Memorials

By: Richard Chizmar

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Jonathan Todd Ross

The New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller about a group of college students encountering supernatural terror while on a road trip through Appalachia—an unforgettable, chilling novel that is “scary and hard to put down. You might be advised not to read it at night” (Stephen King).

1983: Three students from a small college embark on a weeklong road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure, with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.

But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight, and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can’t help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents…or is something terrifying at work here?

Critic reviews

"Michael Crouch and Jonathan Todd Ross narrate an atmospheric horror story that draws upon the power of grief. In 1983, three college students set out on a road trip to film a documentary on the varied roadside memorials dotting America’s roadsides. What starts out as an adventure morphs slowly and painfully into terror. Crouch and Ross alternate narrating, and both maintain an ear-catching level of suspense. As the students notice a recurring mysterious symbol, Crouch and Ross inject the narration with a balance of gravitas and earnestness. While the three characters are likable, they have challenging moments, and Crouch and Ross imbue them with appropriate drama. Their narration complements the characters’ terror as they encounter a supernatural force in the Appalachian wilderness."

Solid but not great.

Not a fan of the narrator, to whiny for the character in my opinion. Still a solid read/listen.

Kinda flat… not the Richard Chizmar I’m familiar with

I’ve enjoyed every Richard Chizmar book that I’ve read… starting with Gwendy’s Button Box (with Stephen King), through the Boogeyman series… but this story didn’t have the liftoff the others had.

Amazing story

The satanic panic was real because I lived through it. This book takes you on a journey of friendship, family, love as well as fear, dread and surprise. The characters were all so great and I literally felt like I was right beside them on their journey through the roadside memorials. Go read !

This should be a movie

The first thing I thought while reading this book is that it would make a great movie. This was one of the first books in a long time that just gave me a sense of tension and unease the whole time I read it!

Bad narrator

The narrators voice so high-pitched and whiny it made characters seem like children and not college students. Really takes you out of the story.