Allison

By: Jeff Strand

Narrated by: Sara Morsey

"Takes the girl-with-supernatural-powers-gets-pushed-too-far trope and makes it delicious again." (Errant Dreams)

Allison can break your bones with her mind, and she can't control her power.

Now 45 years old, she's spent her life trying to stay away from other people. But a random encounter with a couple on the street leaves her believing that she may have done something horrible. Something unforgivable.

Killer-for-hire Daxton and his girlfriend Maggie know the truth. Instead of easing Allison's anguish, they come up with a cruel plan to take advantage of it. But with Allison's abilities exposed, there may be a grisly body count very soon....

From its shocking opening to its sinister conclusion, Allison is Jeff Strand at his over-the-top best!

©2020 Jeff Strand (P)2020 Jeff Strand

Light hearted horror

Entertaining and unique. Jeff Strand is able to make the quirkiest characters seem like everyday people even while they are going through a day from hell

Surprisingly Twisted and Fun

Allison has had to deal with her unique supernatural power all her life not allowing herself to feel – removing herself from the world as much as possible since she can injure and kill using just her mind.  For the last 45 years, she has led a life of almost complete solitude and mousiness keeping people at a distance.  Until a chance meeting with Daxton and his girlfriend, Maggie in which Allison accidently reveals her powers.  Together the two set about to use Allison and her powers in unthinkable ways – Dax is a killer-for-hire and after a recent falling out with his boss seizes on this opportunity. 

Jeff Strand, the author, exposes Allison in a way that allows her to not only grow as a character but allows his listeners to cheer for her and then question their choice.  Just when you think you have Allison figured out, Strand throws in another twist.  With each twist the body count for Allison grows higher – after all, this is just a SNAP for Allison!  Yes, a bone snapping SNAP that is! 

Strand provides rich descriptions that are easily visualized, and gore that does not go unnoticed.  Strand takes the unseen (emotions, telekinesis, and one’s mind) and creates situations that are realistic.  Although you love and understand Allison, you will also feel for the bad guys!  A fast-paced thriller with some fun dialog and moments thrown in, the listener is in for a treat!  This is a well written thriller with a supernatural twist – you will be hooked!

What makes this book better than most in this genre, is the vividness of how Allison grows into her own power. How natural her sassiness becomes and ultimately her final act is surprising but very twistedly funny!

Sara Morsey gives an excellent performance.  She skillfully gives Allison a voice that allows the listener to connect with Allison while also making the internal dialog flow smoothly and richly.  Morsey gives each of the characters a distinct voice.  Her pace is perfect as is her diction.

Snaps for Sara Morsey and especially for Jeff Strand - together they make a great team.

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing this book and look forward to hearing more performed by Morsey and written by Strand!   If you’re looking for a good book with some fun and gore – this is perfect!

There were no issues with the production or quality of this audiobook. It was crisp and clear.

This book was awarded the AudioBookReviewer Choice Award.  This prestigious award is presented to the author of the book whose book is believed to deserve higher than the standard 5 Star Rating.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

Light Horror

Summary:

The back cover explains the whole story. Allison has a supernatural gift that lets her break people’s bones. But she can’t really control it.

Additional Comments:

- Characters are flat but functional. This isn’t really a deep thinker kind of book. It’s a let’s break stuff and cause mayhem book.

- The premise is cool.

- Allison, despite her terrifying gift, comes across as a nice lady.

- Cover art’s cool.

- There are some genuinely funny sections.

- Sometimes the banter seems inane.

- Performance worked swell.

- Not much to say. It’s a grisly fluff piece.

- Content Warnings: pervasive adult language and violence; 1 scene at the end that would have thrown it off the “clean” list.

Conclusion:

If you like horror, supernatural gifts, and don’t mind strong language, you may like this book.
*I got a free copy. I have freely chosen to leave a review. All thoughts are my own.

Finished It In Two Sittings

Well, I didn’t expect to finish this book in under 24 hours. I couldn’t put it down… I needed to know what was going to happen to Allison. Let me back up a second here. Allison is a… I guess a horror story. It’s a story about a woman who can hurt people (including breaking bones and worse) with her mind. She’s not sure how and she can’t really control it but it’s definitely a thing she can do.

The story starts with young Allison and the first time that we’re shown just how much power she has. It then morphs into a quick summary of what has happened to her over the last 35 years, settling in with 45 year old Allison. Little did I know, 45 year old Allison was just getting started.

The story flies by. I started it last night, and ended up listening to it on my lunch break today. I couldn’t wait to hear what was going to happen. I went into it assuming I knew where the story was going to go… but I didn’t. And I definitely didn’t see the ending coming.

I really enjoyed this one. It was the right length and had the right amount of detail in it to make it fun without bogging it down in details or over-explaining things.

This was not my first book by Sara Morsey and there’s a reason for that. She really helps move the story along and turns it from just a narration into a story. There were scenes where Allison was frantic and panicked and Morsey became that (without over-acting). She was a really great addition to this story. This was only my second book from Jeff Strand but it won’t be my last. I loved his storytelling and his ability to absolutly suck me in within a page or two.

great book

very over the top entertainment i love jeff strand he makes me laugh and cringe at the same time!