The Chill

A Novel

By: Scott Carson

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

“Wow! This is one terrific horror/suspense/disaster novel. Characters you root for and a story that grips from the first page.” (Stephen King, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Institute)

“Horror has a new name and it’s Scott Carson. The Chill is an eerie dive into the murky depths of the supernatural. A story that has you looking back over your shoulder on every page.” (Michael Connelly, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Night Fire)

“A creepy tale of supernatural terror.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

In this terrifying thriller, a supernatural force - set in motion a century ago - threatens to devastate New York City.

Far upstate, in New York’s ancient forests, a drowned village lays beneath the dark, still waters of the Chilewaukee reservoir. Early in the 20th century, the town was destroyed for the greater good: Bringing water to the millions living downstate. Or at least that’s what the politicians from Manhattan insisted at the time. The local families, settled there since America’s founding, were forced from their land, but they didn’t move far, and some didn’t move at all...

Now, a century later, the repercussions of human arrogance are finally making themselves known. An inspector assigned to oversee the dam, dangerously neglected for decades, witnesses something inexplicable. It turns out that more than the village was left behind in the waters of the Chill when it was abandoned. The townspeople didn’t evacuate without a fight. A dark prophecy remained, too, and the time has come for it to be fulfilled. Those who remember must ask themselves: Who will be next? For sacrifices must be made. And as the dark waters begin to inexorably rise, the demand for a fresh sacrifice emerges from the deep....

©2020 Scott Carson (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Like listening to paint dry

I tried very hard to give this book time to get going. After I'd heard 8 of the 14 hours I finally gave up. I'm genuinely confused by the good reviews, there was barely s story thread, the characters were flat and inconsequential and the most engaging part was a lecture about the math involved in building and assessing dams. After over half the book I still had no idea why I should care about the dam and the "spooky stuff" (no spoilers here) was just confusing and annoying. Maybe the story truly takes off in hour 9 but I'm all out of patience with it.

Story gets lost in the Engineering lessons

I really wanted to get into this because it was featured on the page of one of my favorite super natural authors, Michael Koryta. But this book is filled with too much information on dam engineering and not enough on bringing the story to life. I literally forced my way to get to the end and then I wish I had not wasted my Audible credit.

Engaging but more Lazy River than the Raging Rapid

The story is engaging and exciting with some very good lore, but the excitement mostly happens toward the middle and coasts to an ending dealing mostly in small personal experiences rather than earth shattering Revelations and "battles". If you like this Try "So Cold the River" by Michael Kortya and "The Lost Causes of Bleek Creek" by Rhett & Link Reader John Bedford Lloyd is good but a little bland and monotone, (and there is one very noticeable edit where a line was fixed / replaced, but that just picking nits) but ultimately delivers a solid performance.

The Catskills deserve better

Not a recommended book. Kind of a silly premise with not enough NYC brought in. My hope was that this would be a disaster story with merit. Instead it was just a disaster.

Good but long

This was a good supernatural thriller, though a bit long. It was obvious early on where this story was headed and it took too long to get there. But the story was interesting and I was on the edge of my seat wondering how it was all going to end.

Uniquely New York Ghost Story.

Those of us born in NYC, and familiar with the beautiful Catskill Mountains, will appreciate this ghost story.