Darling

By: Brad C. Hodson, Claire Bloom - director

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Raynham Place has been home to a number of mysterious occurrences. From its start as a battlefield through its time as a tuberculosis hospital and even in its current incarnation as an apartment complex, the grounds here have been awash in blood and instability. When two friends decide to move in to Raynham together, a wound that they share opens wide and threatens their sanity. But they're not alone.

Something is off here at Raynham, something that goes beyond the local legends of ghosts and serial killers and black hounds, something that gets inside of everyone who ever lives here. When a sacrifice is made, the first freely given in ages, the truth behind Raynham's legends finally surfaces and the building fills to bursting with all the dreams of Hell.

©2012 Brad C. Hodson (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc., and Skyboat Media, Inc.

A Good Book, but missing a back story.

This novel is creepy and not too gory. I enjoyed listening to it. But it was trying to be true to the title “DARLING’ at the cost of a well rounded tale. I really felt I missed “IT” while listening. So I replayed it. Perhaps is too far above my head. Don’t recommend it obviously.

Fun horror story

Fun, supernatural, Ammityville apartment building kinda story. Good characters, narrator did a pretty good job!

Engrossing, Atmospheric, and Immersive

I'd read the physical release of this novel and it had thoroughly creeped me out. Though, I have to say, there was too much gore in that version for me. This corrects that. The audiobook version is almost a different book altogether. The basic setup is the same - two young friends who share a personal tragedy move into a "haunted" apartment building together - but the characters are deeper, the writing quicker and cleaner, and the scares really get to you. I had to turn on all the lights and double-check my locks while listening! The climax is strange and radically different from the physical version (which was gory where this is weird and trippy - I'm honestly not sure which one works better), but the last chapter doubles down on the creep factor and leaves you thinking about what happens to the characters long after the book ends.

The history of the building is laid out as a series of newspaper articles and journal entries. There's a hint of "House of Leaves" there, though peppered into a more standard narrative. This book does not hand you the answers, though. The mystery of Raynam Place is much larger and weirder than a simple "haunting" and the writer never comes out and tells you what it is, but provides all the clues you need to piece it together yourself. I find that much more satisfying than just being told what's really behind things, though it does make you work a little if you're the kind of person that needs concrete answers. That's definitely an improvement over the physical book, which (IIRC) just had characters tell you everything that was going on.

The narrator has a voice filled with gravitas, yet keeps the story moving at the same time. His voice really lends itself to the creepier scenes, where the atmosphere builds and you feel like something is watching you in the dark. It was like listening to a grand storyteller telling me a ghost story while sitting at a campfire. I'll definitely be listening to more that he's narrated.

a must read

Being an east Tennessee native this story sucked me in! I live in proximity to most places in this story, and the rich history of the region added so much to the story mixing folk lore and fact.
Brad C. Hodson is an excellent story teller, and at times the fear, and emotions are palpable.. Over all I would say this is the best horror novel I have read all year, and if you like stories in the vain of King this is a must read! I will be looking forward to future works by this author

Unique Horror Story

I loved this, this author knows about true paranormal stories you can't tell. Things mentioned in the book are rare to hear about. I this was pretty unique for her, and I finished it way too soon.

Creepiest thing!

This is definitely the creepiest story that I've read/listened to in a very long time.

4.5 Stars rounded up because damn...it was good!

I am late to the party for this one. I’ve had it on the tbr for a decade. Ok if you have seen my mountainous tbr pile you’d understand a little bit, but damn. 10 years is a long f’n time. Ugh.

It was definitely worth the wait. I dug everything about it. The story was fantastic and the narrator, Stefan Rudnicki couldn't have done a better job. Excellent all the way around.

A solid 4.5 Stars rounded up because damn...it was good.