Phantom Effect

By: Michael Aronovitz

Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur

Jonathan Martin Delaware Deseronto is a six-foot-five serial killer with a problem. He's stuck out on I-476 in a heavy November rainstorm with two flat tires and the dead bodies of a cop and a coed named Marissa Madison in his trunk. Desperate to get off the highway, he drives his car on its back rims towards exit six. The car stalls on the ramp, and Deseronto uses the last of its momentum to plunge over the crest of a steep slope and crash into a length of concrete pipe below. The car comes to rest on the edge of a construction site where machines are positioned to tear down an old Motel 6.

For Deseronto, the worst is yet to come. Marissa Madison had been a psychic of sorts while alive, using her ability to assist people in their personal journeys. Now the ghost of Marissa will utilize her strange gift, trapping Deseronto in the abandoned motel and forcing him to live the last fatal week of her own life as a passive passenger in her body.... Soon Deseronto will experience something truly horrific: the mind-numbing terror of being stalked by himself.

©2016 Michael Aronovitz (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Much more than the summary allows for

I really didn’t expect what this book came to be. It is the best book I’ve read in a long time. The smoothness and telling of both sides leaves you a little breathless. If your looking for something unexpected this is the book for you.

Hell of a story

A break from the usual horror tropes. Multiple story lines, interconnected. The end was a surprise - yet no happily ever after. Highly recommend.

not thrilled

I read the reviews prior to downloading, mostly because I was enamored by the synopsis. There are several that aren't so nice. I didn't allow it to sway me in either direction, however, I found this story very wishy-washy.

The author uses some off-color language to describe women, LGBTQ community and minorities... it was hard to listen to a lot of it; The protagonist didn't need it which leads me to lean on the author's everyday language in life.

It wasn't scary although it tries... I believe that the heroine could've had the story all on her own and this is about the mind and actions of a serial killer; go figure...

I know I'm rambling because I wanted to like it so much, I just couldn't. I did complete it though; just disappointed.

I will listen to another book by the author to see if maybe it was just a one off for me so that I'm not jaded.

Bizarre, Meandering, and Unfinished

This book is all over the place, with visions happening inside visions, needlessly detailed descriptions, and some scenes that seem only written for the purpose of jump scares. And I'm not a prude but the vulgarity seemed extreme for no good reason.And then the ending finally comes along to introduce us to a view of the afterlife that really seemed to have nothing to do with the rest of the book.

The narrator is male and unfortunately he's one of those narrators that tries to do different voices, and his female voices sound like old crones. Not a lot of male readers can do female characters well, and the experience would have been better if he just hadn't tried at all.

Also did the author get some sort of kickback for mentioning SiriusXM and several of their music stations? That bit was completely unnecessary.

Mindblowingly great horror.

It's terrifying. It's gory. It's smart. This book takes you mind body and soul. The grand tour of what made him into an It but his ghosts are coming nonetheless. This guy is as scary as Buffalo Bill and the Red Dragon combined. His depravity is total and maybe a little too close to the bone when it comes to how familiar it sounds. And the narrator absolutely slams it home. His narration made the fear run like icy slush in my veins. He may as well be in your car beside you - confessing his sins as you try and stay on the road. The writing is brilliant and complex and you see the world through the eyes of the kind and good people required for air. The end will made me feel like I was hit by a bat If this was a freebie my favorite so far. Grab it if you can. Welcome to the Funhouse of a serial killers mind