The Crooked House

A Novel

By: Christobel Kent

Narrated by: Rachel Atkins

Published in the United Kingdom in 2015, Christobel Kent's The Crooked House has drawn comparisons to works by the pantheon of British female literary suspense writers - Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie, P. D. James, and Kate Atkinson. In this darkly atmospheric psychological thriller, she accomplishes what those celebrated writers do best: She creates an insular world (a single house, a small town) where something sinister has occurred and subtly inflects all of it with the toxic residue of violence.

Much like the unnamed narrator of Rebecca, Alison lives her life under the radar. She has no ties, no home, and she spends her days at a backroom publishing job. Which is how she wants it. Because Alison used to be a teenager named Esme, who lived in a dilapidated house by a bleak estuary with her parents and three siblings. One night, something unspeakable happened in the house, and Alison emerged the only survivor. In order to escape from the horror she witnessed, she moved away from her village, changed her name, and cut herself off from her past.

Only now her boyfriend invites her to a wedding in her old hometown, and she decides that if she's going to have any chance of overcoming the trauma of what happened, she'll have to confront it. But soon Alison realizes that that night's events have left a terrible mark on everyone in the village, and she begins to suspect that they are all somehow implicated in her family's murder.

©2016 Christobel Kent (P)2016 Oak Hill Publishing

Great Story, Terrible Narration

Would you try another book from Christobel Kent and/or Rachel Atkins?

Yes

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes it kept you held to one thought of "who did it" but made you think maybe it might have been someone else.

What didn’t you like about Rachel Atkins’s performance?

she never pauses, so it was hard to follow and I had to do the most rewinds of any book.

Do you think The Crooked House needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No it ended well

Any additional comments?

There is something wrong with the narration was muffled

After accusimg everyone,

this mystery finally wraps up all the loose ends in a tidy good- guys- win ending. I did enjoy the ride.

A Good, Moody Mystery by the Sea

Good characters, great story. Compelling and entertaining. A little predictable but still worth the listen for the storytelling. The author does a good job in immersing you in the setting, it feels like this unsettled, gloomy place on the seashore where this terrible thing happened once upon a time that changed the fiber of the place.

Best Gothic story since Daphne du Maurier.

First, the narration was superbly moody.
Second, this should be required reading for the author of Gone Girl.

Hard to listen

The transitions were difficult and the narrator's voice would trail off making it difficult to understand. I would recommend this book to be read - I wouldn't recommend this as a listen.

Thrilling

This was a thrilling ride from start to finish. It kept me on my toes the entire time, never giving away the twists that were coming. I loved it!

Not quite ready…

Sometimes, timing is everything, and unfortunately, this audiobook didn't quite resonate with me, though Rachel Atkins is quite the accomplished narrator and has always been a favorite of mine. On that note. I’ll eventually come back to it, hopefully with a new perspective. There have been many books over the years where this method has worked for me. Carry on.

That one aunt who rambles stories after too much wine

This was all over the place, super hard to follow for an audiobook! It’s like that one aunt at Christmas that goes in and out of story time across multiple timelines with no chapter titles or opening context clues to even warn you. Maybe it’s better in print where you can flip a page or two back when you think “what the heck?!”?
The story itself is intriguing, so I hate that it had such poor transitions between timelines.

Disappointed

I could not stand the reader's accent after a while. I know I guess it was authentic but I had to keep rewinding because I could not understand what she was saying. I could not tolerate the main character's lack of standing up for herself and letting her boyfriend run the show. Ack! Did not like at all.

Just gave up

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I rarely stop reading or listening to a book but just didn't have any interest in the story or characters. I made it over half-way thinking things would pick up but it never did capture my curiosity.