Children to the Slaughter Review (Horror Mystery)

Children to the Slaughter: Melington has changed. There is an evil lurking in the darkness, under the beds and behind closet doors. It seeks vengeance and retribution and will not be denied. No one knows this more than Alan Carter. Returning to his hometown after a twenty year absence, he is resolute in uncovering the truth behind his sister’s abduction and the strange disappearance of children. Joined by his childhood friend, Alan finds himself thrown into the middle of a conspiracy led by the town Council as it desperately tries to hide its secrets from the world. No child is safe in Melington, and Alan Carter needs to stop the curse that has haunted his hometown for generations. But as Alan’s brushes with death become more frequent, he finds himself running out of luck.-Goodreads

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Children to the Slaughter Review

A.I. Nasser’s Children to the Slaughter is a relatively short but creepy take on the classic “sins of my father” tale. In this one, the founding fathers of the town of Melington screwed the pooch in a case of wrongful conviction. Ever since, their town has been scarred by disappearing children, a pervasive evil, and an age-old conspiracy. Except after Alan Carter witnessed his sister’s disappearance, he became determined to figure out what was going on. Figure it out, and put an end to it once and for all. So after twenty years, and with a plan, he returns to his old hometown. Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned. 

This was a good read. Children to the Slaughter took me about a week to listen to on my daily commute to and from work. It’s only 154 pages in e-book form. The author does a good job of establishing the setting right away, and the flashbacks to the time of the original ‘sin’ were interesting. The tension builds pretty well, but I had trouble connecting to the main character. I understood why he was doing what he did, I just didn’t particularly care about him. Still, the story carried along quite well. I hated what was happening to the children, but I also strangely felt sorry for the people involved in the conspiracy.  I also liked that there was just a bit of romance involved. Nothing that in any way took away from the story. Just enough to provide the slightest tinge of nostalgia.

Jake Urry did a good job narrating it. His voice has a creepy quality all by itself, so there were certain times during this story when he sent a shiver down my spine. I just wish he read a tad bit faster. Still, with the Audible app, that’s easy enough to fix. As I’ve noted in a previous review, his voice is one of those that can easily be sped up.

Overall, Children to the Slaughter was an entertaining listen/read. It’s definitely creepy, without being gore-filled or anything like that. The story actually ‘officially’ ends around the 5 hour mark, but there’s about an hour of a ‘bonus’ that will really screw with your head.

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My question for you is: What’s the scariest ‘sins of the fathers’ type story you’ve ever read?

Title: Children to the Slaughter | Author: A.I. Nasser (site) | Narrator: Jake Urry (site) Publisher: Scare Street | Audio Pub. Date: 2016-7-21 | Audio Book Length: 6 hours 3 minutes | Language: English | Triggers: Child Abduction | Foul Language Level: Low to non-existent | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Date Finished: 2016-8-26 | Source: Received a copy from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.