The Off Season

By: Colleen Thompson

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Winter winds off the Atlantic have turned the tourist mecca of Seaside Creek, New Jersey, into a ghost town. Dr. Christina Paxton, however, is growing accustomed to living with ghosts. Recently widowed, the emergency room physician has returned to the shore with her young daughter, house-sitting a sprawling beachside Victorian home. One night, her two-year-old calls her by a name that makes Christina's blood run cold and sends her thoughts spiraling back 30 years.

Deeply unnerved, and certain someone else is in the house, she flees with her child into the cold night, only to come face-to-face with Chief Harris Bowers, a former classmate with whom Christina has a complicated history. Now divorced, Harris hopes to mend their past, but Christina is wary of being played for a fool again. As threats emerge, Christina and her small family find themselves in grave danger. It seems there is no one she can put her trust in—least of all herself.

©2016 Colleen Thompson. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

a great suspense novel

Sometimes I have trouble following the twist and turns of a suspense novel when listening to the audiobook, but this story was so well laid out that I didn't have any issue. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot.

A great book

I enjoyed this book so much! Great characters that you would think you've known forever. The storyline, tense at times, keeps you wondering what next! The narrator gave an amazing performance. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre.

Too many bad guys

I pretty much had this book figured out from the start, it doesn't make it a bad book, just one filled with too many bad guys, red herrings and no real suspense. The main characters Christina and Harris have this huge past, but the characters never even talk about it. You don't even get a real I'm sorry I played you when we were young which took a star off the story. I was waiting the entire book for that, or at least for them to talk about their feelings.
The audio book also had some recording problems with words being read more than once. Nothing major but it happened several times.

Great book

Kept me interested with several unexpected twists and turns. Characters were well developed and became 3D in my mind.

WOW!

Great book. Great nairater,. Hated to hear it come to an end. Just the right amount of romance, mystery and suspense.

Creepy and Fun, Romantic and Suspenseful

If you could sum up The Off Season in three words, what would they be?

Creepy, Suspenseful, Romantic

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Off Season?

There were several memorable moments of The Off Season that I won't soon forget. The best moments were when Christina's daughter appeared to be channeling Christina's birth mother, by speaking words about things that only Christina knows...why does the little girl seem to change from charming to creepy?

What does Hillary Huber bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ms. Huber was a good narrator, and brought each character to life. Her narration of child voices was particularly good- not sappy and whiny, but realistic and easy to imagine being the voices of typical kids- especially hair-raising, too.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book made my heart pound and my body tense up- this is one of the creepiest stories I've ever read/listened to, and my reactions surprised me- don't listen in the dark! You'll be shocked by the escapades of the evildoers in the story!

Any additional comments?

Great story with solid narration. The story kept me engaged and absorbed, and the characters were interesting and often quite eerie. Throw in the romance when Christina finds that her old flame is the police chief in her hometown who becomes involved in her case, and an unexpected twist, and you've got yourself a good listen.

A+

This story was really good, had me caught on every word. The plot was thourough without any holes, the characters were realistic and there's a lot of twists and turns.

Christina is a doctor. Her husband recently passed away and so she moves herself and daughter from Texas to her birth town of Seaside Creek New Jersey. Its a small town and she hasn't kept in touch much with her childhood friends. Many years ago as teenagers she and the npw chief of police had a one night thing. Since he married and divorced her teenage best friend.

As soon as she moves in creepy things start happening like voices in her house, her daughter repeating strange things she's heard, home vandalism and a ton of other sordid mayhem. The polt thickens and the mystery grows. This is one for the psychological thriller junkie.

A suspenseful page turner.

This book kept me up until 4:30am - that's when I had to make myself stop reading. Then I promptly started again when I could after waking. It is a well written suspense book about a toddler that is apparently being speaking for her dead grandmother. People are dying and homes are being broken into. The question is whether the mom is being targeted or any of the happenings related? Excellent book. Well narrated.

Too bad about the love story

This story has some truly creepy elements that I liked. I think the love interest detracts but I usually think that. Hillary Huber is one of my favorites. She can make me believe I like a book about which I’m on the fence because her performance is that good.

Good Story overall!

I did enjoy the story and will listen to other books by CT. I do think that the author spent too much time on red herrings and not quite enough time on character development.

There were some seriously creepy moments in the story and CT played them out in a clear and understandable way.