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The Vanished

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The Vanished

By: Celia Rees
Narrated by: Shirley Barthelmie
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About this listen

 Wanted – stories. Anything weird will do! The dark stuff sent to Fraser and Cassie’s student newspaper is disturbing. Old tales are being rewritten. Tales of plague graves, and forbidden woods where children vanish. Hidden steps leading to a decaying underworld. Old songs used to ensnare the innocent. But they’re just horror stories – aren’t they? Then the first child is taken …©1997 Celia Rees. (P)2006 Bolinda Publishing Arts & Entertainment Mysteries & Detectives Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Exciting

Editor reviews

Shirley Barthelmie offers a tension-filled performance of Celia Rees’ paranormal YA novel, The Vanished.

At their school newspaper in a small English town, three students - Alistair, Jake, Cassie - start publishing imaginary ghost stories in their school paper. Soon, readers begin to send in their own tales of the supernatural. Investigating these claims, the three friends stumble on the discovery that children have mysteriously disappeared from their hometown over the past century.

With her British accent, Barthelmie offers a brisk, emphatic performance that rises in inflection and urgency in tension-filled moments.

Critic reviews

"Shirley Barthelmie's pleasant, even tones provide a strong narration for this chilling story of urban legends that become reality. She provides distinct voices for each of the three students, Cassie, Fraser, and Jake, who investigate the cases of children who disappear. Barthelmie maintains the rising tension of the story, despite the challenges of long descriptive passages and loose ends in the plot. An occasional slip into overly dramatic reading can be forgiven, given the creepy subterranean caverns the teens must traverse in order to rescue Jake's sister from ravenous troglodyte inhabitants. The menacing music that begins each CD sets the mood of the recording well." (AudioFile Magazine)
All stars
Most relevant
I really like it! It was scary a great plot and something everyone should read. It had many emotions, and the descriptions especially in the last few chapters of the book were amazing it was very vivid. nice use of Language Celia! Shirley Barthelmie is a great reader and made the story come alive even more.

REALL SCARY BUT GREAT!

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I loved the he plot bc it was like there were 2 1 about the psi files and journalism and the other about hilly and the tunnels great read just narrator was a bit boring

Scary stori

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What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A more in depth storyline, fully developed characters and better narrator.

Would you ever listen to anything by Celia Rees again?

Maybe.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was disappointed. There was a good foundation for a brilliant story, but it never really hit the mark.

Vanished hours!

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