Chills

By: Mary SanGiovanni

Narrated by: Chris Abell

True Detective meets H.P. Lovecraft in this chilling novel of murder, mystery, and slow-mounting dread from acclaimed author Mary SanGiovanni....

It begins with a freak snowstorm in May. Hit hardest is the rural town of Colby, Connecticut. Schools and businesses are closed, powerlines are down, and police detective Jack Glazier has found a body in the snow. It appears to be the victim of a bizarre ritual murder. It won't be the last.

As the snow piles up, so do the sacrifices. Cut off from the rest of the world, Glazier teams up with an occult crime specialist to uncover a secret society hiding in their midst.

The gods they worship are unthinkable. The powers they summon are unstoppable. And the things they will do to the good people of Colby are utterly, horribly unspeakable....

©2016 Mary SanGiovanni (P)2017 David N. Wilson

Started strong and then melted a bit.

This book had a great promise with a strong beginning, unfortunately it lost something around the middle. It wasn’t horrible it just kind of fizzled. The narrator did an ok job, he seemed to be lacking a little range at times, everyone sounded excited all the time. Also when he played some characters he sounded like christian bale as batman which was a little funny. Not bad overall, just not the best. I might listen again and would consider other books by this author and narrator. The characters were enjoyable especially Tegan. I received a free review copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great story, well written, annoying narrator

My dinging the overall rating is purely because I disliked the narrator so much. I really like this story and the writing is great. An entertaining, gory cosmic horror. I just wish I’d read this one instead of listening. Note to narrators and the producers of these recordings: Please just read the story and stop trying to do accents. And doubly stop having men do female voices in a higher pitch. It just sounds ridiculous. We are intelligent grownups and know when you’re doing dialogue from a woman. Just read it in your own voice. Let our imaginations do the rest. Please.

Freakish Snowstorm

I love anything supernatural and enjoyed this book. It has police procedures and an evil cult, (monsters from snow and blue creatures and ghosts) in town of Coby. My favorite characters were Kathy Ryan Reece Teagan and Jack Glazier. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you!

Chilling Lovecraft style monster story

Being a long addicted horror fan for more than 40 years, I have a huge and rich understanding of what makes a story come together and keep at least my interest. Mary SanGiovanni's Chills novel was just that sort. Good character building, plenty of gruesome and unique deaths, some actually took me by surprise. She started with the small town story plot idea and added the freak cult aspect and their acts in many resulting deaths, frozen territory environment, bizarre and great monster descriptions with a Lovecraft flair and added a true twist to the types of creatures and their capacity for destruction. I was pleasantly engrossed and totally pleased with the entire story development and ending.

Chills

I really enjoyed this book. It started rather well and just kept going in its weird, rolling, chilly way. There were characters that I thought were a little contrived, but it didn't detract from the overall feel and flow of it. I cannot say it is like a lovecraftian tale in the snow, that would not be...valid. But with the cultists and the strange creatures it certainly had a closeness that kindled feelings of old, New England horror. The only issue I had was that the ending seemed rushed. Chris Abell did a good job narrating the tale and I look forward to indulging in more of both Chris' narration and Mary SanGiovanni's stories.

This book was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.