Abandon [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [MP3 CD]

Blake Crouch (Author), Luke Daniels (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman, and child in a remote mining town will disappear, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins, and not a single bone will be found – not even the gold that was rumored to have been the pride of this town. One hundred and thirteen years later, two backcountry guides are hired by a leading history professor and his journalist daughter to lead them into the abandoned mining town so they can learn what happened. This has been done once before, but the people who went in did not come out. Joining them are a psychic and a paranormal photographer – the town is rumored to be haunted. They’ve come to see a ghost town, but what they are about to discover is that twenty miles from civilization, with a blizzard bearing down upon them, they are not alone, and the past is very much alive.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of this bloated thriller from Crouch (Desert Places), Abigail Foster, a Manhattan freelance journalist, reluctantly agrees to accompany her father, Lawrence Kendall—who abandoned her as a child—and paranormal photographers Emmett and June Tozer, to the remote remains of Abandon, Colo. The inhabitants of Abandon all vanished without a trace on Christmas Day 1893, and Abigail thinks she'll write an article on the Tozers and the ghost town's history. The present-day hikers face a number of obstacles, starting with an unexpected blizzard and including the arrival of ex-Marines intent on finding millions of dollars worth of gold supposedly stashed somewhere in Abandon. Despite the book's intriguing premise, the action soon devolves into a Rambo-style melee, with enough blood and guts to put off weak stomachs. By the time Abandon's fate is revealed in the overly drawn-out climax, few readers will care. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

On Christmas Day 1893, the tiny, remote gold-mining town of Abandon, Colorado, ceased to be. No trace of the population was ever found. More than a century later, a historian, a journalist, and two paranormal investigators trek into the ghost town with varying purposes. Crouch tells his tale in alternating chapters, but the reader ultimately learns that the story of both the residents and the latter-day visitors is one of gold, greed, and murder—and a pinch of madness. Abandon is an ambitious and largely effective suspense novel. The portrayal of life in Abandon is rich with details of brutal hardship, suffering, and a gnawing sense of creepiness. The modern investigators are tried by cold, a blizzard, avalanche dangers, rotted buildings that may collapse at any moment, and the eeriness of the derelict town. But Crouch has two sets of characters, and nearly all have a backstory. Some work; some are strained. Even so, the palpable suspense just keeps building, and many thriller fans—especially those who like a touch of horror—will lose sleep to find out how it all ends. - Booklist

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• MP3 CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD; MP3 Una edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423394712
• ISBN-13: 978-1423394716
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,573,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BLAKE CROUCH is the author of DESERT PLACES, LOCKED DOORS, SNOWBOUND, and ABANDON, which was an IndieBound Notable Selection, all published by St. Martin's Press. Blake's latest thriller, RUN, his first indie release, hit the Amazon Top 50.

His short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Thriller 2, Shivers VI, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and other anthologies.

In 2009, he co-wrote "Serial" with JA Konrath, which has been downloaded over 500,000 times and topped the Kindle bestseller list for 4 weeks. That story and ABANDON have also been optioned for film. He is currently at work with JA Konrath on the novel STIRRED, the conclusion to his Andrew Z. Thomas series. Blake lives in Colorado. His website is www.blakecrouch.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars loved it!, August 13, 2009

By 

grumpydan (Andover, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Abandon (Hardcover)

Blake Crouch has written one captivating mystery with "Abandon". In 1893 the entire town of Abandon disappears under mysterious circumstances and then 116 years later, a team of explorers go to the town to do some research and take photos. When two of the guides are attacked in front of the rest of the group, the mystery becomes even more mysterious. Alternating between the two time periods, Crouch has the reader watch as events unfold in the past, and how the tension builds up as we discover what the real reason these people are here. I, at first, was skeptical, thinking this was a supernatural type of story but was completely and happily surprised that this was as suspenseful thriller based on greed. Great book.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frightening, Powerful, and Unforgettable, July 7, 2009

By 

J. A. KONRATH "Thriller Author" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abandon (Hardcover)

I love books that revolve around a huge mystery, in this case: How did the entire population of a Western town disappear on Christmas Day, 1893?

More than a hundred years later, a group goes to investigate. And the horror begins, again.

Crouch is a master of suspense, and he creates some of the best villains in modern thriller fiction. Abandon is his best work, and it hits like a brick to the teeth. Be prepared to stay up all night reading, and make sure your doors are locked...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first author to come near Stephen King's position as my favorite author, July 10, 2011

By 

Luther M. Warneke Jr. (Arlington, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abandon (Kindle Edition)

A lot of the other reviews discuss story details and plot. What I want to talk about is the writing itself.

I'm 43 years old and I started reading Stephen King over 30 years ago. He's been my favorite author my whole life, and no one has come close to being comparable in my eyes. Until now. Blake Crouch has hooked me from the first page of every single one of his books.

Where another reviewer complained about the description of the weather, I will praise it. Sitting by the pool in 105 degree heat, I could feel the cold on my skin. I hoped and prayed that the snow would stop so that our protagonists could find their way to freedom and safety. Rather than just writing about how white the snow was and how cold the wind was, Crouch managed to turn the storm into just as much a villain as the actual villains in the book.

Some say it was too gory. I say hogwash. Again, King has long been my favorite author. I don't mind gore. In this book, there are two or three graphic descriptions of bodily injuries, but the way they are carried out goes to show more about the frame of mind that the characters were in than any other words could do. There are reviews that say it was hard to care about the characters? In the final showdown, one that I never saw coming, I literally held my breath and turned the page as fast as I could because I was so worried that it would not end well for the character on the run. And let me tell you, when that ending came, I just... Well, I'll let you see for yourself.

In short, Blake Crouch may not be as polished and experienced as those he's help up against in comparison, but I have no doubt that it won't be long before his name WILL be mentioned alongside Stephen King and other great writers. While the genre is a little different than Stephen King (King being more about horror, while Crouch is more about thrillers), Blake Crouch is as riveting and masterful a storyteller as King.

I've read a few of Crouch's stories, and Abandon is the one that finally pushed me to want to spread the word about him. Give it a try. I think you'll be glad you did.