The Dead Path

By: Stephen M Irwin

Narrated by: Michael Carman

The Dead Path tells the gripping story of a broken man, Nicholas Close. A terrible accident has left him a widower and awoken in him the ability to see the dead. Now, he can’t escape visions of tortured spirits, their last moments caught in horrible, endlessly replaying loops.

Nicholas leaves London and returns to Australia, where he is disturbed to see that a heavily treed tract of land in his childhood suburb has somehow escaped development. These woods have haunted Nicholas since he was a boy, and now he knows why: he sees the ghosts of terrified children being dragged from the path into the grinning maw of dark trees.

When another local child goes missing, Nicholas himself becomes a suspect, yet he alone knows the girl has been taken into the woods. If he does not act against whatever resides among the shadowy trees, more innocents will be murdered. But the force he resolves to confront is old, cunning, and evil...and wants Nicholas for itself.

©2009 Stephen M Irwin. (P)2010 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"I can't remember being this creeped out by a book since reading King's The Shining." ( HorrorScope)

If you hate Spiders.....

I enjoyed this book immensely, mostly because the end was completely different than I was expecting. I would have given it a five but only books that make me cry or fool me who the murderer is get that.
I heard about this book on Facebook, and I was somewhat skeptical about how good it would be but I am very glad I downloaded this. It was entertaining, creepy and I did root for the characters.
There was a review on here that said it was sexually explicit....I don't know what book she was reading but I didn't think any of this book sexually inappropriate. And what sex there was was important to the story.

Download it, I liked it, a good listen, good narrator and I will definately buy his second when it comes out.
a.

Very Good - Not for children though

Any additional comments?

The story keeps moving and is consistently interesting. Despite the synopsis, seeing the dead isn't actually the main point of the story - and has no resolution. It's more of black arts tale.

My only complaints are some unnecessary detail towards bodily functions - and it's not really a lot - and the last couple of lines of the book. VAGUE-SPOILER: the last few lines after the real closure of the story appear to have been thrown in at the last minute, as they don't really line up with what you've learned about the story world. It also appears to be an attempt to give the story the traditional negative ending that most horror stories have.

An excellent story!

I really enjoyed this. The narration seemed a little harsh at first, but after a few minutes you adjust to the light accent of the narrator. Also, since the story itself takes place in Australia it adds to the authenticity. I'm not kidding when I say I listened to the whole story in one sitting, it really keeps you on the edge of your seat with plenty of twists and turns. The only negative comment I would have is that section of the story were slightly pornographic. This isn't really a bad thing since it all relates to the story, but of course it means that I wouldn't recommend it for younger listeners. Other than that, this was an outstanding story full of interesting characters and great suspense!

PS: Those read up on the occult will be happy to know there's a decent amount of accuracy when it comes to runes and European pagan mythology. Complete with a positive example of a modern adept to offset the negativity of the antagonist.

Loved it

I don't understand the negative critics, it might not be the kind of book that everyone loves, but it definitely is a great book, I am hoping for a sequel. As for adjusting to the accent (???) come on...there is absolutely no problem with the accent, the reader speaks clearly and is very easy to understand.

I highly recommend this book as it has lots of twists and turns and the end is very interesting.

A very unique and interesting story.

I've read this book twice and listened to the audiobook once...its that good. Highly recommend.

Best Debut of the Year

This is the best audiobook I have listened to in ages. In fact, after I finished it I kept thinking about it and thinking about it, so I went back and listened to it again.

The story is riveting. An Australian in London loses his wife in an accident and then returns to his home town in Australia after he discovers that his own accident has left him with the uncanny ability to see the ghosts of people at their moments of death.

Back in Australia, he discovers that children are being abducted and killed in the dark woods near his house. These relate to the murder of Simon's best friend 20 years before. They also relate to a string of child killings (sacrifices) which have taken place over the past hundred years or so.

The story weaves the current day plot with scenes from Simon's childhood. Simon seeks to find answers and to stop the horrifying occurrences. He enlists his sister, his mother, and the widow of an acquaintance. They are all drawn into the mystery and the witchcraft.

The images in the book are compelling. The woods are haunted and haunting. There is witchcraft and ancient magic. There are ghosts. There are spiders and shape-shifters. There are believers, non-believers and reluctant believers. There are shamans and priests. Several characters die. The end of the book is surprising and satisfyingly disturbing.

The narration of this story is superb. Michael Carman is absolutely brilliant. His English accents and Australian accents are spot on, and he's one of the few male narrators who does a really excellent job with female characters.

Good Read

Good book, it was similar to The Broken Ones but I liked that book also. I'm glad I took a chance on Stephen Irwin.

The Awesome path

This is serious edge of your seat stuff. Well written and read, and there is never a dull moment during this novel.

Absolutely Riveting

Stephen Irwin's novel, The Dead Path, is a striking departure from the usual, enjoyable but somewhat dog-eared, horror fare. Quite original, with elements of mystery, conspiracy and terror, Irwin's nimble prose brings a bright, almost historical, clarity to the Horror genre, with a fresh, complex voice and a driven, frightening plot.

I usually only listen during the long Bay Area commute, but this story had me yanking the iPod out of my vehicle and toting it up to my cubby, because I "couldn't put this book down."

Very Enjoyable

I've not heard of this author before, but I'd love to get my hands on anything else he's written after hearing this book. His story is easy to get into, well-written, and each time I had to turn it off to do other things, I was always thinking about it and trying to figure out when I'd be able to listen to more. This was my first selection after joining, and I'm very, very happy with it.