
The Chrysalis
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

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $20.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Will Damron
-
By:
-
Brendan Deneen
About this listen
Spawned by Brendan Deneen’s own experiences relocating to a New Jersey suburb with his young family, The Chrysalis combines chills, thrills, and a literal monster in the basement with commentary on love, marriage, and impending parenthood.
Welcome to the dark side of suburbia.
Barely employed millennials Tom and Jenny Decker have to grow up fast when they lose their cheap Manhattan apartment. Leaving “the city” is hard, but the blow is softened when they stumble upon a surprisingly affordable house in the suburbs.
For Tom, the bills, the mortgage, and Jenny's unexpected pregnancy add up to terror. He's not ready for this kind of responsibility.
Then he finds the thing in the basement. It makes him feel like a winner even as it scrambles his senses. A new job soon has him raking in the big bucks—enough that Jenny can start making her entrepreneurial dreams come true.
The Deckers' dream home conceals more than one deadly secret. As Tom's obsession with the basement grows, Jenny realizes that to save her family, she must expose everything. Before it destroys them all.
No one ever really wants to grow up…but sometimes behaving like an adult is the only way to survive.
"Creepy, powerful, wonderfully twisted."--New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Vanishing Hour
- By: Seraphina Nova Glass
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets. But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Mari Sol on 08-01-23
-
You Know Her
- A Novel
- By: Meagan Jennett
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Xe Sands
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two hours before he vanished, Mark Dixon stole a glass of wine. That's what bartender Sophie Braam told the cops when they questioned her about the customer whose mutilated body was just found. What she didn’t tell them is that she’s the one who killed him. Officer Nora Martin is new to the Bellair Police Department and when she meets Sophie, they build an uneasy camaraderie over shared frustrations. As winter slides into spring and bodies start piling up, Nora begins to suspect that something’s not quite right with the unnerving, enigmatic bartender.
-
-
Wow
- By Des Kyle on 04-15-23
By: Meagan Jennett
-
The Craftsman
- By: Sharon Bolton
- Narrated by: Nathalie Buscombe
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Florence Lovelady's career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Grassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago in a small village in Lancashire. Like something out of a nightmare, the victims were buried alive. Florence was able to solve the mystery and get a confession out of Larry before more children were murdered, and he spent the rest of his life in prison. But now, decades later, he's dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves. When her own son goes missing under similar circumstances, the case not only gets reopened...it gets personal.
-
-
Couldn’t stop listening
- By Michelle on 10-23-18
By: Sharon Bolton
-
Baby Teeth
- A Novel
- By: Zoje Stage
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suzette knows her clever and manipulative seven-year-old daughter doesn’t love her. She can see the hatred and jealousy in her eyes. And as Hanna’s subtle acts of cruelty threaten to tear her and her husband apart, Suzette fears her very life may be in grave danger....
-
-
Immediately Gripping
- By T on 07-18-18
By: Zoje Stage
-
The Light on Farallon Island
- A Novel
- By: Jen Wheeler
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty miles off the coast of San Francisco lie the Farallon Islands, known to sailors as the Devil’s Teeth. Despite their fearsome reputation, their remote nature appeals to young Lucy Riley, who in 1859 seeks a new start as a teacher to the lighthouse keepers’ children. But Lucy brings treacherous secrets with her, including a name that isn’t hers and a past she can’t escape. On the island, she meets Will Sisson, a mysterious man who seems to recognize her name—but not her face. Wary of Will at first, Lucy slowly starts to trust him.
-
-
A must read!
- By jael on 07-14-23
By: Jen Wheeler
-
These Silent Woods
- A Novel
- By: Kimi Cunningham Grant
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Stephanie Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her - and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.
-
-
Perfect!
- By Kari Harris on 12-31-21
-
The Vanishing Hour
- By: Seraphina Nova Glass
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets. But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Mari Sol on 08-01-23
-
You Know Her
- A Novel
- By: Meagan Jennett
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Xe Sands
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two hours before he vanished, Mark Dixon stole a glass of wine. That's what bartender Sophie Braam told the cops when they questioned her about the customer whose mutilated body was just found. What she didn’t tell them is that she’s the one who killed him. Officer Nora Martin is new to the Bellair Police Department and when she meets Sophie, they build an uneasy camaraderie over shared frustrations. As winter slides into spring and bodies start piling up, Nora begins to suspect that something’s not quite right with the unnerving, enigmatic bartender.
-
-
Wow
- By Des Kyle on 04-15-23
By: Meagan Jennett
-
The Craftsman
- By: Sharon Bolton
- Narrated by: Nathalie Buscombe
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Florence Lovelady's career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Grassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago in a small village in Lancashire. Like something out of a nightmare, the victims were buried alive. Florence was able to solve the mystery and get a confession out of Larry before more children were murdered, and he spent the rest of his life in prison. But now, decades later, he's dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves. When her own son goes missing under similar circumstances, the case not only gets reopened...it gets personal.
