The Heart Thief

The Rhapp's Barren Triptych, Volume 1

By: S. Lee Benedict

Narrated by: R.C. Quartermaine

Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Ezra Keene is an artistic 16-year-old who wants nothing more than to settle in at his new school and put the tragedy of his brother's death behind him. He awakens one night, reeling from a hazy dream, to find his fingers blackened with pencil lead and a new drawing in his sketchbook - a drawing that depicts the grisly murder of someone he knows. The next morning he is shocked to learn the picture has become a reality.

Ezra has reason to believe the father of a classmate, an eccentric German scientist, is somehow involved in the slaying, but he needs something tangible to bring to the police. He sets out to discover the truth, but what he finds instead is that something much more sinister than murder lies at the heart of this mystery. Monsters exist, magic is real, and sometimes there are worse things than death.

©2014 S. Lee Benedict (P)2015 S. Lee Benedict

The Heart Thief

This was an awesome book!This story has a 'Neil Gaiman' feel to it.Ezra is new to town.He befriend a strange foreign boy.They also have a girl in their friend group.As it turns out everyone will be needed to fight the bad magic that has come to call.A necromancer in need of hearts has been following Ezras friend for many years.RC Quartermaine was the perfect narrator.
I was given this book for an honest review.

Young Adult Paranormal Thriller

This was an unique young adult paranormal thriller. It had a touch of Frankenstein and much more. An evil necromancer is trying to open a portal to another dimension to gain power. To erase the seal that keeps the doorway closed requires human sacrifice.

Ezra is a gifted artist and also has a psychic gift which he is just now coming into. Through the efforts of a dedicated detective, Ezra, his girl friend and the necromancer former mentor and now adversary and his family will the necromancer be stopped?

There is a lot of action and there is a question at the end regarding one of the heroes and if he actually died, leaving way for a sequel.

This was an action packed suspenseful horror/thriller and I am eagerly awaiting the next book of the series.


“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come”

Great Combination of Real and Fantasy Worlds

This was a really interesting book! The mix of real world and the world of magic/supernatural, was different, and I really liked that. There were also supernatural elements that aren't seen as much as witchcraft and magic in books.

The narrator, R.C Quartermaine, did a wonderful job giving each of the characters a signature sound or "voice". Some of the more sinister characters were especially well done.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom.

I enjoyed it very much!!

If you could sum up The Heart Thief in three words, what would they be?

Action, Suspence, . . .Magic

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the journey that Ezra takes in the book. He is new in his school which is hard on anyone, especially hard on someone dealing with a death. To find that the nightmare that you drew actually happened and all the other oddities including one of his classmates. It would ruin the story to give out many details. So I will say I found the book engaging and satisfying.

Have you listened to any of R.C. Quartermaine’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't believe I have ever listened to R.C. Quarter wine before. I was happy with the narration. The characters were easily identified by his voice changes.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

There are monsters in the shadows! Beware!

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Magic, mayhem, and mixed thoughts

What made the experience of listening to The Heart Thief the most enjoyable?

Per the author's request, I will include the following statement at the beginning of this review. Disclaimer: I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

I will say this book is not what I had expected from the description and was somewhat surprised from start to finish. I had believed it would be more a YA coming of age story with some form of fantasy elements with the potential of some time travel, etc. Boy was I wrong and will say up front that books of this genre are not of the type I would listen too if given the chance.

With that said, the author did a good job of telling his story. The ability to describe the locations and action was very well done. I felt engaged within the story along with his characters having body and depth to them, they were not your typical cardboard characters found on other books like this. A few of the more minor characters felt flat to me, such as the detectives, but the main characters overall were likable and had some good back stories keeping me wondering what would come next. The more you learn the more strange and bazaar the book becomes.

I was a bit confused as to how I would classify this book if asked. In most cases I would place it in the Horror category geared more towards adult readers. I do have to give the author credit for not having to stoop to using vulgar language or overly done gore to shock readers as your normal horror book may. Even the points where there was gore, it was not the central point of the event and used more to describe the scene. I can see the authors influence of many of the great authors of the horror genre such as Steve King and Lovecraft. The book for me was a mix of the Shining, Adams Family, and Frankenstein with a smattering of crime drama elements. Sounds strange, but in many ways it worked.

There also seemed to always be an element of creepiness throughout the book, and much of this is resolved at the end; always with an opening for more in the series. At times you say a normal family and then the author would throw in something, without telling you why, that would make you wonder how or when you will learn why. More that anticipation of the Shining.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

If I had the ability to change the story to make it more enjoyable for me, I would remove some of the more stereotypical "kid" or pop-culture language found in a small number of places. For example when two kids were talking to each other, they spoke in a way that seemed unnatural or stuck out when it was read. It just did not fit. Another place where there were references to Jeopardy (the game show), etc. These seemed more forced and often would take me out of the storyline. I'm unsure if the book needed them at all, and maybe the author was using such as a way of releasing tension from the reader.

