Flickers

By: Arthur Slade

Narrated by: Edgar Lloyd

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Orphaned twins Isabelle and Beatrice Thorn live a glamorous 1920s Hollywood life. They are the wards of Mr. Cecil, a mysterious and influential director, who insists on controlling every aspect of their lives. He made beautiful Isabelle a star and is about to release a horror flick that will showcase her famous scream. Disfigured Beatrice has been commanded to spend her days hidden on the Cecil estate, away from prying eyes and photographers, scarves covering her birthmarks and baldness.

But clever Beatrice's curiosity about the death of her parents, the appearance of scorpion hornets and the unsettling fate of a newspaper man is getting the better of her. She's starting to realize the director has truly dark designs.

Flickers is horror at its finest. A mixture of suspense, heartwarming love and gut-churning fear.

©2016 Arthur Slade (P)2016 Arthur Slade

worth reading was very good

surprisingly I really enjoyed this book I didn't think I would it was fascinating to me. I received this book from the publisher, author and or narrator for a honest review and unbiased opinion via audio book boom dot com

A fun mystery that hooked me!

This book was really fun for me to listen to. I love Beatrice and her curiosity throughout the book. This book is full of suspense that kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. The end and answers to the mystery is not so good. Seemed a bit rushed at that point, with too much going on. Overall good. I'm not disappointed that I listened to it because I did enjoy the journey, just not the outcome.
"I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher."

Twins in Hollywood

Beatrice and Isabelle Thorne are orphaned at a young age, taken in by their Uncle Wayne and Aunt Betty, who happen to be actors under the tutelage of Mr. Cecil. However, there is more to Mr. Cecil than the public realizes.

Isabelle is a beautiful 12 year old, while her twin, Beets, is disfigured with no hair and weird birthmarks. While Isabelle is kept busy acting, Beatrice is left at Mr. Cecil's estate, never leaving and never interacting with others. Her only friend, Raul, is the gardener's son.

Beatrice is curious about the disappearance of a newspaper reporter after she sneaks into one of the fabulous parties on the estate and has a conversation with him. She decides to check out Mr. Cecil's cottage and encounters strange Scorpion Hornets with a venomous sting.

The story progresses from there, with Mr. Cecil launching the first movie with sound in order to highlight Isabelle's amazing scream. I won't give away any spoilers, but the ending is heart wrenching and showcases the love between twins. The details about 1920's Hollywood were wonderful and the writing really made you feel like you could see and hear what was happening, especially in the parts about the premiere of the talking "Frankenstein" movie.

The story was entertaining, creepy, and fast paced. The writing was good and the characters well-developed. However, the narrator really detracted from my enjoyment. The voice of the 12 year old Isabelle sounded like a whiny old woman. Raul, another young pre-teen, also sounded like a grumpy old man. Too many whiny voices were really off-putting. I would have rather had the narrator just read the book without voices or hear a different narrator.

I was given an Audible copy of this book through Audiobook Boom and chose to review it.

Great ending!

This story started out pretty slow. Took me a couple chapters to get into it but then it hooked me. Really ended up loving this story of Beatrice and Isabel and there adventures. Very well written and narrated. I could see me listening to this one again in the future.

Such a unique story w/a touch of Lovecraft

Flickers, by Arthur Slade, is such a unique story and I really appreciated the unexpected tale. As the summary explains, twins Isabelle and Beatrice go to live with Mr. Cecil after their father perishes in a terrible fire. Isabelle is a silent screen star and Beatrice is hidden away on Mr. Cecil's estate, as she is quite hideous to look at, though she sure is one smart cookie. Beatrice starts getting curious at around the same time that Mr. Cecil is producing the first movie with sound, Frankenstein, and things go from strange to downright bizarre. Nearer the end of the story, I felt that it has a pretty Lovecraftian feeling to it. Without giving anything away, I'll just say that it was a fun, unique listen set in a world that isn't much written about these days. The characters and plot were all well-written and I'd definitely recommend this book if the summary piqued your interest. It was a nice escape from your typical run of the mill sci-fi mystery novels, though I would recommend this for older children, as it could scare younger kids.

Edgar Lloyd did a great job narrating this novel. He voiced all of the characters uniquely and brought life to the story. His narration really brought me into the story, which is always nice and makes listening more enjoyable. I'd listen to more of his performances in the future. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

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Good book

This book is about twin girls. Isabelle was the first one out followed by Beatrice. They were born at home because of a storm that would have stopped their parents from getting to a hospital. Beatrice was so different looking from her sister and as she was born her mother passed away. The father got a lot of help in the first couple weeks.

The twins do get orphaned in the story, but I will let you check out the rest of the story yourself. This is just a little bit for a small taste.

I enjoyed listening to this book, it was quite interesting. I am glad I got the chance to check it out.

The Narrator did a good job on the voices of each character.

I was given this Audiobook free and am posting my own views / thoughts on the book.

Entertaining

An entertaining and unique super natural tale about twins and their ability to survive. Great character development and unfolding of the story.

I read, loved and reviewed this book, YOUR TURN

Wow, I loved loved loved this. The author's writing is really amazing. I dont want to give a single thing away about the plot, but it was so well written it engaged me to the point I could not put it down and listened to the whole thing in one get go.

Review for Flickers

If you enjoy a creepy story with a bit of mystery and some horror thrown in, then you will like this audible book!

The narrator has a great voice for creating an atmospheric read!!

I have to admit I was creeped out! Getting to the ending is worth the wait! It is a book for young adults so it’s not too creepy, just enough!

I enjoyed the plot and the creativeness of the author to add that dash of horror at the end to give the listener a totally satisfying listen!!

Interesting but breathy

What did you like best about this story?

The story was quite interesting. I love alternate universes intersecting.

Would you be willing to try another one of Edgar Lloyd’s performances?

Doubtful. I swear the man went to the "William Shatner school of acting". It was very breathy, weird pauses.... While the story was good, the performance - especially when he does different character voices- was really horrible

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The story would be something I would like in one setting, but not this narration.

Any additional comments?

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review