Death Rattle

By: Ron Ripley

Narrated by: Thom Bowers

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

A baby’s rattle sounds the final chime of death....

After months spent chasing down one haunted item after another, historian Victor Daniels is exhausted. His relentless battles with the sadistic Stefan Korzh have taken a heavy toll, and he longs to end their supernatural feud once and for all. But first, he must deal with one last cursed item released from Korzh’s collection.

With no time to rest or recover from their last paranormal encounter, Victor and his adopted son Tom travel to the shadowy streets of Groton, Massachusetts. There, they face a familiar enemy - a malevolent spirit Victor has fought before and failed to defeat. This fiendish ghost haunts an antique baby’s rattle. Those who hear its chilling sound are faced with a ghastly death, and an afterlife of eternal suffering....

As they confront this vicious foe, Victor knows that Stefan still waits for him in the shadows. Their confrontation is inevitable. Everything has been leading Victor to this one final battle.

In the haunted depths of the Korzh’s ancestral home, Victor and Stefan must come face to face. And only one man will live to see the dawn.

©2018 Ron Ripley (P)2018 ScareStreet.com

The end!!

Here we are at the end of an era, well it feels like that anyway!! The last few books of the series has been bringing us to this book and the tension is thick. I started this with trepidation because I really didn't want it to end, but also knowing it had to!! Well, it was one heck of a ride and no, I'm not going to summarise this because it is too easy to accidentally spoil something.

The last two books of this series had me breathless!! Each one was intense, fast paced and you could feel the tension in the air. Victor is not only dealing with stopping the haunted items, Korzh and such, but he also has Ariana, Tom, and other stuff looking for his attention. It's a wonder why he hasn't gone crazy from it all. Korzh meanwhile is getting crazier each book and is getting desperate. He is such an incredibly evil character and one that will stay with me for a long time. The fact that he doesn't care who he hurts made me loathe him. It's one thing I love about theses books... the fact that the author can make me feel so much for each character and make them so unforgettable

This one is no different. There is so much going on and each of the main characters have a lot to deal with. Plus there's not just one haunted item this time, but a few ghosts that the gang have already dealt with. They have to deal with this on top of having Korzh, Anne, and Leanne coming after them. There is so much I want to say but I can't!! You really have to read it to understand the sheer amount of things going on and how intense it was. I flew through it as I had to see who reached Stefan first!!

This author captured my attention right at the first book, and with each subsequent book I became more and more invested in the characters and the story. As we lost characters and gained some, it just made me love this series more. I was overjoyed to see Shane and am only hoping we see these characters again. This being the last in the series, I was expecting a lot from it, but thankfully the author delivered and I loved it.

In all, a fitting end for some of the characters!! I highly recommend this series and indeed this author.

Thom Bowers got better with each book, he added tones, voices and accents which brought the books alive. I'm looking forward to seeing what else he narrates from now on.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Death's Rattle

Great ending to this series! Love Ron Ripley's ghost stories , they will keep you up at night ! Thom Bowers is always a great narrator . I highly recommend this series !

Sadly, this is the last in the series

Sadly this is book number 9 and the end of the series. It could be a stand alone but you would miss the ride through the series. It is the end of the search for Victor and Tom. I feel Mr Ripley left enough room for future books. Ron has a great series to keep you on the edge of your seat. The storyline is well described and believable with interesting along with some creepy characters. This book is so intense, fast paced, edge of seat, you will want to continue with the storyline. Stefan is now acting crazier, such an evil character. I actually started to hate him and want for his death. As this book gets scarier you start to worry about Tom, Victor and Shane. You start to wonder about shadows and objects in your house. You question do you really want or need that antique. Ron has done an amazing job making it scarier and creepier along with bringing you chills. Thom Bowers has really gotten into this series and he keeps you on the edge of your seat. He has so many voices and he just keeps getting better. This is a must read. I recommend this book/series. Enjoy!!

A reminder that all is not always as it seems.

This book will make you think twice before buying something as innocent as antique toys at garage sales, thrift stores, or estate sales. That oh so adorable baby rattle that you saw and just had to have may be harboring a deadly gut-wrenching surprise, as is the case with the sweet antique silver rattle in this book. I’m just glad I bought my last used baby toy finds just before reading this book.

The End!

In many ways, this book was as gripping as the rest of the series. However, there were subplot lines that I kept expecting to be expanded on during the series that, it now seems were dropped entirely or forgotten about. That's disappointing.

In the semi mini-spoilers, I go more into my disappointments. However, if you're not reading that part below, just be aware that I found the ending to be disappointing. It wasn't satisfying for me. Despite my disappointments, I still really enjoyed the book and the rest of the series. Thom Bowers, as usual, gives a thrilling performance. I would definitely read this again.

Some Mini-Spoilers Ahead. I don't think they're a big deal because this is the end of the series and all so you know all the bad guys will have to be taken care of in some way, shape, or form.


--------------SEMI MINI SPOILER----------------


Ivan was portrayed as supremely dangerous and there looked to be a future showdown between him and Victor developing (in previous books), but it never happened. He was dealt with so easily, and he and Victor never even saw each other.

Ariana changed her target focus in the blink of an eye without a whole lot of warning. Her reasoning didn't make much sense to me either. Killing Stefan was of the utmost importance since the beginning of the series, but she suddenly decides Ivan is more important? He's a ghost. He's not going anywhere. The living Stefan, on the other hand, has a penchant for escaping from them. Best to take care of him first and deal with a ghost who's not moving and not able to hurt anyone later.

Often enough in the beginning of the series, Victor's wife's family and her appearance was alluded to. Then Ariana walks in and her features are so familiar. I kept expecting to hear that Victor's wife was part of the Ivan clan, like Ariana's full sister or at least her half-sister. That would've been...messed up...but how cool! They're all connected in different ways. Small world, ya know? But no. The thread was dropped or forgotten. It was seriously disappointing.

The ending to the series was too easy. It was all wrapped up, all nice and neat, with a bow on top. The bad guys are so strong, so deadly! So easily defeated in the end. And Tom? He's spent the last several books becoming, like, a mini Marine-Wonderboy. I don't know how he's been able to defeat things that are supposed to be vastly more powerful (and trained to kill for that matter) than him.

Great Ending Story for Another Great Series

The 'ghost busters' tackle what is probably the most evil, sinister evil spirit of the entire series. Plus, they have to deal with the 'Drowning Boy', from the last book, whom Stefan has liberated. They have their work cut out for them and it isn't easy, by any stretch of the imagination. There are a lot of 'loose ends' and vendettas to be settled, so sit back and see how it all plays out....