• Night Film

  • A Novel
  • By: Marisha Pessl
  • Narrated by: Jake Weber
  • Length: 23 hrs and 9 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (3,511 ratings)

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Night Film  By  cover art

Night Film

By: Marisha Pessl
Narrated by: Jake Weber
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Editorial reviews

Editors Select, August 2013 - I don’t often find myself interested in literary psychological thrillers, but the early buzz on Night Film - a dark novel by Marisha Pressl (of Special Topics in Calamity Physics fame) - was enough to pique my interest. It’s been a long time since I’ve read something that’s legitimately creeped me out, and this novel opens with a ghost story that set the tone. I’ve only just started reading the book, and it already feels like something bad is lurking on the every page. Scott McGrath is a shamed journalist who takes a new interest in an old case when his former subject’s daughter turns up dead at the bottom of an abandoned building’s elevator shaft. The book hinges on Scott’s investigation into the victim’s family, particularly her reclusive filmmaking father, who put Scott out of business in the first place. It’s an absolutely chilling page-turner and will be even more frightening in audio. Chris, Audible Editor

Publisher's summary

Brilliant, haunting, breathtakingly suspenseful, Night Film is a superb literary thriller by the New York Times best-selling author of the "blockbuster debut" (People) Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive, cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordova - a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than 30 years.

For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world.

The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more.

Night Film, the gorgeously written, spellbinding new novel by the dazzlingly inventive Marisha Pessl, will hold you in suspense to the final minute.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2013 Marisha Pessl (P)2013 Random House Audio

What listeners say about Night Film

Average customer ratings
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Compelling, eerie, and heartwrenching

I never want to leave this book. I've listened to this so many times, I know it by heart. The plot draws you in initially, but soon the mystery is overtaken by the force of the characters, the voices and stories you hear along the way. I love the main three characters--Scott, Nora, and Hopper--so much, they feel real to me. I'm shocked that they don't exist. I listen to this audiobook when I want to live in a story, in a different kind of world where magic really might exist, where everything is beautiful, even at its most depraved.

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Once you are past the monotone,

You will realize this book is a masterpiece. The audio fits perfectly once you are immersed in the narrative?

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Gripping

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was intriguing and a little bit creepy. It definitely kept me interested. In a few places he did more describing than necessary so I was happy to be listening rather than reading it. Plus the narrator did a great job.

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A masterfully crafted and told story about believing, mystery, and truth found between the two

I listened to this book over the course of a week while traveling from Florida to Indiana and back again. At 22 hours it was definitely a long story, but Jake Weber (known from his roles in Dawn of the Dead and Medium) keeps you wanting to hear more as the story unfolds with twists and turns like the Cordova films in the world of the story.

This story is not your standard mystery. To me it seemed to be less about answers and more about what we want to believe, the longing we all feel for mystery in the world that can’t be understood or explained with mere logic or reason. It reminded me a quote from the movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” In the end we can choose to believe what makes sense to us from a realistic perspective or we can allow ourselves to put weight in the mystery and lean into knowing we won’t always have all the answers but that that’s okay.

If you like mysteries, love movies, or are looking for a bit of a thriller that you can listen to for an extended period of time I highly recommend this book.

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Night Film

I really enjoyed this book. I loved her first novel Special Topics and I just couldn’t wait to read Night Film. Jake Weber did an excellent job in narrating.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A great ride...

Holy shit! This is a really good ride. And I'm really glad I listened to this in October because it gets CREEPY in parts. Not Stephen King creepy, but creepy in a good mystery way. Loved all the pop culture references and loved the characters.

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Worth The Time

Any additional comments?

This is a long book, but it is well written and not overly descriptive. Keeps you on your toes and the performance is top notch.

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Wow

Where does Night Film rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10

What other book might you compare Night Film to and why?

Girl Gone because it keeps you guessing.

Which scene was your favorite?

To many to have just one.

Who was the most memorable character of Night Film and why?

Scott...It's his view

Any additional comments?

Great story!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

a surprising mystery

twisting plot..unraveled. .to a degree. I believed the many voices/characters! Great plot. Will look for this author and narrator.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Mediocre

Started off really well, and kept me intrigued until the last act.... Very disappointing ending

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