
Cruel Summer
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $15.56
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sarah Nessel
-
By:
-
Wesley Southard
About this listen
Melissa Braun is a broken woman. Only wanting what’s best for her family, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to mend her fractured relationship with her abusive boyfriend. In a last ditch effort, she hopes the sun and sand of a much-needed Florida vacation will bring them and her son closer together.
Patrick Braun is a demoralized kid. Quiet and sullen, he only wants his mother to see her boyfriend’s torment as it cripples everything he loves. After years of silence, he refuses to stand by and let the abuse continue to tear them apart.
Hoyt Rainey is a vile man. Unable to keep his hands to himself, he finally takes his anger one step too far. Only this time he finds himself on the receiving end of his own punishment. Down and down he goes, plunging deeper into the dark blue abyss of the sea.
Melissa and Patrick finally believe they are safe, the trouble now behind them for good. They are wrong.
Gods never really stay deadthey only lie in wait. And when a beast as old as time discovers Hoyt…he, too, won’t stay gone for long.
The nights grow darker, the water flows colder, and the cruelty of summer lives on.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Watchers
- By: A.M. Shine
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Milne
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams. Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.
-
-
Surprising and original
- By Leia Schoeck on 10-08-22
By: A.M. Shine
-
The Troop
- By: Nick Cutter
- Narrated by: Corey Brill
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip - a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there - which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier.
-
-
Seriously Messed Up Gruesome Horror
- By Kim Venatries on 03-13-14
By: Nick Cutter
-
Demonic
- By: Jeff Strand
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Corey is falling in love with his co-worker Quinn. This is a problem. Not only because Quinn is married, but because her husband is a serial killer known as the Toledo Trasher, who has been forcing her to participate in his savage crimes.
-
-
Demonic
- By Rachel on 06-16-23
By: Jeff Strand
-
Head Like a Hole
- By: Andrew Van Wey
- Narrated by: Tom Jordan
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the mid-'90s. Grunge and flannel are fading as the Spice Girls and Hot Topic conquer the malls. Cherry gloss glistens on the lips of the youth. Modems hiss as America comes online. And in a fog-drenched cove at the edge of New England, something terrible awakens when a fisherman reels in a gruesome catch: the remains of a young woman. Remains still pulsing with furious life.
-
-
Very Original Horror Story
- By Mistsofjade on 12-12-22
By: Andrew Van Wey
-
Hidden Pictures
- A Novel
- By: Jason Rekulak
- Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy. Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.
-
-
a decent read, sounds like a bunch of haters in the room
- By Kyle B. on 12-24-23
By: Jason Rekulak
-
The Exorcist's House
- By: Nick Roberts
- Narrated by: Spencer Dillehay
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1994, psychologist Daniel Hill buys a rustic farmhouse nestled in the rolling hills of West Virginia. Along with his wife and teenage daughter, the family uproots their lives in Ohio and moves south. They are initially seduced by the natural beauty of the country setting. That soon changes when they discover a hidden room in the basement with a well, boarded shut and adorned with crucifixes. Local legends about the previous owner being an exorcist come to light, but by then, all Hell has broken loose.
-
-
I thought I was desensitized
- By Lisa A on 11-08-22
By: Nick Roberts
-
The Watchers
- By: A.M. Shine
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Milne
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This forest isn't charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina's is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams. Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn't reach the bunker in time.
-
-
Surprising and original
- By Leia Schoeck on 10-08-22
By: A.M. Shine
-
The Troop
- By: Nick Cutter
- Narrated by: Corey Brill
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip - a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there - which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier.
-
-
Seriously Messed Up Gruesome Horror
- By Kim Venatries on 03-13-14
By: Nick Cutter
-
Demonic
- By: Jeff Strand
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Corey is falling in love with his co-worker Quinn. This is a problem. Not only because Quinn is married, but because her husband is a serial killer known as the Toledo Trasher, who has been forcing her to participate in his savage crimes.
-
-
Demonic
- By Rachel on 06-16-23
By: Jeff Strand
-
Head Like a Hole
- By: Andrew Van Wey
- Narrated by: Tom Jordan
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the mid-'90s. Grunge and flannel are fading as the Spice Girls and Hot Topic conquer the malls. Cherry gloss glistens on the lips of the youth. Modems hiss as America comes online. And in a fog-drenched cove at the edge of New England, something terrible awakens when a fisherman reels in a gruesome catch: the remains of a young woman. Remains still pulsing with furious life.
