The Invited

A Novel

By: Jennifer McMahon

Narrated by: Amanda Carlin, Justine Eyre

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

A chilling ghost story with a twist: The New York Times best-selling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house - they build one....

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate have abandoned the comforts of suburbia to take up residence on 44 acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams. 

When they discover that this beautiful property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the local legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. With her passion for artifacts, Helen finds special materials to incorporate into the house - a beam from an old schoolroom, bricks from a mill, a mantel from a farmhouse - objects that draw her deeper into the story of Hattie and her descendants, three generations of Breckenridge women, each of whom died suspiciously. 

As the building project progresses, the house will become a place of menace and unfinished business: a new home, now haunted, that beckons its owners and their neighbors toward unimaginable danger.

©2019 Jennifer McMahon (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Entertaining...powerful...supplies a plethora of frights that emerge from believable characters trying to navigate normal lives. McMahon again proves that the modern ghost story is more than things that go bump in the night. It hinges on reality, slowly building to a terror that seems real and sometimes personal, as it does in The Invited.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

“Jennifer McMahon’s latest premise is utterly chilling: Imagine you don’t stumble upon a haunted house, you build one. The Invited deserves a special spot in the canon of great ghost stories, and will remind McMahon’s readers why she is such a worthy literary descendant of Shirley Jackson.” (Chris Bohjalian, best-selling author of The Flight Attendant)

“[A] powerful supernatural thriller.... Whether one believes in ghosts, McMahon’s consummately crafted chiller is guaranteed to haunt.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) 

OK story so far - but I cannot take the narrator

I have tried to get past the narration - but I keep finding myself not listening to the story - but to the Amazingly annoying narrators way of reading.
She puts emphasis on the last syllable in each sentence, and pronounces it just a bit more high pitched. I cannot explain it better, English being a second language for me, but it completely ruins the story for me. I have given up now - and will ask for a refund.

What is with the narrator????

Jennifer M.’s books are wonderful. Have no complaints about the story. But I could not get past the awful narration!!! It was grating, to say the least! It sounds like the narrator had on a corset or something constraining her airways. Horrid.

I will read this book instead of listen.

Awful narrator

I love her books, and I was saddened by the choice of narrator. It was hard to get past her odd speech “ticks”. I hope they rerelease it with another narrator

Narration is distracting

So far the story is ok but I am having a hard time getting through it because of the narrator’s voice. She has an inflection in her voice that makes it sound like she is going to cry. It is very distracting.

awful narrator

Wondered what the story was about after it ended. Found the narration irritating and difficult to bear.

Worst Narrator

I got this book because I loved The Winter People and wanted to see some other books from this author but, this narrator is the worst I have heard in a long time. She sounds like she is in pain at the end of every sentence which makes this a very difficult listen. I am seriously considering returning the audible book and just buying a hard copy to read myself.

enjoyed ish...

I enjoyed the book overall but wasn't a fan of the narrator.
it's like she put emphasis in the the wrong spots and ran out of air while speaking.
I enjoyed her actual voice but the way she did the reading it was like nails on a chalk board 😬.
the story was decent I enjoyed the amount of history, facts about animals and witch craft the author put into the book but feel like at times it was repetitive or didn't quite fit right?
I hate saying it sucked, it wasnt to the point where I didn't finish or returned the book it just was t my cup of tea I guess.

Narrator’s Strange Cadence is Distracting

I enjoyed the story; however, the narrator has a very strange cadence with a heavy nasal emphasis at the end of each sentence that I found to be off putting and distracting from the story.

Didn’t want it to end

I loved this book! It was creepy and entertaining and even held the family relationship dynamic. So good.

Good book, OK performance. Download sample first.

A good story. Although it took longer than usual to get invested in the characters, but could’ve been the narration. I found the narrator Justine Erye’s performance distracting. It improves a little around chapter 28, or maybe I got used to the inflection. Overall good story, but I’ll be sure to sample the narrator before buying my next book.

The story is enjoyable but the

narrator has an odd nasal intonation which is not at all easy or enjoyable to listen to. Not sure whether this is a natural voice and if so I’m sorry to criticise - or if this is put on in an attempt to sound creepy. I must admit this did spoil the experience for me. So I would advise a listen to the extract before purchasing.

Good Story Not Supported By Performance

💛 A fantastic (and fantastical) supernatural tale fuelled by betrayal, deceit and regret.
💚 McMahon is so good at making me invest in characters. That, coupled with twists and turns, makes for a phenomenal read.
💜 I have one quibble. I don’t like Olive. I know I should forgive her because she’s young and has been through so much, but I cannot.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Some strange choices really detract from the audiobook version. For starters, the main narrator, Amanda Carlin, speaks with very distracting intonations. I think they were going for a sort of breathy, bohemian feel, but it doesn’t work. It has a strangled quality. It’s a shame Carlin didn’t stick to her natural voice, which is smoother.

🎧 Without giving away plot, one voice Carlin nails is the scary one. Freaked me out good and proper.

🎧 Another oddity was the later addition of a second voice, Justine Eyre reading another character, Ann Whitcomb Gray. I say strange because Carlin reads as various characters. In fact, this is the only exception and was a bit jarring, even though Eyre was very good.

🎧 A big plus point goes to the chapter listings, which are comprehensive and easy to navigate.
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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO...

Usually I try to offer similar stories or styles, but this time, I’m warning against comparison. If you’re like me or the majority of other readers who’ve reviewed this book, this is the second McMahon book you’ve read. My advice? Don’t go into this expecting The Winter People. No, it’s not quite as brilliant, but it is very very good. A bit Salem Witch Trials, a bit Sleepy Hollow.

fun

fun murder/mystery/ghost story. unsure why there is a random second actress thrown in, the story becomes a little incredulous towards the end and a bit predictable, but not a bad listen.