Judderman by D.A. Northwood

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher W.F. Howes Ltd in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike the first of these audiobooks (Holt House), Judderman sadly left me a bit wanting. It's a very rambly sort of story which gives the impression of it being long, even though the whole thing is only about two hours in length. It also suffers from not having distinct voices for the characters, meaning that I found it very difficult to pay attention. It doesn't seem to have much of a plot as a result. It is set in a city and there is some kind of entity and a missing brother, but I kept tuning out due to long sections which were mostly there for atmosphere. It's a shame because I did enjoy the weirdness and unique tone of the first of these audiobooks but this didn't have anything much going for it. As with the first one, this is an old recording and so the sound quality is a little muffled/quiet which matters a lot more in this book than the first due to the monotonous tone. I think I might have enjoyed this more as a physical book but as it stands, I find it difficult to recommend this one.

Overall Rating:

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

MILD-ISH SPOILERS

Gonna be honest, I thought this was a book. Nevermind. I'm not one to turn down a good short story, especially not when it's as engaging as this. Quite different from her usual work in a good way. I'm getting a bit sick of the whole 'evil woman' thing, if only because it makes her work predictable.

This story had such potential. I was mildly shocked by the first line and drawn in soon after. I just wish, wish, wish it had ended at the first twist. That was good, that was clever, that was something I could get behind. Instead Flynn tries to go one step too far but then somehow takes the step back and then it just kind of ends in a really unsatisfying way. I get what she was going for and sure, the ending makes sense I suppose. Maybe I'm just too fond of my more horrific short stories.

There's not really much else I can say about this. If it hadn't carried on the way it did, I would have given it a much higher rating. It's still wonderfully written and very engaging so I can't fault it too much but yeah, ultimately it disappointed me.

Overall Score: