Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Black Marks  By  cover art

Black Marks

By: Pete Aldin
Narrated by: Travis Baldree
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.41

Buy for $21.41

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

No good deed goes unpunished.

Detroit is a hole where even a werewolf's sins can be buried. Or so Jake Brennan hopes. Hiding from his hunters, shooting heroin to negate the effect of the full moon, he is beginning to turn things around. And the day he is witness to a brutal attack on ER doctor Gwen Cheevey, Jake is forced to transform into something new: a hero.

But when a clip of his good deed goes viral, Jake's days of hiding are over.

To keep Gwen safe, Jake will need to embrace the beast within. Is he strong enough to control it, or will Gwen become another black mark against his name?

©2017 Pete Aldin (P)2017 Travis Baldree

What listeners say about Black Marks

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Black Marks Absolved

Totally a werewolf guy over vampires and zombies, now that zombies are mainstream. I have recently listened to a few off beat werewolf stories that didn’t quite hit the mark. This one totally did. This was fantastic. Not only is this a unique werewolf story, the plot stands out from most of them. I’ve come across little bits of pieces of this story before but I think this one put them all together with a nice little bow wrapped around. Definitely going to get more from this author.

Everything about this plot was perfect, I loved the settings, and really enjoyed Jake as the werewolf, a man torn between his two selves. The story line felt more real than a typical werewolf fantasy story. I found it a little cliché that Jake meets up with Gwen, a Dr. who is able to continually patch him up and send him on his way; but, their interactions seemed real and kept me wanting them to meet again. I liked Gwen, then hated her, wanted to be Jake, then thought maybe not. This provided a lot of excitement. The author really created a great story in an often overly copied genre.

Travis Baldree is definitely in my top 5 for narrators. I really love his gritty voice for specific characters and his ability to switch it off for others. He did all the characters amazingly and did the hunters perfectly. He really has a craft for this and I’m trying to get as much of his work as I can. His voice alone made this worthwhile.

There are people who knit pick grammar, spelling, pronunciation, junk science, etc. I am a gun guy. I get chills when I hear bad gun things. I heard, “this is a Glock 17. Single stack of 10 9mm rounds in the clip. Less than a standard 17.” I don’t even know what to make of that. I get this was in dialogue so it could have just been the character but I hear this made up stuff so often I had to stop the story and listen to it a few times. It was that classic record scratching halt to everything.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not just a werewolf book!

Well this was all sorts of awesome!! It isn't just a werewolf book, it was so much more. So Jake Brennan is a werewolf on the run from hunters and his own demons. He is homeless in Detroit and shooting heroin 3 days a month during the waxing, full and waning moon, to stop his beast from emerging. During the rest of the month, Jake does his best to make amends for what he is. When he witnesses a doctor being dragged towards a van, Jake immediately goes to help. A passerby takes a video of him being a hero and posts it to youtube. The wrong people see the video and once again, Jake is being hunted. But Jake may have an unwitting ally in the doctor he saved. Can he control the beast and save her from the people and things that are hunting him?

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this, but it did sound like something I'd love, so I gave it a go. And boy was I happy I did!! I adored Jake!!! His journey to where he is now was hard, and he feels the need to atone for the people he has killed while in wolf form. He is trying to keep the beast at bay with drugs, but sometimes he doesn't have the money for them and his beast gets free. He is raked with guilt and doesn't form relationships easily. But when he saves the doctors life, and then saves a little girls life, he realises that he may need some help from the doctor. She can prescribe him things to keep him safe!! Jake is a deeply flawed man, but he is always trying to do the right thing, and I loved that! I loved seeing him fight his beast and not give into the bad, which always seems easier to do. He held onto what his mother taught him and tried to live the right way as best he could.

I also loved Gwen. She is an ER doctor and unhappy with it. She swore an oath to do no harm but she feels that being an ER doctor isn't for her. She doesn't feel like she is making a difference. But it's when she is nearly abducted that she knows for sure that this isn't for her. Meeting Jake is also something that makes up her mind. She sees that he is homeless and that he is a junkie, and feels that maybe she can make a difference in his life. Maybe she can help him get clean, but she has no idea what she is letting herself in for. Her life is about to change forever!!

This is a fast paced, dark and amazing read. It's bloody, it's captivating and it's brilliant!! Seriously, I loved this!! I loved the characters and I loved the story. I even loved the ending because it fitted who Jake was! Go give this a go, you won't be sorry!!

Travis Baldree absolutely nailed the performance!! He gave me chills with the way he did the beast!!! His inflections were brilliant and it really brought the book alive. I was seriously impressed with everything!!

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Duality Struggle

There isn't really anything new in this werewolf story. It is done fairly well, the characters act as you'd expect and it is a solid effort. There could have been a lot more here, but it sticks with a pretty basic plot line. The main character struggles with what he is and tries to suppress it. He encounters people who need help and being a good guy, he does what he can. This causes problems for him and them and they compound until a final showdown. There is an aggrieved husband who's wife was killed seeking revenge and a bad werewolf doing as he pleases. People don't believe until they see the change, and seem a bit too accepting.
The main struggle seems to be the main character's desire to do more good than his perceived bad actions and settle some kind of account to remove the "black marks". This is either a fundamental misunderstanding of Christianity, or a muddled general view of a composite God.
The book is capably if a bit over dramatically narrated by Travis Baldree.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Transient Werewolf Do Gooder

Black Marks takes the werewolf story and adds something new to it. Sure, not many people want to turn into a raging beast and rip up anyone within a mile’s radius every full moon and Jake Brennan is doing his best to avoid that…. with illegal street drugs. Yep, Detroit is a tough place for this down and out werewolf. He only uses for the 3 days of the full (and near full) moon. The rest of the month he’s clean but unemployed and bumming it around. Sometimes he can find a bit of day labor, perhaps stay a shelter for longer than a week, but he’s constantly worried he will hurt someone when that time of the month comes around.

