Author

Daniel R. Mercer Audiobooks

Whispers Beneath Hollowstream: small-town crime told in a single sitting

1 audiobook reviewed

Main genres

Crime & Thriller

Who is Daniel R. Mercer?

Hollowstream. The name does a great deal of work before the story has even started, and Whispers Beneath Hollowstream is the title bringing Daniel R. Mercer to our shelves. It promises a small place, something kept quiet, and a listener leaning in, which is a fair summary of what the crime and thriller shelf exists for.

The book runs to just over three hours, which puts it in novella territory, and that choice shapes everything about it. There is no room for subplots or a large cast. What you get instead is atmosphere applied thickly and a single line of tension pulled taut from the opening minutes. Our catalogue files it under crime and thriller without qualification, which is the honest description.

Daniel R. Mercer in audiobooks

The recording lasts a little over three hours and is read by B Fike. Short-form crime is unforgiving in audio. A narrator gets one chance to establish the world, and pace has to be judged carefully, because there is no slack anywhere in the running time.

Being new to the catalogue, it has not yet gathered listener scores, so approach it on its own terms rather than on a number. The length is ideal for a single sitting: one evening, one story, no commitment beyond tonight. The audiobook is below.