Regular price: $18.50
Suburbia. Shady, tree-lined streets; well-tended lawns; and cozy homes. A nice, quiet place to grow up. Unless you are teenage Meg or her crippled sister, Susan. On a dead-end street, in the dark, damp basement of the Chandler house, Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons and finally the entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths.
The Woman is the powerful story of the last survivor of a feral tribe of cannibals who have been terrorizing the East Coast - from Maine into Canada - for years now. Badly wounded in a battle with police, a woman takes refuge in a cave overlooking the sea. Christopher Cleek is a slick, amoral - and unstable - country lawyer who, out hunting one day, sees her bathing in a stream. Fascinated, he follows her to her cave. Cleek has many dark secrets and to these he'll add another....
There is a curse on Point Vestal. Time moves differently in this sleepy Northwestern coastal town, where the ghosts of the past roam the streets as readily as the living inhabitants. It's still the late 19th century, and underneath the quaint touristy allure of the commingling of the past and present is a lurking darkness.
Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone - or something - is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow an experimental route West, or just bad luck - the 90 men, women, and children of the Donner Party are at the brink of one of the deadliest adventures in history.
From award-winning author and storyteller Jack Ketchum, a collection of bleak stories of loss and pain. This is the author's newest collection, and includes his Bram Stoker award-winning novella Closing Time.
The second, riveting novel from Bram Stoker Award-winner Jack Ketchum, Hide and Seek is a book about games. Reckless, dangerous games. Games you might even want to play yourself if you're with the right people. But shouldn't. Not ever… In a small Maine town, a group of thrill seeking college kids finds a game of hide and seek in an abandoned house turning into a reality of stark terror.
Suburbia. Shady, tree-lined streets; well-tended lawns; and cozy homes. A nice, quiet place to grow up. Unless you are teenage Meg or her crippled sister, Susan. On a dead-end street, in the dark, damp basement of the Chandler house, Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons and finally the entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths.
The Woman is the powerful story of the last survivor of a feral tribe of cannibals who have been terrorizing the East Coast - from Maine into Canada - for years now. Badly wounded in a battle with police, a woman takes refuge in a cave overlooking the sea. Christopher Cleek is a slick, amoral - and unstable - country lawyer who, out hunting one day, sees her bathing in a stream. Fascinated, he follows her to her cave. Cleek has many dark secrets and to these he'll add another....
There is a curse on Point Vestal. Time moves differently in this sleepy Northwestern coastal town, where the ghosts of the past roam the streets as readily as the living inhabitants. It's still the late 19th century, and underneath the quaint touristy allure of the commingling of the past and present is a lurking darkness.
Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone - or something - is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow an experimental route West, or just bad luck - the 90 men, women, and children of the Donner Party are at the brink of one of the deadliest adventures in history.
From award-winning author and storyteller Jack Ketchum, a collection of bleak stories of loss and pain. This is the author's newest collection, and includes his Bram Stoker award-winning novella Closing Time.
The second, riveting novel from Bram Stoker Award-winner Jack Ketchum, Hide and Seek is a book about games. Reckless, dangerous games. Games you might even want to play yourself if you're with the right people. But shouldn't. Not ever… In a small Maine town, a group of thrill seeking college kids finds a game of hide and seek in an abandoned house turning into a reality of stark terror.
The sequel to Off Season, arguably Jack Ketchum’s most famous novel about a historic family of cannibals off the coast of Maine. As suspenseful, fast-paced and intelligently written as the prequel, it was adapted into a movie of the same name.
Editors Randy Chandler and Cheryl Mullenax put the call out to horror writers and editors of extreme stories, the hardcore stuff that breaks boundaries and trashes taboos, the transgressive tales you can't "unread" (as Chuck Palahniuk says). Some of the stories you'll find here are loaded with very graphic descriptions of violence, sex, and depravities, while others may contain only one shocking moment of brutality. In others, the hardcore aspect may be less graphic and subtler than you might expect.
From electrifying horror author Nick Cutter comes a haunting new novel, reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and Stephen King's It, in which a trio of mismatched mercenaries is hired by a young woman for a deceptively simple task: check in on her nephew, who may have been taken against his will to a remote New Mexico backwoods settlement called Little Heaven. Shortly after they arrive, things begin to turn ominous.
