The Unmothers Audiobook By Leslie J. Anderson cover art

The Unmothers

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Unmothers

By: Leslie J. Anderson
Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.13

Buy for $17.13

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In this emotionally raw and propulsive folk horror-mystery, a journalist goes to a small town and unravels a dark secret that the women have been keeping for generations.

Marshall is still trying to put the pieces together after the death of her husband. After she is involved in a terrible accident, her editor sends her to the small, backwards town of Raeford to investigate a clearly ridiculous rumor: that a horse has given birth to a healthy, human baby boy.

When Marshall arrives in Raeford, she finds an insular town that is kinder to the horses they are famous for breeding than to their own people. But when two horribly mangled bodies are discovered in a field—one a horse, one a human—she realizes that there might be a real story here.

As she’s pulled deeper into the town and its guarded people, her sense of reality is tipped on its head. Is she losing her grip? Or is this impossible story the key to a dark secret that has haunted the women of Raeford for generations?

Unbearably tense and utterly gripping, this atmospheric tale of female rage, bodily autonomy, and generational trauma hails the arrival of a masterful storyteller.

©2014 Leslie J. Anderson (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing
Horror Small Town & Rural
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

GoodReads Pick

Paste Magazine Pick

What listeners say about The Unmothers

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully raw writing

So wonderfully descriptive and so soul touching. A book everyone should read, it really captures the existence of being a woman.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

New Folk Horror

I'm delighted to read some new true folk horror. might also fall into Southern Gothic subgenre.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Vivid descriptions and dark emotions

From the first line of the novel the story evokes incredibly powerful images of old things that lurk in the back of the mind and evoke old forgotten fears long since covered up and avoided being looked at.

Told through the lense of a main character that is quickly pulled into things both ancient and unnatural, this story made me feel connected to the characters and anxious for all parties involved. Beautifully written, this story elaborates upon the normal which then makes the small clues and unnatural things stand out all the more for how forbidding they feel, this book kept me glued to my phone the entire day listening to it.

A fantastic read, I cannot wait for more from this author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Atmospheric Folk Horror

A must-listen for fans of folk horror. Poetic, tense, and enthralling. Great performance and a story that’s hard to walk away from.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Creepy

A creepy folk legend comes to life in this frightening tale. Got to type more in order to post.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Did I miss something?

I really don’t understand what the monster was supposed to do. Was it just that he was supposed to kill the people you hate? I don’t really understand what it had to do with the babies. Take the babies away? Turn them into horses? And under what conditions? I felt a little confused and disappointed because I felt like this book had a lot of potential.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!