77 SHADOW STREET

Contemporary horror master Dean Koontz wrings more suspense out of everyday things than most writers can with a Transylvanian castle. Take the ordinary-seeming apartment building The Pendleton, built atop Shadow Hill at 77 Shadow Street. Even though the structure has been rebuilt and modernized, it remains a portal that allows things of evil to slither free into the night. Narrator Peter Berkrot opens the creaking door and invites listeners inside with a gentle, unassuming voice. Ignore that dark thing you saw out of the corner of your eye—it’s just a trick of the light. Berkrot performs with skill and assurance as strange voices, eerie sights, and inexplicable things take over the posh mansion. Berkot brings the songwriter, the senator, the lawyer, and the financier to life as they struggle to survive in the nightmare place that was once their home. M.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2012]