Brother

By: Ania Ahlborn

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it's served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don't knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing what's buried in the Morrows' backyard.

But 19-year-old Michael Morrow isn't like the rest of his family. He doesn't take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he's sure that someday he'll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he's immediately smitten. For a moment he nearly forgets about the monster he's become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place....

©2015 Ania Ahlborn (P)2015 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"This relentlessly grim tale is most definitely not for the squeamish, but it's nearly impossible to put down." ( Publishers Weekly)

Very messed up book!

Book grabbed my attention from the start and flew through it in 3 days. Definitely recommend if looking for a jacked up book to keep your mind wondering!

Left me speechless. Absolutely terrifying and terrific

It’s hard to put into words how this book left me feeling. Be sure to strap in for a true horror that will stick with you for a very very long time. The author somehow makes you feel like you have everything figured out and then still pulls the rug out from under you at the last second.

Brutal but good

This is a dark book that will stick with you. That being said, it's also written with twists that will deepen the wound in the best way. Amazing character depth that drew me in and made me root for them. It made me see everything described and feel everything inside.
I'm going to be reading a lot more by this author. If you like a dark read, I'd suggest the same thing.

ATE IT RIGHT UP

Another great Ania Alhborn title. With finely realized characters and a hefty dose of place and time, Brother is suspensful and subtle (but not too boringly subtle), and will certainly appeal to fans of horror and dark suspense. The novel may not appeal to those who need a solid line between the bad and the good, but I think most will find this novel well worth the price of admission.

kept you glued to the book the entire time

The Twist this book takes is very unexpected. The narration is perfect and makes you feel as though you're there next to the subject. the storyline was very well thought of from beginning to end. highly recommended

Why??? It was so close

Great story. The narrator was the death of this book. I won't listen to anything else he narrates.

Dark and Twisted Tale

A young abducted boy named Michael grows up as the adopted son in a family riddled with psychopaths. The story itself was an interesting horror thriller that hits harder in retrospect. Characters play out their lives without really understanding their deeds until later in the story, when some of those horrible deeds become utterly horrific. The narrator was okay, but odd bits of an accent, that didn't go with the story, the characters, or even with the rest of the general narration, would break through. The beginning of the story seemed to be especially problematic for the narrator to keep consistent.

Be warned that this book is very dark, violent, gruesome, and even stomach turning. It's got a Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House of 1000 Corpses, Wrong Turn, horror movie vibe, that has been mashed together with traits possessed by some of the real world's most famous serial killers, and it is held together with intense deadly family disfunction, abuse, and Stockholm syndrome.

Worth the credit.

In my love them or leave them world - this was a love them book. I notice many reviewers seem to leave a critique of the book - and if I am supposed to do that - pardon me.

I feel as though my responsibility to another potential reader is not to provide a step by step "grading" of the book but to simply state if I personally enjoyed the book and thought it was both time and money well spent.

In this case Brother meets both of those criteria and I am glad that it is now a part of my library.

Loved it.

I loved this book. I have read everything by Ania Alborn and I cant wait for what's next.

meh

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

it had the potential to be a good story...maybe...it just wasn't very good

What was most disappointing about Ania Ahlborn’s story?

So predictable, you could see early on what was going to happen then it took FOREVER to get there.

What didn’t you like about Paul Boehmer’s performance?

it was almost too dramatic

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None come to mind

Any additional comments?

Aspen's don't grow in West Virginia...the author might want to research her locations a little better...little stuff like that just bugs me.