Ladies' Night is a non-stop rollercoaster ride of sheer nerve rattling terror, previously deemed too violent for mass market publication. In this modern tale of the ages-old battle of the sexes carried to the extreme, Jack Ketchum again provides readers with an excursion into horror as relentless as a John Woo film.
It's 1934. Businesses went under by the hundreds, debt and foreclosures boomed, and breadlines grew in many American cities. In the midst of this misery, some folks explored unscrupulous ways to make money. Angel-faced John Partlow and carnival huckster Ginger LaFrance are among the worst of this lot. Joining together they leave their small-time confidence scams behind to attempt an elaborate kidnapping-for-ransom scheme in New Orleans.
The box is Jack Ketchum's 1994 Bram Stoker Award-winning story. It has been anthologized, reprinted, and now it is available for the first time in digital. This is a live recording of the author, narrating his award-winning story, in the way only Jack Ketchum can....
The old man hears them before he sees them, the three boys coming over the hill, disturbing the peace by the river where he's fishing. He smells the gun oil too, too much oil on a brand-new shotgun. These aren't hunters, they're rich kids who don't care about the river and the fish and the old man. Or his dog. Red is the name of the old man's dog, his best friend in the world. And when the boys shoot the dog—for nothing, for simple spite—he sees red, like a mist before his eyes. And before the whole thing is done there'll be more red.
At Butler House a series of grisly murders over a century have led many to believe it's haunted. To one scientist it's the perfect place for an experiment in fear. Eight people, each chosen because they lived through a terrifying experience, are offered a million dollars to spend one night at Butler House. They can take whatever they want with them - religious items, survival gear, and weapons. All they need to do is last the night.
Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip - a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there - which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier.
It was supposed to be a harmless camping trip. Six wayward teenagers who'd run into trouble with the law, and their court-appointed guardians, Sara and Martin Randhurst. Three nights on a small, deserted island off of Michigan's upper peninsula. A time to bond, to learn, to heal. Then Martin told a campfire story about the island's history. Of the old civil war prison hidden in there, and the starving confederate soldiers who resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Everyone thought it was funny. They even laughed when Martin pretended to be dragged off into the woods.
Someone is stalking webcam models. He lurks in the untouchable recesses of the black web. He's watching you. Right now. When watching is no longer enough, he comes calling. He's the last thing you'll ever see before the blood gets in your eyes.
Nestled in the woods of Wisconsin, Safe Haven is miles from everything. With one road in and out, this is a town so peaceful it has never needed a full-time police force. Until now... A helicopter has crashed on the outskirts of town and something terrible has been unleashed. A classified secret weapon programmed to kill anything that stands in its way. Now it's headed for the nearest lights to do what it does best. Isolate. Terrorize. Annihilate.
Lydia McCloud meets Arthur Danse at a wedding party in Plymouth, N.H., and she thinks he's a man she could grow to love. Arthur sees things differently. In Lydia, he sees the sort of woman people always want to protect. He decides he's going to show her she wouldn't always be protected. Once their only child, Robert, is born, Arthur's behavior worsens. When the courts become involved, the nightmare really begins. This scathing novel is an indictment of a justice system that makes a mockery of its very name.
Ketchum throws you down into the muck that is the worst of humanity, pins you there and rubs your face in it. If you haven’t read him before you should know this before jumping in. Stranglehold takes an unflinching look at the kind of real life horror that occurs every day. The kind of horror that trickles down, creating a legacy of pain and torment.
Lydia meets Arthur and falls in love. He’s decent and kind and a respectable business owner. But Arthur is a good actor. He’s a sociopath who believes he’s been put on earth to make people realize the world is an ugly pain-filled place. He has done some terrible things in his past and though he fools Lydia for a while, he can’t hide his true self forever. After they have a baby they name Robert, the cracks begin to show and Arthur’s behavior becomes increasingly abusive towards Lydia. Lydia sticks it out until he crosses a line and she realizes she’s been living with a madman and files for divorce. She allows him visitation for Robert’s sake. He loves Robert after all and even after her own abuse at his hands, she believes he is a good father who would never hurt their son . . .
