Late one night, a wounded man checks into a remote roadside hotel. He’s running from something he can’t explain or escape. And over the course of a night, he’ll tell the hotel’s proprietor how his life fell apart.
It started with his wife. Subtle changes. Smiles that didn’t belong to her. Then violence—sudden, intimate, almost casual. Therapy offered hope. Recovery seemed possible. Until it wasn’t. He believes a hidden influence has attached itself to him, one that never forces, never commands. It whispers. It suggests. Nudges people toward their worst impulses.
Now the man wanders the country as a fugitive, hoping to break free from the evil that’s wormed its way into him. But as our narrator’s story unfolds, he begins to question whether he’s fled far enough . . .
The Nudge was my first book by Joseph Fink, and it definitely won’t be my last. This is a horror novella with much more psychological and existential horror than body horror or gore, but a few scenes did terrify me! I was immersed from start to finish, and one of my favourite things about it was its unique format. The entire story is told in just two chapters with an Intermission from the mysterious hotel proprietor in between. For most of the book, I felt like I was a fly on the wall, listening in on an unsettling conversation. This is also a slow-burn with creeping dread, an unseen evil, and unreliable reality—all woven into a mind-bending tale!
The story only has two characters present from start to finish. An unnamed man (the narrator of the story within a story) is escorted by an overly friendly hotel proprietor, Alan Lloyd, to his room. The story unfolds as they traverse through seemingly endless maze-like corridors, stairwells, and elevators to get there.
As they walk, the unnamed man tells the story of how his wife Sharon began having strange episodes that made her become increasingly creepy and dangerous toward him. She received treatment but nothing was able to stop whatever had taken hold of her. His story has some sudden, vivid body horror scenes that caught me off guard. Eventually, he had no choice but to flee, which is what brings him to the hotel. He tells his story over Chapter One and Chapter Two, while Alan interrupts with bizarre tidbits about the hotel’s history. How the hotel began as a home and gradually became a labyrinth-like hotel is really intriguing, and as they walk, there are a lot of vivid details of the hotel interior that are claustrophobic and dizzying! By the end, the hotel felt like a character in its own right, and its eerie atmosphere stayed with me after I finished.😱
The ending is a bit of a surprise but also ambiguous, and it will leave you unsettled and probably asking yourself, “What did I just read?” in the best way!
I highly recommend the audiobook. It’s a duet narration, and both narrators do a fantastic job bringing the unnamed man and Alan Lloyd to life in a high-quality production. It’s perfect for a commute or a one-sitting read/listen. After this one, I’ll definitely be reading more from Joseph Fink!
Narrator Performance
The Nudge is read by seasoned narrators Kevin R. Free and Cecil Baldwin in duet narration.
Free narrates all of the unnamed protagonist’s dialogue and flashbacks. He portrays him with a slightly anxious, haunted voice that captures everything he’s been through. As the man recounts his story and the narrative flashes back to his life with his wife Sharon, Free makes it clear how much he loved his wife and how loving their relationship was before everything went wrong. As Sharon begins experiencing strange episodes, Free gradually shifts his performance to convey the character’s growing unease, anxiety, and paranoia. You can also hear him trying to convince himself that there’s a logical explanation before being forced to accept that it’s an unseen evil.
A major highlight for me was Free’s narration of the previous hotel where the man stayed. The terrifying scenes in the hotel room are perfectly paced, and the sudden horror literally terrified me. Another standout moment comes near the end, when the man begins questioning the hotel guide, Alan, about why it’s taking so long to reach his room. Free makes the character’s confusion and growing suspicion palpable, and the final scenes/reveals hit hard and linger!
Baldwin narrates all of Alan Lloyd’s dialogue. He immediately gives him a calm, welcoming voice that sounds almost too friendly, and I was immediately questioning him. As Alan casually guides the man through the hotel’s seemingly endless maze of corridors, narrow passageways, stairwells, and strange elevators, Baldwin uses a nonchalant tone to convey how normal this creepy trek is for him.
I found myself fully immersed whenever Alan spoke about the hotel’s bizarre history, and Baldwin’s understated performance provides a lot of creeping dread. In the twisty final scenes, Baldwin shifts his performance to reveal another side of the character that I had suspected all along, but it still creeped me out and left me unsettled—the true sign of an effective delivery!
