Wakenhyrst

By: Michelle Paver

Narrated by: Juanita McMahon

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

By the best-selling author of Dark Matter and Thin Air, an outstanding new piece of storytelling, a tale of mystery and imagination laced with terror. It is a masterwork in the modern Gothic tradition that ranges from Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Neil Gaiman and Sarah Perry.

Something has been let loose....

In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.

When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened. Maud's battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen - and the even more nightmarish demons of her father's past.

Spanning five centuries, Wakenhyrst is a darkly Gothic thriller about murderous obsession and one girl's longing to fly free.

©2019 Michelle Paver (P)2019 Head of Zeus

Critic reviews

"A ghost story to chill and thrill...Like Touching the Void rewritten by Jack London, Thin Air is a heart-freezing masterpiece." (Guardian)

"Paver is the mistress of suspense." (The Times)

"A wonderful atmospheric and hugely enjoyable ghost story." (Anthony Horowitz)

A slow burn with so many twists and turns!

I usually don't like slow burn books as they tend to sometimes drag and one loses interest, but Wakenhyrst sucks you in and holds you tight. Michelle Paver does a fantastic job with world building and weaving suspense. The character's of Wakenhyrst are vivid and you really connect to them. If you are looking for an in your face and make you jump ghost story this isn't it. This is a gothic ghost story which is a different type of scary, but it is also more than that. This touches into the supernatural on other levels and shows you the slow and dark descent into the human mind. As for Juanita McMahon narrating this fantastic book she lends even more talent to a already talented author and brings even more depth to the story! I will definitely be checking out more of Michelle Paver's books in the future. Wakenhyrst is laced with Obsession, Religious Fervor, Romance, Madness, The Supernatural, Lies, Deception, and all of it weaves a twisted and dark tail that is best listened to or read in a quiet and dimly lit room where the shadows and your imagination can play with your mind as you read!

A slightly more subtle chiller from Paver

Once again, Michelle Paver proves herself to be a top notch writer of subtle horror.

great narration

great narration and vivid characters. reminiscent of old horror like Shirley Patterson. loved to hate Edward

Dark, but not dark enough

The blurb of the book promised a far darker read. Not that it wasn't, but I was missing the atmosphere being more forefront.
The final revelations were trully disturbing, though, I give it that!
This one book would've benefited from a male narrator to set the atmosphere.

Strangely compelling

I got this book on a whim, and was vaguely expecting some sort of gothic horror. This isn’t quite that. It’s gothic meandering, gothic drama, gothic slow burn. Horror, not so much. A touch of the psychological, but a fairly light touch. Really it’s more of a somewhat disturbed portrait, interestingly rendered, beautifully performed.

I finished this title in just over a day, and at every point I wanted to continue on with it, but at no point was anything especially gripping and immediate happening. Yet it remained compelling.

It’s a lively visit to a dark, disturbed, lush and damp time and place. A bit like a painting you can get lost in. And so long as you’re ok with floating through this, soaking in it, rather than expect jump scares and cheap frights, I’d strongly recommend it.

Depressing

I should say right off the bat that I'm not a fan of murder mysteries, so I was biassed to start with. I really love the narrator's voice, which is why I picked this book. It's just not set in an era or location that I'm particularly fond of. A lot of really negative things happen in the novel, and there doesn't seem to be any higher purpose to it. But that's my beef with mysteries. If you're looking for a spooky, suspense-filled story it does offer that. Not a good listen if you're already depressed though, it could just send you over the edge.

Tough But Gripping

Excellently written and it held me.

Disturbing, infuriating, and uncomfortable like only a well woven story could be; it made me care about the heroine and those around her. I can't say I enjoyed the journey, but I'm glad I listened to the entire book.

Michelle Paver is an incredible writer and I will purchase anything she produces.

Mystery, history, and art all wrapped up.

I have listened to this book many times. Each time, I pick-up on some new nugget of information. The characters are developed and wonderful, they are all intertwined a story building climax. The end of the novel is entirely surprising. I thought I could guess but, the ending is more surprising then I could ever have dreamed of. If you enjoy coming of age, and history, with some murder and twisted thinking,you will enjoy this novel.

Unbelievably good listen

This book was fantastic, chilling, suspenseful, unsettling, etc. Not much of a horror story in the typical sense, but horrific nonetheless. It made very sad at times to listen about a young girl going through what she did, but I believe I’m better for it.

The narration was perhaps the best I’ve listened to in my years of audiobooks.

Pick this one up!

Slow moving but interesting story

I would not label this book as horror. It is more of a thriller but very slow moving. The character development is the part I found most interesting. The performance was excellent.