The Mark

Supernatural Horror Series, Book 2

By: Lee Mountford

Narrated by: Hannibal Hills

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A Satanic cult. A woman's brutal assault. Can she face her darkest fear before a demon is unleashed from hell?

Kirsty Thompson is no stranger to trauma. But when a vicious attack leaves her drugged and disoriented, she never expected to wake up to a permanent scar. She starts having demonic visions, all linked to the ancient symbol carved deep into her back....

With the help of her best friend, Amanda, Kirsty discovers the mark originates from the Devil's Bible and forges a connection between her and a terrifying creature. As they track the man who assaulted her to a satanic cult, the beast hunts them from the shadows. Can Kirsty escape the devil worshipers and her bond with the heinous creature to save herself from eternal damnation?

The Mark is a terrifying stand-alone horror novel. If you like mysterious depraved forces, tales of the occult, and stories that will have you looking under the bed, then you’ll love Lee Mountford’s gripping tale!

Buy The Mark to confront your darkest fears today!

©2018 Lee Mountford (P)2018 Lee Mountford

Predictable

Here we have a reasonably engaging tale that is sadly quite on the nose.

Okay, to start with Hannibal Hills gives us his usual impeccable performance that is a joy to listen to. His voices are excellently crafted, and while his female voices do leave the tiniest bit to be desired, I have no complaints. As always, his vocal inflections and tempo changes were spot on.

My one narrator issue with this book is that it's a little off-putting to listen to a male voice narrating a female led book.

Now, I really appreciate that rather than the long-winded character introduction that is common in horror, we jumped right into the action of the story.

Unfortunately, there was very little characterization. Simon eventually gets a bit of Backstory (and is, frankly, the most interesting character in the book. I would have preferred a story competely from his perspective).

Kirsty, however, is unfortunately entirely defined by her trauma. Throughout the majority of the book, she is little more than a caricature of a rape victim (I don't mean to belittle the trauma of such an experience. I just believe there should have been more to her character than that). I found it difficult to connect with her as the trauma is literally the only thing we know about her.

Add to that the fact that all the "twists" in the story were obvious and predictable, and we're left with a horror story that frankly just doesn't have much tension and isn't horrifying in the least until the major confrontation at the very end.

Now, let's talk about the prose for a minute.
Apart from a few incorrectly used words (such as nauseous when the author clearly meant nauseated) and some rather on the nose dialogue, the book is fairly well written.

My biggest qualm about the writing comes down to personal taste, and it's about the point of view choice. Although it's not immediately clear, it seems the book is written from an omniscient point of view, so there's a lot of bouncing between the perspectives of numerous characters, many of which are not important to the story.

Probably my biggest praise for this book is its ending. Although I would have liked to see a more redemptive ending, the way things come together at the end was brilliantly executed. There is a big reveal that was a lot of fun to read and brought us to a very satisfying close.

The Mark

Wow!Just wow!A really fantastic horror story! Hannibal Hills is a terrific narrator.I have been enjoying his books. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

Perfect length

This is the perfect length for an audible book. It’s a good story told really well. Great atmosphere.

Mountford hits The Mark with this

This isn’t my first Lee Mountford story and it won’t be my last. He tells a wicked story and just when you think you know where things are headed, you quickly realize you don’t have a clue. This book perfectly depicts the classic mythos of demon cults and secret societies in a unique way.

The story is very fast paced and goes by very quickly, something Mountford does exceptionally well. I really enjoy how he gets quick to the horror and throws you into chaos right away. I love a good demonic story and with all of the other aspects of this story you get a nice rounded supernatural horror. Mountford doesn’t beat around the bush and just straight up tells you a great story.

As this story takes place over a few days, there isn’t much in character development with the exception of Kirsty. The plot itself is about everything surrounding the mysterious symbol combined with Kristy’s development of either staying a victim or becoming a survivor. Mountford can really describe a disturbing situation and this is filled with plenty. It gets a bit graphic with Mike, but I think his story is told exactly as it should have been. This delivers thrills until the end and wow was that a great ending.

Hannibal Hills has an excellent creepy voice, so if you want a horror story read to it should be from Hills. His voice has the ability to get you stressed out and on the edge of your seat. His narration and accent makes everything a bit more intriguing and holds your hand as he leads you down a dark narrow hallway.

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

Super creepy!

Lee Mountford seems to love creating these creeptastic storylines that make you wonder about so many things. I love when an author stretches the realms of possibilities and really makes it work! I mean, The Mark, seems like a totally outlandish storyline but really had me questioning what if... I love stories that make you think... that make you wonder. I feel like this is somewhat an addition to Tormented. However, it isn’t necessary to read or listen to it before The Mark. I do think that some of the background would be helpful. But that’s IF they really are related and while the storyline is similar it has some important distinctions too.

The plot was incredibly fast-paced. I need that in horror or really any type of suspenseful story. Mr. Mountford is great at adding in extras to bump a calming heart rate! The narrator, Hannibal Hills is amazing!! His voice is perfect for horror and/or supernatural storylines. The voice itself seems to give me the chills. The only thing that I wish was different in the narration is I would have LOVED some added noises. The scratching or scuttling... the bumps of the night... I think a few of those added in noises would have accelerated my heart and upped the anti just a bit more!!

not what I expected

I just kept waiting for the horror but it really never showed up. it was a decent t story but I gat so disappointed when the whole thing g is summed up in 15 minutes.

Love it!

I loved so much about this book. The way everything was detailed, made it super easy to imagine the story. Even though most of the scenarios in this story would be horrifying to experience, the reactions of the friends made me laugh, out loud, a few times because the reactions were stated in such a way, that made them believable and raw. Overall...... great story!

A great thriller

A really nice mix of old and new horror, and one that I really enjoyed it. The story kept me listening and soon I was hooked into Kirsty's mind, her frustration and fear.

The tension builds slowly but steadily and the end is simply perfect and deeply satisfying.

Hannibal Hills does an excellent job with the narration, although it was a little weird have a male narrator in a book with a female's POV.

Brutal and Brilliant

Mountford has once again delivered a fantastic work of horror fiction. I love how he gets right to it and there's never a dull moment in his books. The ending was so fantastically brutal and justified that it had me nearly jumping out of my seat with excitement! I sincerely loved it & can't wait to read the next one! Absolutely brilliant!
A fantastic performance by Hannibal Hills as well.

Loved it

Very good story if horror. How does one live when having evil attached to you? Listen and find out.

The narrator will take you on a journey through hell with excellent narration.

I was given a copy of this audible free of cost and I'm thrilled to be able to provide my review.