If this book sounds like something you’d enjoy, I can’t recommend the audiobook enough. Both narrators elevate the story, creating an unstoppable listening experience that’s perfect for horror fans looking for a one-sitting listen!
Narrator Performance
The Nudge is read by seasoned narrators Kevin R. Free and Cecil Baldwin in duet narration.
Free narrates all of the unnamed protagonist’s dialogue and flashbacks. He portrays him with a slightly anxious, haunted voice that captures everything he’s been through. As the man recounts his story and the narrative flashes back to his life with his wife Sharon, Free makes it clear how much he loved his wife and how loving their relationship was before everything went wrong. As Sharon begins experiencing strange episodes, Free gradually shifts his performance to convey the character’s growing unease, anxiety, and paranoia. You can also hear him trying to convince himself that there’s a logical explanation before being forced to accept that it’s an unseen evil.
A major highlight for me was Free’s narration of the previous hotel where the man stayed. The terrifying scenes in the hotel room are perfectly paced, and the sudden horror literally terrified me. Another standout moment comes near the end, when the man begins questioning the hotel guide, Alan, about why it’s taking so long to reach his room. Free makes the character’s confusion and growing suspicion palpable, and the final scenes/reveals hit hard and linger!
Baldwin narrates all of Alan Lloyd’s dialogue. He immediately gives him a calm, welcoming voice that sounds almost too friendly, and I was immediately questioning him. As Alan casually guides the man through the hotel’s seemingly endless maze of corridors, narrow passageways, stairwells, and strange elevators, Baldwin uses a nonchalant tone to convey how normal this creepy trek is for him.
I found myself fully immersed whenever Alan spoke about the hotel’s bizarre history, and Baldwin’s understated performance provides a lot of creeping dread. In the twisty final scenes, Baldwin shifts his performance to reveal another side of the character that I had suspected all along, but it still creeped me out and left me unsettled—the true sign of an effective delivery!
If this book sounds like something you’d enjoy, I can’t recommend the audiobook enough. Both narrators elevate the story, creating an unstoppable listening experience that’s perfect for horror fans looking for a one-sitting listen!
The Nudge is read by seasoned narrators Kevin R. Free and Cecil Baldwin in duet narration.
Free narrates all of the unnamed protagonist’s dialogue and flashbacks. He portrays him with a slightly anxious, haunted voice that captures everything he’s been through. As the man recounts his story and the narrative flashes back to his life with his wife Sharon, Free makes it clear how much he loved his wife and how loving their relationship was before everything went wrong. As Sharon begins experiencing strange episodes, Free gradually shifts his performance to convey the character’s growing unease, anxiety, and paranoia. You can also hear him trying to convince himself that there’s a logical explanation before being forced to accept that it’s an unseen evil.
A major highlight for me was Free’s narration of the previous hotel where the man stayed. The terrifying scenes in the hotel room are perfectly paced, and the sudden horror literally terrified me. Another standout moment comes near the end, when the man begins questioning the hotel guide, Alan, about why it’s taking so long to reach his room. Free makes the character’s confusion and growing suspicion palpable, and the final scenes/reveals hit hard and linger!
Baldwin narrates all of Alan Lloyd’s dialogue. He immediately gives him a calm, welcoming voice that sounds almost too friendly, and I was immediately questioning him. As Alan casually guides the man through the hotel’s seemingly endless maze of corridors, narrow passageways, stairwells, and strange elevators, Baldwin uses a nonchalant tone to convey how normal this creepy trek is for him.
I found myself fully immersed whenever Alan spoke about the hotel’s bizarre history, and Baldwin’s understated performance provides a lot of creeping dread. In the twisty final scenes, Baldwin shifts his performance to reveal another side of the character that I had suspected all along, but it still creeped me out and left me unsettled—the true sign of an effective delivery!
If this book sounds like something you’d enjoy, I can’t recommend the audiobook enough. Both narrators elevate the story, creating an unstoppable listening experience that’s perfect for horror fans looking for a one-sitting listen!
