Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix
Ankle Snatcher
Series: Creature Feature short stories 2 of 6
Author: Grady Hendrix
Narrator: Michael Crouch
Published: September 26, 2023
Audiobook: 45 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: December 27, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
Obey the rules. It’s the only way to survive the night in a short story about what hides in the dark by the New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.
Marcus grew up believing his father killed his mother—then blamed it on the boogeyman under the bed. Always leave the lights on, his father warned, or the boogeyman will get you. Marcus still heeds the superstition, especially when he invites his new girlfriend over. Is Marcus haunted by a creature or has he just inherited his father’s murderous delusions? The night will tell.
Grady Hendrix’s Ankle Snatcher is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
This was a creepy short story by Grady Hendrix and I actually enjoyed it! I wasn’t sure what to expect because he has been an author who has mainly been a miss for me, but I decided to give this short story a try and I am glad I did!
Hendrix does a really great job helping the reader/listener go back to when they were a child and they had fears that there were monsters in their closet, or in the case of this story, monsters under the bed. It is 100% creepy and you wonder the entire story: Is it monsters under Marcus’ bed or is the monster actually Marcus?
The only reason I can’t give it 5 stars is that the ending did not totally work for me.
The narrator is Michael Crouch and I was so excited about that! He is one of my favorite narrators, so when I saw he narrated it, I definitely decided to give it a shot.
Maybe I will be able to bring myself to listen to How to Sell a Haunted House. His books just grab my attention based on what they are about, but almost every time they have fallen short for me. Maybe this short story is a change for me!
Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: The Pram by Joe Hill
The Pram
Series: Creature Feature short stories 1 of 6
Author: Joe Hill
Narrator: Robert Petkoff
Published: September 26, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 34 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: December 24, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Short Story Description:
A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.
Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.
Joe Hill’s The Pram is part of Creature Feature, a collection of devilishly creepy stories that tingle the spine and twist the mind. They can be read or listened to in one petrifying sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
It seems strange to call part of this story refreshing but in a way it is: We have a couple who lost a bay due to miscarriage. Instead of the grief of the mother, the reader/listener experiences the grief of the father-to-be. This is hardly ever done in stories. In addition to the grief, we have a very creepy story with some gore to it.
This is a short story written by Joe Hill who is Stephen King’s son and mini-me! It was about a 90-minute listen and part of the Creature Feature short story collection from Amazon. This short story was narrated by Robert Petkoff who did a good job with his narration once I adjusted to his voice. I did have to start the story over as I had no idea what was going on, but that might have just been me.
We have a couple, Willy and Marianne, who have suffered a miscarriage and they move into a new town. There is a small country store that is about a mile from their home through a path where Willy buys their groceries from. One day he is loaned a pram to bring his groceries home in. Later on the pram takes on a life of its own.
The story just moves along well despite its short length. As the story continues it just gets creepier until it gets to the conclusion. Again it is gory! The creepiness goes long the lines of Rosemary’s baby: Just what is in the pram and what is going to happen next! The journey is far creepier than the ending, but that is creepy as well.
Overall this one was just average for me. I don’t know why I am really indifferent to it. It just wasn’t a story for me. Or it may be that Joe Hill isn’t for me. I tried to read a novel of his once and DNF’d it. I have loved his father’s work: I read Stephen King as a teenager and that must be where my love of thrillers/horror comes from. Those of us Gen X’ers who read him as teens are all messed up adults now! But we realize it and are fine with it!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Short Story Sunday: Audiobook Review: The Heart of a Mother by Julie Clark
The Heart of a Mother
Series: Obsession Collection #4
Author: Julie Clark
Narrator: Susan Dalian
Published: July 25, 2023
Audiobook: 1 hour 16 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Listened To: April 27, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Short Story Description:
A fateful decision from the past haunts a wealthy Californian. Desperate to make things right, she risks everything in this tense short story from New York Times bestselling author Julie Clark. Hillary Jean leads an enviable life. She has a loving husband, a beautiful home, caring friends, and meaningful work planning fundraisers. Yet she’s always felt incomplete. After a DNA website emails her a match, Hillary sets out to find the daughter she gave up twenty-five years ago. But her hunger to reconnect threatens to destroy the very thing she hopes to gain.
The Heart of a Mother is part of Obsession , a collection of compulsively readable short stories about people pushed to their extremes. So addictive you won’t be able to put them down—read or listen to each story in a single sitting.
Jessica’s Review:
Whoa! I’m not a mother but this short story gives you an idea of what a mother goes through when she puts a baby up for adoption. And how much it can affect her many years later.
You definitely experience a mother’s turmoil where she questions herself on what she should do. It shows a mother’s love above all else.
I knew the direction the story was going, but that did not stop me from ‘enjoying’ it. I would be interested in seeing what else Julie Clark writes. The narrator Susan Dalian did a great job with her portrayal. And do listen or read this in one sitting, I did!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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