REVIEW: Dead Voices

Dead Voices
Author: Katherine Arden

I loved Small Spaces....so jumped right on this second book in the series. After surviving evil scarecrows and The Smiling Man, Ollie, Cocoa and Brian are trying to put their lives back together. A ski trip seems the perfect get-away to help them get back on track. But Mount Hemlock turns out to be a hauntingly horrific place.

I have to be honest and say that I didn't enjoy this second story as much as I did Small Spaces. I'm not saying I didn't like it...I did. I just didn't love it. The first book kept my attention and was truly creepy. This second story just seemed a bit forced and less atmospheric. Still enjoyable...but just not as creepy cool as Small Spaces. I'm not going to delve into the plot, as it's too easy to accidentally spoil things. I will just sum it up in a few words -- ghosts, the voices of the dead, dark secrets and danger. Again. These poor kids can't even go on a fun ski trip without evil showing up to ruin things.

This is a great ghost story for kids. It's creepy, but not scary enough to cause nightmares or freakouts. Totally age appropriate. I like the characters, and the premise is excellent. I just missed the perfect atmospheric, yet age appropriate, scary vibe of the first book.

I hope Arden writes more in this series, or at least more stories like this. Very enjoyable -- even for an adult! I listened to the audio book version of this story. Narrated by Renee Dorian, the audio is just under 5.5 hours long. A nice listening length for kids or adults. This story was great to listen to on my commute to work. Dorian gives a good performance. She reads at a steady pace, and has excellent voice acting skills.