The Invited
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Amanda Carlin
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Justine Eyre
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Written by:
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Jennifer McMahon
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 AudioYou may also enjoy...
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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heart-wrenching and beautifully done
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The Crone of Midnight Embers
- Myrtlewood Crones, Book 1
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Delia Spark is caught in a maelstrom. Her former life as a London theatre director is on the brink of implosion amid a scandalous divorce, a tarnished reputation, and, for reasons she cannot fathom, things keep spontaneously combusting around her. Her sixties were supposed to be peaceful, but now even her grown daughter won't return her calls. Escape is the only option.
Written by: Iris Beaglehole
What the critics say
“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
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jack Frost
- 2020-11-22
amazing
I loved this book, it had me guessing until the end. go get it now!
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- Erin
- 2021-07-30
Awesome story, girl narrator awful
It's an amazing story. But the female narrator sounds so whinny or something,, it was painful listening to her. But the story was so captivating
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- Anna W
- 2020-03-07
Great story
I enjoyed the story even though the ending was predictable. I did NOT enjoy the narration! At first I thought it was a robotic voice because of the odd inflection at the end of words. It took me a bit longer to get through because I needed breaks from the voice.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Johanne St-Onge
- 2019-06-22
Good Ghost Story
Unexpected twists and turns, although some things were easy to deduce. Surprise ending though. Enjoyable!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Victoria Sutherland
- 2020-02-23
Great story
It got predictable but I enjoyed the characters and storyline. Great voice acting too 7/10 .
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- K. Betz
- 2021-11-18
Worth the Bad Narrator
As other reviews have said, the narrator has some weird accent/inflection to her voice that is very annoying. Examples:
kill = kell
phone of the hook = off the hawk
trick = treck
for = forre
It is very distracting throughout the book, but if you can get past the first couple chapters you do get mostly used to it. I'd say I'm still happy with the audiobook because the story is engaging and well written. The main character is a bit unlikeable at times, but realistic. People have faults and don't always think rationally, as do the characters.
This is the second Jennifer McMahon book I've read and I really like her writing style and the spooky environments she creates. After listening to this one, I'll go back for more, just hopefully with a different narrator.
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- Margot Tan
- 2023-01-15
Couldn’t listen to the book
My fault, should have listened to the sample more closely. The narrator’s affectation was too much.
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- Anonymous User
- 2022-04-28
Can't get past the narrator
I'm aborting this mission less than 2 chapters in. The narrator is unlistenable. I don't know what she's doing with her voice at the end of every sentence but it's weird and totally distracting.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Langer MD
- 2021-10-06
Listen To The Sample Before Purchase
You may, like me, be able to get past inadequate narration. I found that the subpar reading of 'The Invited' got more tolerable as the story progressed and setting playback speed to 1.15X softened some of the deficiencies in Justine Eyre's performance - but other reviewers are correct: the reading is hard to get past. You could legitimately decide to pass.. or perhaps buy the text version of this decent ghost story instead.
Eyre has an odd lilting cadence, a nasal tone, and a striking sibilance (hard 's's are softened admirably by the Random House Audio sound engineers.. but still notable).
[N.B: The chapters read by Amanda Carlin are marginally better, but the overall narration is not good].
More fortunately, Jennifer McMahon's story about intentionally building a portal house for spirits on haunted property is an interesting twist on the 'Haunted House' trope. McMahon incorporates some clichés, but does a very good job generating relatable characters, building tension, and describing creepy events vividly.
In toto, this book is likely worth 8.5 stars out of 10.. but the narration takes it down to 4.5. It's still well-worth reading, but the performances may be a game-changer for you. Regardless, horror fans who decide to give it a go should run the playback speed a little higher.
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1 person found this helpful