The Cursed Among Us

By: John Durgin

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

It has been 20 years since the serial killer known as The Black Heart Killer terrorized the town of Newport in 1979. Life mostly returned to normal after the killer was captured. All the townspeople have to do is stay out of the woods where the bodies were abandoned—their chests ripped open, and their hearts torn out....

Howie Burke and his friends decide rules are meant to be broken. That’s what 15-year-old kids do. On a beautiful fall day when they decide to go out in the woods to film a horror movie, they stumble across a mysterious grave. What they don’t know is that they are about to release an evil on the town unlike anything in their home-made movies. They will soon uncover the secrets of the Black Heart Killer, and what it truly means to be cursed.

©2022 John Durgin (P)2023 John Durgin

Critic reviews

“A remarkably malevolent debut that will leave you reaching for your talisman. Durgin takes all the right risks and proves nobody is safe in this impressive coming-of-age novel about a small town with a dark past.” (Joshua Marsella, author of Hunger For Death)

“The Cursed Among Us is a horror novel with its heart in the right place—ready to be ripped out! Containing surprising and sometimes stunning emotional depth, this homage to 90s B-movies and supernatural documentaries explores the agony of growing up and holding onto friendships when the world seems determined to rip everything you love apart.” (Joseph Sale, author of Dark Hilarity)

Not for me

I tried to love this one, I really did. But the writing style just didn't do it for me. I've seen people debating whether this is YA or not, and now I see why. The story was good, and the horror was there, but it just felt a bit simple. While I'm not saying I want to feel like writers are throwing a thesaurus at me, I felt like it could have used a few more "10 dollar words." As for the narration, Joe Hempel did an excellent job, but even that wasn't enough to make me love it.

The Cursed Among Us

Listening to this was a lot of fun. From the start I was pulled in. I found the characters very likable. There was just the right amount of backstory about the characters to make you feel connected to them. All of the pop culture references made me feel super nostalgic. Can’t wait to check out more from the author!
Loved the narration! It drew me into the story and definitely helped with making me feel connected to the characters.

Chills and thrills

Horror is not my thing, but for the Daily Deal, I figured, why not? It started out feeling more like my kids’ Goosebumps books, except for the language. When the bodies start dropping, though, the gore factor definitely went more adult. It had the vibes of the 80s and 90s horror flicks that the teens in the book love so much.

I never felt this would leave me with nightmares, so true horror aficionados may not be impressed.
I was entertained, even if I would have liked more humor, clever dialogue, or complex plotting.

Great horror listen

Ahh what a goodie this one is!

I was literally hooked from the start of this book. I had heard so many good things about it and it didn't disappoint.

Creepy, suspenseful and a brilliant ending. I loved the teen protagonists which gave some serious coming of age feels while they're also dealing with a dark entity.

The narrator of the book was great too.

Thank you John Durgin for this audiobook! It's been on my TBR for AGES and I'm glad I finally got into this one.

@kiirstyannee.reads (instagram & tiktok)

Somethings Are Better Left ....

Many Thanks to the Author for an Advanced Copy

This is my first time reading the Author John Durgin. The Narrator of this book was absolutely brilliant. His voice kept the listener engaged. I read/ listen to this book in two days.

The style of this book reminded me of Stephen King. It's a Cosy Coming of Age story.


Graphic.

Supernatural.

Crime.