Abbot's Keep
A Ghost Story
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Abbot's Keep
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Narrated by:
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Ric Jerrom
About this listen
"Brother, do not try to follow me once you have read this. No good can come of it..." When Clifford Fox QC receives a desperate letter from his estranged younger brother, Simon, he departs his comfortable Yorkshire home to locate him. The letter outlines the harrowing events that have led Simon to the very edge of sanity.
Following a stint at the Brentwell Rehabilitation Unit, failed architect and recovering alcoholic Simon is invited by an old school-friend to Abbot's Keep - a Tudor residence, nestled deep in remote Berkshire countryside. Soon after arriving, he is left to explore the neighboring monastery ruins and discover the house's dark history. But the more he learns, the more certain he becomes that he is not alone at Abbot's Keep, and that nothing is as it seems. But can he stop the house's medieval past repeating itself one final time? And can his brother find him before it's too late?
©2014 Patrick O'Neill (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
What was one of the most memorable moments of Abbot's Keep?
There were a few striking moments punctuating a creeping, uneasy narrative. Can't give anything away but I didn't see these coming.What about Ric Jerrom’s performance did you like?
Lovely narration; he's used different voices for each character very skillfully as not only do they 'suit' each character but they are also believable - almost making you think there was more than one narrator. Lovely fluent reading with the correct prosody for a ghost story.Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
There was creeping unease at the beginning and then a shocking denouement that was totally unexpected. There were 3 key points which produced significant emotional response but I don't want to give anything away!Any additional comments?
This has strong overtones of MR James' The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, Mr Humphrey's and His Inheritance, A Warning to the Curious and The Tractate Middoth. It's rather like MR James with a modern day twist.A modern take on the Treasure of Abbot Thomas
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Cracking little story
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Great narrator, and good book, I liked how it was letter (written/writing letters) based.
Abbot’s keep
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Loved it! For fans of M R James / quiet horror
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Would you try another book written by Benedict Ashforth or narrated by Ric Jerrom?
Yes I might, now I know what to expect.What did you like best about this story?
The setting and the narrator.Which character – as performed by Ric Jerrom – was your favourite?
Actually all of them as he did excellent voices for all the characters.Was Abbot's Keep worth the listening time?
Not sure, bit short for my liking, more of a short story than a book.Any additional comments?
I am just trying to be honest here and not griping for no good reason and also because I sometimes rely on reviews from others about books to judge what to buy or what I might personally like.Although I did like this story - I mainly bought this for TWO reasons;
1. It says it is a Ghost story in the Title, (exactly what I was looking for).
2. Previous reviewers said it reminded them of MR James, especially comparing it to The Treasure of Abbot Thomas... and yes the place was called Abbot's Keep (again giveaway in the Title), and yes there was treasure... but that's exactly where the comparison ends.
I am a HUGE fan of old school Ghost stories and this was nothing of the kind.
A modern setting and twist on the aforementioned James Classic, yes could be interesting, I'll give it a go... and indeed it started really well. The setting the characters, all good so far.
But just when I felt the real tension building up WHAM, it went all too blatant and I felt the Author completely missed the underlying psychological and ambiguous build up that makes James' stories such pure Genius.
(But alas such is the format for modern retakes on old classics).
However, I am also a fan of the more Horror genre and this was much closer to that. Unsubtle, Gory, no layers upon layers, no ambiguity, but a gripping story unto itself, in this category.
So, if you're in for a quick Bloody fix, a fantastic Narration, funny characters and a good setting... this is for you.
If you want something more Haunting on a far deeper level, avoid this one. Up to you.
(It's also very short, my fault, didn't see it was not much longer than 2 hours - so more of a short story really - not a problem, just an observation).
The Narration however, as stated earlier, was excellent and I will be looking for other Audibles read by him (and I am very fussy about my Narrators!!!) So high praise indeed.
P.S. [In fact I wanted to introduce myself to this Author by reading a book of short stories but sadly Narrated by an American, who obviously missed the whole point entirely - something commented on by other reviewers - Check out Derek Jacobi reading MR James, you'll see what I mean].
More Stephen King than MR James!
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