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Candles Burning: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.08) - 26 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Author Michael McDowell, known for his chilling Blackwater series, left behind the unfinished manuscript of Candles Burning upon his death in 1999. His close friend, Tabitha King, has taken up where he left off, weaving a Southern gothic fabric of murder, guilt, innocence, corruption, and survival, in the voices of the living and the dead.
Seven-year-old Calley Dakin is daddy’s little girl, but her well-born mother persists in her contempt for the Dakin name. When her daddy is tortured and murdered by two women with no discernible motivation, Calley and her mother find themselves caught up in inexplicable events that exile them to Pensacola Beach. There, another woman awaits their presence, a woman who knows what Calley is and who seeks to control her—for Calley is no ordinary little girl.
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"ok first off this book starts out kind of slow. but picks up very fast. and then its very hard to put down. its starts out that the little girls father is murdered, and goes from there. sometimes you want to cry, then you want to say oh gosh what. or ewww but. all and all. i great book. :) "
— Sheila (5 out of 5 stars)
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“A mix of magic realism and Southern gothic, this stunning collaboration…moves at a hypnotic pace, like an Alabama water moccasin slipping through black water.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“MacDuffie portrays the child Calley with a little girl voice and a mild Southern accent yet still manages to convey a child who is smarter than her years…As the story develops, King and MacDuffie slowly reveal the how and why of Calley’s gift.”
— AudioFile -
“[A] lightly supernatural confection…King completes it beautifully as to tone, aura, and flavor, and it's funny and intriguing, magnetically readable.”
— Booklist -
“This is Truman Capote/Carson McCullers country with a Pandora guided by ghostly voices…grand and deeply satisfying.”
— Peter Straub, New York Times bestselling author
Candles Burning Listener Reviews
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" I would have given this a four but the ending wrapped up a little too quickly. "
— Sara, 2/19/2011 -
" I've read most (if not all) of Michael McDowell's books and especially loved his Blackwater series. He definitely knows how to write creepy stuff. <br/> <br/>I really enjoyed this book of his finished after his death by Tabitha King (Stephen King's wife). It was subtle and insidious! "
— Debra, 2/16/2011 -
" Only downside was that it was obvious where Michael McDowell left off and Tabitha King picked up. "
— Lynne, 2/4/2011 -
" Very very disappointing. Michael Mcdowell is one of my favorite authors. I have read and re-read most of his books. This book felt so disjointed and Mrs. King's lack of skill was so clear. It was easy for a fan to pick out what was her ideas vs. the original manuscript. "
— Linda, 12/9/2010 -
" Really held my interest, but was disappointed in the end. It seemed like the author was tierd of working on the book and rushed the end. Overall, it was a good book, just wish all the loose ends hadn't been tied up in two pages. "
— Julie, 7/19/2010 -
" This was HORRIBLE. I kept waiting for it to get better and it never did. I should've trusted my instinct and ditched this one about a chapter in. "
— Stacia, 6/19/2010 -
" Tabitha King is Stephen King's wife. "
— Gina, 6/1/2010 -
" Thought it was a very interesting story. After reading the reviews I was not sure I wanted to read it, however I could not put it down. I did have to re read parts because some of the story was very confusing. I do suggest it as a good summer read. "
— Tara, 4/14/2010 -
" Another impulse buy. Loved it, wish it was fleshed out a bit more towards the end but overall glad I read it. "
— Erin, 1/25/2010 -
" I thought Mrs. King did a wonderful job of finishing this novel, that Mr. McDowell had started before his passing. "
— Lee, 12/17/2009 -
" Really great book. Suspensful and nostalgic without being overly sentimental. King creates a place and time that is atmospheric and gothic. "
— Mandy, 9/19/2009 -
" This book wasn't as good as I thought it would be for 2 good authors. It was actually very slow moving and somewhat boring. "
— Christie, 6/29/2009
About the Authors
Tabitha King is the acclaimed author of Small World, Survivor, The Book of Reuben, and many other titles. The wife of novelist Stephen King, she lives in Maine.
Michael McDowell wrote a number of well-received horror novels, including The Amulet, The Elementals, and the Blackwater series, as well as historical fiction. With Dennis Schuetz, he cowrote four detective novels under the pseudonym Nathan Aldyne and was also active in screenwriting such movies as Beetlejuice, The Nightmare before Christmas, and Thinner. He provided episodes for a number of television horror anthologies, among them Tales from the Darkside.
About Carrington MacDuffie
Carrington MacDuffie is a voice actor and recording artist who has narrated over two hundred audiobooks, received numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has been a frequent finalist for the Audie Award, including for her original audiobook, Many Things Invisible. Alongside her narration work, she has released a new album of original songs, Only an Angel.