Lurk

By: Adam Vine

Narrated by: Kevin Meyer

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Some secrets should stay buried....

College student Drew Brady never wanted the power to spy on his friends. But late one night, he finds a box of old Polaroids buried under his house that can change to show him whatever he desires, and Drew finds himself with the power to watch the people around him without them ever knowing.

Yet as Drew falls deeper into the rabbit hole of jealousy and despair, he begins having strange visions of the students who lived at the house 20 years ago and the gruesome fates they met after moving out. He finds evidence of a stalker who may be living on the property. The line between reality and nightmare blurs. Drew realizes there is something under the house that is manipulating him through the pictures, an eldritch, not-quite-dead thing that will drive him to do unspeakable evil if he doesn't look away....

A blistering horror story, Lurk is unlike anything you've ever heard.

©2016 Adam Christopher Kennedy (P)2017 Adam Christopher Kennedy

Great debut novel!

Lately I've been trying to listen to several new audiobooks, but I eventually gave up on them due to poor narration or uninteresting plots. Thankfully, this didn't happen with Lurk!

I was hooked fairly early on and I enjoyed Drew's journey. It was nice to have the main character someone you may not necessarily like or enjoy, but his motivations and thought processes are well developed. The other core characters were also well written.

Now as a horror novel, is it actually worth it? Well it definitely creeped me out/unnerved me a good number of times. The vivid descriptions help and as an audiobook I think it's even better. Kevin Meyer's creepy as hell laugh/chuckle (you'll know it when you listen) was fantastic for example. Though his range isn't broad (female characters weren't distinct) and sometimes it was hard to figure out which character was speaking, I still enjoyed the narration overall.

I'm looking forward to see what Adam Vine writes next!

Lurk keeps you on your toes!

Would you listen to Lurk again? Why?

Yes! The novel is pretty thought-provoking. You don't know whether to trust the narrator, if what he is saying is true/real. Listening to the book again would probably uncover some new nuances I may not have noticed before!

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

Definitely. You see Drew descend into his own mind, and are on the whole journey with him. Adam Vine very vividly depicts the kind of turmoil Drew goes through, and you just never know what is going to happen next!

Which character – as performed by Kevin Meyer – was your favorite?

Drew, probably. There was not too too much distinction between characters, especially the female ones. Kevin Meyer captured Drew's emotions pretty well, though.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Drew coming full circle at the end really shocked me! It was an unexpected surprise that really added to the creep factor. It also left me with so many questions, in a good way! By the end, you are not sure if you can even trust anything Drew says, which makes it all way creepier.

new twist on horror!

I enjoyed this book a lot ... Although... The narrator seems very prim and proper and middle-aged so it sounded a bit funny when he talked about smoking fat nasty blunts haha but I really did enjoy this book it was very creepy and cut my attention the whole time. I would definitely read more from this author would and would definitely recommend!!

Love the premise and twists

This is a book that hooked me from the get-go...I am a Stephen King fan and this felt like it had some vague nuances similar to that style but more so it was a very interesting story to me.

I never go into details about books in my reviews as I do not do spoilers...

This was entertaining, interesting and a bit creepy (hard to do for me with books so that impressed me). The first 60% of the book was awesome and the last 40% was good. There were some parts that felt as though it was filler but I thinking back, it was for a reason and necessary. You'll understand when you listen to it or read it.

Some things that the author seems to cover that feel realistic to me...bouts of depression, suicidal thoughts and other similar themes. Don't get me wrong or misinterpret, this book isn't some completely dark one but it does feel like it gets into the mind of someone who has experienced some of those things before.

This was a very good book; almost an awesome one! I will absolutely look for this author's next effort and recommend checking t out of you like the horror genre!

Really liked it.

Creepy and wierd, it was a blast of a read. Would recommend to just about anyone who is into horror.

Excellent Book - More from Adam Vine Please

If you could sum up Lurk in three words, what would they be?

I've always been the innkeeper

Who was your favorite character and why?

Drew because his weaknesses were so well illustrated while still being completely relatable.

What about Kevin Meyer’s performance did you like?

Well delivered, great snark for the snarky tone. Great subtle shifts between characters.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end where Drew comes full circle

Any additional comments?

More from Adam Vine please.

love this book!!

this was my first audible... I'm hooked. great story. suspenseful and thrilling. I hope the author writes more!!

good story although

good story although the ending somewhat confused me but I still really enjoyed this book...i might go relisten to the last 2 hours just to make sure I understood what was going on.

Scary college party house

Set in Santa Cruz, California, the house on Sunny Hill has been rented out to one group of college students or another for the past 20+ years. Now Drew Brady and his crew party every night at the house and occasionally attend classes. The close camaraderie the group has starts to shift once Drew discovers a box of old Polaroids in the basement, one of which shows the then-students messing around with what appears to be a human skull. Drew starts having terrifying visions and his mood starts spirally towards paranoia and anger, perhaps becoming dangerous to his friends. Part psychological thriller, part horror flick, this book makes you think twice before going down into the basement again.

The story has a good set up, introducing each of the main characters in unique and engaging ways. First, Drew is a nerd after my own heart. I really enjoyed all the nerdom surrounding this guy and instantly wanted to invite him into my inner circle. His housemates Carter (a muscular, attractive young man) and his girlfriend (a sometimes frigid, and sometimes funny young woman) provide that handsome, happy couple example for the story. Drew’s love interest, Bea, lives nearby but is often at the house partying with the crew. Meanwhile, Drew’s friend Jay comes for a visit along with his googly-eyed dog Popeye and his two homophobic friends.

As a side note, there’s lots of modern slang all over the place in this book and some of it is made up of homophobic remarks. We see everything through Drew’s eyes and his character makes the internal comment that Jay’s friends aren’t really homophobic despite their comments because they have never even met a gay person. OK, it’s character building all around. These guys are comfortable in their derogatory, casual statements and jeers and Drew’s OK with it because it doesn’t go any deeper than that. Regardless of my personal views on such remarks, it’s showing these flawed characters which I can live with. However, it still got a bit tiring simply because it comes up so many times in the story.

Speaking of tiring phrases and such, there is quite a bit of partying in this book. While that lives up to my expectations for a large chunk of college students, it did get a bit repetitive and tiring to have them always doing pot, lighting up (nicotine or otherwise), and drinking until they pass out or vomit or both.

Having gotten those criticisms out of the way, this was a pretty decent story. It has elements of both horror and psychological thriller. I liked that we never had too much of either. It wasn’t a gore fest but there are some pretty horrific scenes. Meanwhile, I was always questioning just how much I could trust Drew’s observations. Is he under the influence of some buried demon that inhabits the house’s basement? Or is he just a truly insecure guy that’s headed down the wrong road? In fact, Drew questions this about himself often and that kept me guessing about Drew for the entirety of the book.

The side character that I enjoyed the most was Andy, a local cop. He’s also a bit of a mystery in the same way that Drew is. Is he a good cop that suspects more than he’s letting on or is he part of the problem? As creepy things start happening more and more frequently around Sunny Hill, we get more time with Andy.

The tale ends on a cautionary note about how words have power and that teasing or neglect can twist someone up inside, potentially creating a monster in the long run. I thought it was interesting that the author ended things on this note considering the amount of homophobic remarks that go unchallenged in this book. The two seemed at odds with each other and yet I can’t say that the author didn’t do so on purpose. This story is either very well planned out or the author flailed around until he got it right. Either way, it is an entertaining read and leaves plenty to think about afterwards.

I received a free copy of this book via The Audiobookworm.

The Narration: Kevin Meyer did a pretty good job with this narration. He was perfect for Drew and seemed to enjoy the role with all the nerd references. He also had a very good creepy laugh that was used here and there throughout the tale. While he did well with all the modern slang, making it sound natural, there were also a few times where music lyrics were simply recited instead of sing-songed. I know this is a tough one for many narrators, but the recited lyrics felt a bit stiff instead of natural.

started good

The beginning was pretty good. Writer is a great story teller and narrator did a great job. Got a bit gruesome at the end. Didn't like that part too much.