Strangers

By: Michaelbrent Collings

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

You wake up in the morning to discover that you have been sealed into your home. The doors are locked, the windows are barred. There's no way out.

A madman is playing a deadly game with you and your family. A game with no rules, only consequences. So what do you do? Do you run? Do you hide?

Or do you die?

©2013 Michaelbrent Collings (P)2014 Michaelbrent Collings

Strangers

Any additional comments?

I wasn't sure what I was in for with this book.I thought it would be mostly psychological terror.It's not.It is gruesome,bloody horror...BUT a good read if you can get past that.A madman seals a family inside their house and asks them all to repent of their sin.His punishments are cruel.The suspense is palpable.Jeffery Kafer does a wonderful job with narration."I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com."

Unnerving

Strangers is a sombering tale of a family fracturing in the aftermath of a personal tragedy, where mother father, and two children all have significant secrets from each other. They are trapped and tormented by an unknown predator, intent on making them confess and suffer for their sins.

My only complaint was that I did think the whole scenario was a bit too implausible, for one person to have arranged and carried out. But I took it more as just the allegorical construct for telling the tale of the family. Also being a home handy-person, I'd be hard pressed to find myself so helpless in my home...

Jeffrey Kafer is a fantastic narrator also. I've recently had the pleasure of listening to a few of his narrations, and am always pleasantly surprised.

Taut, quick, it carried me away.

Any additional comments?

I follow and sometimes chat with Collings online, and I see him at conferences and conventions sometimes. When an author is this accessible, you sometimes forget that in addition to being an all-around nice guy, he is also a damn fine writer. I was reminded of that as I listened to "Strangers." Strangers has a literary--but not pretentious--writing style: visceral descriptions, deep character penetration, rich verbs that clench the scene. I loved how insightful the descriptions and narrative were--they added a whole other level of depth to the novel.

The characterization was fabulous. I felt like I really was inside the head of a tired, desperate, lonely, forty-something man. That sounds depressing, but it really wasn't. The character's voice is authentic and active, and even when he's exhausted and terrified, he's fighting, It was easy to follow along with the ride.

And the pacing was perfect. It grabbed me, it held me. The slow amping of tension as the family grows more desperate. The increased revelation of secrets. The twists on the classic horror tropes. lt was all great. Plus, it had the possibility of a sequel, which would be nice.

All in all, if you're looking for something to sweep you away while you put miles on the car or treadmill or load the dishwasher or fix the car or put on your makeup for the umpteenth time, this is a good pick! I'm thrilled that Collings has an Audible presence now and I and look forward to scooping up his other works.

Horror with surprising depth

Where does Strangers rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Fairly high. I will definitely give it another listen.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jerry, the father. He did his best to stand by his family in a terrifying situation.

What about Jeffrey Kafer’s performance did you like?

Mr. Kafer delivers another excellent performance. Every character has a distinct voice.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I was tempted to drive right past my in-laws and continue to Florida to see how it resolved.

Any additional comments?

Graphic, yet deep horror!

Fantastic Horror

What did you love best about Strangers?

The twists and turns. Totally creepy and intense.

What about Jeffrey Kafer’s performance did you like?

He had the perfect voice for this book.

Who was the most memorable character of Strangers and why?

The Killer, primarily because you never knew much about him or his motivation, just that he was doing all of this.

Any additional comments?

It is so nice to see horror that isn't Zombie related. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't know what was coming and was thrilled to see the culmination. It came together very well!

A terrifying story

This one kept me listening for sure. This poor family suffered a lot at the hands of this psycho. To be trapped like that & never knowing what will happen next. All of their ugly secrets were revealed & they were helpless to stop it. Authors like Michael keep me reading. Great story.

Loved ones become strangers in this suspense!

Would you consider the audio edition of Strangers to be better than the print version?

I would say that it's a toss up. The writing is so good that it drags you along, but the narration is so spot on and the tension so well created that it's almost impossible to say that one is better than the other.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I have no favorite character. Each character is detestable, each character has some sort of hidden flaw that's being forced out into the open, and each time it shows just how selfish people can be.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was. I almost did too. The only reason I couldn't is because I really did have to get some sort of sleep and had to keep my phone/tablet away from me to keep the temptation away.

Any additional comments?

I received this from the narrator, Jeffrey Kafer to review. I’m more than glad I did. There is something about audiobooks for me that take me a minute to get into them. It takes me a minute for my mind to really get wrapped around the story……not this time. The combination of incredible writing and incredibly acting by Kafer pulled me in from the get go.

The absolute, cut the air with a knife, tension that Kafer is able to create when the scenes crescendo to climax after climax makes you stick with the story. You think you can just turn it off and come back, but in reality, you’ll need to listen more.

He has stated that this was one of the most difficult books to narrate due to some of the more violent scenes and you can really feel that come through. I won’t tell you which scenes here so as not to spoil anything, but you can really tell that the struggle he had during scenes weren’t really acting, but real.

A Familiar Story

Any additional comments?

Pretty run of the mill home invasion thriller with your usual sadistic game of cat and mouse. I don't think there were any elements here that haven't been well covered in other books, but some scenes were jarring and intense and the twist at the end was well done. The main character was, at times, pretty irritating and often got under my skin, which took away some of my interest in the story.

A very intense thriller.

If I wasn't already paranoid about who came into my house, I definitely would be after listening to this book.

Michaelbrent Collings writes a very believable family, one who suffered a terrible loss the year before. Jerry, the father, wants them to be together on the anniversary of his son's death for a dinner and movie night. But they don't make it past dinner before things go downhill. The family wakes up to find they are trapped in their home by a killer who seems to have thought of everything. And he wants you to confess your deepest darkest secret, if you don't he will expose it for you.

It was very easy to imagine what I would do in situations throughout the book, and I was still surprised by the ending.

Jeffrey Kafer does a wonderful job with the narration. He is very easy to listen to, you know who is talking at the time, and he even gets the inner monologue in a different tone so there isn't any confusion.

Audiobook received for an honest review.

Chilling, Ominous & Dark

4 1/2 Stars

Things aren’t always what they seem.

A man returns home after a long day of work, hoping only to get through a painful anniversary by having a quiet dinner and watching a movie with his family.

But that doesn’t happen because a madman has other ideas . . .

After eating a surprisingly terrible meal from their usual take out place, dad, mom and their two teens all begin to feel sick and sleepy and head off to bed. When they awaken, a nightmare begins. And let me tell you, it does not let up until the very last page is turned.

This is a tense story that is filled with terrible secrets. I love reading books about families with soul destroying secrets so I was never once tempted to stop reading even though I didn’t overly care for any of these people. They go through hell in the course of the story but they’re also living empty lives and the more that was revealed about them, the less I sympathized with them.

It’s a rather sad look at a family in crises, basically going through the motions and finding happiness in their own destructive ways. None of that slowed down my need to keep reading though because the writing hits you right in the gut and never gives you time to recover. I did love it so.

The narration was strong and ominous and spot on for a thriller this dark. I highly recommend the audio version if you’re a fan of them because this one was so well done. It won’t leave you feeling all happy and uplifted but we need some darkness to balance things out, right? With that said, I will leave you with this cheerful quote because it doesn’t seem to want to leave my memory.

"Love doesn't die all at once, or in big steps, he thought. It dies in tiny pieces, with daily decisions that nip off bits of it like the edges of a living branch until you’ve cut away to the heart of the trunk and then that, too, is gone and there’s nothing left."