-
-
Very Original Horror Story
- By Mistsofjade on 12-12-22
By: Andrew Van Wey
-
Hidden Pictures
- A Novel
- By: Jason Rekulak
- Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy. Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.
-
-
a decent read, sounds like a bunch of haters in the room
- By Kyle B. on 12-24-23
By: Jason Rekulak
-
The Exorcist's House
- By: Nick Roberts
- Narrated by: Spencer Dillehay
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1994, psychologist Daniel Hill buys a rustic farmhouse nestled in the rolling hills of West Virginia. Along with his wife and teenage daughter, the family uproots their lives in Ohio and moves south. They are initially seduced by the natural beauty of the country setting. That soon changes when they discover a hidden room in the basement with a well, boarded shut and adorned with crucifixes. Local legends about the previous owner being an exorcist come to light, but by then, all Hell has broken loose.
-
-
I thought I was desensitized
- By Lisa A on 11-08-22
By: Nick Roberts
-
Rolling in the Deep
- By: Mira Grant
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the Imagine Network commissioned a documentary on mermaids, to be filmed from the cruise ship Atargatis, they expected what they had always received before: an assortment of eyewitness reports that proved nothing, some footage that proved even less, and the kind of ratings that only came from peddling imaginary creatures to the masses.
-
-
A good companion piece
- By L. Jones on 08-29-19
By: Mira Grant
-
The Nightmare Man
- By: J. H. Markert
- Narrated by: David Bendena
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blackwood mansion looms, surrounded by nightmare pines, atop the hill over the small town of New Haven. Ben Bookman, bestselling novelist and heir to the Blackwood estate, spent a weekend at the ancestral home to finish writing his latest horror novel, The Scarecrow. Now, on the eve of the book’s release, the terrible story within begins to unfold in real life.
-
-
The Nightmare Man
- By Kate Miffitt on 03-19-23
By: J. H. Markert
-
The Talisman
- By: Stephen King, Peter Straub
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 28 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a brisk autumn day, a 13-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: His father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change. For he has been chosen to make a journey back across America - and into another realm. One of the most influential and heralded works of fantasy ever written, The Talisman is an extraordinary novel of loyalty, awakening, terror, and mystery.
-
-
Still Good
- By Bill S. on 03-24-10
By: Stephen King, and others
-
Winterset Hollow
- By: Jonathan Edward Durham
- Narrated by: Jonathan Edward Durham
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone has wanted their favorite book to be real, if only for a moment. Everyone has wished to meet their favorite characters, if only for a day. But be careful in that wish, for even a history laid in ink can be repaid in flesh and blood, and reality is far deadlier than fiction...especially on Addington Isle.
-
-
Absolutely LOVED this tale!!
- By Eliza W. on 05-13-22
-
Dark Harvest
- By: Norman Partridge
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Halloween, 1963. They call him the October Boy, or Ol' Hacksaw Face, or Sawtooth Jack. Whatever the name, everybody in this small Midwestern town knows who he is. How he rises from the cornfields every Halloween, a butcher knife in his hand, and makes his way toward town, where gangs of teenage boys eagerly await their chance to confront the legendary nightmare. Both the hunter and the hunted, the October Boy is the prize in an annual rite of life and death. Pete McCormick knows that killing the October Boy is his one chance to escape a dead-end future in this one-horse town.
-
-
Good book
- By Jimmy on 01-06-22
By: Norman Partridge
-
All Hallows
- A Novel
- By: Christopher Golden
- Narrated by: Ron Butler, January LaVoy
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s Halloween night, 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, horrifying secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man.
-
-
very poor
- By Anthony on 07-30-23
-
Spider Season
- By: Billy Hanson
- Narrated by: Various
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spider Season is the debut collection by Billy Hanson. Deeply haunting and immensely enjoyable, these stories are sure to leave you wide-eyed and breathing heavily.
-
-
Thrilling, Chilling and Immersive
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 01-15-19
By: Billy Hanson
-
Black Tide
- By: KC Jones
- Narrated by: John Pirhalla, Sophie Amoss
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mike and Beth didn't know each other existed before the night of the meteor shower. A melancholy film producer and a house sitter barely scraping by—chance made them neighbors, a bottle of champagne brought them together, and a shared need for human connection sparked something more. After a drunken and desperate one-night stand, the two strangers awake to discover a surprise astronomical event has left widespread destruction in its wake. But the cosmic lightshow was only part of something much bigger, and far more terrifying.
