THE INVITED

Narrator Amanda Carlin is perfect in her very minor role in this frustrating audiobook, expressive and with the subtlest hint of a Vermont accent. Justine Eyre, who performs the lion's share of the story, has a lovely voice and is quite good at dialogue, but she has performance tics that muddy the author's intention and weary the listener. Still, this story of the afterlife of Hattie, a twentieth-century "witch" whose misunderstood gifts got her hanged by angry townspeople, is entertaining and artfully full of misdirection. The nice young couple from away who have moved onto the "haunted" land and are building their dream house amid dire warnings and apparent supernatural sightings may either end up drowned in the bog, or unscramble the mystery. Place your bets. B.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2019]