The Visitors cover art

The Visitors

 Preview
Free with 30-day trial
Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

The Visitors

Written by: Catherine Burns
Narrated by: Emma Gregory
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹600.00

Buy Now for ₹600.00

About this listen

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother, John, in a decaying Georgian townhouse on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her 50s who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to shut out the shocking secret that John keeps in the cellar.

Until, suddenly, John has a heart attack, and Marion is forced to go down to the cellar herself and face the gruesome truth that her brother has kept hidden. As questions are asked and secrets unravel, maybe John isn't the only one with a dark side.

©2017 Catherine Burns (P)2017 Oakhill Publishing Crime Fiction Genre Fiction Horror Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense

Critic Reviews

"Bizarrely unsettling, yet compulsively readable." (Iain Reid)
All stars
Most relevant
I am not entirely sure how I feel about the book. Even the fact that I had zero expectations from it before turning page 1 has done very little to make this a halfway decent read.

To the writer's credit, she's done a great job of creating two extremely unlikeable characters in the 2 protagonists, brother and sister John and Marion. The only reason I rooted for Marion over John is because the former is not outrightly despicable. But that's about it. Marion starts off as a meek, subdued person, picked on in life and lacking self-esteem. However, she soon devolves into a dark character, not worthy of the happy ending she's been given.

My other issue with this book is that there's very little that falls into the realm of suspense. Even if Marion is unbelievably oblivious to her brother's perversions and the 'visitors' who stay in the cellar, the reader knows. And we've already imagined the horrors they're going through, even though only a few pages towards the end is dedicated to it. There is no real thrill or suspense or a massive reveal that leaves you agape.

Finally, I wish the book was paced better. It's too slow, taking a painful amount of time building up tension and painting a dark atmosphere. It picks up speed in the second half (actually the last 1/3 of the book) and I wish it had kept that same speed throughout.

Regarding the quality of narration, I think Emma Gregory has done justice to the book. She manages to breathe life into Marion's lifeless character and infuses a sense of menace that makes the reader feel a bit nervous as they proceed from chapter to chapter.



Takes a while to build up & never quite gets there

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.