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Exodus  By  cover art

Exodus

By: Kimberly A Bettes
Narrated by: Rick Gregory
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Publisher's summary

At the height of the Great Depression, thousands of families who have lost everything are left with no choice but to make the pilgrimage westward in search of a new life. Some will find what they're looking for. Some will not and will then be forced to make the long journey back home. Then there are the others, those who never make it to either place because they made a stop along the way in a town called Exodus, an abandoned silver mining town in eastern Arizona where nothing good ever happens and most folks never leave.

The Carlsons - John, his wife Anne, and their newborn baby James - are one of countless families heading west, and they're one of many unfortunate families who decide to make a stop in Exodus. The sign on the highway promises food and gas, both of which the Carlsons need. But the sign doesn't advertise all that Exodus has to offer.

It doesn't mention the torture.

The cannibalism.

The death.

Caught now in a horrifying world of madness, Anne has to fight to save her family, though doing so will push her to the very brink of her own sanity.

A horror novel for mature audiences only.

©2016 Kimberly A. Bettes (P)2017 Kimberly A. Bettes

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What listeners say about Exodus

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    5 out of 5 stars

Ain't we got fun

Wow this book was crazy. 1 part Texas Chain Saw Massacre, 1 part the Hills Have Eyes. Huge fan of horror books and this one did not disappoint. Not a fan of gratuitous gore or forced obscene situations and this story had none of that. It definitely had the creep factor, taboo situations, as well as the gore; however, it all felt natural and not there just to be there. If you can’t handle nasty horror this isn’t for you, but if you love some creepy backwoods style horror this is for you.
Narration was great and the song that was played added the perfect touch. Definitely will look for more from both the author and narrator.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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6 people found this helpful

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Very creepy!

Wow! I'm a fan of horror but I'll admit some parts made me uncomfortable xand made me cringe! I guess you know it's good horror if it makes you cringe! lol The story itself takes place during the great depression and the writer wasted no time jumping straight into the horror! Loved it! Great narration by Rick Gregory! I've listened to a few of his narrations now and really enjoy his work.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

In the wrong place at the wrong time...

Any additional comments?

Well, I sure got my horror itch scratched with this audiobook! I can certainly agree with the overwhelmingly positive ratings that this book received on Amazon and Audible. I suspect readers who gave the book low ratings were squicked out by the violence, sex, and gore. However, I'd argue 'caveat emptor' and encourage potential buyers to read the book description beforehand.

With this book, we get a nightmare scenario of a desperately poor, innocent Depression-era family who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As I was listening to the audiobook, I often thought of the movie(s) 'The Hills Have Eyes'. I wouldn't necessarily say that 'Exodus' rips off the movies, but I will say that if you enjoyed 'The Hills Have Eyes', you'll likely enjoy 'Exodus'. Similarly, if you found that 'The Hills Have Eyes' was too intense/stupid/gory/obscene, then you won't enjoy 'Exodus'.

I'm university-educated, have devoted thousands of hours of my life to volunteer work helping people, like kids and small animals, and enjoy a variety of fiction and non-fiction (I just finished writing a review of a non-fiction audiobook on Congressional dysfunction); thus, I'm prepared to defend myself against those who might accuse me of being a closet psychopath or otherwise horrible deviant because I enjoyed this story. The thing is, I think it's a really good horror story with elements of plausibility to enhance the creepy factor. We have vulnerable people who don't go looking for trouble but find it anyway. We have a family of crazy, incestuous people who have been isolated from society. We have a reasonable (albeit socially unacceptable) motive for the atrocities taking place. We have scenes of physical and psychological and sexual violence that is consistent with what we fear the most about being kidnapped. We have examples of how brutal and animalistic human nature could potentially be. We have a bittersweet ending. And, for the suckers for romance (such as myself), we have romantic threads - albeit some twisted ones. I think stories like these are great ways to play safely (and temporarily) in very dark mental sandboxes, although I can certainly understand why some would find this genre of fiction to be extremely distasteful.

The narration was excellent - a great tone and pace, no fiddling with falsetto female voices, contributing to the creepiness of the story. As other audiobook reviewers have already noted, it was very effective to play parts of the creepy song periodically throughout the audiobook!

I provided my opinion in exchange for a complimentary copy of the audiobook from the author, narrator, or publisher.

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3 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Average horror, awful reader.

The story is gross and bloody, but really boring. Doesn't really pick up it's pace or suspense at anytime and the guy reading it reminds me of the people forced to read out parts from textbooks in middle school. Boring, boring, boring. Reads the murder scenes and chases the same way you'd read a shopping list.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

creepy, gross, but good!

This was an odd book, chalked full of more creepy and taboo stuff then you can imagine.
I liked it. to me it wasn't so much scary as it was down right creepy.
I travel often from Southern California to Vegas, and I can totally picture these little dirt roads that lead to now where, you see them all the time during that trip!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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2 people found this helpful

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“OMG” How Gross

This was disturbing, graphic, grisly and disgusting horror. It contains incest, cannibalisms, and torture and I loved it. The book takes place in the great depression where families are searching for better life then John, Annie and their son James end up in the town of Exodus or is this HELL. Annie fights to save her family. I’m going to check for some more of author’s book as this was my first and highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys true horror similar Tim Miller and Matt Shaw. I also recommend not eating while listening, narration was good. I was given this free audiobook and voluntarily left this review. Thank you!!!!

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2 people found this helpful

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This book is garbage.

I don’t write reviews. And since I’m an ambassador to horror, I try to find something positive about everything I read. But this is garbage. I’m no prude and I like extreme horror. So while my issues are many, none are moral or ethical judgments on the depraved happenings within. But there is no artistic bend to any of the demented things. There is no artistic bend to this book at all. It’s a collection of disgust and filth. And that’s all it is. Which is disappointing. The derangement is comedically over the top. With no redeeming prose, no exploratory metaphors or ethereal language. I rolled my eyes through most of it.

Simply . . . Extreme horror can be beautiful and striking and intense. It depends on your handling of the very dark material, rather than the material itself. And that handling within this story was immature. It landed like it was written by a fifteen-year-old for its lack of understanding of deranged things. And it might as well have been.

Extreme horror, gallons of blood and mutilation and demented incestuous sex without any substance are just those things. And those things are pointless in fiction if there are no poetics.

And trust me when I say... this book is pointless. And I feel bad having said that for how much I treasure horror. But I couldn’t hold my tongue. This book is pointless. And it pained me because extreme horror deserves better than this.

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1 person found this helpful

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Wonderfully Sadistic

Any additional comments?

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get a horror itch so bad I'm just not sure what will be scary enough to scratch it. This is one of those books! Set during a time when just being alive on a day to day basis was a bit spooky, this tale follows a young, devastated family as they attempt to make a new start for themselves. Unfortunately, they come across another family who's idea of a good meal, a good romp and a good family unit are totally twisted. I won't share more for fear of spoiling the surprises, but I will say that if you are sensitive to... pretty much anything, this book isn't for you. I absolutely loved it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys some hardcore horror!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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Proves Women Can Write Horror

This story was disturbing, disgusting, creepy, and vile....

...and I kinda liked it.

There are few people I feel could get away with writing a story about the horrors of motherhood and it becomes an actual horror story. Yes, this story isn't original--very reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn, and those other cannibal/torture-related stories. However, what sets this gruesome depiction apart from the others is the idea of motherhood--how far will you go to save your child? How far will you go to love your child? What does it take to keep a family together? These questions are asked through three different perspectives--Ann's, Vera's, and Vera's mother (Of course Ann is the best mom here, obviously).

I was very impressed with the music that was played throughout the audiobook--I think that was a great addition to the story and really gave you something to ruminate on.

Some negative things I will say is that the narrator did a good job, but it wasn't the best narration I've experienced. He attempted to use different voices for each character, but there were times where all the voices sounded the same and I couldn't pick out who was talking (especially between Frank and Mimi). Another negative is that the inflection the narrator used during times of stress for the characters lacked. For instance, when Ann first met Vera and her husband was missing. The writing appeared to have Ann worried, but the narrator sounded joyful (when Ann was answering Vera's questions about Baby James). If I narrated, my voice would have been hesitant and showed more appropriate emotion. Finally, the last negative thing about the book, itself, is that many parts of Vera's characterization was repeated MANY MANY MANY unnecessary times. How many times do we need to hear that she gets turned on by one specific thing (that I won't spoil for you). I just felt the flow of the story could have been improved with a fiercer editing process.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Not scary - just revolting ... big difference!

What would have made Exodus better?

Tune down the gore and add more story, mystery and suspense.
Get a new narrator; This one is way too dry.

Would you ever listen to anything by Kimberly A Bettes again?

No

Any additional comments?

This is not a “horror” book. There is no mystery or suspense or any scary moment. The whole book is just about describing bunch of pointless, revolting scenes. (Spoiler alert) cutting up live people, killing babies, feeding family member to each other etc.
How is licking bits and pieces of human remains mixed with sperm and dirt scary? Obviously, it’s just meant to disgust the audience and add “shock” value. If that was the only scene I would understand. But the whole book is just like that - just shock value - no mystery, suspense or scary scenes. I felt like I was listening to a high school essay by a “metalhead” who is trying to impress some new friends. Not just trying but trying waaay too hard.

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