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The Handyman
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
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The Handyman
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Publisher's Summary
Daniel Martin has never forgotten his childhood encounters with Frank Watkins, the man who built his family a summer home out of cardboard and plywood. Frank's gaze was oddly confusing, as if he was attempting to discern the proper way to behave because he didn't know how to respond in a human manner. Since Frank obviously wasn't an alien, young Daniel thought maybe the man was crazy. In the end, Daniel would learn the terrifying truth about Frank Watkins. And as an adult, Daniel is about to discover there are more of them out there.
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What listeners say about The Handyman
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
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-01-27
Pretty terrifying
This books reminds me alo to a video game called silent hill. reality gets slanted more and more to the supernatural as the story progresses.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2021-09-12
A Decent Scare
This creepy story is well-written, nicely-constructed, and told with flair. The reviews suggest listeners either love or hate this audiobook..
I found it imperfect but entertaining (it's not particularly terrifying, but neither is it rambling or boring).
Bentley Little constructed a tale about a genuinely Evil character - "Frank" - using an unusual three part structure:
• Part One [written from First-Person perspective] explores the experiences of the protagonist (Real Estate Agent Daniel) as a child growing up in a house constructed by the villain, and as an adult hunting down the mysterious figure he blames for the death of his teenaged brother and both of his parents (while Frank - and some chilling colleagues - stalk him in return).
• Part Two [Third-Person perspective] vividly fleshes out how truly evil the villain is with short episodes containing some of the best horror imagery I have ever read.. committing child murder, incorporating human bodies in his construction projects, using ghosts to kill people, etc.
• Part Three [back to First-Person] borders on the ludicrous, but chronicles the final confrontation between Daniel & Girlfriend and Frank.
The writing is creditable, the dialogue is largely guy-at-the-end-of-the-bar realistic, and there is real effort put into making characters relatable. It's not entirely successful (and Little's preoccupation with graphic sex is a bit off-putting), but 'Handyman' ends up silly yet satisfying.
Unfortunately, the narration in this audiobook is capable, but subpar. Chris Andrew Ciulla reads with excellent diction, admirable timbre/cadence, and spot-on pacing.. but with fairly weak voice-acting and a matter-of-fact tone that doesn't fit the creepy subject matter..at all. His performance lets the book down. Blackstone Audio provides very good sound quality and found a professional reader, but glaringly miscast this project.
When all is added up, this 8.5/10 book is brought down in merit by incompatible narration. This audiobook version rates 7.5 stars out of 10. It was offered for Free as part of the 'Plus' catalogue, and I'm grateful to Audible for including it. I might not have otherwise tried Bentley Little as a horror author - and he's reasonably good. Maybe a text copy is the better way to go if you want to give him a try.. but, despite deficiencies (and even though it's free), I judge this sample of Little's writing worth a Credit.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Candace
- 2018-11-11
Not bad,,, not great.
I am not a dedicated Bentley Little fan since I find his stories to be rather pedestrian and not at all scary (which kind of defeats the purpose of horror novels). But, his writing is passable, characterization okay. I will probably listen to another of Mr. Little's books if I am desperate for a mildly entertaining way to pass some time. I give five stars, however, to Chris Andrew Ciulla who is a very talented narrator.
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1 person 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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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Dee Auth
- 2023-11-02
Little Handyman
it reminded me of an early Philip K Dick book in some ways. I enjoyed the experience but it did seem a little unfocused and the ending was rushed.
I would have liked to hear more about how they made sense of the scene at the end as more people were arriving.
The first half of the book was very engaging.
part 2 was anecdotal, but had a lot going for it.
part 3 I would love to see in film form done by a creative group of filmmakers.
This is the third book I've read by Bentley Little and they've all had a similar tone in character if not plot.
I do enjoy them. Recommended for an engaging and twisted listen.
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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
- Lar
- 2023-06-30
A unique horror
Horror isn’t always emotional or nostalgic, so this was a pleasure to listen to and it is one of the best readings on Audible.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert Dawson Link
- 2023-05-15
Amazing story
Amazing story, but wow bad reader. It was like listening to a parent read a bad bedtime story to a child. How could this be allowed to happen with such a good book. Just buy it and read it yourself.
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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
- Robert Oldford
- 2023-01-18
bam
I didn't know what to expect when a handyman was the antagonist but this was absolutely brilliant.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Leaine lodoen
- 2022-03-25
The main story is pretty good
The" Incidents" part of the book pulled me out of the story. The middle chapters could have been left out. The beginning and the end were not bad.
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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
- Linsy
- 2022-02-28
Bentley little is amazing
I love this author. This narrator was brilliant as the main character. Conveyed Bentley's creepiness perfectly.
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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
- Candace
- 2022-02-20
Finally, a story that feels new.
