Joyride

By: Jack Ketchum

Narrated by: David Stifel

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

Carole and her lover thought they had committed the perfect crime, murdering Carole’s abusive husband and making it look like an accident. Unfortunately there was a witness, someone far more twisted than they are, with plans for a killing spree of his own.

©1995 Dallas Mayr (P)2018 Journalstone Publishing

Volvos are not a joy to ride in

Wow this escalated quickly. Starts out as a light thriller and quickly becomes a dark disturbing nightmare. We get to ride with a complete homicidal maniac and the ride is not joyful. While the story is quite simple, it is very detailed. Every victim you become quickly acquainted with and I immediately was hoping for the best while realizing that was futile. Super happy this was a work of fiction, although I can totally see this as real life.
The four main characters are quite solid and you understand everything that they are doing and why. Don’t agree with one of them, but this really takes you for a ride inside the mind of madmen. In their own way, all of them are mad, just some more twisted than others. There is a lot of graphic violence so this is not for the faint of heart. Rule number one of no children and women is totally violated.
Like I said the plot itself is quite simple, but very smart. This is a well written and well calculating story that definitely ups the ante quickly. I love horror, and while this was horrific, this was edge of the seat thriller. I had to keep listening but really did not want to continue. That is huge kudos to the author.
David Stifel completely made this book. His voice was just as calculating as the author’s words. No way this book would have gotten under my skin without him. Second story I’ve heard from him and he did not disappoint. It takes a solid narrator to read a story like this.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

A lot of excitement

This book is about a sadistic killer who terrorizes a city. It has back to back scenes and is somewhat gruesome.

The narration is great.

This book was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Couldn't stand narrator

Unfortunately, I didn't make it 30 minutes into this story. Love Jack Ketchum, but wow, the narrator's voice and articulation were terrible. Just my opinion. Seriously disappointed...

Outstanding everything

This audio will give you chills. The suspense is fantastic, and the narrator did such a good job of portraying the psychopath that you might think he is one. You just know something bad is going to happen when he's watching the murdering lovers rid their lives of the scummy ex-husband. I loved Rule and his imperfect life that's dragging him down every day. The fact that he gets so involved with not only solving the crime, but in helping the true victim of the story makes him a likable character.. David Stifel's voice and mannerism reminds me of Dick Hill, so if you're a fan or this talented actor, you'll enjoy this book. This was my first experience with both the author and narrator, and I'd definitely listen to another. **I was offered a free review copy of this audiobook.

Quick and intense

How bad can a day get? This book was fast paced and fairly intense. The cop was my favorite character. He had a great personality, and his rational mind was a nice counterpoint to everything else. The bad guy was interesting, and one particular, disturbing, glimpse into his backstory added a pop to the story that I didn't see coming.

The narration was excellent. The voices were clear, easy to hear and understand at all times.

Great Story!

I received this audio book for free in exchange for my honest review. I loved this story! The phrase crime doesn't pay has a whole new meaning with this one. Both the writing and narration are impeccable. I'm sure you'll love it too.

Classic Ketchum doesn’t disappoint

A couple murder the ex-husband of the woman in the new relationship. The ‘victim’ had been an abusive husband in the extreme and continued to stalk and harass her long after the divorce. So, they attack him on a mountain and dispose of his body in a river. But their crime has been observed by Wayne - a psychotic time-bomb waiting for the right set of events to light his fuse. What he observes is the said trigger-point. He seeks out the couple and abducts them at gunpoint, taking them on a ‘joyride’ as witnesses to his brutal killing spree.
The plot is a fairly simple one, but Ketchum weaves his magic and gets us inside the heads of all the characters involved, including the tortured cop, Raoul who is tasked with chasing down Wayne before he can wreak havoc across two counties.
This book can’t top ‘Girl next door’ - that would be a feat hard to accomplish, but this is nonetheless a gripping tale and, if you like Ketchum, you won’t be disappointed.
There’s a fascinating footnote to the story where Ketchum details where his ideas for the story came about and how he amalgamated the mos of two real life killers to produce Wayne.
The narrator, David Stifel, does a superb job. His smouldering, brooding style lends itself well to the messed up characters in this story.
This is the third book of Ketchum’s I’ve read/listened to and I’m not going to stop until I’ve finished every one of them. There’s a reason this late author is revered so much. Listen and enjoy.