Lurk

By: Adam Vine

Narrated by: Kevin Meyer

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

Oddly paced unsatisfying story

What did you like best about Lurk? What did you like least?

It's a protagonist POV story, however the protagonist is extremely unlikable making the story a complete slog and ultimately not very interesting, even though some of the sci-fi/horror concepts were interesting.

Has Lurk turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

What does Kevin Meyer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has good energy, but again, he's "speaking for" an extremely lame protagonist so it's hard to like him.

Did Lurk inspire you to do anything?

Not buy any more books by this author

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!

This one kept me awake at night...in the best way!

What did you love best about Lurk?

I’m usually not one for ‘horror’ novels (I find them to be too similar to one another and they’re usually predictable), but the synopsis intrigued me enough to give “Lurk” a chance. The characters were by far my favorite. The ‘Sunny Hill Crew’ were interesting, alive, and very much resembled people we’ve probably all known in our lives. I think that’s what made the events of this novel so chilling and unsettling; we know people like this and probably have been one of them to someone else. Now, the lack of ‘background’ provided for Carter, Natalia, Bea, and Jay might bother some people, but their pasts really weren’t relevant so I’m glad Mr. Vine didn’t take up page space with unnecessary details. Suffice it to say that, through the course of the story, the group evolves and reveal things about themselves that make them so, so relatable and sympathetic. It was impossible not to be drawn into their world. Drew’s struggles in particular were sadly reminiscent of far too many college-aged students I’ve known, and as personal as this is to admit, I was one of them for a time. Lonely, complacent, doubting my self-worth in the eyes of others, just to name a few. His growth was…not what I expected, but to say anymore would spoil it.

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

Admittedly, there were a couple of places when it got a little weird and started to lose me, but something always snapped me right back into the story. In the end, I’m really really hoping someone will make this into a movie because it was THAT good! Mr. Vine had just the right balance between violence and psychological shenanigans to keep either from ever becoming too much or too dramatic and overwhelming.

What about Kevin Meyer’s performance did you like?

Kevin Meyer was born to narrate this novel. Seriously, there could not have been a better choice. I never once felt like he was just reading or going through the motions, and while “Lurk” didn’t have a full soundtrack of effects, Mr. Meyer didn’t need them. He became the characters in a way that’s indicative of a true master. If there were typos in the manuscript, he handled them flawlessly, because not once did he stutter or stumble. His articulation and tone were great and he injected enough emotion into the narrative to make it believable. I will be watching for more of his work!

Who was the most memorable character of Lurk and why?

I'm sure most people would say Drew, and he was very memorable, but Andy was it for me. He was such a creep and on so many levels!

Any additional comments?

This would make an amazing movie!

Really liked it.

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

Very different and interesting!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, this book is refreshing and not just a haunted house story.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the descent into madness, you never knew who to trust.