The Crooked House

A Novel

By: Christobel Kent

Narrated by: Rachel Atkins

Published in the United Kingdom in 2015, Christobel Kent's The Crooked House has drawn comparisons to works by the pantheon of British female literary suspense writers - Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie, P. D. James, and Kate Atkinson. In this darkly atmospheric psychological thriller, she accomplishes what those celebrated writers do best: She creates an insular world (a single house, a small town) where something sinister has occurred and subtly inflects all of it with the toxic residue of violence.

Much like the unnamed narrator of Rebecca, Alison lives her life under the radar. She has no ties, no home, and she spends her days at a backroom publishing job. Which is how she wants it. Because Alison used to be a teenager named Esme, who lived in a dilapidated house by a bleak estuary with her parents and three siblings. One night, something unspeakable happened in the house, and Alison emerged the only survivor. In order to escape from the horror she witnessed, she moved away from her village, changed her name, and cut herself off from her past.

Only now her boyfriend invites her to a wedding in her old hometown, and she decides that if she's going to have any chance of overcoming the trauma of what happened, she'll have to confront it. But soon Alison realizes that that night's events have left a terrible mark on everyone in the village, and she begins to suspect that they are all somehow implicated in her family's murder.

©2016 Christobel Kent (P)2016 Oak Hill Publishing

Great Story, Terrible Narration

Would you try another book from Christobel Kent and/or Rachel Atkins?

Yes

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes it kept you held to one thought of "who did it" but made you think maybe it might have been someone else.

What didn’t you like about Rachel Atkins’s performance?

she never pauses, so it was hard to follow and I had to do the most rewinds of any book.

Do you think The Crooked House needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No it ended well

Any additional comments?

There is something wrong with the narration was muffled

After accusimg everyone,

this mystery finally wraps up all the loose ends in a tidy good- guys- win ending. I did enjoy the ride.

A Good, Moody Mystery by the Sea

Good characters, great story. Compelling and entertaining. A little predictable but still worth the listen for the storytelling. The author does a good job in immersing you in the setting, it feels like this unsettled, gloomy place on the seashore where this terrible thing happened once upon a time that changed the fiber of the place.

Best Gothic story since Daphne du Maurier.

First, the narration was superbly moody.
Second, this should be required reading for the author of Gone Girl.

Thrilling

This was a thrilling ride from start to finish. It kept me on my toes the entire time, never giving away the twists that were coming. I loved it!