What about R.C. Quartermaine’s performance did you like?

In relation to the narrator of the audiobook, I will say I enjoyed his ability to bring the book to life while also keeping that creepiness that runs throughout the book. The narrator was able to voice the many different characters well and did not attempt to do the female voices in an unnatural voice. The tension level was held and in times of excitement or action the narrator was there to support it using his voice.

Great Topics Installed in the Story

The Heart Thief begins with Ezra Keene starting a new school in Sentinel City. He met Emma when she was showing him where his classes were. While in their classes, they befriend a strange German student, Wolfgang Leichnams.

As Ezra is trying to deal with the loss of his brother Tobias, he is dealing with his uncanny talent where any drawings that he drew are coming true. He kept this hidden from his parents and his friends.

When people are dying with their hearts torn out of their bodies, Ezra and Emma stumbled into the Leichnams' battle against a former student who wanted ultimate power by opening a portal in Rhapp's Barren. With so much at stake, Ezra and Emma joined Leichnams to save their world from creatures coming through the portal.

The Heart Thief is a delightful story of good vs evil. The characters are memorable. The story is told from two characters' point of views: Ezra and Detective Drake. Even though, Ezra is the main character of the story, Detective Drake's point of views connects the story of the legend of Rhapp's Barren of a past that is forgotten. It also brings the reason of why the hearts were taken from their victims. There are two stories that is presented in The Heart Thief leading to a confrontation which brings a lose end that needs to be tied up (a second book is in order).

The story doesn't just focused on the subject of good vs. evil. It also touches on grieving, bullying, friendship, family, and trust. This is a very good YA story for all ages to read and listen to. Overall I would love to give this book a 4.5 stars if it was possible.

The narrator, R.C. Quartermaine gives a very good performance in providing the characters of German origin their accents. I love the gruffy voice that the narrator gave Black Lucas.

I was given this audiobook by the author/narrator/publisher via Audiobook Blast in exchange of an honest review. I was not compensated or influenced in any way for writing this review.

So good! Amazing on so many levels. Fantastic!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com but I would have gladly purchased this - it was amazing!

Dang was this book good! There are so many reasons I loved this book! The writing was fantastic. It had a great flow and was very fun and easy to read but could also be fantastically descriptive at times sketching out what was going on in the story. The author was really good at changing his tone and diction when the third person point of view changed to a different viewpoint character. Even though it was in third person that had a very distinct flavor and great words that only went with certain characters. You really felt like you were getting the story from the distinct point of view every time and it really gave you a way to dive deeper into the creepy world of Rhapp's Barren.

The main character Ezra was awesome. He is discovering some huge things about himself in this book while he and his parents deal with some powerful grief. He's an artist too, and being an artist myself it was really fun to read about him carrying around a sketchbook and showing people drawings of architecture he had done. Later in the story his drawing leads to some very dark creepy truths but you'll have to read the book to find out about those. Also he meets a pretty special girl in the story and seeing their friendship develop and grow among all the crazy supernatural stuff that's going on was grounding and wonderful in this novel. I really liked her personality and her dialog added a lot of fun and humor to the story. There were so many themes touched on in this book too. Family, friendship, loss, even bullying. This is a very well written well rounded story with a lot to offer. I can't wait to read the second one.

Touching more on the characters, there were so many great ones! I loved the police officers and the break their scenes gave to the growing crazy supernatural stuff Ezra keeps discovering. The more police procedural scenes were fun to read and really well done. I loved the two cop partners and how different they were from each other. Even though they were more minor characters in the overall story they were fleshed out really well and I liked them and cared about them. Then there is the family of freaks Ezra meets who have many secrets that you'll have fun discovering if you read this book. I call them freaks but they are like friends to me know having read the book. They all have different... abilities I'll say because I don't want to spoil anything in the story - and their story was really cool to uncover as I read through the book. I can't finish mentioning the great characters without saying how cool the bad guys were. A very powerful evil magician and his two terrifying accomplices. A little tiny wooden dummy man who doesn't let his size stop him from being someone you wouldn't want to meet and a huge ghastly hulk of a man who can literally rip your heart out of your chest with his bare hands.

I loved the dark supernatural thriller and the police procedural elements in this book. It was cool to delve into the deep dark world of magic and monsters and then switch to the view of that same world through the skeptical and organized view of the policeman trying to pick up the pieces after these supernatural monsters had committed gruesome crimes.

This book had some pretty amazing action scenes. Guns, swords, magical energy, plants coming to life and snatching characters up - there were a lot of very intense action scenes in this book that were very exciting and very well done. All of them grew the characters, taught them things about themselves, and ramped up the tension in the book.

