The Night Strangers: A Novel

I really, really wanted to like this book. Given that it takes place in towns and cities somewhat local to me, and I love a good, creepy story, I thought that I had no choice but to love it. But I was wrong. As was mentioned before, this book's two distinct plot lines really could have been two separate books. As far as what actually happened in the book- I did not find it frightening or spooky in the least, obnoxious would be a better word. The characters were all one-dimensional bad guys or unbelievably stupid "good guys". I'm disappointed.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It was a fantastic mix of mystery, macabre and the constant suggestion of supernatural vs natural forces on the human mind. I thought the author did a beautiful job with character development, and I remained engaged with most of the characters, enjoying the occasional moral ambiguity or questioning of my loyalties. The end however was an epic disappointment. I almost wish I could go back and not listen to the last 30 minutes and make up my own. I can't downgrade a whole book based on a small portion, but really the ending...was remarkably unfulfilling.

As usual with Bohjalian's work, this is a compelling listen. Once the reader suspends disbelief and gets into the "genre-bending" plot arcs, the story is grabs you and won't let go. The characters are relatable and the geography and story location are palpable, supplying the primary ambiance of the narrative.

I loved the use of mixed-person narration, second person for one of the protagonists. It's not exactly a new narrative hook, but the technique works particularly well for this story and with this narrator.

Can't say more without spoiling, but suffice it to say that the twists and turns in "The Night Strangers" are delightfully unpredictable.

The premise was intriguing, and the first part of the book was well written, however it began to bog down in the middle, and the male narrator's "droning monotone" third person performance was too much for me. I quit mid through and don't regret it.

I have loved all the other Chris Bohjalian books I have read, but I could not get through this one. The airplane crash scene is understandably tough, but the plot of the story kept forcing the reader to go through it again and again. I finally had to stop reading, it was too dark and depressing, which probably means the writing was good, but I needed something with a little more life to it.

I love this author usually. Double Bind was great. However, with this particular novel he seems to have thrown some ideas together as he goes along. It starts out really well- fascinating account of an actual plane crash and followup of that story line and how some of the survivors (and non-survivors) were coping. But then, it kind of veers off into almost a Rosemary's Baby type story (for those of you who remember that early Mia Farrow movie.) It was like trying to combine two different story lines in one-and I thought it would have been a much more interesting story to stick with one. I was disappointed in the ending because it was kind of expected. Anyway, this author is very talented in getting you to believe that what he writes is very real. My only other comments are on the narrators- the female voice was too childish at times, even when not talking as a child. Also, as another reviewer noted,, the male character was confusing at times because he did talk about himself in a third-person context. It took me awhile to get used to it.

This is my first book by this author and I am really impressed! The suspense was awesome and the story had a perfectly mysterious ebb and flow. There were many different things happening to the Linton family that might be related to their new house, but then again, it might not be related to the house at all. Chip has his own demons because of the crash of his airplane and the deaths of the people on board. But does his new house amplify the spirits, add to his delusions, or is the move to the new house just a coincidence? There are a group of herbalists in their new town, but is what they are doing magic, witchcraft, or just advanced herbology? And what is the fascination with twins in this town??

I don’t want to give away too much and ruin the mystery for anyone else, but when I finished this audiobook, I just sat and stared for a moment. All I could think was ‘Wow, I didn’t see that coming!’ It was a bizarre ending. I am still not sure how I feel about it. This book was kind of like Hot Chocolate with peppermint in it. Smooth, warm and creamy chocolate with the peppermint to wake your senses and put them on alert.

The Narration Review
This book was narrated by Alison Fraser and Mark Bramhall. I liked the dual narration for this story. The two voices worked off each other well. Sometimes with two different narrators you get a hot/cold feel to the story, but I didn’t feel that with these two. Both were very clear and easy to listen to voices.

This book deserves an A for effort, but the plot is unoriginal and the story overlong. Harvest Home, anyone? Children of the Corn? Witches of Eastwick? The story is well-told and the characters realistic but BOORRING. People are unnecessarily mean to one another, shallow and humorless, which really makes the novel drag. I didn't think it was terrible, but certainly not something I'd recommend to others. The two voiced narration is interesting, a bit jarring in that the man's side of the story is told in the second person present ("You go upstairs and look at your sleeping daughters").

Unfortunately, and this may only be my copy, but a re-download didn't help, the female narrator's voice suffers badly from "Charlie Brown's teacher" syndrome (waaaah-waaaaaaaaah). Either she is too close to her microphone or there is another technical problem, but some of her speech is unintelligible to me. I used several sets of headphones and speakers, and had the same result. The male reader's voice is clear, and I like his attempt at a New England accent, which the female reader never even tries. I went so far as to listen to samples of the narrator's other works, and none of those seems to suffer from the same problem, so she is not to blame. But her voice is a bit childish for the telling of this tale, even as the male narrator's is a shade to grim. (PS: for a 100th time, "water" rhymes with "daughter" and not with "matter"!)

The story was good, chilly at some points and narrators performed well

It's not a very common topic although it is a ghost story, the approach a little different.

Garnet

A old story told in a new outfit.

I didn't like the ending so much, a little bit to surreal for me. Was expecting something a little more...possible.

I thought both narrators did a splendid job. I can always tell when I like a narrator when I find myself googling up any information I can find about him/her.

I feel very ambivalent about Bohjalian's novel. My feelings about this novel moved along a giant bell curve. Despite the excellent performances of the two narrators, I had a lot of trouble getting into it, feeling that it spent an inordinate amount of time re-hashing the minute details of the plane crash that traumatized the sad sack of an airline pilot. I really wanted to be more sympathetic to his situation, but he didn't become interesting to me until he started having homicidal thoughts. But...the author has a great talent for building a delicate kind of jenga-like structure with the histories and motivations of the large cast of characters, and eventually I was utterly drawn in, realizing (with relish) that when the climax came, I had no idea who would prevail. Everyone seems to have a potential to tip the balance of things, and it was very well done. But but...when everything did finally come to a head, it was a crazy messy sprawl in which everyone and his brother ends up in the same location doing all kinds of ridiculous and inexplicable things. And then on top of that, the denouement toppled my own delicate and wobbling jenga-like patience.

I found Alison Fraser's voice mesmerizing, although I preferred Mark Bramhall's performance overall. Both of them did a great job evoking the different characters.

I was disappointed by this book, but I also enjoyed it very much. I just wish the end had carried me through better.