The Tear Collector

By: Shawn Burgess

Narrated by: Lou Petrella

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

The misdeeds of our ancestors can be like shadows, lurking and waiting to reveal the sins of the past. For the residents of Harper Pass, that time is now.

After an autistic classmate goes missing in the small Appalachian community, young Brooks Raker and his friends stumble into the middle of the police investigation. As the dark secrets of the town’s past start to unravel, the list of unusual suspects climbs, and people continue to disappear.

When Brooks and his friends dig deeper into the unexpected events, they begin to suspect a sinister force is at work in Harper Pass. Can they work together to survive?

Detective Holt is thrust into a leadership role in the wake of Chief Barton’s absence, and having lost his first child to miscarriage, he is left feeling as if his entire world has been shattered. On top of all this, he must confront the mysteries surrounding Harper Pass, when the typically quiet town suddenly devolves into chaos.

Without any real answers, and with Kasey Norton, an ambitious local reporter, closing in on him, Detective Holt struggles to maintain his facade of control. The string of disappearances and suspicious deaths lead him to the doorstep of the mysterious and reclusive Professor Wadlow.

When the detective realizes what he is truly up against, a tectonic shift in his thinking - the fault lines of which can never be mended - leave him feeling more lost than ever. Can he save the citizens of Harper Pass, or has their fate already been determined?

©2019 Shawn Burgess (P)2020 Rhetoric Askew, LLC

Fun and engaging.

This book moves along at a nice pace. It reminds me of stories like “Stand By Me,” “It,” and the series “Stranger Things.” Sometimes it seems to draw too much reference from those plot lines. Still, it has its own original spin.

Lou Petrella does excellent work distinguishing each character with individual voice types. There are lots of characters. I don’t know how he keeps them all organized. He has a pleasant voice to listen to for long periods.

Overall, a very entertaining horror yarn for those who like that genre (like me.) It would make a good TV series.

First Audio Book- And I loved the experience!

This was my first time listening to an audio book. I was not sure how I would like it as I am not a big book reader. The experience was great! The story was very captivating, led by narration that captured each character with uniquness and identity. I felt as if I was there, and was truely encapsulated on what was going to happen next. I will definitely look for more books from this author and narrator team!!

Twists and Turns

Great story. Ending leaves you wanting a sequel! Great narration by Lou Petrella. Will recommend

Great Book

The story kept me captivated from start to finish. A must read for anyone that likes thrillers.

Fast paced suspenseful thriller/ horror story

A great story (fans of Stephen King’s suspenseful horror will not be disappointed) and the reading adds another’s dimension to the characters and building the suspense. Well done!👏🏽 if you are looking for a Halloween story, this is it!

Enthralling to say the least

What a great audio book. I have to admit when I saw how long it was, I was hesitant as I didn’t think it would keep me interested, however I am glad to say I was very wrong. The storyline itself kept me intrigued and makes me want to search out more of Shawn Burgess’s audio books. The best part of it was the narration though as I have listened to other books that seemed rather mundane and was bored by the narrator. I have to give high compliments to Lou Petrella as he really did a fantastic job of making each character come to life. I felt as though I was watching the movie in my mind with his personalization of each character and at times thought it was more than one person narrating.
What a fantastic duo between the great writing and narration, this was one of the best I have listened to in a while. I look forward to finding the sequel to see what Margo does next.

This is a must listen, I can’t stress that enough!

It’s been close to 15 years since I’ve read and completed a book. Mostly finding time is the main reason. Tried audio books, but found myself falling asleep or losing interest because of the mundane history teacher-like voice of the narrator. The combination of Shawn Burgess’ writing and Lou Petrella’s narration has brought me back to what I once so enjoyed. The writing is so amazing, kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. The narration, the best I’ve ever encountered. Petrella (the man of many voices) made me feel as if I personally knew these characters. Like watching a movie with my ears. I listened in my car, in the shower, even while I exercised. Could not get enough! So sad when it was over, so look forward to what comes next from both of these individuals. This is a must listen, I can’t stress that enough! Thank you guys for bringing me back.
Love, Love, Love

Absolutely Chilling!

The Tear Collector sent me back into the days of my childhood with the suspense, the excitement, and the thrill of the chill.

Sauteed with a blend of Fear Street and Goosebumps from R.L. Stein, I would swear the author here was a protege of the iconic children's book author.

The narration was superb! In the very few moments that the story seemed to drag out a little too much in the sidelines, Lou Petrella kept me there.

When a masterful storyteller pairs with a masterful narrator, you get books like this one. I will definitely be following this author. The narrator is already on my list of favs!

