ABANDONED: ARRIVALS AND AWAKENINGS
A Lively Deadmarsh Novel, Book 1

by Katie Berry

Narrated by: Alex Knox

Production by: Tantor Audio

Guests Arrive and Then …!

On New Year’s Eve in 1981, a total of 98 star-studded people disappeared while inside the infamous Sinclair Resort Hotel. Gone. Without a trace. On the 40th anniversary, Lively Deadmarsh and his twin sister, Minerva have been hired to solve the mystery. Together with their preternatural skills, they begin to get a glimpse into the secrets of the hotel.

Katie Berry, the author, does an excellent job of creating a horror novel complete with a creepy location, terrifying situations, and enough paranormal mystery based on past experiences (aka Roanoke) that she had me at 30 seconds! She tells the story with rich and vivid details. She is masterful at character development – the descriptions of the mysterious old men … perfect! Just when you think you know where the story is going, she does a plot twist, and you don’t see it coming. Each character is carefully developed, holding back just enough information to get you hooked before revealing who they really are and their role in the story. The dialog was smooth, keeping with the story. The interaction between the brother and sister was realistic and natural sounding.

The narrator, Alex Knox does an excellent job of portraying the characters and keeping the story moving along with his cultured voices. He uses unique voices to help keep the listener engaged and clear. His pronunciation is clear and varies in pitch according to what is going on. I enjoyed his performance.

This book ends with a cliffhanger and while one could probably imagine an ending for it, don’t! Berry, I suspect, will surprise you and provide a more riveting end than one you might be prepared for!

I listened to this audiobook via the audiobooks.com app on my iPhone. There were some issues, but I suspect it was more from the app than from poor production quality or error.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.