The Girl Next Door

By: Jack Ketchum

Narrated by: Jack Ketchum

Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

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

i wonder too

went in looking for something dark and disturbing to keep my attention. I recieved that on top of great story and even greater characters. Ketchum captured the innocence and the idea of how a childs mind works wrapping it into a slow moving car accident (no pun intended) that is impossible to look away from. This book makes you feel gross, but you also leave with something greater than the obvious themes it is going for. Vaguely reminded me of 'the long walk' for indirect reasons i cant put my finger on, maybe its just the vibe and how it comes off(in a good way). 9 out of 10

Chill, it’s not that bad

I read the other reviews and decided to give this book a listen. It’s not as depraved as others say it is, it’s pretty tame. Sure it’s disturbing content, but it’s not as horrible as others claim it to be.

It’s a good book with an interesting story. I feel that with it being narrated by the author, the author knows where to put emphasis and so on in his own writing. There is the occasional clicking others say in their reviews, but it’s infrequent and tolerable. Give this book a listen, it’s well written!

When will it end

I am currently questioning why I like reading & watching horror & true crime.
This story started out slow as if it was a coming of age story, I stuck with it and eventually became so engrossed in the storyline, I couldn’t stop listening & begging for it to end.
Absolutely horrific!
I am left with an overwhelming sense of loss & sadness. I feel as if I am carrying this little girl with me throughout my daily tasks.
If you see or believe there is abuse happening please speak up & for the love of God teach your children to do the same.

I wish someone else read this.

listening to the author/reader move the hard candy around in his mouth through this whole book made me want to scream. it was disgusting and annoying. so unprofessional of him. I wish I hadn't bought this book because of that. horrible preforamce.

Disturbing tale.

I spent the entire time wondering if this was a memoir. Now that it's over, I desperately need ear bleach.

Very sad

This story left me very conflicted. The narrator was great, and in some ways I just could not stop reading, or listening. But the story was sad, violent, and gruesome. I just could not believe that the main character David, could not, or did not do anything to really stop the torture

Disturbing

Sadistic family. "Stand by me" on the dark side. Might mess with your mind. Warned

Excellent reading of an excellent book

I strongly recommend this audiobook.

This was hard to listen to. The narrator was excellent. He should be once it was read by the author. But the content is strong, and you can feel the suffering inside your mind, at least I could. I found myself unable to stop listening but at the same time found it difficult to continue. I suppose that's good considering the content. That's great for any book.

My flesh was definitely crawling for a few chapter

There is a struggle to finish but not because it's bad but because it is very messed up. I can honestly say that I haven't had anything hit me this hard in a while. It's rough...

Well done, very dark

While it is a very good piece and very well narrated by the author, however, it was extremely dark in subject matter. Ketchum’s work is often categorized in the horror genre and this work definitely fits that bill. I found it interesting in how the author delved into childhood trauma from a time period in the last century. Trauma that is both witnessed and experienced. And how it impacts the child that grows into an adult. Ketchum did a detailed job depicting his main character’s morality as a child and as an adult.