The Disembodied

By: Anthony Hains

Narrated by: Jason Jewett

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Thirteen-year-old Griffin Rinaldi seems like a normal kid. He plays basketball at the Y, and he’s just learning to talk to girls. But Griffin doesn’t feel normal. He’s been diagnosed with depersonalization disorder - he feels disconnected from his body, and at times he doesn’t know if he’s dead or alive. And it seems to be getting worse.

Following the brutal death of his abusive father, Griffin is haunted by a red-haired kid only he can see and who wants him to do things he doesn’t understand. Griffin's only sources of support are his grandfather, Soren - a regional author of Outer Banks ghost stories - and his same-age cousin, Tanner, a boy coping with his own troubled life.

When a rare blizzard strikes the Outer Banks, Griffin recognizes the red-haired boy as a vengeful specter from Soren's tales. To make matters worse, his well-meaning aunt has convinced his mother he’s under some sort of spiritual attack. Unsure if the mysterious boy is a symptom of his disorder or an entity with evil intent, Griffin finds himself in a struggle to save his life, his sanity, and maybe his very soul.

©2016 Anthony Hains (P)2018 Anthony Hains

Fun and Totally Different

'The Disembodied' follows Griffin Rinaldi, a 13 year old who is experiencing some strange out-of-body experiences since the death of his abusive father. Between his mind seeming to detach itself from his body, the loss of people he loves and the insistence of his aunt that he is under spiritual attack, Griffin is in for a real doozy of a time. Things get more bizarre from there, though, as his mind seems to unravel further and he has trouble understanding if he is dead or alive. I can't say more without spoiling the plot, but I can say that Jason Jewett does a fabulous job of bringing this story to life. I would recommend this story to readers who enjoy complicated psychological horror stories!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Dark and disturbed

Griffin is a teen who feels as though he's disconnected from his body. As the story progresses its revealed he was abused by his father, uncle and their creepy pervert friend. It isn't until the end the extent of abuse is revealed and a specific situation. I enjoyed the story and the abuse, although harsh, didn't deter me from reading.

The story begins first person from the grandfather and quickly switches to third person. In the beginning I enjoyed that but towards the end it slowed the story for me. I get why the author did it but I'm not sure it was the best thing. The suspense was coming toa climax and I was hanging on the words when it stopped and went back to grand dad. Each reader should judge that part for themselves. Otherwise the book moves along smoothly and the suspense builds accordingly.

The narrator does a great job. His tone and flucuation are appropriate for the story. I didn't cringe either when he did the female voices as sometimes I do. It's a dark, dark story and written well. most definitely glad to have the opportunity to listen. Stories this twisted and unfiltered are hard to find. It was hard to press the stop button when arriving at work each day.

Closer to Reality than I Expected

For the listener of this audiobook, the narrator’s weathered voice draws one into familiar teenage moments and taut events that slowly reveal malevolent forces involving three generations of the teenager’s family. Griffin, age 13, is developing memory loss and is alarmed by spells in which he sees his own body from behind, disembodied. A character from one of his grandfather’s local ghost stories moves in and out of Griffin’s experience. From a variety of sources, Griffin’s mother seeks help. Over time numerous explanations emerge, both worldly and unworldly. The Outer Banks of North Carolina during a freak winter snowstorm is an apt setting for Griffin’s efforts to free himself from forces beyond his control.
Anthony Hains masterfully weaves a story that effectively mixes the ghostly with unsavory realities. This work is guaranteed to captivate a listener, especially one who is “snowed in” with nowhere to go.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

dark, unrelenting psychological horror

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I found I have somewhat mixed feelings on this book. It is very well written, and the story is engaging. The story is very dark, though, and heavy psychological tension. It felt a little unrelenting once things get going after the slow start. I was totally riveted, though, so that says a lot. It kept my interest throughout.

amazing book!!

This book and narrator were amazing. I couldn't stop listening. I felt so bad for Griffin and a little bit scared of him at times or rather scared of Simon. I loved the twist with his grandfather I did not anticipate that surprise. This book has just the right amount of psychological thriller and intrigue. This book is well worth a credit! I received this book for free for an honest review.

Teens Shot During Botched Exorcism

The story started out slow and took me a couple of starts to get fully invested. Once it picked up the mystery of Simon really held my interest. The overall coming of age story of Simon was quite enjoyable. I enjoyed his interaction with his girlfriend and learning about the contents of his box and the story behind them. The buildup to the ending was really strong and I really was good with the finale.
The character development was really solid and spanned the entire book. Even in the end I felt that I was learning more and more about each character. Griffin’s father and uncle are real pieces of work and their story was very unsettling and honestly not something I enjoyed hearing. I felt so sorry for Griffin and it was only when he had something good happen that I started enjoying the story again. As the Russian Roulette story finally unfolds I was so torn between stopping and continuing as it was so tense. The author definitely did a good job on getting me anxious. My favorite part was the whole exorcism, it was such a cluster and actually brought some levity to the entire story. After I finished the book I felt better about it and was glad I made it all the way through.
Given the education background of the author it is easy to understand why this is such a strong psychological thriller. From time to time it got a little too dark, especially with the abuse Griffin underwent, and it seemed quite real which didn’t sit well with me at all – wouldn’t expect anything less from stories like this. Just know what you are getting into before you start this book. I look forward to other books by this author and hope they continue to give me pause.
With the story starting out with Griffin’s grandfather talking I felt the narrator was too young sounding to properly voice him but with it shifting to Griffin’s point of view I was sold. He did good voices and as the story proceeded I liked his narration more and more.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

My first Hains, but not my last!

I’ve been meaning to get to some Hains for a while and when an opportunity arose to snag an audio copy of this one I jumped on it. Therefore, my disclaimer: "I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review." Thank you, Mr. Hains.

Griffin is having a rough go of it. His dad is an abusive dick, he's seeing ghosts, he has bouts of a weird personality disorder and his Aunt is convinced he is suffering some kind of demon possession. No worries. His grandfather will guide him through it all.

The narration for this one was very good. Timing and tone were spot on and the narrator kept the pace of the story moving along. The story itself was good and written well, but a little disjointed at times and other times felt like it was trying to hard to do too much. Still an overall nice work from Mr. Hains and I am interested to see what else this author can do.

Deep Physiological Horror

I really enjoyed listening to keep finding out what happens as disturbing complex subject and coming of age and good character development. I really felt for Griffin who has such sorrow and abuse in his short life and his cousin Tanner. It discusses Griffin and his relationship with his grandfather and Simon both dead but he sees and talks with. Do recommend if you enjoy dark physiological horror. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you!!