did. The rest of the show didn't have the heft to sustain itself, IMHO. The show relied on the core mystery and to not resolve it in a definative way is cheating the viewer. On the other hand, there is the attempted assasination of


Spoiler



Bran


 Stark in Martin's "Game of Thrones". To my knowledge we never really find out who exactly planned and orchestrated it, and in the grand scheme it doesn't really matter. But hopefully Martin at least knows and made sure the logistics of it (getting that particular dagger to Winterfell, finding the guy to make the attempt, coordinating any raven message delivery time within the timeline of the fall and the assasination if necessary, etc) work out should the truth ever need to be made public. Otherwise things have to be ret-conned and that is the supreme slap in the face of the reader.

Granted, there may always be little side things that the writer thinks are inconsequential but become major hooks for readers and some ret-conning may be necessary, and the writer may change his mind of course, but in general if there is something that the writer is planning on leaving unresolved he at least should know the truth of it so that it makes logical sense. Planting clues for the reader, be they real or red herrings, must be part of the fun, right?


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

I don't know why exactly but I seem to prefer neat and tidy endings. This is why I won't read a series until the last book is out. I hate cliff-hangers and I dislike not knowing what really happened (like in a mystery where things don't all add up). I like that 'a-ha' moment, if you will; when everything makes sense at the end.


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## drenfrow (Jan 27, 2010)

I definitely like neat and tidy endings.  If it's a mystery series I don't mind a few loose threads in the recurring characters lives but I want the mystery to have made sense and all the questions to be answered.  For fantasy books, I try not to read a series until all the books are out.  If I do read a good book in a series with a cliffhanger ending I want to be able to read the next one right away and if it hasn't been published, I generally don't get back to the series at all.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

My dad loves to have the ending tied up nicely and neatly at the end in books and movies.  Me, I like ambiguity and have added it to many of my novels (Gone, in particular).  I just finished a novel, that I highly recommend, called "An Epitaph for Coyote" that leaves lots of threads out there...and I loved that.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Add a vote for ambiguity. I like the most important issues to be resolved but I like to have some lingering stuff left to think about long after I've put the book down. Especially if it's a series and might contain more answers in a later book.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

L.J. Sellers said:


> My beta readers seem to have mixed feelings about endings, so I'm taking a reader survey. For crime fiction especially, do you like endings that wrap up everything, or do you like a little ambiguity with some threads...as long as the main question/mystery/crisis is resolved? Personally, I like a little a ambiguity, because that's how life is and it gives me something to think about after I finish story. What are your preferences?
> L.J.


Ambiguity. I dislike 'happy ever after' endings. I like books to be realistic, and life is rarely like that.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I find loose ends grating, I feel that I was promised this story and didn't get it. If you're going to lead me down the garden path, don't abandon me halfway. It's not about "happily ever after". If loose ends will be picked up in a sequel, that's fine. Loose ends feel like something wasn't really important after all, and was just filler. I think it is best if the sub-plots are threads in the braid of the story, and that the main plot shines a light on the sub-plots. Otherwise, it just feels tangential.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I think the primary plot absolutely needs to be wrapped up in a bow. You can leave all sorts of weird dangling questions about minor elements in the background, but the whole point of reading a book (in my mind) is to get a story, which includes an ending. Not necessarily a happy ending, but a solid ending.

I've been in several movie theaters where the flick ended without answering the Big Question, and every time the audience has groaned out loud.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Neat and tidy. Leave me up in and air, and that's it for me with that author.


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## Dr. Laurence Brown (Jun 23, 2011)

It depends on how "up in the air" we're talking about. If it leaves room for a possible sequel then I can deal with that. I agree that if there are little side plots that don't get tied up I can live with that.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

julieannfelicity said:


> I don't know why exactly but I seem to prefer neat and tidy endings. This is why I won't read a series until the last book is out. I hate cliff-hangers and I dislike not knowing what really happened (like in a mystery where things don't all add up). I like that 'a-ha' moment, if you will; when everything makes sense at the end.


Same. I read fiction to relax. So I like to just mostly shut my mind off and be spoon fed a simple story with a tidy ending than have to put a lot of thought into it and be left speculating at the end.

If I wanted to use my brain that much I'd be working, or at the least, reading non-fiction where I was actually learning something!


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## JRainey (Feb 1, 2011)

I can enjoy either kind, but my biggest concern is that the ending fits the rest of the book. If I'm reading something that's a very straightforward book and then it has this artsy, ambiguous ending, it throws me out of the game, and the same in reverse. I tend to prefer ambiguous, though.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I'm of two minds.  I dislike endings where I feel like its 'and they all lived happily ever after' - except when I feel it fits.  AND I dislike endings where if feels like the author hit their word count and just stopped writing.


