The Hunt

By: Kelly J. Ford

Narrated by: Donna Postel, Bahni Turpin

From the author of Real Bad Things and Cottonmouths, a Los Angeles Review Best Book of 2017, comes the darkly suspenseful tale of a small-town Easter tradition and its murderous secrets.

For seventeen years, a serial murderer has used the Presley, Arkansas, Annual Hunt for the Golden Egg to find prey. Or at least that’s what some people believe. Others, like the town’s devoted “Eggheads,” relish the tradition and think the deaths are just unfortunate accidents. But for Nell Holcomb, the town’s annual Hunt dredges up a particularly painful memory: her brother’s death, long believed to be “the Hunter’s” first kill.

Nell has been caring for her nephew since then, trying to keep him safe and trying to conceal the role she played in his father’s death. Most importantly, she’s been trying to avoid the Hunt—despite the clashes that erupt in town over the event and her best friend’s obsession with winning the big prize.

As Easter draws near and the town’s frenzy escalates, Nell must face her past and the Hunt as the danger once again veers close to home.

©2023 Kelly J. Ford (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Donna Postel and Bahni Turpin effectively complement each other in this mystery, especially as the tension mounts.… Postel and Turpin depict the deep-rooted history of this small, industrial environment, and the cast of characters found there, their stories intertwined in compelling ways. Both narrators skillfully embody these lives with their performances.”—AudioFile Magazine

“Donna Postel and Bahni Turpin skillfully narrate this Southern suspense, sustaining the tension as listeners are supplied with clues and atmospheric details. Social media posts, radio transcripts, news reports, and even a Google doc detailing information about the Hunter's victims are performed with varying tones and cadences, adding interest to this occasionally meandering tale. An absorbing, suspense-filled novel for true crime and podcast fans. Share with fans of S.A. Cosby, Eli Cranor, and Megan Abbott.”—Library Journal

“Truly absorbing…Ford renders the town of Presley, Ark., as a living entity swirling with resentments and loyalties, and governed by fear, thanks to wild rumors that a serial murderer stalks prey at the town’s famous ‘Hunt for the Golden Egg’ each Easter…You won’t find any tidy narratives or simple judgments here.”—New York Times Book Review

PU-TRID

Semi interesting premise but so poorly written. Pop psychology abounds and characters worthy of a bad Hallmark movie are endemic. I gave up after 3 hours. Wanted to throw myself out of the car and in front of a truck.

Ok, but not much payoff

Not much really happens in this story, to be honest. It felt like the author was more focused on getting her values across than on writing a good story. The resulting prose came off as performative allyship in terms of racial diversity. Meanwhile, the emphasis on the queer MC’s love life didn’t seem to merit nearly as much attention as it got, and with so many characters and “victim” backstories, the whole thing lacked cohesion. Wanted to give it a chance despite the bad reviews, but wish this book had had a better editor, given the intriguing premise.

Better than the other reviews said

I love Bahni Turpin so I knew it could not be as bad as the other reviews gave it. Most of the book is pretty good. But they rush the ending, and some story lines don’t really get resolved and they do have some odd directorial choices regarding the length of pauses between lines which slows it down at time. But definitely more like a 3 star than a 1 star review because of how good Bahni Turpin is.

Terrible

This book had the worst page or two of any book I read. Why did the author need to list the name and race of every character who worked in the factory? That was so unnecessary so I almost stopped listening, but I pushed forward. I’ve never disliked a main character more than Nell. I wish she got killed off. I imagine her best friend might be attracted to her because she has nobody else in life that’s an adult. Nell is just trashy and selfish. This book was awful and the ending was terrible.

Weird pauses

The audio had weird pauses throughout the book, I assume poor editing but I don’t know anything about these things. :)
The story wasn’t great, no real climax and no real ending. Wasn’t that impressed.