House of Echoes Audiobook By Brendan Duffy cover art

House of Echoes

A Novel

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House of Echoes

By: Brendan Duffy
Narrated by: Allyson Ryan, George Newbern
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In this enthralling and atmospheric thriller, one young family's dream of a better life is about to become a nightmare.

Ben and Caroline Tierney and their two young boys are hoping to start over. Ben has hit a dead end with his new novel, Caroline has lost her banking job, and eight-year-old Charlie is being bullied at his Manhattan school.

When Ben inherits land in the village of Swannhaven, in a remote corner of upstate New York, the Tierneys believe it's just the break they need, and they leave behind all they know to restore a sprawling estate. But as Ben uncovers Swannhaven's chilling secrets and Charlie ventures deeper into the surrounding forest, strange things begin to happen. The Tierneys realize that their new home isn't the fresh start they needed... and that the village's haunting saga is far from over.

House of Echoes is a novel that shows how sometimes the ties that bind us are the only things that can keep us whole.

©2015 Brendan Duffy (P)2015 Random House Audio Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Sagas Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction New York

Critic reviews

"Brendan Duffy's House of Echoes is one of those wonderful stories that come along only once in a while, a beautifully nuanced and riveting family drama set within a terrifying landscape that has you turning pages long past bed time. But keep the light burning and read to the end. That's when you realize you've been in the hands of a very clever storyteller, and that what you thought you'd been reading was all along something else." (Carla Buckley, author of The Deepest Secret)
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This book was long and I still very much enjoyed it. I think the pacing was delicately balanced... almost too slow but not because the author gave you a morsel often enough to create a near perfect slow build. I just wish it was a ghost story, which it's not and it's the primary reason I listened to the book, but I was not disappointed even still, which is saying something.

The male narrator was good with dialogue, bit straight narration was a bit labored. He had good inflection and everything, but he often sounded like he was teaching a history lesson rather than reading spooky fiction. He gets slightly better toward the end and he's not all that bad, but he might deter me from other books narrated by him in the future.

Great book! Not a ghost story.

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What made the experience of listening to House of Echoes the most enjoyable?

The way the author skillfully ramped up the creepiness until the family was emeshed in it. I often have trouble suspending disbelief while reading horror novels, but this one became real to me almost immediately.

What was one of the most memorable moments of House of Echoes?

I have never seen a better, more intense portrayal of parental fear and devotion than this author gave me. When the mother ripped into the house with her bare hands to protect her child, it was frightening and touching.

What about Allyson Ryan and George Newbern ’s performance did you like?

Newbern literally becomes this tormented father. He was remarkable. Ryan was very competent, however, she came off as a more contemporary voice than matched the 18th century female character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Did not expect to care about the family as much as I did. Conveyed the depth of parental love in a way that touched my heart.

Any additional comments?

I read and listen to many, many horror titles. I have only been moved to write a few reviews. This was one of my best finds. Beautifully drawn characters and intelligent horror. I stumbled across this book am glad I did. I hope Brendan Duffy has a title in the works.

Scary Horror, Remarkable Characters

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I absolutely loved this story, and the narration was great. If you're looking for a thriller that will keep you guessing and make you question the characters motives look no further.

one of the best stories I've come across.

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I sighed and rolled my eyes during the first part of this story and almost abandoned the book. I'm glad I didn't. The novel's beginning has all the tropes of the haunted house genre: family moves to a house near a quiet village in upstate New York looking for a better life; wife gets a little crazy, son is acting strangely, father is clueless. Then the story opens up and leaves all that behind and becomes a four-star read (or listen in my case). The narrators are *excellent* and overall I would recommend the book.

Slow start, but ends well

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I really wanted to like this book but 85% of the book is waiting for something to happen. When it does its pretty anti-climactic.

slow, slow, slow

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Having grown up in upstate New York, I can personally attest to the weirdness that permeates much of its history and still lingers there to this day--something that I realize afresh every time I visit. I don't know the author's personal background, but I suspect it is similar to mine since the premise of this book links a very dark episode in the history of an isolated small upstate town to the oddness of its current inhabitants. (Having also lived in NYC for a number of years, I did have to chuckle at his implication that NYC is the place in NY where the "normal" people live.)

It is a good effort even though a bit contrived--at times seeming to be an awkward combination of the styles of Michael Connelly and Joyce Carol Oates. Hope he will continue to explore topics along the same lines and further develop the psychological and historical aspects. Personally, I would also like it if he did not shy away from specifics in locating his fictional town--there is much real history in upstate NY that would only add to the atmosphere of his story.

Echo Chamber

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Not only was the narrator extremely monotone.... But there was little engrossing storyline to be creative with!
My fiancé insisted that we listen to the end in hopes that the pace of story would increase but it disappointed to the very end.

We desperately want the hours invested in this story returned! Argh!!!

I would insist that one would rethink this selection! It's horrid! So very upsetting and disappointing. The entire story was overly descriptive, repetitively descriptive - only to rush the ending without a decent buildup of the many characters. In the end we care less about the characters and more of when the book would end!

Unbelievably Boring! Long winded!

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I thought this plot was promising, but there was too much overwriting in my opinion. But that’s just my opinion.

Disappointing

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