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## MEmery (Jun 23, 2011)

I prefer a neat and tidy ending if it's a one time book. I like the author to spell out to me what exactly happens to all characters, i.e. "and they lived happily ever after". However, if it's a series, I don't mind if the characters leave me hanging until the next edition, since I like to think that the characters are part of real life and I get a glimpse into their ongoing world. I would like the mystery to be wrapped up but I don't mind a little ambiguity when it comes to the people.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

If I read a book written by a Canadian author, I expect it to just end. No wrap up, no neatness, just end. When I read a book by an American author, I demand it have a complete ending with bow ties and ribbons. And maybe a parade.

(Sadly, I am paraphrasing a quote I heard once that I cannot remember who said it.)


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

drenfrow said:


> I definitely like neat and tidy endings. If it's a mystery series I don't mind a few loose threads in the recurring characters lives but I want the mystery to have made sense and all the questions to be answered.


x2


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

QuantumIguana said:


> I find loose ends grating, I feel that I was promised this story and didn't get it. If you're going to lead me down the garden path, don't abandon me halfway. It's not about "happily ever after". If loose ends will be picked up in a sequel, that's fine. Loose ends feel like something wasn't really important after all, and was just filler. I think it is best if the sub-plots are threads in the braid of the story, and that the main plot shines a light on the sub-plots. Otherwise, it just feels tangential.


x2 redux

(And I do prefer happy endings  )


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## gsjohnston (Jun 29, 2011)

A few years back I wrote and historically based murder mystery.  I did a lot to multiply the possible under of interpretations.  An agent said, you got to wrap this up.  I thought about it and compared it to novels and films of Jack the Ripper.  Nearly all of these have a thesis of who did it - the Masons etc etc.  Without such a thesis, they are driving the plot without a novel.  We don't know who Jack the Ripper was.  But in a way, that's why we read novels about it, so there is a satisfactory ending.  

But a bit of "what about this?" is also good.  People want to talk about books - it it's all fixed at the end, there is no room for discussion.


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## gina1230 (Nov 29, 2009)

I'm in the neat and tidy category.  If all the questions aren't answered, then I feel cheated out of an ending.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

ilyria_moon said:


> Ambiguity. I dislike 'happy ever after' endings. I like books to be realistic, and life is rarely like that.


Hmm...to me, "happily ever after" and ambiguity are two separate issues: one can have a "neat and tidy" yet sad/tragic ending, or one could have an ambiguous yet happy ending.

In any case, I don't think I have a strong preference either way in terms of ambiguity. Rather, I prefer that the ending be "right", which can vary depending upon the tone and style of the book, the underlying themes, and so forth. In other words, while it won't help any authors here answer this question, my answer -- as is often the case in such things -- is: it depends.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I don't need EVERYTHING tied up, but I need most stuff resolved.  If I feel like you're making me do the work, I'm probably going to be upset.

But remember the scarlet rule:
No matter what you do,
Some people will love it,
Some people will have it,
And some people will not get it.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Ambiguity, if done well, can be a great ending to a story, potentially better and more neat and tidy, but it's much harder to pull off.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

gsjohnston said:


> But a bit of "what about this?" is also good. People want to talk about books - it it's all fixed at the end, there is no room for discussion.


IMO, I think there is still plenty to discuss. People's motivations are rarely black and white, nor are their choices and interactions.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

gsjohnston said:


> But a bit of "what about this?" is also good. People want to talk about books - it it's all fixed at the end, there is no room for discussion.


Personally, I've never been all that interested in discussing movies, books, music etc. I post a ton on forums about them, but most are discussing things before release, or details of the blu ray etc. rather than discussing the movie after the fact. I've just never been that interested in other's opinions on things like those nor expressing mine really.

Most of my posts on this site are about Kindle or tablet hardware, e-book prices, piracy, question/poll threads like this one etc. rather than discussing specific books.


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## Ann Herrick (Sep 24, 2010)

I guess it depends on the story and how the author handles it. If the ending is too vague and ambiguous, or if it seems as if the author didn't know _how_ to end it, it's irritating.

On the other hand, it leaves room for speculation that can be interesting/fun. So..._did_ Scarlett find a way to win back Rhett, and, if so, how?


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

What I don't care for is killing off characters simply to get them out of the way. It's so overdone, there are so many other ways of getting characters off the stage (so to speak) and wrapping up their storyline.


