The Mystery of Kelly Christopher

By: Brandon Ford

Narrated by: Michael Butler

A newly restored special edition of a cult horror film sparks the curiosities of genre devotee Nick Eliot, when he discovers some troubling remarks concerning the lead actress during the director’s commentary track. After a small bit of research, Nick discovers that star Kelly Christopher not only vanished from the Hollywood scene after the film’s release, but has no online presence whatsoever. No social media accounts, personal website, nothing.

Recruiting some close friends and fellow genre aficionados, Nick begins recording a podcast chronicling the making of the film. Upon interviewing members of the cast, he discovers that the shoot was not only troubled, but nearly claimed the lives of certain actors. It is soon confirmed that Stephen Tinkerman, the sadist behind the lens, took a tremendous amount of pleasure in pushing performers to their very limits, thus causing Nick to wonder if Kelly Christopher may have died at the hands of the elusive and misogynistic director.

Inspired by true events, The Mystery of Kelly Christopher explores the dark side of horror filmmaking and what it is truly like to be a Scream Queen.

©2020 Joseph V. Castagna (P)2021 Joseph V. Castagna

Slow to start but improves

This book is not the usual type of book I listen to but after a few chapters it came to life for me.

A very intriguing Read!

Another great read by Mr. Ford. Interesting, believable and relatable characters and a well written mystery.

Deep and Thought-Provoking

Nick is a horror buff. With his extension collection of memorabilia and his ability to recite all the classics line, for line, he finds himself diving deep into his true love of classic horror after a documentary reveals the questionable history behind the making of his favorite movie. When he discovers that one of the actresses, Kelly Christopher disappears, he decides to find out what happened to her.

Like with many of Brandon Ford’s story, The Mystery of Kelly Christopher left me thinking a lot about life in general. While I’m used to Ford’s stories having a horror twist at the end, this one did in a different way. The only true horror in this story was the way that he so beautifully demonstrated that life is not fair. Sometimes, just sometimes, it really can pass us by if we let it. That seemed to be the running theme throughout the story and after the twist at the end, I really had to set the story down and think about just how clever it was.

Narration was perfect.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

secrets

Right from the start I was ticked at Nick's girlfriend. She was selfish, dismissive, and uncaring towards him and his passions, and this made me furious. I empathized with Nick's. His ex was heartless until he moved out, and then she acted pathetic. It felt like much deserved payback when Emily came along. I liked how Nick changed and grew into a better version of himself. I liked the twist ending and closure. It had to end this way. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job bringing it to life. I spent way too much energy hating Nick's ex. Lol.

The Mystery of Kelly Christopher review

For the most part, I actually liked this. There was nothing wrong with the narration, characters, and story. The only problem I had with this was the end and what eventually happened to the character in which this book is named hench the four-star for the story. Otherwise, it was fine.