The Madness

De: Dawn Kurtagich

Narrado por: Imogen Church

Award-winning author Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves a captivating tale of suspense and horror, in which Dr. Mina Murray returns to the windswept shores of Wales to help her childhood friend fight the mysterious illness that plagues her. When the lines between reality and delusion begin to blur, Mina must face off against a monstrous legacy—or be consumed herself.

Beware what waits in the shadows…

With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend, Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, she returns home to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious amnesiac patient hundreds of miles away.

With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls, and the powerful, nameless force at its center—one that has been haunting her for years.

As terrible, ancient truths begin to reveal themselves, Mina prepares to confront her own darkest secrets, and with them, an evil beyond comprehension. Together with a group of smart, savvy women, Mina seizes one last, desperate chance to stop the cycle that began so long ago. But there are dangers to inviting the attentions of what might not be a man, but a monster....

©2024 Dawn Kurtagich (P)2024 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Enjoyable new spin on an old story!

I love a good vampire story and this one took a modern day twist. Like my review title states, it was an enjoyable new spin on an old story. When I first started listening I thought the narrator would drive me crazy but I quickly came to realize why she was using the tone of voice she was choosing to use. She did an amazing job! Absolutely fabulous! I listened to the book at a little bit of a faster speed than average and it was perfection. She knocked the different characters out of the ballpark! Really enjoyed the story.

Wow, I’m impressed

This is my first novel by Dawn. I chose it because I am a huge fan of narrator Imogene Church. Once I realized the supernatural element of the antagonist, I was skeptical at first, but novel completely captivates you til the end.

The narrator

I like how the narrator made the story alive. The story line wasn’t that good for my taste but still enjoyable .

Sequel Please!!!

I was completely taken aback by this book. It’s well written and I love Imogen as the narrator.

Excellent story AND narrator

Scary and well written - the older I get I realize the witches were right all along. Highly recommend- finely tuned narrator too, very adept with the different characters' voices. I never got confused who was speaking, which I almost always do. I think this book deserves a read more than just a listen, it is that good.

Excellent Story

This is a rare find for me, a book that I thought was going to be about one thing and turned into a completely other thing. I will not spoil this story. It must be listened to for yourself. But it's write up is what it is about, but not everything is what you think. Kept me wondering the entire time through about what would happen next. It also felt vaguely reminiscent of the works of John Saul and a bit like Stephen King, although Ms. Kurtagich's style is her own.
Give this one a shot. It is very well narrated, by my personal favorite narrator, Imogen Church. The story is well told with convincing characterizations.
Perfect for a spooky fall read.

Vampires, and worse…people

The writing was excellent but really stretched my knowledge of the English language. Sometimes it felt as if the author was just trying to prove she knew a lot of obscure words no one uses. That’s really my only complaint.

Wow: a brilliant twist that could, without such a skilled author, flopped!

Brilliantly & unique. It is understandably tough to make an often oversaturated “topic?!” feel fresh and (can’t spoil this one!) believable. But this novel manages it! This is a sharp and beautifully-crafted story that makes the reader consider all things beyond science and reason. And this story read by Imogen Church? The queen and king of all audio!!! She is my absolute favorite character in every novel (and you never for a second feel she is reading- she’s IN IT!) Love her!

Meh

This book has many things going for it and grabs you immediately.

The story is pretty gripping and engaging.
Imogen Church (as always) delivers an expert rendering of these characters.

But, as things go on, it gets more and more far fetched. I’m not one for completely fantastical/folklore driven tales. This became more like a warped fairy tale as things progressed and it just wasn’t for me.

Still a solid read but I won’t be giving this one a second listen.