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

I read historical romance and its pretty much obligatory that HR novels have a HEA (Happy Ever After) ending. HEA's dont leave much room for ambiguity, in fact, there's often an epilogue that shows the couple now with children (just to prove it was a truly HEA and they stayed together long enough to reproduce...oops, not meaning to sound cynical.) I'd be disappointed to get to the end of a HR and not have all the ends neatly tied up with a big pink bow...but that's just me.


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## dabnorfish (Jun 30, 2011)

I think, as long as it invites a debate, then an ambiguous ending is fine (to use TV and cinema examples - Blade Runner, Inception, The Killing), but if it doesn't, then it just seems incomplete.


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

NogDog said:


> Hmm...to me, "happily ever after" and ambiguity are two separate issues: one can have a "neat and tidy" yet sad/tragic ending, or one could have an ambiguous yet happy ending.
> 
> In any case, I don't think I have a strong preference either way in terms of ambiguity. Rather, I prefer that the ending be "right", which can vary depending upon the tone and style of the book, the underlying themes, and so forth. In other words, while it won't help any authors here answer this question, my answer -- as is often the case in such things -- is: it depends.


Yes, that's true. I suppose it depends on the genre. Lit fic, I like tied up. Everything else, open-ended.


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

I don't mind ambiquity, up in the air, not tied up neatly.

What I can't tolerate is a writer who seems to be tired of writing the book, is in a tangled mess that needs to be resolved, so, wham-bam everything get wrapped up in two pages with unbelievable nonsense. Perhaps endings should be written first. Writing is one thing and ending is another.


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## MarionSipe (May 13, 2011)

I like loose threads!  They give me something to mull over and speculate about.  However, the end of the book should come to a satisfying conclusion, with all the *major* threads tied up in some way.  Even if there's a hint that things might not really be over.


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## Patricia (Dec 30, 2008)

patrickt said:


> Perhaps endings should be written first. Writing is one thing and ending is another.


Maybe you have something there. I've read that Margaret Mitchell wrote the ending first. We're still talking about it (on another thread ).


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## Ilyria Moon (May 14, 2011)

patrickt said:


> I don't mind ambiquity, up in the air, not tied up neatly.
> 
> What I can't tolerate is a writer who seems to be tired of writing the book, is in a tangled mess that needs to be resolved, so, wham-bam everything get wrapped up in two pages with unbelievable nonsense. Perhaps endings should be written first. Writing is one thing and ending is another.


Haha I hate that!


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## Ben Dobson (Mar 27, 2011)

There seems to be two different types of ambiguous endings getting rolled into one here--plot ambiguity, and what I'm going to call emotional ambiguity.

The first is when some plot threads are left hanging, the second is when the are resolved, but on a note other than a simple happy resolution.  Both can work, and can even be combined, but it's a distinction worth noting.  

I like the entire plot to be resolved generally, but those resolutions don't have to be obvious or easy.  Emotionally, I prefer something that isn't just 'they all lived happily ever after'.  The most beautiful endings are at least bittersweet, with some sacrifice or loss along the way.  I don't, however, like a straight downer ending.  My preference is somewhere in the middle, where there's some good and some bad.


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## tkmurphy (Apr 21, 2011)

It depends on the book - if the book is part of a series or just a single book. If it is part of a series, then I like ambiguity, to see how it turns out in the next book. But if it is a single book, neat and tidy endings- I don't like ambuigity that much.


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## Richard Raley (May 23, 2011)

Only endings I like are good ones...  

More seriously, don't try to wrap it up with a bow on top if you feel like you're forcing it, that annoys me more than the great void at the of a novel.


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## gryeates (Feb 28, 2011)

I think it depends on the story you are telling but I do prefer fiction that favours ambiguity and leaves the reader with questions and concepts/ideas to mull over.


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## Tessa Apa (Apr 8, 2011)

The books that leave me thinking about them afterwards, usually have unanswered questions. Elements left open for me to ponder. I  like that in a book. If everything is answered and wrapped up neatly at the end, I just file the whole thing away - i don't NEED to think about it any more.


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

I like complete stories that have endings.

I tried reading Joe Hill's short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts, and I had to put it down because the man just can't finish a story.


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## Nick Wastnage (Jun 16, 2011)

Well, the book has to end, the curtain needs to fall, but some things can left undone and in the air; otherwise there's no intrigue and no opportunity for a sequel. So as a crime writer, I'd say, don't shoot them all. Leave someone alive to fight another day.


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## lib2b (Apr 6, 2010)

jumpingjack42 said:


> Depends if I am am reading part or a series or a standalone novel
> 
> In a series I like lots of unanswered questions that are going to be answered in another book, but I guess that isn't ambiguity.
> 
> ...