I read this book by listening to the audiobook and the narrator R.C. Quartermaine was spot on for this one. First his narration. He has a great deep voice that really tells the story well. His voice makes the story very interesting to listen to. I could listen to him read fiction for hours - well that's what I did for this book. Then when he does the character voices he adds another layer of awesome to the listening experience. Some of these characters were monsters, some of them were people of different nationalities like Irish and German, some were policemen, teachers, parents, and teenagers. He nailed the different tones for the different age groups and kinds of characters. He did really great monster voices that were very different sounding from the rest of the characters but not corny or over the top. They were actually pretty scary sounding which was awesome. And the different accents he used for the many German and one Irish character were great. Very well done. I particularly like his voice for a nerdy guy who worked at the history museum. The audiobook is a real treat to listen to and was very well done. R.C. Quartermaine is a talent I plan on listening to again.

The ending was very satisfying. It wrapped everything up well but still left a huge danger that the characters are going to have to deal with at some point in the future, but the ones who survive to the end of the book are left in a great place. I love it when a book can make me laugh even at its darkest most intense parts and this book did that for me at the end. Some of the things Ezra said and the ways he reacted to what was going on were priceless and had me rooting for him and laughing really hard. It was awesome and put a smile on my face.

Wow. Fantastic book. I'm looking forward to more from this author. He is talented and tells a great dark fun creepy funny awesome story. 5 stars all the way. Loved this book.

The Heart Thief was a fun listen.

SO FUN! This book is a young adult suspenseful fantasy story & it kept me interested the whole way through.

Ezra is a boy with few friends. And now he’s started drawing creepy pictures while he dreams, that are predicting death. When the first one happens the next day, he realizes he’s got to figure out what is going on. With help from his friend Emma and the new German kid Wolfgang, they figure out Ezra’s abilities and start to investigate why people are showing up dead.

This book has a great creepy dark feeling without being super scary. Written well, interesting story, great characters. I’ll give the other books in the series a definite read/listen as well!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher, and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Fantastic narrator and great story

What made the experience of listening to The Heart Thief the most enjoyable?

I was engaged with the story right from the very beginning. I can attribute that partly to the professionalism of the narrator and partly to the story itself. The mood of the whole book was dark and thrilling and the characters were great, in particular Ezra who was both likeable and believable. I really enjoy a teenage character who, as and adult, I don't feel alienated from. He had a maturity which meant I was sympathetic to him, but he was still very clearly a kid.

The narration was really good. I thought the narrator's use of accents was excellent simply because they were pretty true to life and didn't sound like they were put on. As such, it was really enjoyable to listen to.

Overall, this is an excellent book. It ends well, giving enough of a hint of where the next book might go, but still leaving you satisfied. Perhaps my only comment about the whole story was that the Leichtman's were a little too like The Addam's Family, but if you enjoy urban fantasy with a bit of gore and plenty of magic, you'll like this book.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom

The Heart Thief is an action packed & plot driven!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Heart Thief to be better than the print version?

I don't have a print copy of the story to make comparisons to, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

What other book might you compare The Heart Thief to and why?

This book just comes shy of being superhero fiction, and I actually was reminded of Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson as I was reading it; not in content of course but rather something about the writing style and mood.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really liked the action of the opening scene even though it's not about the primary characters and it isn't immediately obvious why it's important to the story.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I'm no good at tag lines but if I were to paint this story I would do so in soft pastel blues and grays against a rainy gothic city background. As the scene shifts a splash of harsh red and the shadow of an unseen monster just outside of site.

Any additional comments?

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com.”

The Heart Thief: The Rhapp's Barren Triptych, Volume 1 written by S. Lee Benedict and narrated by R. C. Quartermaine is speculative fiction at it's best. Mr. Benedict does an excellent job fusing elements of Pulp Horror, Science Fiction, and Urban Fantasy together.

It's an action packed, plot driven young adult novel that's not bogged down by excessive info dumping or maudlin romance. The book moves seamlessly from beginning to end and although we come to a satisfying stopping point at the end; we are also left with a hook to reel us into the next part of the story.

As for the narration, The Heart Thief is told through multiple points of view both male and female. Thankfully R. C. Quartermaine handles these shifts in a masterful fashion and each person has a distinct voice. I was never left wondering who was speaking. His voice is very, very pleasant to listen to.

Some of my impressions while reading the book:

2.0% "Has an action packed prolog and my first impression of the narrator is really good."

12.0% "Very easy to listen to so far."

22.0% "Interesting..."

37.0% "Ghoulish villains abound, oh my..."

62.0% "Very interesting story so far... it's sort of got a pulp hero / weird science slant to it. Ha-ha, I can't help imagining the family as looking sort of like the Addams family though..."

76.0% "I should be sleeping... I'm going to be so dead tired tomorrow..."

Recommended to fans of Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and other readers of highly imaginative fiction.