Anathema

By: Kristopher Rufty

Narrated by: David Gilmore

Hunter Jensen always dreamed of a big family house in the country. Thanks to the success of his latest novel, he’s finally able to make his dreams a reality in the tranquil town of Hargrave, North Carolina. Life is beautiful until his daughter Crystal tells him about the girl who lives in her closet. Her imaginary friendship is only the first of many disconcerting events that threaten to fracture his dream of country living into a nightmare straight out of his novels.

Does an invisible girl truly conjure the sobs that haunt the hallways at night? Is she to blame for the bizarre noises in the darkness? Or has his daughter’s vivid imagination simply crept into his own?

As Hunter seeks to uncover the secrets long buried in the town’s shadows, he begins to fear a force more sinister than anything he’s ever imagined is drawing him and his family toward their demise.

©2018 Kristopher Rufty (P)2021 Fireside Horror

A different side of Rufty

Unlike other books I've read from KR, this one is more of a spooky slow burn thriller. The usual brutal violence is toned down and is replaced by a great build up of atmosphere and an interesting ending.

Scary dolls, haunted houses, scary ghost children…

I liked this a lot—scary dolls, haunted houses, scary ghost children…

Only things that failed with me was the narrator making female characters sound screechy, whiny & plain annoying. This really comes off poorly in the last few “twist/reveal” chapters.

Much bigger problem: My dude author—no one needs graphic descriptions of r*pe, nor teenager titties & panties & lusting after adult dads & murderous horny dudes. Way overdone & unnecessary to the plot.

Otherwise, very enjoyable story on audio!

Recommend

This is a good book to read if you like books that start to the assault. It was very detailed and the characters performed well in the story. I would recommend this book for those who enjoy reading stories that are very realistic and may haunt you at night.

I Could Not Finish

I tried to finish this book but I couldn't. I found it to be unnecessarily drawn out which made the story thin and uninteresting. The narrator had an awkward pattern of speech and no talent for female voices. I'm sorry I bought this book.