Kurkow Prison: Berkley Street, Book 5

This was without a doubt, the best in the series so far!! Again, I loved the setting and it was much scarier and creepier than the last few.

So this one takes place in Gaiman, New Hampshire. Shane, Frank and Mason are called in to help the town after the new owners of the abandoned Kurkow Prison, unwittingly release a horde of angry and vengeful ghosts on the town. Well, Shane did warn them not to but Pete and Ollie didn't listen, now the town and it's residents are under attack and Shane has to figure out a way to get the ghosts back to Kurkow Prison and under lock and key again, whilst trying to find out what happened and battling a storm at the same time.

This series just keeps going from strength to strength! Ron Ripley has upped his game with this one and given us one hell of a ride. Poor Shane has so much to deal with and thinks the job he initially takes will be easy, but it's not. There is so many secrets and lies that it will take Shane, Frank and Mason and their combined abilities to get out of this alive. The plot was fast paced, creepy, bloody and addicting and I loved it!!! Also, I don't want to say too much but I'm intrigued to see what will happen to Courtney!!

In all, a brilliant addition to a equally brilliant series. I love these characters and have loved each of the settings of the books, I can't wait to see where else these characters will go. Bring on the next one ;)

I don't think I can see anyone else reading these stories as Thom Bowers has it down. He knows how to tell these books to make them creepier and come alive. I definitely need to see if he narrates any other books.

I was voluntarily provided this free copy by the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

This book aS a good way to remind people that do not how to get rid of ghosts

I highly recommend the entire series. The main characters come across as very real. They have baggage, they're believable, and it makes you cheer for them that much more. It's not always easy to get attached to a character in what boils down to a ghost story, but this series nails it on the head. I'm always left wanting more. Each story in the series builds off the last and takes you a great journey. Sometimes, as with life, the journey is painful. I highly recommend the series. Once you start into it, you won't want to put the series down. if you're anything like me, you'll be desperately watching for an announcement that the next book is being released. I hope to never hear the end of Shane Ryan!

I will definitely continue on with this series, but this story fell totally flat for me. It was very hard to get through, but I wanted to finish it. Really boring and didn't have the same guts/stuffing that the other books have had so far.

No, not at all - you win some, you lose some.

Yes, as always, he was great!

Some of the characters from the past - the two little girls & their family. Not sure what the whole deal was with them and completely unnecessary. This was just a very boring story and I didn't feel it holds water.

Not predictable at all - sometimes series tend to have an ebb and flow about them, but this being book 5 still keeps me surprised. What nightmares this can conjure!

This story started great from the first word. It was hard not to hate the guard who'd started the accident. I always feel like I know the people the story describes. The narrator has a great voice for telling ghost stories. I will continue to read the rest of the series.

Book 5 is the darkest story yet in the Berkley Street Series. Shane's new friend Frank, who he met at Sanford Hospital (book 4), asks him if he wants to come along on a job - essentially to just get out of the house and do some honest, manual labor. Things quickly get out of control when the demolition team opens the doors to Kurkow Prison and unleash a nightmare! Shane and Frank are back in the fray, risking their lives, fighting ghosts, and trying to keep people safe.

These two are a great team! I love the chemistry between Shane and Frank - both no nonsense ex-military men who get the job done. We see some changes in Shane's relationship with Courtney, too. Overall, this story is darker than previous ones in this series, and Shane faces a really tough decision. I am seriously hooked on this series, and I highly recommend all Ron Ripley's books! I can't wait to read and listen to the next one!

I love Shane. He's brave without being stupid or unbelievable.

The final scene where he takes care of Courtnie. He is pained but but does not show it.

A sense of different voices for different characters. When I read, I don't experience that well.

If life would allow, Yes.

Poor Shane will not be left alone and continues to take on the supernatural spirits.

Definitely. It was so exciting and the narrator (and story telling) sucks me into the story so well that I can see everything happening.

The excitement and the mixture of ghostly horror and story.

Frank. I'd say Shane but the poor guy is becoming super dark and I love that Frank is still on the saner side. Thom Bowers is an awesome narrator who really does justice to all the characters in the book. His female characters don't sound all that female (just like female narrators don't usually do well with male voices), but my fav female character he did was Laura, the cop. He does a good job with Courtney, but I don't particularly care for her character anymore so Laura has become my fav female in this book and Frank is my fav male.

I was super worried from time and time and downright shocked more than once. People kept interrupting me toward the end which made me want to scream because things were pretty intense by that point. I always get a bit teary and sad for Shane because the poor guy is just falling apart. But my reaction for him wasn't so bad this time around because his grief was toned down a bit compared to the last book (Sanford Hospital). I HATED the brothers Olly and Pete. Ugh. I was completely shocked and horrified by their personalities. I kept wishing Shane or Frank would kill them but I'm sure that would've been a bad thing in the long run.

If you haven't read the other books in this series, you really should. They're so good! This one was a little weak on giving the back story because there were so many ghosts to provide a story for. It's not like the other books where it's just the one ghost wreaking havoc and killing people to create more ghosts. There were perhaps too many characters this time - a lot of them seemed superfluous.

always enjoy these books. I look forward to the bonus scenes at the end as it gives a deeper insight to the history of the story. one note: while I feel these books are at a mature adult level, I always feel the titles are cheesy, adolescent and unnecessary. For example, to title a chapter, "getting help" and within the 1st few sentences explain that they are going to seek help just always makes me roll my eyes and little. I don't expect the author to actually read my review but I think title #s are sufficient. and maybe you can title sections of the book vs chapters if you feel it is necessary. when you have 70+ chapters per book... chapter titles just aren't needed. btw, narrator is great.