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The Whistling
- Narrated by: Lois Chimimba
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
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The Whistling
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Winner of the Exeter Novel Prize
Alone in the world, Elspeth Swansome has taken the position of nanny to a family on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea.
Her charge, Mary, is a strange child. Distracted and secretive, she hasn't uttered a word since the sudden death of her twin, William - just days after their former nanny disappeared.
With her charge defiantly silent, Elspeth turns to the islanders. But no one will speak of what happened to William.
Just as no one can explain the hypnotic lullabies sung in empty corridors.
Nor the strange dolls that appear in abandoned rooms.
Nor the faint whistling that comes in the night....
As winter draws in and passage to the mainland becomes impossible, Elspeth finds herself trapped.
But is this house haunted by the ghosts of the past?
Or the secrets of the living?
Chilling, twisty and emotionally gripping, The Whistling is an atmospheric pause-resister with shades of the classics, yet a unique character of its own. Perfect for fans of Susan Hill and Laura Purcell.
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What listeners say about The Whistling
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tony Swinton
- 15-10-21
Great ghost story
A ghost story set on a remote Scottish island...what is not to like about this book
The story builds slowly and the tension builds and this would make an amazing movie
I love ghost stories and the is certainly well-written and well-constructed, with an initial slow burn building up to an unforgettable ending.
Yes you can feel the evil spirits in the dark and several times the hairs on my arms stood up
I have Read the digital book and purchased the audio version and the narration is amazing
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21 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sarah Morley
- 26-10-21
Hauntingly brilliant!
Rebecca Netleys writing is incredibly descriptive, which is perfect for a book of this nature. The descriptions allow you to feel like you're actually there and sets the atmosphere. I could almost feel the cold rain on my face and fierce wind blowing through my bones. Lois Chimimba also did an outstanding job with the narration.
Our main character Elspeth has has a traumatic time and needs to get away from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh. She takes a job to be a nanny in Skelthsea, a tiny island in Scotland. When the boat arrives at Skelthsea, Elspeth gets the first glimpse of what is to be her new home. Iskar is the largest house on the island and has been in the family for many years. It's old creaky floor boards, thread bare carpet and dimly lit rooms were not quite what Elspeth had expected. But she is eager to meet Mary, the little girl who she will be spending most of her time at Iskar taking care of. But it soon becomes clear that all is not well with Mary. After losing her twin brother the girl is understandably grieving but is that all that haunts her?!? They soon become close but can Mary be trusted. Or is there someone else that Elspeth should be worried about....
I listened to this in 2 sittings, wrapped up under a blanket, with just a candle for light. It really is the perfect read for this time of year, it has all you want in an autumn read, especially on the lead up to Halloween. I loved the dark, gothic vibes of the old house and the island itself. And the character building is fantastic, you really get to know them and become fond of (most) of them, even if you are unsure who is good and who is bad. It's hard to believe that this is Rebecca Netleys debut novel, I will be patiently anticipating her next release. I think we can expect more great things to come.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- molly68
- 27-10-21
Really enjoyable book.
This is a perfect gothic ghost story, really well narrated. An absolute pleasure to listen to curled up on a winters night. Just the right level of suspense for me. Thank you.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kathryn campbell
- 04-11-21
Perfect gothic novel
Beautifully written and read. Classic gothic novel. Really enjoyable binge listen for dark autumn nights. Loved it.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca
- 24-09-22
Narrator is a little hit and miss
The narrator is good, but there is a habit of tone-switching between chapters with is completely jarring. Director should have noticed this and prevented the habit of “spooky and quiet” at the end of a chapter before a sudden “bright, smiley and loud” beginning to the next. It’s unfortunate, but I did wonder if I would have enjoyed this book more with another voice reading it.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-11-21
So atmospheric!
Super spooky in the best way possible! Enthralling story with atmospheric narration, highly recommend to anyone who loves a good ghost story!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sam
- 04-11-21
thrilling
I really enjoyed this book. The authors descriptions were excellently expressed. The narration was perfect, I loved the Scottish accent it worked well with this book. The twists in the story were great and kept you hanging on for what's going to happen next. I related to the characters and I couldn't stop listening untill it finished.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Swords and Spectres
- 10-09-23
An atmospheric treat
It's been a while since I read a good, slow-burn horror novel and, although this one took a bit of time to get my teeth into, it was a very enjoyable book when I got there.
The author has a very vivid, descriptive style of writing. You can easily picture the bleak Scottish weather, the spooky old house and the local community lifestyle that keeps the inhabitants in a very shut-in mentality as far as the rest of the world goes.
On the whole, 'The Whistling' is very well written. My main nag about the writing would be that the author tends to repeat descriptions a fair bit. For instance, everyone with a tired look to them has 'eyes that are shadowed by sleepless nights'. It's a gorgeous way of describing tired eyes, but not when everyone has that same descriptions used on them.
The story, one that features a young woman looking to escape her own troubled life by finding solace in employment on a remote Scottish island, feels very complete. I don't just mean from an A to B storyline complete, it feels like the world in which our protagonist finds herself in is a fully-fleshed out place with living, breathing inhabitants. It adds a layer of realism and depth which is essential to gothic horror, at least to my mind.
All characters, both primary and secondary, have plenty about (including a fair bit of mystery) them to make them feel like real people, a real treat for someone who appreciates world building. Everything from the young girl's trauma to the motivation of some of the less pleasant characters all feel genuine and well thought out.
The spooky aspect of it isn't entirely overt and forced down your throat, as is the case with so many horror novels these days. That is the true slow burn aspect of the story. Our heroine begins to experience things she can, and happily does explain away. Things progress, as does her acceptance. It's all masterfully done. I did find the more overt natures of the supernatural elements felt as though they were less in your face because of the slow build up of things. The gradual approach almost made the entirely out of the ordinary occurrences feel more natural.
The narration, for the most part, was excellent. I genuinely only have one mild complaint as far as narration goes and that's that you could sometimes here the narrator had a smile in her voice when talking about things that were less than pleasant. Just felt a tad off-key at times. I'd still give her a solid 9 out of 10 for narration, so only a very small detraction.
On the whole, The Whistling was a great little read leading into the autumn. I look forward to filling the colder months, with their shorter days and looming nights, with more such reads as this
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-08-23
Irritating narration
Irritating, volume jarring, too smiley for a ghost story, narration. From whispering quiet for presumed creepy effect, to sudden, near shouting down the microphone, with that smiley happy voice. Difficult to concentrate on the story, and not a relaxing or engaging listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- kayleigh hartigan
- 17-08-23
Just couldn’t get into it
I just couldn’t get into this book. It felt like there was no ending with little happening. I was hoping for a climax of horror and spookiness but it just didn’t deliver. I see so many great reviews so this is just my opinion. The narrators character voices were amazing.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-10-22
Magnificent storyline and creepy environment
I want to read this book so badly and finally I read it!
Snister, Gothic and unsettling story like Henry James's Turn of the Screw! I really love it, every one of each this story!
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