Many thanks to my friends at @aaknopf and @prhaudio for the #gifted copies of this book.  

 

Twisted and strange.  This narrative sucked me in (I mean, that first scene!) and kept me guessing!

 

I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it.  Who can expect such a thing as a people-eating phone, after all?   

 

The story is told in three, jaw dropping parts.  Just as I thought I knew what was going on, reveals and twists upended everything, leaving me both shook and shocked.  

 

Our main character was fully unlikeable.  Cruel.  Acerbic.  Yet that made the unfurling all the more… fun?  I didn’t feel the need to sympathize with him, allowing me to lean into whatever took place. 

 

It’s rare you hear me say this, but this book worked well as a short read.  It’s packed with unsettling action and a disorienting pace.  This amplified both the experience and atmosphere.  

 

One important note:  I felt uncomfortable with the use of mental health as a story device, perpetuating a stereotype of a particular disorder.  

 
🎧 Michael Crouch brilliantly narrated this story. He embodied the emotion and nuance of the plot adding a depth to the eeriness to the storytelling.