Family Business

By: Brett Williams

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

Unable to convince her husband they are ready to become parents, trophy wife Erika decides to buy a puppy. She heads into rural Missouri in search of a Yorkie pup, only to find more than dogs caged in the barn of a secluded puppy mill....

After the death of her mother, Bobbie Jean finds herself living with her aunt and uncle at their rural farm. Without many options, she begins to sell her body to anyone to turn a quick buck. But when she discovers Uncle Levi's dirty secret in the barn, Bobby Jean must decide whether to join the family business.

©2014 Brett Williams (P)2015 Comet Press

Family Business

What did you like best about Family Business? What did you like least?

Family business is an horror story from beginning to end. Keep me listening with full attention. Although I would have like a better ending.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Crazy!!!

These people are absolutely nuts! Brett Williams, excellent job! The details in this book are very descriptive and I can envision it all in my mind as it's happening which was very creepy lol. As always, Joe Hempel does an excellent job with the narration and all the different voices and characters.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Wow what a story!

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

Yes I would... but only to my friends with completely open minds. The torture to animals and human slavery is not an easy pill to swallow. Even if it is a fictional story. Things that are mentioned in this book might hit very close to home for some. This is not your typical horror story on any level. But if you can stomach it then I recommend it, because its one hell of a roller coaster!

Any additional comments?

The story not only scared me as any good horror story should it also made me think. The author was able to get into my head. I found myself cringing on the outside and being able to almost feel the fear from the women. The narrater was amazing at making each character truly sound like their own person. Its a fast paced, get onboard and go book! I finished in 2 days. Well done!!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

The narrative is violent and savage

Family Business by Brett Williams may be one of the meanest, most joyless horror novels I’ve ever happened upon. This sucker is pitch-black bleak, filled with a cast of abusers and the abused, and rife with hopelessness. The few times we get meager glimpses of light, Williams revels in prolonging our agony and draws the shutters back down into place to blot out the light. This is a cruel and savage work, one that left me feeling dirty and in desperate need of a shower at the end of its ordeal.

Erika is hoping to surprise her husband with a puppy and ventures off to visit a backwoods puppy mill. Obviously this is the best idea in the world, and after cluelessly ignoring all the warning signs horror-hounds will be well versed in, she finds herself abducted and locked in a cage. Following her abduction, Williams presents a number of despairing sequences of brutal and graphically written rape scenarios, hardcore animal cruelty, vivid abuse, shallow adultery as we get to know Erika’s shady husband, and Erika’s own attempt at transformation from rape victim to manipulative seductress. And just when you think things cannot become more depraved, Williams somehow still manages to up the ante in an on-going pursuit of nihilistic redneck horror.

OK, so this is a story that did not appeal to me. While I enjoy dark, broody horror, this book was just too unrelentingly grim for me. The narrative is violent and savage, and completely stripped of any sort of enjoyment, or even empathy for the character’s plights. If Williams wanted to strip his readers bare emotionally and, like one certain poor puppy early on, viciously crush them beneath his boot heel, he is certainly successful in that regard.

As narrator, Joe Hempel handles the material well, and his reading possesses the necessary gravitas. His accents and character voices fit in nicely with the rural Missouri setting, and the production is smooth. I’ve listened to a few titles with Hempel as narrator, and this is easily his strongest performance. Occasionally in audiobooks, you can notice a narrator’s voice change as he warms up during the reading, but Hempel keeps things consistent for the nearly nine-hour run-time.

With its focus on sheer unrelenting misery for both the book’s characters and its listeners, Family Business could easily take home the Feel Bad Listen of the Year Award if there were such a thing. Potential listeners may want to get an iron gut before braving the dark depths of this particular title.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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18 of 22 people found this review helpful

'Family Business' - NOT Family Friendly!

Any additional comments?

I hate when books are based off of the initial premise that a female character is stupid. SPOILER ALERT: This book’s jumping off point is the confusing stupidity of a woman who does not seem to be that dumb. Outside of that, the story is brutal and enthralling; one that was enraging, exciting, and hard to put down. Get ready for a roller coaster of emotions and some serious violence against women. I absolutely love how Brett Williams tied up the story with Stephen (no spoilers!!) and Erika, however I'll be happy to never hear someone refer to slamming the gas or break pedal as 'mashing it,' which was used exclusively and repeatedly in this book. Joe Hempel does an incredible job of narrating this scary and devastating story. I was sucked in from the moment he started and he kept me fascinated until the very end! Despite how the writer gets the story going (with the unbelievable stupidity of a character that simply wasn’t that stupid) the book is definitely worth a listen if you like horror that is truly horrifying!

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fun and entertaining

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

I really did enjoy the book. I thought t was well written and a decent story. I just wish I could have connected to the main character more.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The cover says it all.

Yep. From the cover you pretty much get the gist of this one and it was exactly what I thought it was going to be – Nasty, bloody, pornie, and then nasty some more.

BJ’s at the bait shop, Puffy Corn delights, the Freak & Tweak sisters, Satan’s Little Helper and Erica the Viking bitch. With all that, how can you go wrong? A fast moving, surprisingly well written and brutal backwoods tale that's just plain ole fun for the whole family.

The narration was excellent as usual from Mr. Hempel. His timing and cadence are always spot on and always adds to the flavor of the story.

My only gripe was the abrupt ending. Could have used a bit more…well, just a bit more. 3+ Stars.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

5-star story and 5-star narration!!

STORY: 5 stars
PERFORMANCE: 5 stars
OVERALL: 5 deviant stars!

**** WOW!!! **** WOW!!! ****
When I saw that the narrator of FAMILY BUSINESS (Joe Hempel) was offering free Audible codes in exchange for honest reviews I jumped on the offer. Why? Because the second I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read FAMILY BUSINESS! This book contains ALL of the depraved, disturbing, twisted characteristics I look for in dark books plus more! The story starts off very sweet and serene yet soon after takes a quick turn towards hell! And let me tell you, hell isn't located beneath the surface of the Earth. Hell is a dirty, smelly, overcrowded barn somewhere in the middle of nowhere Missouri!

Though it's truly not a fair statement, in it's simplest form FAMILY BUSINESS is a story about breeding bitches. I can't say much more without spoiling the story but basically, there are bitches who are female dogs and there are other bitches... What's the most entertaining about this book are the breeders. I won't bother trying to describe them but will say that they are and not bunch, most of them being extremely dark yet fascinating characters!

I prefer dark erotica so I am always on the search for the next true sociopath. I've read and enjoyed some extremely dark, depraved, stomach twisting stories. HOWEVER I do have my limits; I do not like reading about helpless, innocent animals, children or disabled people being hurt! I'm mentioning this because there was one aspect to the story that I feel should have mentioned in the synopsis: dogfighting. However, if I'd known that this story included the graphic details of dogfighting, I might have chosen to skip it you would have been a great loss. The dogfighting is very intense though – during one brutal dogfight, I literally had to remove my earbuds, skipping over several sentences because I simply could not stomach what I was hearing. Although I was repulsed by what I heard, the fact that Williams' words evoked such a strong reaction in me illustrates how powerful his writing is. Unfortunately, this subject may be an issue for readers, possibly having a negative impact on the way they rate this book. I recommend that a detailed warning be posted in this book's synopsis.

I was not just emotionally provoked by the dogfighting but by many other events as well as the characters and their behaviors or discussions. I was extremely impressed by the fact that this book evoked so much emotion and thought from me. Even today, weeks after finishing the book, I'm still wondering about certain events and characters! We never find out exactly what happens to a few of the characters but that's alright because Williams has provided us with more in a book titled, "Lucifers Children"! I can't wait to read this continuation or conclusion!

Even if FAMILY BUSINESS isn't your style, I can't imagine anyone disputing how imaginative and talented Williams is! This book is soooooo different from anything else out there. If you have an open mind and a strong stomach, I highly recommend this book!

PERFORMANCE
I've decided that narrator Joe Hempel is my new favorite male narrator! Hempel is absolutely amazing! Hempel was equipped to portray a wide variety of characters, creating a unique voice for each of them. I was especially impressed by his ability to speak for the female characters which is not something I often say about male narrators. While narrating without dialogue, Hempel spoke in an even, smooth voice yet just seconds later he spoke with a convincing Missouri accent! Mr. Hempel was even able to speak for a few disabled characters (one character is mentally disabled/slow and one is in a sense physically disabled (having no teeth). Throughout his entire performance, Mr. Hempel was consistently able to create realistic, convincing voices. By creating such believable voices, periodically I felt like I was watching a movie play out in my head! Hempel doesn't just read a script – he is an actor. Joe Hempel is excellent at what he does and a narrator I will hopefully hear much of in the future!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

True Horror

Loved it but hated it. The end left you wondering about the rest of the characters. It was definitely worth listening to and wanting more. Narration was great.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Disturbing!

Crazy rednecks and a breeding program make for an extremely disturbing listen. I struggled with some of the issues that are very real in our world today, such as human slavery, puppy mills, and animal cruelty. That said, this book was an honest portrayal of nastiness that did not disappoint. It might benefit from an alternative ending, for the more tender-hearted, but the gritty realism spoke to my inner paranoia and made for an incredibly raw story. The voice actor did a phenomenal job with this, and managed to convey both the seriousness of the plot and the whimsical mature of the characters. Five stars!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful