Threats

By: Amelia Gray

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

A blazingly original, electrifying mystery of love and loss from the haunted imagination of Amelia Gray.

In the dead of winter, David, a retired dentist in an unnamed town in Ohio, is pretty sure his wife, Franny, is dead. But he can’t quite figure out what killed her or why she had to die. Disoriented by grief, David struggles to unravel these mysteries - which become increasingly baffling when he starts finding a series of elaborate and escalating threats hidden around his home: "I will gather your oldest friends at my home and we will have a conversation." "You will hear us talking but when you come into the room we will stop talking."

Who left these notes? Was someone out to get Franny? Are they coming for him?

Unfortunately for David, Detective Chico is also on the case and is intent on asking him questions that he doesn’t know the answers to and introducing him to people - including a therapist who is practicing dream analysis in David’s garage without his knowledge or consent - who don’t appear to have David’s best interests in mind. With no one to trust, David is forced to rely on his own memories and faculties, but they, too, are proving unreliable.

Full of psychological twists and turns, Threats beautifully balances moments of utter bewilderment and perfect clarity. Amelia Gray builds a world that is eerie yet familiar, violent yet tender. With ability and precision far beyond her years, Gray grabs you on the first page and never loosens her grip.

Amelia Gray grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and received her MFA from Texas State University. Her first collection of stories, AM/PM, was published in 2009. Her second collection, Museum of the Weird, was selected for the Ronald Sukenick American Book Review Innovative Fiction Prize in 2010. She lives in Los Angeles. Threats is her first novel.

©2012 Amelia Gray (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for the works of Amelia Gray: “Arresting…Powerful…Brave.” ( New York Times Book Review)

A Confusing Mish Mash that Goes Nowhere Fast

What would have made Threats better?

A viable plot with a resolution that didn't devolve into insanity.

Any additional comments?

Sadly, the premise seemed promising but the execution was lacking. Gray managed to convey the sense of confusion and madness of the protagonist but with no clear outcome, leaving the reader dissatisfied and wanting so much more.

Very compelling

David’s slow spiral into disassociated grief coupled with intense associations between disgust and love make this for a very compelling read.

Experimental Fiction

Where does Threats rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm glad it was short. Threats features some of the best writing I've come across in a while. However, the story itself was lacking. Great atmosphere, creepy characters, chilling setup, building tension, and then... poof. It suddenly ended. Readers smarter than I probably appreciated it for that very fact, but I prefer a little more payoff in the books I choose to read. Luckily it was short, and I don't really feel I wasted 7 hours of my life. I will keep thinking on this one and maybe revisit it down the road.

If you’ve listened to books by Amelia Gray before, how does this one compare?

My first Amelia Gray book. I will probably investigate some of her short stories down the road, just for curiosity's sake.

Have you listened to any of Hillary Huber’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Don't think I've heard Hillary Huber before, but she did a great job with this one. Her forced, dry tone added to the atmosphere of the novel in a meaningful way.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sure, I kept hoping it was going somewhere.

Any additional comments?

Don't buy this unless you're fan of experimental fiction.

UGH

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Didn't understand the book at all. Just too weird

What could Amelia Gray have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

make the timeline more understandable

Which scene was your favorite?

nothing

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

none

Any additional comments?

what was the whole wasp and therapist scene about anyway?

Total waste of a credit.

Would you try another book from Amelia Gray and/or Hillary Huber?

No

What could Amelia Gray have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not write it.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Irritation with myself for continuing to listen, but I kept thinking it would all come together in the end. It didn't. A frustrating waste of time.

BIZARRE. No resolution. Think twice b4 you buy.

Would you try another book from Amelia Gray and/or Hillary Huber?

Probably not

What could Amelia Gray have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Some sort of resolution to this book would have been nice. This book was written so oddly, & you listen to "unintelligible gibberish" about characters you expect to learn more about, or expect somehow their stories will come together... & then... "THE END"

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I expect she read & delivered a bizarrely written book as well as one could.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Threats?

I think so many scenes we confusing or needed to be expounded on. I never fully understood the significance of the laundromat & the woman folding clothes. Was it just to show that others have issues too? & the women working in the garage with the wasps? Find another office, or kill the wasp's nest. Don't just continually allow yourself to get stung. I could have done without the ultra bizarre sex scene in the beauty shop. Completely unnecessary!

Any additional comments?

This book baffled me. So many times I was going to just turn it off & walk away. I think if it had been longer, I surely would have. But, I kept hoping to figure SOMETHING out. I wanted to know where the THREATS were coming from. I wanted to know how these people were going to be connected. But in the end, I'm left more confused & a little ticked off @ the wasted time invested in such a strange story.