This. In a series, I like there to be unanswered questions that will be followed up on in later books. That being said, if it's the last book in the series, I like my closure (and by "closure" I mean HEA or mostly HEA). It can't seem tacked on though...if an ending is really well done but not happy, I prefer that the a phony happy ending.

I also like some unresolved things as long as the big things have all been wrapped up. The little unresolved things or the subtle resolutions give you something to chew on long after you've finished reading.


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## Coral Moore (Nov 29, 2009)

The main storyline should be tied up, but I actually like it if other things are left loose. Part of a really great story for me is imagining what happens after, and if there's nothing left to think about after sometimes it just feels flat. The characters should continue to have lives after the book is done.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

lib2b said:


> This. In a series, I like there to be unanswered questions that will be followed up on in later books. That being said, if it's the last book in the series, I like my closure (and by "closure" I mean HEA or mostly HEA). It can't seem tacked on though...if an ending is really well done but not happy, I prefer that the a phony happy ending.
> 
> I also like some unresolved things as long as the big things have all been wrapped up. The little unresolved things or the subtle resolutions give you something to chew on long after you've finished reading.


Yeah, series can have loose ends up until the last book for sure, as they need to keep you reading.

That said, for on going series I like R.A. Salvatore's approach of usually writing trilogies or mostly stand alone books that have their individual stories tied up while leaving some larger (or new) story threads for later books.

It's painful reading something like George R.R. Martins Song of Ice and Fire series where it's one story and there series isn't finished so you have to wait years before it's finished. I've learned my lesson on that one and in the future won't start those kind of series if the whole thing isn't finished.


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## JennaAnderson (Dec 25, 2009)

patrickt said:


> I don't mind ambiquity, up in the air, not tied up neatly.
> 
> What I can't tolerate is a writer who seems to be tired of writing the book, is in a tangled mess that needs to be resolved, so, wham-bam everything get wrapped up in two pages with unbelievable nonsense. Perhaps endings should be written first. Writing is one thing and ending is another.


I agree with this also.

I prefer things to be MOSTLY tied up. If it is a series then a little bit of carry over is fine. Not so much that I'm left screaming and tossing the book across the room. 

*~ Jenna*

_--- edited... no self-promotion outside the Book Bazaar forum. please read our Forum Decorum thread._


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

Ambiguity is fine with me, as long as the characters are drawn well enough for me to make reasonable inferences about what it all means.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Erica Sloane said:


> Ambiguity is fine with me, as long as the characters are drawn well enough for me to make reasonable inferences about what it all means.


This!

Also, when it comes to a series, I don't want to be completely lost if I accidentally pick one up out of order. I want a complete story in each book, and I don't want to feel 'forced' to read the next just to find out what happens. Instead, the books should leave me wanting to know more about the characters.


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## JanetMcDonald (Jul 6, 2011)

Great question!

I like things wrapped up.  I don't like loose ends, at least not big ones.  I realize this isn't how real life works.  Part of the reason I love to read is because it is NOT entirely like real life.  There is a resolution, and it is usually satisfying on some level.  

Loose ends can seem like sloppy writing to me.  Perhaps the author wrote himself or herself into a corner.  Perhaps he or she forgot about some subplots.  Or maybe he or she is trying to pull you into a sequel.  All of those things are very annoying to me as a reader.  But that is just me. 

There are rare exceptions when I like some ambiguity.  But these are EXTREMELY rare.  If I were a writer, and most of my readers were like me, I'd wouldn't take the chance and assume I could be one of those rare breeds of writer's that could pull of ambiguity with any level of satisfaction.  

But, it depends on your audience.  I'm just saying if I am the audience, wrap things up please!


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## Theresaragan (Jul 1, 2011)

Neat and tidy for me. When I watch a movie or read a book, I need to feel satisfied at the end. If there are too many loose ends, I'm left feeling frustrated. I just spent a few hours with those characters, I don't want to be left guessing. In fact, if I had to pick what was more important...the beginning, middle, or end of a movie or book, I would say the ending. And this has nothing to do with a happily ever after. I just don't want the ending left to my imagination.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

When I discuss a book, it is more likely the ideas on the book that I will discuss rather than loose ends. Knowing what happened doesn't diminish in any way discussion of the book. If I wanted to write my own ending, I would have written my own book. Romeo and Juliet ends pretty unambiguously, but people haven't stopped discussing it thus far.


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## ljcharles (Jul 6, 2011)

I'm a neat and tidy girl.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

Neat and tidy all the way.


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