He’s also being hunted and that means he doesn’t want to get too friendly or have his name on utilities, etc. Then one day he witnesses some men trying to kidnap a woman (Gwen, an ER doctor) right off the street and he has to intervene. This gets him noticed by too many people, including the Hunters.

Most of the time I really liked Jake. He’s got an honor code even though he’s rubbing shoulders with some shady people. He’s a bit socially awkward which is fine. There’s a few scenes where he’s really hung up on making his dead mom proud. He carries around her broach and wants to do enough good to balance out the few bad deeds he’s done (while he was a werewolf) because he wants to see his mom in Heaven. Those felt awkward and almost like a child’s fairy tale he kept telling himself over and over again. In those moments, I did wonder if Jake had a learning disability or something but could never get a solid read on that.

Gwen was a good addition to the tale. She’s got a career and her own life that gets messy when Jake saves her from being kidnapped. She’s in a good position to help but will she? Ethics get in the way when Jake asks for epi pens (which also help him control his wolfy side) as Gwen has no idea about his inner wolf. But one thing leads to another and pretty soon there is some romance between the two. Sometimes I felt that Gwen was having drama just to have drama and it didn’t fit very well with her ER doctor training.

The Hunters are mixed bag. One guy has a legitimate issue with Jake, though both men are ignorant of one very important fact. Once that fact becomes known, it’s a game changer for both Jake and this Hunter. I really liked this aspect of the story because it created a lot of tension and suspense. There’s the danger to Jake but also I wanted to see if these two honorable men could both come out a live and not enemies.

Over all, it was good addition to the werewolf subgenre of books. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Travis Baldree did a very good job narrating this book. He has the perfect gravelly, shy voice for Jake. I also liked his female voices, including Gwen. Baldree used regional accents (such as the Detroit accent) to give each character a distinct voice. In many ways, Jake is the most emotional person in this story and Baldree brought those emotions to life with his performance. There were no technical issues with this recording. 5/5 stars.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author/narrator/publisher.
Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog.
[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Truly Awesome

I absolutely loved this book! From the very top to the final word I was completely enthralled, I couldn't put this book down. Pete Aldin weaves a superb tale about Jake, a man who has no choice but to engage in a battle with his other self once a month around the time of the full moon. I wouldn't normally gravitate towards a werewolf book but this is easily the best 'creature' story I've read in a while.

When Jake meets Gwen, everything changes. He finally has a reason not to flee, a purpose beyond trying to right his past perceived wrongs. Gwen and Jake engage in a roller coaster relationship that is made difficult by Jake's.... condition. I won't say more for fear of spoilers, but I will say that Travis Baldree might be the best narrator I've ever had the privilege of listening to. His voice acting in "Black Marks" is out-of-this-world, it far exceeds the excellent performances of the old timey radio shows but seems similar in style. I would listen to anything narrated by Travis Baldree! I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys horror/paranormal/creature content.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great!

This was a fantastic story that kept my attention all the way through. Great story and perfect narration!


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • TU
  • 11-30-17

A great werewolf book

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a pretty good werewolf story. I enjoyed the character development of Jake as he deals with being a werewolf. His methods are very different from other books I've read/listened to with a character fighting what they are. Anyway, this was a very well narrated and enjoyable book. I'd definitely recommend it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Meat. Blood. Kill.

Black Marks turns the typical werewolf thriller on it’s head. The story follows the haunted main character Jake, as he tries to control the beast inside of him - trying to right his past wrongs, get his karma in balance.

Of course karma has other plans. Nothing seems to go right for Jake. Nothing. No matter what he does or how hard he tries. He saves a young doctor named Gwen, and thinks that it will be points toward the positive, for the good. But it only complicates his life, derails it. He starts caring for her, thinking he has to protect her.

It’s a great ride. The action and suspense is fantastic. I was a captive audience, waiting with baited breath to see if Jake was going to be able to come out of this unscathed and with minimum collateral damage.

This is another great listen by the narration talents of Travis Baldree. His handling of Jake was superb, as was his acting of the beast inside Jake as it tried to influence its host.

“Meat. Kill. Kill them NOW.”

I absolutely loved it. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the meaning of black marks

I don't often read books where the werewolf has no control over both transformations and their actions while transformed, so this was a change of pace for me.

The different aspects of the story worked really well together, there was lots going on and the overall seriousness of the book was offset by humorous moments.

The characters are well developed and their interactions are realistic (ignoring the werewolf aspect). The writing is well done and enjoyable and it made connecting with the story easy.

I enjoyed the character voices and the overall delivery was smooth and natural. I thought the narrator did an excellent job of conveying the tone of the book.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher in exchange for an honest review.

If you found this review helpful would you please take a moment to click yes below.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

I totally enjoyed this story. It will hold you all the way through until the end. Great characters and storyline.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful