Night Film

A Novel

By: Marisha Pessl

Narrated by: Jake Weber

Length: 23 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Brilliant, haunting, breathtakingly suspenseful, Night Film is a superb literary thriller by the New York Times best-selling author of the "blockbuster debut" (People) Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

On a damp October night, beautiful young Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive, cult-horror-film director Stanislas Cordova - a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than 30 years.

For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova’s dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova’s eerie, hypnotic world.

The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more.

Night Film, the gorgeously written, spellbinding new novel by the dazzlingly inventive Marisha Pessl, will hold you in suspense to the final minute.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2013 Marisha Pessl (P)2013 Random House Audio

A M A Z I N G

You will feel detached from reality off and on, and unable to tell what is real and what isn't. This is the brilliance of this writer--to keep you as off balance as the characters in the novel. No matter if you love the story or not, there is no question that Marisha Pessl is a superbly talented writer. I loved it.

The review by Linda does an excellent job of summing up the story without giving anything away. She wrote what I was feeling.

I will look up other works by this author as time goes by, hoping she comes up with another gem like this one. In the meantime, I plan on listening to this one again.

End it… Don't… No end it… No No… Don't… but… Ye...

This is good stuff!

On the down side, Pessi breaks out in rashes of over-writing… She also suffers in one scene from I-Need-An-Editor flu. But… but… Hollywood tells us that there are only what, 8 different stories? Well, I have no idea into which I'd drop this imagination explosion… These characters are so magnetic… I cared about them. Enough that the torrent of what at first seemed like epilogues pulled me into an entirely different experience. Yep, kept expecting an ending but…

Let's step out of the review here and talk about something unique to audio books. Unlike a hardbound on your lap, you're never spontaneously aware of how much more is to come. That's a good thing if you want the author to own surprise. Sooo back to the review.

Chapters began to end the story… then abruptly Jake Webber announced another… and another and… And it works. I'm convinced that Pessi's brilliance blended with Weber's talent will forgive almost everything.

Steven King once wrote like this, but he'd depend upon the gross-out to snap him away from trouble. Pessi keeps portending, but she has another solution. Not to worry, no spoiler alert here… Just another satisfaction with her startlingly complex talent.


I hope that next time Pessi will sand down some histrionics, and maybe disobey the rules and tell us rather than show every detail. Won't matter though… I'll preorder whatever she does next. Pessi's a resonant new psychological thrill pilot.

I didn't want this one to end!

This is one of those audio books that I hated to put down. In fact, when I was traveling and didn't have my iPod, I downloaded the e-book so I could read it on my laptop. It's that good. Haunting, beautiful, deadly. For days afterward I was still thinking about it.

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give anything away. The characters are fascinating. If you like good, dark mysteries, you'll love this. And make sure you download the accompanying PDF - the pictures there add to the story. I LOVED this book!

Literary, this ain't. Psycho, yes. Thriller, no.

If the measure of literary fiction is abusing participial clauses and opting for the word "indicate" when "point (out)" would do just as well--both marks of stilted prose--then this would be literary fiction. The story also suffered from a very flimsy plot entirely grounded on a stalker of a protagonist (definitely not a hero) so paranoid and egocentric that he sees connections where they are none and who is ready to go to any length for the sake of a story that he has largely made up in his deranged mind (so it does delve deep into the psyche of the protagonist and as such qualifies as psychological fiction, I suppose). The title also needs far better character development to qualify as good fiction, literary or otherwise. Coyote's impressive vocabulary was completely at odds with her background and thick accent.
The only redeeming factor of this title was the narrator (who was so perfect as Mr. DuBois!). Had it not been for Mr. Weber's soothing voice, I could have never finished this overhyped mess of a story.

Whoa...

All I have to say is whoa...This has got to be one of the best books I have listened/ read in a long, long time. I can’t and won’t go into any details as others have posted reviews far superior to anything I can say, however, do your self a favor and spend the credit. You won’t be disappointed.

Sublime. Addicting. Gets under your skin.

Where does Night Film rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably one of the best, if not the best. I absolutely LOVED it. Had to pace myself quite from the start, constantly fearing it's coming to its end soon.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, it is a creepy, and at times, a surreal mystery. It was built so well, I honestly couldn't stop thinking about it. Definitely mesmerizing. When not reading it, all I thought about was this audiobook. I was never into mystery books (weakness for horror and sci-fi) but I am definitely now.

Which scene was your favorite?

All of them were just amazing! What a ride - through the loneliest, dark and abandoned places and human psyche, that ironically can sometimes even be found in a lively busy city like Manhattan. The end felt a little like the author gave several options, or several endings, consecutively, instead of just choosing one - but that is my only complaint, if any. But otherwise, I was sooo involved in it, I kept thinking in my head, telling the characters "No! Don't do that! Don't go there! Are you crazy?". I love being scared but unfortunately, I don't scare easily. Really riveting. Images easily flew in my head. Funny thing is, now that I finished it, wherever I look I see someone, some object or some place that instantly floods my brain in how it would have fit in the Night Film world. I guess that's why they call it the Cordova withdrawal... Descriptions were amazing, and I felt deeply involved throughout the entire journey.

Who was the most memorable character of Night Film and why?

Hopper. Although, all of them were stunning. Feels like real people I got to know. I've gone to miss them now...

Any additional comments?

Breathtaking, grabs you in and holds you tight, just right :) It has been a long, LONG time for me since I enjoyed a book this much. I had severe difficulties putting this one down, and trust me, I put many, many books/audiobooks down. It will distract you from your life, and I suggest not beginning it if you have something serious going on. I messed up on a few exams in graduate school because I couldn't care less if the world had just ended, i just had to listen to this book!! Consider yourself warned...

Amazing

I never wanted to stop listening as soon as I started it. I absolutely loved the characters and I felt like they were so real.

A Stand Out in Thrillers!

This was one of the more engaging stories I've listened to in a long, long time. Pessl delivers a great storyline that grabs you, shakes you by the roots and takes you a fast paced thrill ride. The writing is superb and the characters are so engaging and unique and they are brought into vivid color by a plot that will make you cringe, cheer, laugh and keep you up at night. Witchcraft and voodoo mix almost sensibly into a story about a family legacy, a mysterious compound and a young girl's untimely death. There are passages that blend the reality with the fantasy so artifully that even now, having finished the book, I'm at a loss to explain them. This book delivers in a way many others try and fail. Highly recommended.

Good Mystery

This was a very good thriller/mystery. The characters were interesting and there was a lot of eerie atmosphere and intriguing characters. i especially liked the plot twists at the end.

Favorite Book Ever! But need to Read it not listen…

So this book is set up like I had never seen at the time. There are news paper Articles. There is an infamous Rolling a stones interview. That u really need to see to get that last punch in ur gut. This book everyone I have given it to have been 100% obsessed. But get bored after because so much happens in this and it’s not boring at all!
It’s Insane this hasn’t been turned into a movie yet!!

I promise you love movies and horror even if u don’t like horror. This book literally had me freak twice that has never happened with me and a book before… lol didn’t even know it was possible.

I bought this again so I can repeat listen. But this should be one of the biggest Crime Novels of all Time.
I literally bought 18 copy’s at Barnes & Nobles and just gave them out as gifts. This Book Needs to be Read! There is NOT one thing wrong with this book!