Mother Howl

By: Craig Clevenger

Narrated by: Greg Lockett

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

A compelling literary crime that follows the son of a serial murderer who changes his identity in a bid to escape his past.

Sixteen-year-old Lyle Edison recognizes the face of a murder victim on the nightly news–the waitress at his local diner. A place he often frequented with his dad. The following day, his father is arrested and charged with her murder. And then, eight further bodies are discovered.

Following the revelation that his dad is a serial killer, Lyle is outcast and shunned. Forced to abandon his family, illegally obtaining a new identity, he moves away to start all over again.

Some years later, Lyle thinks he has finally moved on. But after several brushes with the law, Lyle’s past eventually catches up to him when a mysterious stranger known only as Icarus shows up and seems to know Lyle’s secret....

©2023 Craig Clevenger (P)2023 Datura Books

Not for me

Too strange Just not my cup of tea. I kept waiting for something to click It didn’t.

Completely engrossing

No spoilers. The first thing to know is that the synopsis doesn't do the story any kind of justice. It's far more than just a man trying to escape the shadow of his serial killer father.

This might be the best audiobook I've listened to this year. It grabbed me early on and then, not long after that, wrapped its fingers around me completely. I could not stop listening. The narration is also good and perfectly fits the characters and tone of the story. Don't miss out on this one.

Interesting but…

Had trouble getting into it at first then I was immersed in the story. Ending left me wanting. Author is a really talented writer, but as a reader I don’t like to be left hanging. Don’t mind done things open ended but this didn’t do it for me.

I didn’t want it to end…

But then it did. Abruptly. This was a very engrossing story, and I like the voice performances that really brought the characters to life. And then just when it seemed the storylines would finally tie together — nothing. The end.

Great performance, weird story

I almost stopped listening when the father son interaction happened. Now that I’ve finished it, I wish I had stopped. Very disappointed that I wasted my time and money on this one.

Good As His Story Sunder from In Filth

Though this isn’t initially as slangy as Craig Clevenger’s piece from In Filth It Shall Be Found or as drug-drenched as Dermaphoria, it is like an easier to follow Contortionist’s Handbook (all great). Here, 17 y/o Lyle wants a new identity because the father he shares a name w/ is the town murderer—even to girls his sim fancies. While he’s in prison, this Lyle is treated as poor, ignored by even government agencies when he wants to change his name. There’s a stripped version of his specific evocative images like Lyle’s school crush w/ green ribbons and a cardboard-scraped roadkill cat. Once he bribes someone to legally change his name to Edison, we get a time jump to where he’s on probation for being a drug dealer, so he’s in NA meetings after a Pursey-style cop tosses his apt

Icarus is another POV who thinks he’s beyond Earth so tried to kill himself so winds up in a psych ward, much like the soul-transporters in Craig’s piece Sunder from Filth. He’s blunt in the charming way of a southern black man (but maybe that’s the Audible narrator’s spin). He speaks of Mother Howl, what he personifies the universe as. “Silly String Theory,” medicine as “brain candy,” “I know you think I’m a foilhead who thinks Elvis shot Kennedy or something… PTA been after me for years” make me smile.

Lyle has so many coincidental run-ins with the law, I wouldn’t believe him as a cop either. He makes stupid decisions like getting involved between a petty criminal and Korean store owner. His good deed def comes off like he’s pals with the thief. If I was his wife, I’d get close to stabbing him over all his dumb decisions and how he doesn’t seem to love their baby besides keeping up a front or just to get his wife off his back. It shouldn’t take the threat of jail to wanna spend time w/ the kid. Good thing jazzy-voiced Ray checks his selfishness/victim mentality. It’s good we don’t know about the wife’s background until the end so we can leave sympathizing with everybody more.

I like that the MCs verge paths sooner than most books would but not crazy soon and that the romantic relationship stuff isn’t dragged out. The meeting w/ his father brings up a lot of unique points and good tension, possibilities of what could happen. Maybe Icarus’s purpose was obvious but I didn’t catch on until it was spelled out. The dream at the end is beautiful, the reality not unrealistically sappy.

Excellent illustrative writing

This was a weird one in that the identity of Mother Howl was never made clear to me. God? Alien/supernatural deity? Not sure and want to know. Maybe I missed the obvious! Fun listen.

It’s About Time!

Craig Clevenger wrote The Contortionist’s Handbook; one of, if not, my favorite books.
This is a solid third book;
PLEASE keep it up, Craig!!

I'm a Clevenger fan, but this was confusing

So, I love his first 2 books, which I read as physical books, but I felt somewhat lost for the majority of this book. The narrator, with his almost silly differentiation of voices (Icarus and [non-spoiler] the person Lyle reports to and fears later in the book were especially bad. Was Icarus supposed to sound like a bad Elvis?) did not lend credence to the story. I felt the narration dragged the story down and took away from the serious tone.

The early story detailing Lyle's family and his childhood/teenage years was great. Just the right amount of detail to pull me in and make me care. I wish there had been more about the girl in the diner (to give her details here would be a spoiler) and more about Lyle's mom after the arrest mentioned in the synopsis.

Throughout the middle and end of the story, I didn't feel a sense of urgency (even though the stakes were high for main character Lyle) and the whole Icarus plot was hella confusing. What/who was Icarus? I still don't know. I respect Clevenger as a writer and I feel I may have enjoyed this more in print.

Magnificent work

Up there with Shantaram on top of my list, am chomping at the bit to read more from the author