They Never Came Home

By: Lois Duncan

Narrated by: Jeanna Phillips

When high school buddies Larry Drayfus and Dan Cotwell take a backpacking trip into the Mogollon Mountains, nobody is concerned when they don’t come home exactly on time. Dan is a natural outdoorsman, and he knows the mountains well. Larry is smart and resourceful. But soon the boys’ families must accept the unthinkable, as little sign of them can be found in the hills.

For Larry’s sister - and Dan’s girlfriend - Joan, grief soon turns to mystery when some of her brother’s old acquaintances start calling with strange and threatening messages. In They Never Came Home, the truth of Larry and Dan’s disappearance is far more shocking than any of their loved ones can anticipate.

©1969 Lois Duncan Arquette (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Unnecessary updates but good story

I wish they hadn’t thrown in the arbitrary random updates because the flavor of the book was firmly set in the time where it was written. That said, the performance was fantastic and the story well told.

Interesting...

This book was originally published in 1968. As a pre-teen in the 80’s, I remember reading Lois Duncan’s books and liking the “old fashioned” vibe, LOL. Imagine my surprise when I listened to this 2013 audiobook version, to hearing references to cell phones and the internet! Huh??? The entire listening experience became oxymoronic to me, as the language, names of characters, as well as their clothing and habits, have a distinct 1968 vibe, but there are sudden modern tech references thrown in that made me feel like I was time traveling! Not unpleasant, I still enjoyed the book. It was just a little odd.

Saliva

The book is good, the story is good. The person reading however, you can hear their spit the whole time it is so unsettling listening to someone’s saliva when they talk it’s almost unbearable especially with headphones in.

Dated, easy read

The book is obviously dated. Apparently, several details were tweaked to modernize, but a few supporting details were missed and didn't hold up with the other changes. Either way, the plot was glaringly predictable, I was convinced it couldn't be that simple... there had to be some major, upending twist. Maybe I expect too much from books categorized as psychological suspense. Or maybe the suspense was more successful during its original release. For me, the narration was probably the strongest attribute with Frank as a close second and Joan trailing behind. I didn't hate it, though not a favorite. It was a nice light read with good pacing.

To Short

The story was good and interesting however at certain parts they jumped ahead to quickly and the ending for me wasn’t complete