What happens next is just grueling but it wouldn’t be a Ketchum book if it was all unicorns and rainbows. The book follows Lydia through the injustices of the legal system. Lydia assumes she is doing the right thing by following all the rules but playing by the rules isn’t enough. A nasty, ugly and unfair trial begins. It’s infuriating and sad and the innocents, unfortunately, are the ones who suffer the most. It really makes you understand why some people take their kids and run.
I really felt for Lydia and Robert. Lydia’s own past was one filled with abuse and that was the last thing she wanted for her child. She feels guilty and bravely stands up to Arthur once she realizes what a deranged beast he truly was beneath the respectable façade. But sadly she was helpless once she entered the courtroom and had to depend on other people to do right by her.
This book was suspenseful but it will more than likely make you angry. It was horribly grim and unpleasant but it’s one of those books that you have to see through to the end regardless of the fact that you know you’ll probably be sorry.
Narration Notes: Chet Williamson reads with an intense, serious tone well suited to the bleak material. I think he would do an amazing job with a gumshoe noir type of hero because he has that type of voice. He brings Arthur to life; his voice is menacing, mean and calculated and just what this piece demands. Much of this story is told from Lydia’s point of view, however, and I always think it strange when a male is chosen to read a female character Williamson does a decent enough job with Lydia, forgoing the silly cringe-worthy falsetto that some male narrators use, but I would’ve preferred a woman to voice her thoughts, if I’m being completely honest. He’s not bad by any means, but a woman (at least for Lydia’s parts), would’ve been a better choice. When it comes to Robert I have no complaints. He sounded like the confused, scared kid that he was supposed to be and the other male character were easily discernible from one another.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up Stranglehold in three words, what would they be?
Disturbing child abuse
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
eh
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The problem is, I saw the "twists" in this book pretty early on. It's more shock horror than real horror, and while some people might enjoy it, I didn't find it incredibly deep. I don't want to spoil anything, but there are some books that are just not enjoyable to listen to or read. This is one of those books. It's like if human centipede was turned into a book, would you go out of your way to read it? Probably not. That's kinda how I felt about this book.
Any additional comments?
If you can't handle extreme sexual situations, skip this book. If you can't handle child abuse, skip this book. If you can't handle way too many details about certain situations, skip this book. If you're looking for a good horror story, I honestly think you can do better. As a huge horror fan I look for the best scare. This wasn't so much scary as it was just...disturbing. I wouldn't really suggest this book to most people.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Emotionally devastating. Written with an honesty both brutal and tender. Realism in which the system fails again.
Jack Ketchum has a gift for going pretty far to make you uncomfortable and then goes a lot further. I loved the book and the story goes much deeper than what it seems.
Chet Williamson does a fantastic job of narrating the story.
This graphic tale of the justice system gone wrong will keep you up at night, in a cold sweat. Believable character, a locomotive plot and just plain, raw, intense grit will keep you listening, and will haunt your dreams.
What disappointed you about Stranglehold?
Everything, but especially becoming bored with the narrator.
Would you ever listen to anything by Jack Ketchum again?
No.
How could the performance have been better?
More pauses. Read way too fast. The writing is very suspect too.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
No.
Any additional comments?
Think of something else Jack...and when you do, get a new reader.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful
What disappointed you about Stranglehold?
It is gratuitous nastiness. Nasty people and events are all around us but is it entertaining to slap you in the face with it? I think not. If folk do find this type of book entertaining - It is cause for concern about modern folk in general. I accept the world MAY be becoming more violent but readers of this sort of thing could be part of the reason for that. I have read horror books for decades and been entertained by most. Not this one
What was most disappointing about Jack Ketchum’s story?
All of it - well what I read of it anyhow. I gave up fairly quickly. I don't mind some blood and guts and I've 'enjoyed' many a horror story (I'm a Stephen King, etc. reader) - but this book is just plain nasty
Would you be willing to try another one of Chet Williamson’s performances?
I'm not sure...I think the reading was in tone with the material so yes, I'd not have a problem with the performer
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disgust
Any additional comments?
If this is symptomatic of acceptable, entertaining reading matter...it is a horrifying thought
This book should have come with an explicit warning as to its contents. This is a very graphic account of domestic violence and child abuse, be warned before listening, it is unpleasant.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful