Brother
From bestselling author Ania Ahlborn comes this #HorrorBookTok sensation and novel of terror…the unforgettable story of a young man determined to break from his family’s unconventional—and deeply disturbing—traditions.
Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.
But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he almost forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…
Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.
But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he almost forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Brother* by Ania Ahlborn is a chilling, disturbing horror novel with a slow-burning but powerful suspense that vividly portrays a twisted...
"One of these things is not like the other." Michael is a sensitive and sweet boy underneath the twisted outer shell created by his demented family. Adopted into the family as a young boy, he is now a conflicted young man trapped in a life of terror without a clue how to escape, forced to play his part in his family's sick games.
Michael's brother Rebel (born Ray, he renamed himself "Rebel" when he was a boy) is a sick and twisted man with an eerie bad boy charisma that attracts the ladies. He is Michael's big brother, and he never lets Michael forget that he belongs to Rebel and his life is at his mercy.
Sister Misty is sweet and twisted. Where Rebel is cruel and twisted, Misty is just addled, her mind twisted by years of abuse and from listening to the screams outside her window.
The entire family lives in fear of Momma. If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
Being Momma's husband, Wade seems to be just a boat without a rudder, steered by Momma's winds. He generally seems dispassionate or even uncomfortable or disagreeable with what often lands at his feet, but performs whatever duties Momma wants.
Creepy story with even creepier characters, this one in a sense is a slow burner. From the opening paragraph, it starts right off with a bang, but then it's just a slow burn getting you to the climax. You know very bad things happen in this story, but it takes a long time to get there. This about drove me nuts, but in a good way! It's suspense at its best.
My final word: This story had some very difficult subject matter, but it is presented in a very readable way. Eerie. That's what it is. Eerie. All is not okay at the Morrow farm.This is one of those scary, creepy Appalachian mountain family stories. You come upon an old farmhouse with a beat up old cellar door deep in the mountain woods, souped up antique car parked out front, and you know that nothing good happens there. But it does make for a good story!
4 1/2 stars
Michael's brother Rebel (born Ray, he renamed himself "Rebel" when he was a boy) is a sick and twisted man with an eerie bad boy charisma that attracts the ladies. He is Michael's big brother, and he never lets Michael forget that he belongs to Rebel and his life is at his mercy.
Sister Misty is sweet and twisted. Where Rebel is cruel and twisted, Misty is just addled, her mind twisted by years of abuse and from listening to the screams outside her window.
The entire family lives in fear of Momma. If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
Being Momma's husband, Wade seems to be just a boat without a rudder, steered by Momma's winds. He generally seems dispassionate or even uncomfortable or disagreeable with what often lands at his feet, but performs whatever duties Momma wants.
Creepy story with even creepier characters, this one in a sense is a slow burner. From the opening paragraph, it starts right off with a bang, but then it's just a slow burn getting you to the climax. You know very bad things happen in this story, but it takes a long time to get there. This about drove me nuts, but in a good way! It's suspense at its best.
My final word: This story had some very difficult subject matter, but it is presented in a very readable way. Eerie. That's what it is. Eerie. All is not okay at the Morrow farm.This is one of those scary, creepy Appalachian mountain family stories. You come upon an old farmhouse with a beat up old cellar door deep in the mountain woods, souped up antique car parked out front, and you know that nothing good happens there. But it does make for a good story!
4 1/2 stars
I couldn’t decide if this was a 3 or a 4 star for me so I decided on a 3.5 star instead.
If your a fan of movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or anything by Rob Zombie, this may be a good read for you! There were parts that felt slow and it was further marred by the fact that I could see the plot twist from a mile away (because I’m a horror girl and know these things lol), but it was solid for what it was!!
If your a fan of movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or anything by Rob Zombie, this may be a good read for you! There were parts that felt slow and it was further marred by the fact that I could see the plot twist from a mile away (because I’m a horror girl and know these things lol), but it was solid for what it was!!
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