On the Lips of Children

By: Mark Matthews

Narrated by: Bob Dunsworth

Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Macon. Tattoo artist. Athlete. Family man.

He's planning to run a marathon, but the event becomes something terrible.

During a warm-up run, Macon falls prey to a bizarre man and his wife who dwell in an underground drug-smuggling tunnel. They raise their twin children in a way Macon couldn't imagine: Skinning unexpecting victims for food and money.

And Macon, and his family, are next.

©2013 Mark Matthews (P)2014 Mark Matthews

Critic reviews

“An ordinary running trail becomes the most terrifying place on the planet for Mark Matthews' troubled, likeable, marathon-running, tattooed, hipster protagonists and their young daughter. But, for the horror-show clan living under that trail - who subsist on flesh and bath salts in a nightmare orgy of blood and crazy - the hipsters are a rare treat indeed. As the family v. family showdown transpires underground and off the beaten path, the vulnerability of running on a trail - alone but for the watchers in the woods - makes the setting unique and well-crafted. Written with verve, surprising compassion, and bite, On the Lips of Children is a seriously demented must read.” (Sacha Z. Scoblic, author of Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety)

“Mark Matthews' On the Lips of Children is a sprint down a path of high-adrenaline terror that never offers the comfort of monsters you can dismiss by reminding yourself ‘there's no such thing as...’ The story alternates between harsh reality and an almost dream-like surreality while never losing sight of the real heart of good storytelling. Matthews demonstrates that you don't have far down to go to reach the underworld, yet the road back up is a lot harder run than anyone is prepared to make.” (Bracken MacLeod, author of Mountain Home)

“ On the Lips of Children by Mark Matthews, is a dark, terrifying page-turner. It's Stephen King's Misery on bath salts. In a cave. It scared the crap out of me. The story was original. The characters were fascinating, exposing the reader to worlds foreign to most of us. Matthews has a knack for pacing his story then jolting the reader with a frightening plot twist. I was impressed by how he wrapped up the ending. Read this book.” (Michele Miller, author of The Thirteenth Step: Zombie Recovery, an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award quarterfinalist)

Very Solid Listen!

I really enjoy finding new authors that are putting out new, different and captivating content. Mark Matthews is one of these guys. You can tell he is a serious runner because the imagery he uses can only be from experience, not background interviews. This is a very scary story based on the possibility of something like this actually existing in our dark world. The monsters are human, while being as un-human as possible. The characters are very believable and he ties together experiences that we all have faced as parents as an anchor of sorts. For example, we have all had that time where we lost track of our child, if only for a second, in a crowded place, Matthews links us to the characters with situations we have all had.

The narration was done by Bob Dunsworth, who has over 30 books to his credit on Audible. He does a good job with the only exception being that his “first person voice” sometimes distracts from the story and shifts you to the delivery. Its almost like it is a production issue where they had to go back and re-voice a sentence or two and the pitch was off. That is really my only complaint, really, so I am not knocking on him, just giving you my impression.

I recommend this as a solid horror listen, its not a long one, 6 and half hours, fast paced with no downtime. Give it a listen, unless you are a runner and plan to listen to it while you are running, AT NIGHT, ALONE. If that’s you, then listen to it during the day, in the car! Byf2 MyNextListen

Horror of Horror's

Captivating!!! Best word to describe this story. It kept me on the edge of my seat!

Running to feel alive. Running to stay alive.

Any additional comments?

Macon and Erin are building a life together. With their past in the rear view mirror, they need to find a way to survive a harrowing ordeal and make their dreams together come true, for themselves, for their daughter Lyric and for those that have been lost. They will need to dig deep to find the courage to keep running forward toward freedom.

Q and T never had a chance - Weaned on blood and flesh, living in underground tunnels and sewers, struggling to survive and find their way in the dark with only a mother’s love to keep them safe (?) and a disturbed father that just may be the end of them all. Family is everything.

I was fortunate enough to receive the Audlble version of On the Lips of Children from Mark to check out and review. Fortunate, indeed.

On the Lips of Children is a very good, character driven, dark fiction/horror tale that will make anyone that has children squirm in their seat. The narration was excellent and the pacing of the story was perfect. The story itself was simple enough, but the themes and concepts went much deeper and rang with interesting social and psychological tones. Mark did a wonderful job of building up the tension and the feeling of foreboding. The story and never strayed into cliché’ gimmicks or cookie cutter “horror” to provide his thrills and chills. Several times I found myself thinking I knew what was coming and was wrong…must have been my cookie cutter brain.

Sometimes you run for fun. Sometimes for the endorphins. Somtimes....for your life. And sometimes you need to stop and make a stand.

Horror for Runners!

What other book might you compare On the Lips of Children to and why?

Offseason by Jack Ketchum

Who was the most memorable character of On the Lips of Children and why?

It has to be "T" and "Q", the children whose lips thirst for Macon's bacon.

Any additional comments?

In On the Lips of Children, tattoo artist Macon has been training for his first marathon, a feat he hopes will convince his girlfriend and accomplished runner Erin that he is a worthy suitor. Little does he know that a routine jog will bring he and his young family face to face a group of depraved and bloodthirsty creatures.

Any regular urban runner can attest to the flighty,nervous feeling one gets when running under an "occupied" underpass or down a poorly lit trail. Author Mark Matthews does an excellent job of juxtaposing the process of painful struggle, growth, and rebirth associated with distance running and body art with the real life fight for survival in this book.

Riveting, Claustrophic, Creepy, True?

Where does On the Lips of Children rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story was incredible and different. Some of the things have been done before, but never like this.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hard to say which character was my favorite. I loved Erin's dedication to being a mother, I also thought Lupita was a wonderfully twisted mom. I wanted to see both of their kids on a play date. Dante was a crazied bath salt snorter who I could see when I closed my eyes.

What does Bob Dunsworth bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Voice inflections of the narrator were deep, and he changed up enough when reading the female parts.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me cringe, made me want to avoid dark places. Some descriptions of bodies being cut were done so well.

Any additional comments?

This is a deep story about family and trying to take care of what we love, but also a reminder of the sick things out there that can get in the way.

A riveting story and extremely talented narrator

If you could sum up On the Lips of Children in three words, what would they be?

Edgy, dark, powerful

What was one of the most memorable moments of On the Lips of Children?

One of the most memorable moments for me was when Macon came back and made his stand. Not to give anything away, but he didn't need to run that marathon to prove himself.

Have you listened to any of Bob Dunsworth’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never listened to this narrator before, but he is very talented. Believable voices and appropriate emotion throughout. Very smooth reading, no awkward pauses or stumbling.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I thought the most moving moment in the book was when Macon had to give up something he wanted to give to the person he loved in order to get that person back. He seemed to put so much stock in that object he had, but when it came right down to it, he knew what mattered most. I love the way he fought for his family no matter how beaten down he was.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator was perfect and the story was a perfect contrast of light and dark. There was plenty of tension and action and moments that made you cheer out loud. I felt a little bit uneasy about how the book did end, though, and wonder if there will be a sequel in that?

Disturbing, but Compelling Story

What did you like best about On the Lips of Children? What did you like least?

I was provided a free copy of the audiobook, On the Lips of Children. The story was fast-paced and I was very impressed with Mark Matthews' storytelling ability. I felt I could see, hear, and sometimes even taste what was happening in the story. For the most part, this was a good thing but I must admit that some parts were a bit too graphic for me, such as the slurping of blood. That made it difficult for me to listen to. The frightening part is that this story could be real. I was very impressed with Matthews' characterization, even bringing us into the mind of Lyric, the daughter.

The narration was well done and I enjoyed Bob Dunsworth's telling of the story with one exception. Whenever he expressed a character's thoughts, the thoughts sounded as though he put his hand over a phone for it to be muffled. I found that very distracting. Other than that, his reading was very well done.

I'd recommend On the Lips of Children to horror fans.

The Horror of Addiction

Mark Matthews latest contribution to the horror fiction genre, On the Lips of Children plays on a similar theme as his first novel, Milk-Blood. The theme of addiction. This is a refreshing and much needed turn in the realm of horror fiction. Although the novel’s cover gives the impression of the “supernatural” the story is anything but, and has a very plausible scenario.

The story takes place in southern California between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Actually, underneath that location, in one of the many drug smuggling tunnels in that region. A young, yet to be wed couple, Macon and Erin, along with their child Lyric are visiting San Diego for a marathon they plan to run.
Macon decides to go for an early morning jog toward the ocean when he finds himself snared by a subculture of homeless folks that are doing the bidding of a family that lives in one of the smuggling tunnels connecting So-Cal with Tijuana. Erin and daughter, Lyric soon follow this same path in search of Macon.

Donte and Lupita along with their children Q and T have been living in the tunnel for years.Since the birth of Q and T. Their life is taking hostages (via a network of homeless people near the mouth of the tunnel) for money and and other “resources” to keep up with Donte’s addiction to “Salts” (which I presume are “bath salts”). Donte is severely brain-damaged and deranged as a result of his drug use. Lupita has had to use whatever means possible to keep her boy and girl alive.
Darkness descends on Makon, Erin, and Lyric as the rock-bottom results of drug- addiction and subterranean survival rears its ugly, monstrous head.

The mood of On the Lips of Children is somewhere between the movies Sicario and The Hills Have Eyes.

Heavy-duty Horror!

Mark Matthews never disappoints! Similar to his other stuff with the creepy, drug-warped, underworld-characters, super-dark, and heavy subject matter. Really good stuff, really well-written.

To me meth heads are more terrifying than pretty m

Starting out great with a view of a woman trapped in the dark, underground somewhere, with little memory of how she got there. I really liked where Mark Matthews was going with this. Sort of a The Hills have Eyes twist with the running trail has eyes. Simply a "family" of meth addicts live under a running trail and their only way of getting more money for more meth is to kidnap unsuspecting souls. To me meth heads are more terrifying than pretty much anything. No cares other than that next fix and destroying everything in their path. Making them great antagonists for any horror tale.

We get to know a young hipster couple and their daughter, that are training for a marathon. Macon, the father, gets nabbed by the meth heads. They demand $10,000 for his release. Beginning an adrenaline filled cat and mouse game of survival and deceit. I found I could not connect with any of the characters or the circumstances of the story, keeping me from fully enjoying everything that Matthews created.

Audiobook submitted for review by the author.

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