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The Invited

A Novel

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The Invited

By: Jennifer McMahon
Narrated by: Amanda Carlin, Justine Eyre
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About this listen

A chilling ghost story with a twist: The New York Times best-selling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house - they build one....

In a quest for a simpler life, Helen and Nate have abandoned the comforts of suburbia to take up residence on 44 acres of rural land where they will begin the ultimate, aspirational do-it-yourself project: building the house of their dreams.

When they discover that this beautiful property has a dark and violent past, Helen, a former history teacher, becomes consumed by the local legend of Hattie Breckenridge, a woman who lived and died there a century ago. With her passion for artifacts, Helen finds special materials to incorporate into the house - a beam from an old schoolroom, bricks from a mill, a mantel from a farmhouse - objects that draw her deeper into the story of Hattie and her descendants, three generations of Breckenridge women, each of whom died suspiciously.

As the building project progresses, the house will become a place of menace and unfinished business: a new home, now haunted, that beckons its owners and their neighbors toward unimaginable danger.

©2019 Jennifer McMahon (P)2019 Random House Audio
Fiction Ghosts Literary Fiction Mystery Small Town & Rural Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Haunted Marriage Scary Detective Village
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Critic reviews

“Entertaining. . . powerful. . . supplies a plethora of frights that emerge from believable characters trying to navigate normal lives. McMahon again proves that the modern ghost story is more than things that go bump in the night. It hinges on reality, slowly building to a terror that seems real and sometimes personal, as it does in THE INVITED.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“McMahon blends her historical tale of rural Vermont with some crafty ghost stories and makes it impossible for the reader to turn away.”—Suspense Magazine

“[The] blend of ghost story and modern mystery is flawlessly compelling and evocative. A masterful twist on the haunted-house story.”—Booklist (starred review)

What listeners say about The Invited

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story Not Supported By Performance

💛 A fantastic (and fantastical) supernatural tale fuelled by betrayal, deceit and regret.
💚 McMahon is so good at making me invest in characters. That, coupled with twists and turns, makes for a phenomenal read.
💜 I have one quibble. I don’t like Olive. I know I should forgive her because she’s young and has been through so much, but I cannot.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Some strange choices really detract from the audiobook version. For starters, the main narrator, Amanda Carlin, speaks with very distracting intonations. I think they were going for a sort of breathy, bohemian feel, but it doesn’t work. It has a strangled quality. It’s a shame Carlin didn’t stick to her natural voice, which is smoother.

🎧 Without giving away plot, one voice Carlin nails is the scary one. Freaked me out good and proper.

🎧 Another oddity was the later addition of a second voice, Justine Eyre reading another character, Ann Whitcomb Gray. I say strange because Carlin reads as various characters. In fact, this is the only exception and was a bit jarring, even though Eyre was very good.

🎧 A big plus point goes to the chapter listings, which are comprehensive and easy to navigate.
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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO...

Usually I try to offer similar stories or styles, but this time, I’m warning against comparison. If you’re like me or the majority of other readers who’ve reviewed this book, this is the second McMahon book you’ve read. My advice? Don’t go into this expecting The Winter People. No, it’s not quite as brilliant, but it is very very good. A bit Salem Witch Trials, a bit Sleepy Hollow.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The story is enjoyable but the

narrator has an odd nasal intonation which is not at all easy or enjoyable to listen to. Not sure whether this is a natural voice and if so I’m sorry to criticise - or if this is put on in an attempt to sound creepy. I must admit this did spoil the experience for me. So I would advise a listen to the extract before purchasing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

fun

fun murder/mystery/ghost story. unsure why there is a random second actress thrown in, the story becomes a little incredulous towards the end and a bit predictable, but not a bad listen.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

DNF - couldn't get on with narrator's voice

I have misophonia and when I pick up on strange or irritating (to me) quirks/cadence/pronunciations etc in a voice, I can't seem to hear anything BUT the bits that annoy me.

This might be a great book but I wouldn't know as I didn't make it past Chapter 2 😪 The narrator has a habit of over-emphasising the end of her sentences (every. single. one.) and deepening her voice at the same time. It's difficult to describe but you'd recognise the type of speech if you heard it. I found it distracting and couldn't continue to listen. Goodbye precious credit! I'm sure the narrator was trying to add some drama to her reading, but it just sounds forced and unnatural. A different narrator was used for the author's first book and that was great!

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