-
-
Couldn’t stop listening
- By Michelle on 10-23-18
By: Sharon Bolton
-
Baby Teeth
- A Novel
- By: Zoje Stage
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suzette knows her clever and manipulative seven-year-old daughter doesn’t love her. She can see the hatred and jealousy in her eyes. And as Hanna’s subtle acts of cruelty threaten to tear her and her husband apart, Suzette fears her very life may be in grave danger....
-
-
Immediately Gripping
- By T on 07-18-18
By: Zoje Stage
-
The Light on Farallon Island
- A Novel
- By: Jen Wheeler
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty miles off the coast of San Francisco lie the Farallon Islands, known to sailors as the Devil’s Teeth. Despite their fearsome reputation, their remote nature appeals to young Lucy Riley, who in 1859 seeks a new start as a teacher to the lighthouse keepers’ children. But Lucy brings treacherous secrets with her, including a name that isn’t hers and a past she can’t escape. On the island, she meets Will Sisson, a mysterious man who seems to recognize her name—but not her face. Wary of Will at first, Lucy slowly starts to trust him.
-
-
A must read!
- By jael on 07-14-23
By: Jen Wheeler
-
These Silent Woods
- A Novel
- By: Kimi Cunningham Grant
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Stephanie Willis
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world. For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that's exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he's got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her - and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.
-
-
Perfect!
- By Kari Harris on 12-31-21
-
The Black Farm
- By: Elias Witherow
- Narrated by: Tom Jordan
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the loss of a child along with a slew of agonizing misfortunes, Nick and Jess decide to end their lives. Unable to cope with the misery that fills their days, they commit one last act together and die in loving relief. But when Nick wakes up, he soon realizes that death isn't the gentle darkness he expected. Panicked and horrified, he struggles to understand the twisted abominations and hellish world he's now trapped in.
-
-
Disturbing but I couldn’t stop listening.
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-24
By: Elias Witherow
-
Indigo Isle
- By: T.I. Lowe
- Narrated by: Justis Bolding
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sonny Bates left South Carolina fifteen years ago and never looked back. Now she’s a successful Hollywood location scout who travels the world, finding perfect places for movie shoots. Home is wherever she lands, and between her busy schedule and dealing with her boss’s demands, she has little time to think about the past . . . until her latest gig lands her a stone’s throw from everything she left behind.
-
-
Cannot put it down
- By Janice E. Rockwood on 08-19-23
By: T.I. Lowe
-
Below Us
- The Abyss, Book 1
- By: Nathan Hystad
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a rough break up, Wyatt moves to New York City, eager to prove himself while working on Wall Street. When he’s asked to visit the father of his ex-girlfriend, a billionaire tycoon, his fate is sealed. The revolutionary company, Nu-En, launches a radical innovation, an energy that will allow every person on the planet access to power. Only it doesn’t perform as anticipated. Harnessing the ocean has consequences, and highly dangerous creatures emerge from the depths. Soon, the Earth is fracturing, and the world will never be the same.
-
-
Interesting story but..
- By Mike Fedotov on 09-28-23
By: Nathan Hystad
-
Red Creek
- A Horror Novel
- By: Nathan Hystad
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once a best-selling horror author, Paul Alenn is in a slump. His wife and daughter are across the country, moved away to the West Coast, leaving him alone in his Central Park-adjacent New York townhouse. When his sister calls, asking for help packing up his estranged mother’s house in his old hometown, Red Creek, he decides to put the past behind him and face his demons.
-
-
Story lacked... understanding
- By Sara on 02-21-19
By: Nathan Hystad
-
The Younger Wife
- A Novel
- By: Sally Hepworth
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik, Caroline Lee, Jessica Douglas-Henry, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen Aston is getting married again. The only problem is, he's still married to his first wife, even though she is in a care facility for dementia. But he'll take care of that easily, by divorcing her—even if his adult daughters protest. Tully and Rachel Aston look upon Heather as nothing but an interloper. Heather is the same age as Rachel and even younger than Tully. Clearly she's a gold digger and after their father's money. Heather has secrets that she's keeping close, and reasons of her own for wanting to marry Stephen.
-
-
Brilliant
- By Violet on 04-11-22
By: Sally Hepworth
-
Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun
- By: Guillermo del Toro, Cornelia Funke
- Narrated by: Thom Rivera
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Oscar winning writer-director Guillermo del Toro and bestselling author Cornelia Funke have come together to transform del Toro’s hit movie Pan’s Labyrinth into an epic and dark fantasy novel for listeners of all ages, with enchanting short stories that flesh out the folklore of this fascinating world.
-
-
Wow. The movie was beautiful, the book, genius.
- By Rachael on 07-05-19
By: Guillermo del Toro, and others
-
Old Country
- By: Matt Query, Harrison Query
- Narrated by: Juliette Goglia, Kiff VandenHeuvel
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s the house of their dreams. Former marine Harry and his wife, Sasha, have packed up their life and their golden retriever, Dash, and fled the corporate rat race to live off the land in rural Idaho. Their breathtaking new home sits on more than forty acres of meadow, aspen trees, and pine forest in the Teton Valley. Even if their friends and family think it’s a strange choice for an up-and-coming pair of urban professionals, Harry and Sasha couldn’t be happier about the future they’re building, all by their lonesome.
-
-
I really liked it!
- By Kasey on 04-22-23
By: Matt Query, and others
-
One by One
- By: Ruth Ware
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.
-
-
Decide for yourself
- By Breezybealle on 09-10-20
By: Ruth Ware
-
Little Ghosts
- By: Gregg Dunnett
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As I sit in her dimly lit bedroom, surrounded by flickering candles, I feel the crushing weight of my daughter’s absence. It's been two years since Layla was murdered. The police have searched tirelessly for her killer, but they've found nothing – it's like whoever did it vanished into thin air. My once-perfect marriage is falling apart, we can hardly look at each other anymore. Our ten-year-old son Gale is struggling. He’s changed since she died. He’s more secretive and also…
-
-
Oh my! Another British audiction I craved!
- By Karenique on 08-13-23
By: Gregg Dunnett
-
Certain Dark Things
- By: M.J. Pack
- Narrated by: Jacob York
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her debut short story collection, M.J. Pack offers up a new breed of terror sure to delight any true horror fan. Don’t miss out on tales of telepathic twins, a campfire ghost story gone terribly wrong, pills that induce life-threatening nightmares, and the disturbing new sideshow at Coney Island: Lady Alligator. Take a haunting trip down infamous Bubblehead Road and follow Danny around the country as he’s pursued by unseen (and unrelenting) creatures.
-
-
COUPLE, LOOKOUT POINT, HOOK IN DOOR
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 03-30-16
By: M.J. Pack
-
Suffer the Children
- By: Craig Dilouie
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suffer the Children presents a terrifying tale of apocalyptic fiction, as listeners are introduced to Herod's Syndrome, a devastating illness that suddenly and swiftly kills all young children across the globe. Soon, they return from the grave, and ask for blood. And with blood, they stop being dead. They continue to remain the children they once were, but only for a short time, as they need more blood to live. The average human body holds 10 pints of blood, so the inevitable question for parents everywhere becomes: How far would you go to bring your child back?
-
-
Brilliant, Well Done!!!!!
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-08-16
By: Craig Dilouie
-
Ticktock
- A Novel
- By: Dean Koontz
- Narrated by: Graham Halstead
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist living the American dream in Southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. It’s a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That night Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the doll’s heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phan’s reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth....
-
-
A great classic
- By Sharon Adams on 01-09-19
By: Dean Koontz
Critic reviews
“Deneen's latest book catapults him to the front ranks of today's most exciting new genre writers. An old-school homage to genre classics, The Chrysalis uses themes of family responsibility and substance abuse, madness and artistic vision to create an unsettling mood that builds to a horrifying crescendo. This is a must-read.”—Nate Kenyon, Bram Stoker Award finalist, author of Day One
"All the more frightening because Deneen makes you care before he starts the scares. A powerful, engrossing, and relentless book.”—Chet Williamson, author of Robert Bloch’s Psycho: Sanitarium
“Deneen wonderfully concentrates the anxiety and emotional strain of trying to live up to the responsibility that comes with a growing family. The problem here is, part of that family is growing behind the spare fridge in the cellar. Deneen hatches all the darkest fears of having ‘one on the way.’”—Bracken MacLeod, author of Stranded
What listeners say about The Chrysalis
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Heather
- 05-01-23
Sucked me in
I enjoyed the interesting premise (I mean... basements will ALWAYS be creepy to me) and a broad cast of characters - together, kept me curious and invested. Will keep on eye on what else Deneen writes in the future!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amy Russell
- 07-14-23
Ho-ly shit
The narration was incredible, the voice and background really helped sell the dread of the novel!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cathleen A. Armstrong
- 05-08-22
A page turner!
Although I found the narrator a little stuffy the storyline and character development kept me completely focused. The story is written in a way that helped me see the setting (primarily a big old house) and the characters very clearly. This is a fun read for people who enjoy horror or psychological thrillers. I highly recommend it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stephanie Hansen
- 09-19-18
Beautiful Writing and Fast-paced Plot
"The Chrysalis has a Gone Girl meets Prometheus kind of feel with uniquely familiar characters. The combination of beautiful writing and pacing is spot on. I was at the edge of my seat listening to this book. If you're looking for a fall read just in time for Halloween, this is it." Stephanie Hansen ~ Metamorphosis Literary Agency
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 10-26-22
Endin
I feel like the ending could have been a little better. The whole story was great until then. Maybe there is a sequel?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nobody
- 10-27-23
Payoff wasn't there
This was a breezy but unsettling read that kept me interested for the majority of the runtime. However, like most other reviews I can't help but agree that the horror elements were extremely lacking. The book conveys a good sense of unease throughout, but it never really builds to anything that could be set apart from your standard run-of-the-mill ending to one of these "monster in the basement" type stories.
Really wish more exposition could have been given about the chrysalis itself, as well as the previous homeowners and the effect it had on them. I feel like I blew through the book hoping for that payoff and it never came, just sort of fizzled out unceremoniously. Narrator did an excellent job, but couldn't save this one from a bummer ending. If I hadn't gotten this at a huge discount I would be deeply disappointed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!