The Gordon Place

By: Isaac Thorne

Narrated by: Sean Duregger

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Lost Hollow constable Graham Gordon just walked into his abandoned childhood home for the first time in 20 years. Local teenagers have been spreading rumors about disembodied screams coming from inside. Now, thanks to a rickety set of cellar stairs and the hateful spirit of his dead father, he might never escape.

Meanwhile, Channel 6 News feature reporter Afia Afton - whose father is the victim of a local decades-old hate crime - is meeting with town administrator Patsy Blankenship. Her mission is to develop a ghost story feature for a special to air on the station's Halloween broadcast. When Patsy tells her about the screams at the Gordon place, the past and the present are set on a collision course with potentially catastrophic results.

Can Graham come to terms with his father’s past and redeem his own future? Can the murder mystery that has haunted Afia for most of her life finally be solved?

It’s a fight for the future and the past when spirit and flesh wage war at the Gordon place.

©2019 Isaac Thorne (P)2019 Isaac Thorne

Some Will Love, Some Will Hate

I actually really liked this story, I say actually because there are aspects of the book that I didn’t care for and could see how it could instantly stop people from wanting to listen to more. There is language used that some will find offensive and even in the context might not care for. The overarching plot was great and it is clear that the author and I have grown up on and continue to enjoy the same types of entertainment. All the little pop culture references the author made really made me smile. I wouldn’t call this a throwback story, but it definitely brings back some of the past.

The story itself was quite different from what I was expecting. I was expecting a haunted house story and got something much better. There are a lot of good paranormal aspects involved and by far my favorite was the black dog. A sort of Mothman-Chupacabra hybrid which is the towns cryptid, and also the signal of future doom for those who bear witness to it. I felt like the author took aspects of a lot of different folklore and created his own unique cryptid which was amazing. That part of the plot made me feel like I was in a ghost story while hunting for Sasquatch, two of the best things ever. Cryptids aside, the paranormal story was done quite well and I didn’t want to stop listening as I needed to know what was going to happen next. The speckled in Dad jokes are a random gem that was not only were perfect for the story, but also included some that were added to my list to tell.

The characters are well created. Graham and Afia are the main focal points and have the most development. I sympathized with them both to the point I actually started caring about them as if they were real people. Both of them have had a troubled past, grew up to be almost polar opposites, yet both have to overcome the problems caused by one deeply disturbed man. Patsy was also quite enjoyable as she seemed to be the the square peg to the other character’s circle. Staff reminded me of Larry the camera-man from Groundhog Day so I just couldn’t take him seriously.

The one thing that I didn’t care for were the not so subtle political jabs. The initial warning about hate speech seemed to me like the but you get after a statement where the person does exactly what they were saying they weren’t doing. I understand the environment that the author was trying to depict and that at one point in time this was realistic, but just because you are a white male who drives a truck doesn’t make you a redneck, toxic-masculine, misogynistic, homophobic bigot. I felt like the narrative of this wasn’t purely meant to tell the story and was more of an outlet for the author to virtue signal. I honestly am fine with that, although just like the horror book I listened to that pushed religion on me, I would have liked to have known that I was getting a sermon in disguise.

I have heard a few books by Sean Druegger and I have to say he is definitely stepping up his game. He really pulled out all the stops for this book and it worked out quite well. I liked his character voices and could hear the energy and excitement he put into each of them. I don’t think that all of their voices were realistic, but he brought everyone one of them to life and made this a really enjoyable listen. I loved hearing him slur his speech talking about the “concussin”. From time to time he brought the levity needed for a book that is taking on a such a contentious topic. I look forward to hearing more of his narration as he continues to hone his craft.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

An Inconvenient truth for some

First let me say if you read previous reviews you will find spare views about southern life in contemporary life for people of color and gay people all from people who are probably NOT either. I can tell because the author hit the nail on the head not sugar coating anything. It is never really changed for Blacks but in this time Trump’s core seems to be people of such ugly prejudices which he openly encourages. I liked the book. It was a really interesting supernatural premise not explored. More action needed. Not really scary. I appreciate the author’s fearlessness in telling his character’s truth without catering to people’s political correctness which suppresses authors ability to express themselves as they wish. Thought that was supposed to be a right.

Love it!

This book was evil and perfect all the way from the narrator to the writing to the sad ending. This book was great!

Horror in the south

The Gordon Place is definitely not your ordinary horror tale it has a twist that is creative and very imaginative. I may not like the main character but he does serve a purpose to this sensational plot. The narrator Sean Duregger absolutely brought the story alive. The storyline is well written with relatable characters. I specifically love our little mystery character. I received this review copy at my request and I am glad I did because I enjoyed this creepy tale. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review because this book is a truly do not miss read.

it was ok!

This was alright, wasn't what I expected. The narrator did a good job. A pretty good plot.

Thriller Chiller

started off slowly but the story kept getting interesting as it went along. Thank you

Sadly Mediocre

Unsure how this story won an award, but it might be indicative of how hard it is to find quality material in this genre.

The story was contrived, derivative and though most of what the author dreamed up as "lore" was obvious, that didn't stop them from using lots of words to make it obvious to you. Really felt like someone repeatedly explaining the punchline of a joke that you already got. In fact, most of the book was needlessly verbose. Perhaps there was a word count target for the award they were after.

The narrator had a pleasant voice, but was simply "reading" instead of "acting". There were odd pauses in sentences as if they didn't realize there was more to what they were saying. The author's wordiness could be to blame here though.

Overall, I really wouldn't recommend this. Perhaps if it were half (or less) as long it would be easier to swallow, but 10 hours for this? Pass.

Loved it

After graham convinces his small town to sell him his condemned childhood home his past comes back to haunt him
A fantastic ghost story that also deals with child and alcohol abuse along with racism in rural communities
Overall a well narrated paranormal mystery I thoroughly enjoyed
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go

Isaac Thorne composed a compelling ghost story with supernatural elements. The story tackles interpersonal and cultural racism amongst interpersonal relationships in a small town. The history of a town's biases divided amongst black and white and social class leads to unsolved murders. Isaac does a nice job expressing the different experiences of three main characters due to the hands of ignorance and prejudices. The reader is immediately pulled into the tension until the story unfolds. Possession is taken to another level as the reader feels the frustration of not having control over one's own body. The events unfold in a well paced flow. You will not be disappointed enjoying your evenings in bed reading this.

Great Paranormal Mystery

The narrator was perfect for this story. The storyline was great and the character development was done well.