Awesome Supernatural Mystery Murder

From the beginning the story draws you in and hints at something not quite natural about the incident at Grief Hollow. The combination of great character development and the evolving mystery always kept me wanting to listen to just one more chapter. Mr. Burgess' writing was awesome and anyone who is a Stephen King fan will thoroughly enjoy the juxtaposition of relatable real life characters with the supernatural mystery that continues to evolve throughout the book. Add to that the injection of humorous moments that only a group of teenage boys can provide and you have an awesome story! Frightened, when the they are frightened and laughing when they laugh the narrator, Mr. Petrella does an outstanding job of bringing the characters to life. His pacing, inflections, and characterizations make this a phenomenal listen.

IT meets Stranger Things

The story quickly takes off and keeps you engaged. You'll find yourself needing to know what is causing all this suffering to the small town and why and how can it be stopped.

I enjoyed the story. If you liked 'It' or 'Stranger Things' you'll like this story.

Personally, I felt like some of the voices or accents the narrator attempted were a distraction at first, but I got over it quickly. It seemed that in the later chapters one characters manner of speaking/voice changed which took me out of the moment. Those are minor critiques in my opinion.

For those who love the thriller/supernatural horror genre, I recommend picking up this book.

Claustrophobic and intense.

This story starts with a tragedy and then returns to the present day where it appears, history is repeating its self. A missing girl and horrific deaths mean the inhabitants of Harper Pass are in danger but by whom or what?

The author builds a believable world centred around a group of young adults. The friendship and bullying described are relatable, and the team dynamic realistic. There are elements of horror and mystery. The author explores the susceptibility of young minds to the paranormal believably. The bond between young adults grows into a powerful force for good.

Perfect for audiobook media, the excellent narrator creates easy to identify characters, and traits bringing the story to life for the listener.

The story is claustrophobic and intense. The author’s use of sensory imagery immerses the reader into the characters’ lives. The ending is exciting and satisfying with a twist that makes you want to find out what next?

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author in return for an honest review.

Thriller/Horror

This was a fun book to listen to as suspense/thriller/horror are my top genres. Think Stranger Things and The Body wrapped up and amped up.

We have a small Appalachian town (Harpers Pass) where an autistic girl goes missing. The Maryland X crew (Brooks Raker, Robbie & Tee) decide they have to find out what happens and get mixed up in the investigation while trying to deal with town bullies. We also have Detective Holt who is stuck in a leadership role trying to solve this crime with the Chief being absent at the time, and the very weird Professor Wadlow.
Throw all this together with a lot of spooky and some town history of something sinister/supernatural and you have the makings of a good story.

I cant say I was scared as it reallly takes a lot to scare me, but this did have a decent spooky factor. The friendship and loss storyline with the boys was a definite throwback (for me) to the aforementioned shows/movie. The narrator did a good job with the reading as well.

This was a fun debt and I look forward to more from this author. I give this 4/5 stars.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources, Audible, and author Shawn Burgess for the review copy of this audiobook.

Perfect for fans of Stephen King

I love listening to an audiobook as I’m doing something creative or just to make the time go faster when I’m doing chores. But I wasn’t always very productive when I listened to The Tear Collector because of the number of times I just stopped, listening intently, as the words chilled or thrilled me.

I could hear the influences of Stephen King strongly in the characterisation of not only the key players but of the town itself. The characters were many but were well defined enough that I kept track of almost all of them (there were a couple of sidekicks of the local thugs I got mixed up with but that’s ok).

I liked Brooks from the start, feeling his happiness at being accepted into the boys’ crew and I enjoyed the way their loyalty and friendship grew throughout the story. I imagined the boys being the same age as those in The Goonies or Stranger Things, although sometimes they seemed younger or older, depending on the situation.

I found myself comparing some elements of The Tear Collector to Stephen King’s legendary It, especially the shape shifting of the evil being they faced, but that isn’t a negative. Not many authors can be compared to King and come away looking favourable in my opinion, but the descriptions, plot and characters made Shawn Burgess worthy. I’m still thinking about the how the identities of the characters were linked so intrinsically with their town, something I have always loved about King’s novels.

Now to the narration, which is a crucial part of any audiobook experience. The narrator for The Tear Collector is Lou Petrella and I’m going to be honest and say I really struggled with his style at first. I never normally change the speed of the audiobook but felt I had to because the slow delivery got in the way of my enjoyment. I experimented with different speeds before settling on 1.2x, backtracked and started afresh, this time feeling much more engaged and appreciative of his narration.

Petrella’s ability to adapt his voice for different characters and bring their emotions to life was impressive. There are some scenes which are creepy, gory, shocking or all three, and Petrella’s vocal skill made me feel like I was the one holding my breath in terror as something evil moved, unseen, around me.

So once I’d found the pace I was comfortable with, I was able to see how Lou Petrella and Shawn Burgess go so well together and I hope this is a partnership which continues in the sequel. I’m giving this my first 4 stars of 2021 and recommend this to anyone who enjoys Stephen King’s style of horror or who binge-watched Stranger Things on Netflix.