-
-
couldn't finish it
- By joseph rusyn on 07-06-22
By: KC Jones
-
Night Terrors Volumes 1 - 3
- Short Horror Stories Anthology
- By: Scare Street
- Narrated by: Johnny Raven, Stephanie Shade
- Length: 21 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We’re all afraid of things that go bump in the night. Shadows in the graveyard, wind moaning through the trees, a creaking door in a sinister old house. There are things hiding in the darkness. And sometimes, what you can’t see can definitely hurt you.... Scare Street is proud to present Night Terrors: Volumes one to three in a single collection. A menagerie of macabre nightmares, featuring 39 tales of supernatural horror for your listening pleasure.
-
-
I was enjoying this untill
- By Anthony on 09-13-22
By: Scare Street
-
Clutch: Custom Culture #2
- By: Tess Oliver
- Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Taylor Flinn's parents shipped her off to an aunt for her last year of high school, James "Clutch" Mason had convinced himself it was for the best. Taylor, the wild, impulsive, and far too appealing 17-year-old had been driving him nuts. Her schoolgirl crush on him had been the last thing he needed. Now he had time to concentrate on his booming classic-car-part business, his newfound love of drag racing, and keeping his 20-year-old brother Barrett out of trouble.
-
-
Clutch is one sexy beast!!
- By Guccigirl35 on 12-05-15
By: Tess Oliver
-
Twisted Reunion
- By: Mark Tullius
- Narrated by: Tee Quillin
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Plunge deep into darkness with 28 terrifying tales. Explore heartache, happiness, and horror in this collection of short stories by Mark Tullius, the author of 25 Perfect Days, named one of IndieReader's Best Indie Books for 2013. This collection is composed of all the stories in Each Dawn I Die, Every One's Lethal, and Repackaged Presents, plus two bonus stories.
-
-
Inspirational... but not in a good way
- By Asha Ember on 05-24-17
By: Mark Tullius
-
Terror in the Shadows, Volumes 1 - 3
- Scary Ghosts, Paranormal & Supernatural Horror Short Stories Collection
- By: Scare Street, Ron Ripley, Sara Clancy, and others
- Narrated by: Thom Bowers
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Too much terror to contain.... Shadows reach out with darkened claws. The floorboards creek as your greatest fears stalk the halls. And no matter how much you tell yourself it is just a dream, you know the truth. Evil hides in the darkness. And now, it has finally been unleashed.... Scare Street gathers volumes one to three of Terror in the Shadows in a single edition. Over 30 tales stalk this macabre collection. And just when you think you’ve experienced the most chilling horror of all, a new story unfolds within this massive tome of fear.
-
-
Great Read, Even Better Listen
- By Annabele on 07-24-19
By: Scare Street, and others
What listeners say about Cruel Summer
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J. Nickey
- 01-31-22
Mythos and Madness
I haven't read much horror involving Greek mythology, but I really enjoyed this story. Great character development and build up of tension.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tod M. Clark
- 06-06-21
Perfect Summer Read
Looking for the perfect summer vacation book? CRUEL SUMMER by Wesley Southard is it. A mother and her boyfriend take her son on a family vacation. The relationship has been struggling recently and this vacation will help mend relationships, that is the plan anyway. Not everything goes as planned but the love between mother and son cannot be defeated. Sarah Nessel gives a fine narration to help make this a top summer horror audiobook that I will revisit in summers to come.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 12-10-21
Amazing story
Great story with a Greek twist. Highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Have fun.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sabrina Nelson
- 02-02-23
Recommend
An abusive man who finally got what he deserved but he is still alive. He is waiting to go after them and take his revenge. This is a good book to read but there is very detailed parts of the abuse this man did to the woman and son. The narrator did a great job in feeling how the characters emotions where while listening to it.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bambie
- 06-04-21
Cruel Summer is phenomenal!
I really enjoyed this title! Wesley weaves a fantastic tale that never lets up and Sarah Nessel’s performance is immaculate. She has a crisp and clear voice for each character and you don’t want to stop listening! The characters are vibrant and full of life and Sarah has an excellent ability to make them whole with her voice. Highly recommended I couldn’t stop listening and I’ll listen to it again in the future. Definitely a great summer horror listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul Preston
- 07-01-21
The whole ocean is your enemy
Island vacation gone very wrong. Good unique story with some pretty terrifying scenes. If you have a fear of drowning then this one with get under your skin.
I did not connect with the characters so it was hard to be empathetic with them but the story was strong enough to keep it interesting
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!