Desert Places

By: Blake Crouch

Narrated by: Eric G. Dove

Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

The first installment in the Andrew Z. Thomas Series and a prequel to Crouch's and Konrath's thriller Stirred...

Greetings. There is a body buried on your property, covered in your blood. The unfortunate young lady's name is Rita Jones. In her jeans pocket you'll find a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Call that number. If I have not heard from you by 8:00 P.M., the police will receive an anonymous call. I'll tell them where Rita Jones is buried on your property, how you killed her, and where the murder weapon can be found in your house. (I do believe a paring knife is missing from your kitchen.) I strongly advise against going to the police, as I am always watching you.

Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can't get away.

Dear Reader: Please keep the light on tonight. What happens next will scare you. Guaranteed.

©2004 Blake Crouch (P)2014 Blake Crouch

Page Turner!

I really enjoyed this book. I think that Blake Crouch and Eric G. Dove are paired nicely with their style of each of their crafts. I think that Blake did a good job with establishing the seriousness of the violent capacity of the characters without being unnecessarily disgusting about it. I thought the sexual abuse scene was a bit too graphic though. Still loved the book overall. ~JTC~

LIONSGATE NEEDS BLAKE

I'm simply in love with the entire series, the narrator made me have to stop listening, cause I thought I was looking at TV, couldn't get any darn work done. What a great listen, kudo;'s to you both. used one credit then had to purchase the others out right, but they were worth it

Hooked from the beginning

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because it's original and hard to forget.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Desert Places?

The beginning of the story.

What about Eric G. Dove’s performance did you like?

His tone and ability to disguise his voice without becoming annoying.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Can't say without revealing bits of the story so I won't commit :-)

If you don’t like torture porn, this book is not for you.

Clumsily written, gratuitously violent, the story bumbles along like a drunk uncle at a wedding. It plods from one gruesome murder to the next with a lack of tact or style.

I cannot believe that the same writer who wrote this piece of garbage wrote Dark Matter, one of the most brilliant books of our generation.

Blake Crouch knows thrillers!

**Warning** Spoiler Alert - Read at your own risk!

Andrew has some serious skeletons in his family closet. Well, at least one. His twin brother Orson vanished years ago. Now, he’s back. He has been a busy boy since his disappearance and wants to get reacquainted with his brother. Evidently, calling and grabbing a bite of lunch was too easy. Unless, of course, it was going to be liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. Ahhhh, the joys of family. They were so close when they were kids. Like peas and carrots, peanut butter and chocolate, cigarette burns on clam hammers.

Blake Crouch knows how to write thrillers. It is impossible to deny his skills. It feels to me like he writes with the big screen in mind though. Not small time productions, but big ass summer blockbustery type movies. Doesn’t really matter, I guess, because I already mentioned that dude can write. Desert Places is no exception and this one is a non-stop thrill ride of violence and suspense. There are some classic characters here and I am looking forward to more from this series. 3.5 Stars.

One of the Best Mysteries I've Read!

Blake Crouch is one of my favorite authors. In Desert Places there is much more of a suspenseful mystery going on. The protagonist is perfect as are his cohorts. Not saying it's not creepy, but still a new favorite . For fans of suspense, a must listen !

Book > Narration

I did enjoy this book, and I look forward to the rest of the series, but I am just not sure why the author chose the narrator that he did. I'm sure Mr. Dove is a fine narrator for some kinds of books, but I felt as if he were reading a text book a lot of the time. There just wasn't much life or emotion in his reading. Everything was told as a matter of fact, rather than trying to convey the emotion that I felt the author was going for. Just my opinion.

Not for the Faint of Heart

So this is one of BC's earlier novels. I've read many of the others, so I decided to start from the beginning and fill in the blanks. At first, I thought this would have played out like a typical mind-Fk.
*
*
*
*
SPOILER ALERT
*
*
*
*
Brothers or imagination? 🤔
*
*
*
*
That question is answers later in the book and then it's cemented by a horrible, disgusting, tragic, cringe-worthy event from the main characters past. Anyway, after you get through that event, the rest of the book is okay. I'm left with a few questions (story holes) because of time shifts, but it sounds as if those holes are answered in Book 2 (clever $$$). Overall, it was entertaining. I'm buying/downloading the next one now.

Horrible book horrible storyline

I kept waiting and waiting for it to get better, it didn’t. This is some serious garbage. I second what someone else said in that how on earth did this same author write Dark Matter and the Wayward trilogy? Do not waste your time

Initially good, but...

I selected this book bc of author’s Wayward Pines series (EXCELLENT btw). The characters were well developed and the narrator did s great job. But this story’s ending left me confused as to who was really who. Possible SPOILER ALERT...I had surmised 2/3s the way thru that Andrew had a split personality and was actually Orsen as well. But it wasn’t tied together very well at all, as he may have had multiple personalities??? And the last bit was quite odd. Most of this book, up until the end, kept me on edge. But the ending was strange and poorly done. I know Crouch can write, but this was disappointing. I know there’s a sequel, but those reviews are not raving enough for me to waste a credit on obtaining.

Disappointing

I generally love Blake Crouch but could not get into this. I didn't even like the main character. Lots of death with a pretty unlikely story. Could just be my taste but certainly not for me.