The Crying Boy

By: Jane E. James

Narrated by: Penelope Rawlins

A grieving mother develops a dangerous bond with a haunted painting in this chilling thriller from the author of The Butcher's Daughter.

Clayton and Avril Shaw have lost their little boy and are still mourning when they move into Swallow's Nest on the Yorkshire moors.

In their new house Avril discovers a painting. When she learns that the boy in the painting was deaf, like her dead son, she starts to try to communicate with his ghost.

Meanwhile, Clayton finds himself entangled in an equally undesirable friendship with a retired fire chief who knows more about the painting than he is prepared to let on.

Is The Crying Boy painting cursed, and can numerous house fires be linked to it?

Struggling with their unstable marriage, the couple find themselves in further danger as an increasingly disturbing bond develops between Avril and The Crying Boy.

In a twist of events Avril's irrational behavior is brought to a dramatic halt when she discovers she is pregnant. With her affections once again restored for Clayton, she decides to dispose of the sinister portrait. But the cast off painting wants revenge and its anger towards Avril's unborn child might just prove immeasurable.

©2017 Jane E. James (P)2017 Jane E. James

main character is unlikable

The main character in the story, Avril, is very unlikable and unrelatable. I find her somewhat offensive. She’s rude, self-centered, obsessed, and doesn’t even like kittens.

The overall story is very good, however. as I continued to listen to the book. I didn’t like her anymore than I did except for a very brief time when her baby is first born. But then at the very end what happens is utterly unexpected, terrible and ruined even the little bit of enjoying, I hadn’t listening to this book. I am truly sorry I listened to it. I feel like I wasted those hours and the book has left me with a very bad feeling. I hope that it is quickly forgotten.