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Hemlock Grove: or, The Wise Wolf Audiobook
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(3.01) - 561 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A charismatic young writer reinvents the gothic novel, bringing a fresh energy to our darkest myths and deepest horrors in an expectation-defying tale of adolescent deception, ravenous violence, and rumors of werewolves.
The body of a young girl is found mangled and murdered in the woods of Hemlock Grove, Pennsylvania, in the shadow of the abandoned Godfrey Steel Mill. A manhunt ensues—though the authorities aren’t sure if it’s a man they should be looking for.
Some suspect an escapee from the White Tower, a foreboding biotech facility owned by the Godfrey family, where some suspect that biological experiments of the most unethical kind take place. Others turn to Peter Rumancek, a Gypsy trailer-trash kid who has told impressionable high school classmates that he’s a werewolf. Or perhaps it’s Roman, the son of the late JR Godfrey, who rules the adolescent social scene with the casual arrogance of a cold-blooded aristocrat, his superior status unquestioned despite his decidedly freakish sister, Shelley, whose monstrous medical conditions belie a sweet intelligence, and his otherworldly, sexy control freak of a mother, Olivia. As the crime goes unsolved and the police seem more and more willing to believe any outlandish rumor, Peter and Roman decide the only way to save their own skins is to find the killer themselves. Along the way they uncover local secrets and designs that are much bigger than some small-town murder.
Hemlock Grove is an exhilarating reinvention of the gothic novel, inspired by the iconic characters of our greatest myths and nightmares. At once a riveting mystery and a fascinating revelation of the grotesque and darkness within, Hemlock Grove has the architecture and energy to become a classic in its own right—and Brian McGreevy, the talent and ambition to enthrall us for years to come.
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"one of the oddest books I have ever read - gypsies, vampires (sort of), werewolves, frankenstein (sort of), mad doctors, gothic setting...it's all there. I found the author's sentence structure to be weird at times - which added to its oddness. But overall I found the book compelling and I was very interested in how Roman and Peter's relationship would evolve."
— Debbie (4 out of 5 stars)
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“It takes a rare stroke of genius to reconfigure the gothic novel within the postindustrial barrens of steel country and another entirely to upstage this conceit with a mythic and ambitious story of adolescence and alienation. Like a collaboration between Edgar Allan Poe and J. D. Salinger, this is a real emerging talent.”
— Philipp Meyer, author of the multiaward winner American Rust -
“A wonderfully creative and twisted reinvention of classic monster archetypes, wrapped up in a mysterious thriller. I loved it. Brian McGreevy is a welcome new voice in horror literature, but be warned: it’s not for the faint of heart, or stomach.”
— Eli Roth, director of Hostel -
“Hemlock Grove is a sly blend of J. D. Salinger and Mary Shelley and will appeal to a broad base of fans captivated by these rich characters and stunning visuals.”
— Ted Sarandos, Netlfix chief content officer -
“McGreevy cleverly contemporizes the gothic novel, underlining the isolations of modern-day technology and adolescence.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“[An] unexpected, gothic monster mash of a debut…McGreevy writes with a facility that recalls the Jonathans Lethem and Franzen, and his short, quixotic chapters are masterworks of holding the unspeakable just far enough offstage to make it genuinely unnerving. At its core, the novel is a juicy soap opera, complete with love affairs, unwanted pregnancies, class warfare, and the occasional grave-robbing or entrail-eating—which helps otherwise align a challenging read on an irresistible Peyton Place trajectory. There hasn’t been a town as rotten as Hemlock Grove in a while. Somebody turn this into a TV series, already.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Screenwriter McGreevy makes a stunning literary debut with this gothic, paranormal thriller. He plays on gothic themes with misfits and mobsters inhabiting his story, but he grounds his plot with plenty of authentic angst-ridden teenage turmoil…Keeps you guessing until the very end.”
— Library Journal
Hemlock Grove Listener Reviews
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" Before picking this up I read some of the reviews here. Ostly the 3 to 4 ones because I think those folk really picked the novel apart and looked at it with a critical eye. Reading it was fun, even if some parts lagged worse than dial-up internet, and a few characters just irritated me. The prose can be purple, the teenage language a little grating (and teens that I know, do talk like that), and the metaphors may need a time out, all in all it's not an awful novel. McGreevy has been hailed as moving werewolves from Twilight territory and he has. The monsters are monsters again. I actually look forward to the supposed sequel he has cooking up. "
— Rashawn, 2/10/2014 -
" If JD Salinger, Bret Easton Ellis, Clive Barker and Matt Mignola collided in western Pennsylvania, this book could have been what was left behind. Truly a great mix of dark contemporary styles that's smart enough not to take itself too seriously. "
— Steve, 1/31/2014 -
" I couldn't finish this book- I just found it too dry for my liking. I doubt I will attempt the story again. I'm sad because it did have an interesting idea behind it and there were some creative aspects...but I just didn't care. "
— Sara, 12/28/2013 -
" I totally did not expect who the "bad guy" was. This was a really good book. "
— Kris, 12/20/2013 -
" A jumbled mess. "
— Jason, 11/19/2013 -
" Enjoyable spin of old school monsters, but I kept feeling like I NEEDED more about the base characters and I didn't feel anyway satisfied until the very end of the book. "
— Anne, 11/11/2013 -
" Not to impressed. Plot seemed to jumo all over the place. "
— Christine, 10/31/2013 -
" This book has a really interesting and unique take on the werewolf mythology that I enjoyed immensely. I picked this up initially after seeing that it was being adapted into a show by Netflix and I'm VERY interested in seeing what they do with that. "
— H.L., 10/22/2013 -
" Pretty much like the TV show with a bit more insight on Shelly. The end was a bit different also. "
— Becca, 5/28/2013 -
" I really liked the story. I wasn't a real fan of his sentence structure though. "
— Nancy, 4/16/2013 -
" Um, what did I just read? A vampire, a werewolf, and Frankenstein's monster try to solve a whodunnit. Then it devolves into some convoluted melodrama. The solving of the whodunnit was pretty anticlimatic. This does not make me want to watch the made for Netflix show. "
— Louise, 3/29/2013 -
" I loved this book! The best paranormal find in years! "
— Heidi, 1/13/2013 -
" Loved the story but the writing style was terrible! "
— Denise, 12/24/2012 -
" Basic story was good but all the other plots, twists, and turns just made it awkward and sometimes hard to follow. "
— Aneta, 12/20/2012 -
" Bizarre but smart. Excited for the Netflix series! "
— Mary, 11/1/2012 -
" Hemlock Grove is just as scary as actually growing up in a small town in Western Pennsylvania. "
— Earl, 8/25/2012
About Brian McGreevy
Brian McGreevy grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received his MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. He is currently writing and coproducing the TV adaptation of Hemlock Grove for Netflix. He lives in Los Angeles.
About Sean Runnette
Sean Runnette, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has also directed and produced more than two hundred audiobooks, including several Audie Award winners. He is a member of the American Repertory Theater company and has toured the United States and internationally with ART and Mabou Mines. His television and film appearances include Two If by Sea, Cop Land, Sex and the City, Law & Order, the award-winning film Easter, and numerous commercials.