Gretchen

By: Shannon Kirk

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler, Allyson Ryan

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

The new tenants have a terrible secret. So do the landlord and his daughter…

Ever since Lucy was two, she’s been on the run alongside her mother. She’s never understood the reason for a lifetime of paranoia, aliases, and lies. All she understands are the rules: never lock eyes with strangers, never let down your guard, and always be ready to move on.

Finally, after thirteen years and eleven states, their next hideaway seems perfect. An isolated, fortresslike place in the New Hampshire woods is the new home they share with its owner, a gentlemanly pianist, and his lonely daughter, Gretchen. She’s Lucy’s age and soon becomes Lucy’s first real friend.

But Gretchen and her father have secrets of their own - and an obsession with puzzles that draws Lucy into a terrifying new game of hide-and-seek. Lucy’s dark past is about to come calling. And this time, for her and her mother in the house on the hill, it might be too late to run.

©2019 Shannon Kirk (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

“…[A] brilliantly constructed novel…The pieces of the characters’ broken lives finally slip into place in a truly thrilling climax. Kirk draws the reader into a fascinating world of shifting truths whose details are by turns grotesque, funny, creepy, thoughtful, and exhilarating.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review) 

“Gretchen terrified me, made me laugh, made my jaw hit the floor…I had to wonder what kind of sorceress Kirk is, to have wormed her way into my brain and then written exactly the kind of story that makes me jump out of my skin and burns its way into my memory. The best kind.” - Emily Carpenter, bestselling author of Until the Day I Die

“I’m so glad I read this during the daytime, when the sun was shining and I was in a plane full of people…Five terrifying stars.” - Kimberly Belle, bestselling author of Three Days Missing and Dear Wife 

No,no,no.....

Bad writing, unbelievable situations, terrible plot.....the only good thing about this is that it’s over and it can be returned. Truly painful to listen to this. ZERO stars

1 person found this helpful

Princess Mary Sue

I listened to this because of Amazon Prime/books. If I would have paid for it, I would have never finished it and would have asked for a refund. This is a YA "thriller" / "horror" (not classified as such) and is hardly believable. It's a thriller only because the reader can't wait for the main character to stop her very drawn out / high-drama internal dialogues and GET ON WITH THE STORY.

1 person found this helpful

A great listen!!

I found the story to be weird and intense! I loved it though! Well written fantastic plot, good character developement! Good job Shannon Kirk!!

Sometimes Rambling BUT

Overall great story! While you know early on something is “up” with the characters, it isn’t until later it all comes together. Not your typical suspense books. The narrator does a great job. I recommend this book.

Creepy

I will never look at a puzzle the same way again! I went into this blind and only knew it was going to be a mystery/thriller based on the creepy cover. This one had me hooked from chapter one! I really wanted to know what was happening. This story is told within three different parts. The author did a great job in part one creating such a creepy atmosphere while really capturing your attention. There were so many times I was screaming in my head for Lucy to run (even when it was just red flags jumping out at you). Part one was looking like a five star read for me. Part two started to slow down as some secrets start to unravel. Part three is where this one lost me. So much happens, but it was so much slower than what I was expecting. It was so tactical more so than action packed. I just wanted more. Overall, this story is still crazy and was a wild ride even though the second half just did not do it for me.

LOVED THIS BOOK!

I really don't like to give reviews because I don't have time to really get into it but I will say that this book definitely deserves 10 stars if I could get it. Super exciting and literally could not stop listening to. All the twists and turns and excitement I wish there were more books like this

Meh

Meh. This was just ok. I don’t regret the credit, but not the best. Narrator was decent.

Great Adventure Mystery.

The was superbly descriptive, the characters easily seemed real and the development of the story was steady. I was pulled into this biok and had a lot of fun.

Such a deliciously narrated twist!!

Wow I loved both of these narrators so much they are so expressive. Amazing storyline with twists there is no way you're going to be guessing!

It's just that good!...

Such a great book... you'll wanna read the entire book just in one sitting. It's just that good!

Protracted

I really enjoyed some sections of this book but overall it was a bit too drawn out. The narration is good but there are a lot of characters so it's sometimes hard to follow who is who. Easy to listen to if you want something not too gripping.