Preview
  • Unspeakable Things

  • By: Jess Lourey
  • Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
  • Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (6,812 ratings)

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Unspeakable Things

By: Jess Lourey
Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
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Publisher's summary

Inspired by a terrifying true story, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota town where nothing is as quiet - or as safe - as it seems.

Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them.

All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale.

One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed - violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface. Then Cassie’s own sister undergoes the dark change. If she is to survive, Cassie must find her way in an adult world where every sin is justified, and only the truth is unforgivable.

©2019 Jess Lourey (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved
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Critic reviews

"Part suspense, part coming-of-age, Jess Lourey’s Unspeakable Things is a story of creeping dread, about childhood when you know the monster under your bed is real. A novel that clings to you long after the last page."--Lori Rader-Day, Edgar Award-nominated author of Under a Dark Sky

Editor's Pick

Unspeakable crimes, unpauseable suspense
"Accomplished author Jess Lourey drew on one of her childhood’s defining memories—the famous abduction of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling in Paynesville, Minnesota—to craft this intensely suspenseful and haunting novel. Told from the perspective of 12-year-old Cassie McDowell, it starts as a coming-of-age tale set in the 1980s—think Trapper Keepers, Pac-Man, and references to "Chester the Molester." But as that last one suggests, the dread creeps in fast. Something isn’t right in the McDowell family…or their town, where boys start to disappear and then return, their changed demeanors hinting at shocking trauma. Lourey is a master at building unrelenting suspense, and prolific narrator Caitlin Kelly delivers an excellent portrayal of Cassie’s ordeal—and the process by which an entire community comes to terms with its deep, collective grief."
Kat J., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Unspeakable Things

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Huge Let Down

Don’t get me wrong it was a great story with great characters that is until the end. The build up was great, I was invested in the characters then it ended with a huge let down.

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23 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow, heavy story!

I love true crime or truth-based fiction, so when I came across Unspeakable Things, I snatched it up. It’s been a long time since I held so much tension while listening to a book. The fact this was based on true events only made the story even more intense. I’d would have liked more of an ending, but it was enough to feel satisfied.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The ending was boring :(

I was let down by the ending :( it was very anticlimactic.. lacked a twist. But a good listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

good telling of a tragic story.

still felt there could've been more of an ending, like what happened to dad, etc.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Peaks of interest but loose ending

The book was okay. Some of the midpoints were a little dull and I found the end of the story to be too open...as if there should have been one more chapter to tie it all together. Overall it was an okay book that, if I had to choose again, I would pick.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An interesting book.

Admittedly, I thought this was going to be some story similar to Stranger Things, with kids going missing and all. But what I got was something that had be listening, and reading along, at the edge of my seat!

A riveting novel that's based on a true story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

if you are a fan of mysteries, and the 80s...

You can't do better; excellent narration and story, so very well written and told! I will be watching this author so I can snap up future offerings.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Pretty good!

Narration was really good and I liked the story overall. Just was thinking it would’ve had a little more umpf throughout, rather than kinda a big change towards the end and then it just ending haha But overall, a good story and entertaining narration

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

board.

it huge build up and then. NOTHING. I'm so 😠. what a 8 waste! thx

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed

I really enjoyed this book. A good read. Highly recommend book of fiction. Read it!

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