Dead Stream Curse

A Northern Michigan Asylum Novel

By: J.R. Erickson

Narrated by: Nicole Jatho Swanson, Craig A Hart

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

A secret they intended to take to the grave, but the dead will tell...

In 1945, Liv commits an unspeakable act. She flees from her life, but all actions have consequences. Twenty years later, she's drawn back to Northern Michigan where it all began.

Dead Stream Curse weaves together the past and present in a chilling ghost story filled with mystery.

©2019 J.R. Erickson (P)2019 J.R. Erickson

Is this the end?

Another fantastic story, although this one was a bit different as it has two narrators, which surprised me but made easier to follow the jumps in time.

There are two stories here: Liv and Stephen's story and Mack and Jesse's story, which happens a couple of decades later.

As we advance into the narration we begin to see how both stories connect, and when the end arrives is truly thrilling and deeply satisfying.

And, if you have read the previous stories you'll be delighted to find that Sophia makes a brief cameo here. And we also learn A LOT about Dr Kaiser, and it gives us a lot of insight into the reasons behind his character.

Oh! And we also have Nordic mythology! I really liked that :D

I liked both narrators, Nicole Jatho Swanson & Craig A Hart, although it would have been better if, after the recording, both narrations would have been put at the same volume.

Not the best in the aeries

I LOVE this series, however, this one is a little confusing with so many different narrators. The end made up for some of the confusion among the characters. It does eventually come together.

Great story! If you can get past the narrator...

I just love Erickson's books... I'm just striking out with the narrators, unfortunately. The female narrator was so "flat" & "robotic". I LOVED the narrator from Flowers In Her Bones, Ashwood Girls and several others. I don't know how narrators get hired but I'm wondering if they even listen to samples of them narrating before giving them the job. The story was great, I just wish I had read this one. Sorry...

Scary, brilliant, so totally worth it!!

On Halloween night, Liv did something terrible. 20 years later and still haunted by her past, she returns to Northern Michigan, to the place where it happened.

Jacki, you just keep getting better and better! I love how the story develops through interweaving timelines, characters and the paranormal. I have never been able to find good scary stories but Jacki is my favourite! I cant believe what a gem this series is, you have to read it! Although it is a series, each book is stand alone so you wont miss any plot details from hearing only one, but you would miss out on awesomeness if you miss any of them!! It is exciting, chilling, eerie, entertaining, and absolutely brilliant. Highly highly highly recommended!!

The narrators were excellent, making the story even more enjoyable. Thank you for an awesome performance.

Note: This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this objective review voluntarily.

Interesting

This has a very interesting story. Although, I found it a bit hard to follow. This one might be better read than listened to. Still overall a decent story with several unexpected twists

Worth sticking around for

It took me a couple of chapters to decide this story would be worth my time, but I’m glad I stuck around. The story jumps between four characters’ perspectives, though in the end, I feel like one of them was quite weak to the story. I usually don’t mind this type of storytelling, and overall, I think the author did a pretty good job. However, I felt like I lost my bearings to the story at the beginning of each chapter. I know that’s somewhat normal with stories that shift perspective, but on top of that, the story shifts back and fourth between 1945 and 1965. Because of that, the narrators should have added an extra second or two of silence after announcing the character and date.
Speaking of the narrators, they both did great! However, one thing threw me: there is a particular character that has a Scandinavian accent. The female narrator did it splendidly. However, the male narrator did not even attempt it when narrating that person’s voice, which made things confusing until I realized he, indeed, was the same character. It’s not good for a character to have, then lose, then regain his accent between chapters
Overall good story.
Warning: Some unnecessary foul language in the book. I wish books came with ratings or advisories of such.

a haunting tale

This story has two different stories woven together as one. It jumps from one time to another, but this story flows well and is easy to follow. I loved Steven and Liv's story. Liv practiced magic. Steven wanted to use it for revenge. But these two have a tragic ending. Mack sees a ghost in the present and is determined to unravel the mystery. Through both the past and the present, we find out all about Liv and Steven. Liv and her Uncle practice a type of magic. I loved how that magic was able to tie the two times together. I could not put this story down and listened to it in one sitting. This is a must read!

Nicole Jatho Swanson and Craig A hart were a great narrating team for this book. They both have voices easy to listen to. By having two narrators, helped me follow the jumps in time. Their voices compliment each other and kept the story flowing smoothly. I look forward to hearing more from both narrators.

Terrible narration!

I have really enjoyed listening to The Northern Michigan Asylum Series until this one. The story was very good but the the narrators ruined it. Especially the female narrator.

Riveting

First, I am a huge fan of this series. I love the way that Ms. Erickson has the ability to intertwine timelines and characters all while leaving the reader wondering and waiting in anticipation of the next creaky floorboard and hidden ghost. That said, surprisingly this one took me the longest to get into.

I’ve grown accustomed to different narrators for each book, but I was surprised to see that this one had two narrators. I was a little off put that the volume of the narrations was not equal and felt that I had to increase the volume with Ms. Swanson and therefore, decrease the volume with Mr. Hart. Overall, I felt that they both did a decent job and it helped the story move along switching between the view points and types of narration each of them provided.

It was Ms. Erickson’s writing style that kept me listening though. Her stories require focus to follow the multitude of characters and the different timelines, but it is so worth it in the end. She has an uncanny ability to wrap everything up so eloquently that despite any frustration a reader may have during the book, it all dissipates upon the novel’s end.

I highly recommend these novels, especially if you enjoy spooky/scary stories and truly if you have ever visited the location that inspired them all.

I was provided with a free copy of this audio book for my honest review. The views expressed here are entirely my own.

Well done

A curse from the past that has a hold on a person years later or from the town. Good plot and enjoy given audio for my voluntary review