The Girl Next Door

De: Jack Ketchum

Narrado por: Jack Ketchum

Suburbia. Shady, tree-lined streets; well-tended lawns; and cozy homes. A nice, quiet place to grow up. Unless you are teenage Meg or her crippled sister, Susan.

On a dead-end street, in the dark, damp basement of the Chandler house, Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons and finally the entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths. A boy with a very adult decision to make....

©1989 Dallas Mayr (P)2016 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

" The Girl Next Door is alive...it does not just promise terror but actually delivers it.... It's a page-turner." (Stephen King)

Based on a true story

Horribly disturbing story. Before you rail against Ketchum for the subject matter, know that this book is based on actual people, which is even more disturbing. He retold a true crime story, which a lot of writers do. If it turned your stomach and scared the hell out of you (& it should) then he did his job. Ketchum is really good in general at giving his readers the chills anyway.

Dark, Dark Subject Matter

I have to be clear at the outset; I am not giving it five stars because I "liked" or "enjoyed" the subject matter. There is no doubt that the subject is very dark and difficult to listen to/read. However, the story was well written and the author, who also narrated the audio, made the characters come to life. I didn't realize until I read the reviews that this is based on a true story of a girl who was murdered in the 60s; it makes sense, because truth is usually more horrific than what someone can make up.

The story starts out like a coming of age novel, but it is far from it. It quickly develops into so much more. The story is well written, fast paced and suspenseful, and most of the characters (with the exception of Meg and Susan) are hateful.

So, who do I recommend this for? Anyone who likes a good true crime type of story, even though this is fiction. At times, this reminded me of Deliverance. There are graphic descriptions of physical/sexual abuse and torture, as well as psychological abuse.

I finished this yesterday, and I am finding that the story is sticking with me.

Hurtful

I'm not one to submit reviews on books but I felt inclined to warn others. This book infuriated me to the point that I had to take a few days off from listening. My desire for justice was the only reason why I powered through it. After 4 hrs of listening, I couldn't wait for it to end. The narrator was good but there were some distracting sounds that kept coming through.

Hard to listen to

It’s about child abuse by a mentally unstable woman. It was difficult at first to listen to because I suffered some abuse as a child that was (as in this book) considered to be parental discipline. It is a realistic story that is poorly narrated by the author.

Horrifying novel

This macabre novel did a good job at bothering me. It was disturbing, to say the least.

Dark, Disturbing, Disgusting, Depressing

What made the experience of listening to The Girl Next Door the most enjoyable?

Enjoyable isn't the word. Listening to this story you just had to hurry up and get to the end and be done with it. Its horrible for many reasons but horrible most because this kind of stuff happens right under our noses. Its horrifying the depth of evil in some people and how easily manipulable children can be to that evil.

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

Knowing that its the author reading the story makes it that much more disturbing. Here's the real voice to the story. It makes me wonder why this was written. I've learned that its loosely based on a real event. It was written well and was captivating but I was left feeling dirty and angry and hopeless. I feel like I need a shower and a feel good story for next time.

Any additional comments?

Be prepared for a HEAVY topic and a gripping tale that doesn't leave you feeling good at the end.

Beautifully Written But Too Hard to Listen To

Admittedly, I'm an audiobook/podcast addict BUT my brain needs a shower after finishing "The Girl Next Store" by Jack Ketchum last night. I love gritty dark stories that surprise me but often complain that authors play it too safe with all stories just blending into a blob of predictable. This book however took it to places I didn't want to go and I don't think I'll ever forget it. There are points in the story where I was thinking, why aren't you doing something? I so desperately wanted retribution too but wouldn't that be so typical? When it was over I learned this book was inspired by a true story, ugghh.

I can't knock down the rating for this book just because of the subject matter... horror takes many forms. The story is beautifully written and I appreciate the author took risks.

uhhhhh

This book made my skin crawl. My off the cusp reaction is that this is the best horror book of all time. A truly disgusting masterpiece, that is based off of a true story.

Good, but disturbing.

This novel is not for the weak of heart. Well written, but describes torture graphically.

5 stars, would not recommend

Great writing. Great imagery. Great everything that involves the skill of the writer. Horrible, though. Good book, but horrible.