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  • The Tear Collector

  • By: Shawn Burgess
  • Narrated by: Lou Petrella
  • Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
  • 3.3 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The Tear Collector cover art

The Tear Collector

By: Shawn Burgess
Narrated by: Lou Petrella
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Summary

The misdeeds of our ancestors can be like shadows, lurking and waiting to reveal the sins of the past. For the residents of Harper Pass, that time is now.

After an autistic classmate goes missing in the small Appalachian community, young Brooks Raker and his friends stumble into the middle of the police investigation. As the dark secrets of the town’s past start to unravel, the list of unusual suspects climbs, and people continue to disappear.

When Brooks and his friends dig deeper into the unexpected events, they begin to suspect a sinister force is at work in Harper Pass. Can they work together to survive?

Detective Holt is thrust into a leadership role in the wake of Chief Barton’s absence, and having lost his first child to miscarriage, he is left feeling as if his entire world has been shattered. On top of all this, he must confront the mysteries surrounding Harper Pass, when the typically quiet town suddenly devolves into chaos.

Without any real answers, and with Kasey Norton, an ambitious local reporter, closing in on him, Detective Holt struggles to maintain his facade of control. The string of disappearances and suspicious deaths lead him to the doorstep of the mysterious and reclusive Professor Wadlow.

When the detective realizes what he is truly up against, a tectonic shift in his thinking - the fault lines of which can never be mended - leave him feeling more lost than ever. Can he save the citizens of Harper Pass, or has their fate already been determined?

©2019 Shawn Burgess (P)2020 Rhetoric Askew, LLC

What listeners say about The Tear Collector

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Claustrophobic and intense.

This story starts with a tragedy and then returns to the present day where it appears, history is repeating its self. A missing girl and horrific deaths mean the inhabitants of Harper Pass are in danger but by whom or what?

The author builds a believable world centred around a group of young adults. The friendship and bullying described are relatable, and the team dynamic realistic. There are elements of horror and mystery. The author explores the susceptibility of young minds to the paranormal believably. The bond between young adults grows into a powerful force for good.

Perfect for audiobook media, the excellent narrator creates easy to identify characters, and traits bringing the story to life for the listener.

The story is claustrophobic and intense. The author’s use of sensory imagery immerses the reader into the characters’ lives. The ending is exciting and satisfying with a twist that makes you want to find out what next?

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author in return for an honest review.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Perfect for fans of Stephen King

I love listening to an audiobook as I’m doing something creative or just to make the time go faster when I’m doing chores. But I wasn’t always very productive when I listened to The Tear Collector because of the number of times I just stopped, listening intently, as the words chilled or thrilled me.

I could hear the influences of Stephen King strongly in the characterisation of not only the key players but of the town itself. The characters were many but were well defined enough that I kept track of almost all of them (there were a couple of sidekicks of the local thugs I got mixed up with but that’s ok).

I liked Brooks from the start, feeling his happiness at being accepted into the boys’ crew and I enjoyed the way their loyalty and friendship grew throughout the story. I imagined the boys being the same age as those in The Goonies or Stranger Things, although sometimes they seemed younger or older, depending on the situation.

I found myself comparing some elements of The Tear Collector to Stephen King’s legendary It, especially the shape shifting of the evil being they faced, but that isn’t a negative. Not many authors can be compared to King and come away looking favourable in my opinion, but the descriptions, plot and characters made Shawn Burgess worthy. I’m still thinking about the how the identities of the characters were linked so intrinsically with their town, something I have always loved about King’s novels.

Now to the narration, which is a crucial part of any audiobook experience. The narrator for The Tear Collector is Lou Petrella and I’m going to be honest and say I really struggled with his style at first. I never normally change the speed of the audiobook but felt I had to because the slow delivery got in the way of my enjoyment. I experimented with different speeds before settling on 1.2x, backtracked and started afresh, this time feeling much more engaged and appreciative of his narration.

Petrella’s ability to adapt his voice for different characters and bring their emotions to life was impressive. There are some scenes which are creepy, gory, shocking or all three, and Petrella’s vocal skill made me feel like I was the one holding my breath in terror as something evil moved, unseen, around me.

So once I’d found the pace I was comfortable with, I was able to see how Lou Petrella and Shawn Burgess go so well together and I hope this is a partnership which continues in the sequel. I’m giving this my first 4 stars of 2021 and recommend this to anyone who enjoys Stephen King’s style of horror or who binge-watched Stranger Things on Netflix.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thriller/Horror

This was a fun book to listen to as suspense/thriller/horror are my top genres. Think Stranger Things and The Body wrapped up and amped up.

We have a small Appalachian town (Harpers Pass) where an autistic girl goes missing. The Maryland X crew (Brooks Raker, Robbie & Tee) decide they have to find out what happens and get mixed up in the investigation while trying to deal with town bullies. We also have Detective Holt who is stuck in a leadership role trying to solve this crime with the Chief being absent at the time, and the very weird Professor Wadlow.
Throw all this together with a lot of spooky and some town history of something sinister/supernatural and you have the makings of a good story.

I cant say I was scared as it reallly takes a lot to scare me, but this did have a decent spooky factor. The friendship and loss storyline with the boys was a definite throwback (for me) to the aforementioned shows/movie. The narrator did a good job with the reading as well.

This was a fun debt and I look forward to more from this author. I give this 4/5 stars.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources, Audible, and author Shawn Burgess for the review copy of this audiobook.

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