I really enjoyed this book. The story was captivating and did not feel like an overused trope as so many "horror" books do. I liked the characters, the flow of the plot, and the overall concept.
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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
- coreybeth
- 2017-11-25
2500+ books & this was the ONLY one gave me creeps
Seriously. I have 2500+ audible books in my library (just ask my husband LOL). My genre is horror, suspense, paranormal etc. I have never, not once, had to turn a book off at night. Until the handyman. I don't know why but I passed on the title a few times. It just seemed like a stalkerish book. I'm glad I was wrong! Sam, his brother & parents buy a "kit" for an Aframe as a vacation home. The man they purchased the lot from, Frank, they also hire to build it. Frank creeps the boys out and is a peculiar man. He skips town, steals their things and due to his shoddy workmanship cause a horrible accident. Sam grows up but blames his families misfortunes on Frank. He begins an investigation and finds some disturbing things about "Frank". He travels back to his old Aframe vacation home where it all began. and actually runs into a ghost hunting reality show filming an episode. He gives them information about the his house, the house across the street, and the man who lived there. He discovers that everyone who has ever hired Frank ends up dead, injured or missing! He and two of the writers of the show try to track down frank. He learns about a mysterious religion in Vietnam where apparently Frank started his downward spiral into the occult and insanity! I'm hoping there's a part 2. I had to turn the book off last night. My whole family was asleep while I stayed up to clean. The creepy ghosts and characters and the situations in the book made my imagination run wild. I just finished it.......In broad daylight......as should you! Don't hesitate unless you don't want to be scared! First book ever. Not even It scared me. This one did!!!
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132 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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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Brooke
- 2017-11-15
Scary
I literally had to stop reading this book at night because it frightened me so much. I don't usually scare so easily, but all the death from seemingly unexplained accidents scared the heck out of me. At some point, you say to yourself, no way would this happen, but when you're alone listening to the story and all the lights are out in your house and you start hearing noises, well judge for yourself. But, I couldn't get enough of the storyline so I bit the bullet and listened the last 4 hours in the middle of the night. I admit I did stio the audio several times to listen for unexplained noises in the house, but it was worth it. There are a few items that remain unresolved for me. But, I'll just make assumptions rather than list them here and ruin the storyline for anyone.
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54 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Beantown
- 2018-11-24
strange narration
Creepy story, but it was hard to be scared because the narrator sounded like he was reading a children's book. Like a super disturbing Hardy Boys. I finished it, but never got into it.
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37 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
- JuniorLo
- 2018-02-08
Little is back!
The newest from Bentley Little doesn’t disappoint. The pace builds until the end. Well-written. Well-read.
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36 people 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
- Sally A. Wise
- 2019-01-21
A young adult horror book at best.
The story is one only someone new to horror would find entertaining. Sex and unbelievable, simplistic details placed in unnecessary places.
Skip the first five hours of the audio book, and maybe a good story is in there. A nice ending, but the beginning sucked, the middle was almost unbearable.
The voice actor was all wrong for a horror story, bad casting. Maybe for a love story or educational book, but not a voice for horror.
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18 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
- CHGJ
- 2018-06-06
Not expected but very good
*SPOILER ALERT* Very gripping and interesting throughout the entirety of the book. I enjoyed the character development and the sequencing of time (skipped back and forth quite a bit) my number one complaint would have to be about the copious references to animal cruelty (I skipped a few parts) but besides that factor I would recommend the book to anyone that is looking for a creepy/bizarre read.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jacob
- 2019-01-24
Disappointed
Story was bland... very blah atmosphere. Like another review said the narrator seemed like he was reading a children’s book which detracted from the story for me. Maybe had I read the actual book the story would have been better. There are a lot of positive reviews so I am glad some enjoyed this, but I can not recommend it.
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12 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
- creekergirl
- 2018-11-04
Grabs you and doesn't let you go!
This one grabbed my interest from the start and I found myself hurrying to get back to it. Old school creepy is the best description I can think of. I would have given it 5 stars all round, but for the ending. It may just be me, but many of the horror/suspense novels I have read recently have left me unsatisfied in that department ~~ not with the actual conclusion, but sometimes the manner of getting there feels somewhat contrived. Regardless - if this is your genre - don't miss this one! Caution: You may start seeing Franks around your neighborhood.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Midwest Andy
- 2017-11-22
Not Little's Best
I've read nearly all Little's books and used to enjoy them a great deal, but the formula is same each time: take an everyday situation, in this case, a subpar contractor, and stretch it to the supernatural until Joe Everyman finds the root and solves it. The baddy will border on ridiculous and will be everywhere. This book isn't bad, but it isn't good either.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- E.C.
- 2018-01-04
Disappointed
This book started out as a page turner. It became confusion which quickly turned to boredom and then dove into a total WTH!?
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10 people found this helpful