Marla
About this audiobook
From beloved horror author Jonathan Janz, Marla is a slow-burn, full-throttle horror novel about the families we inherit, the guilt we carry, and the terrible gravity of a gaze you can’t forget. The hardcover edition includes a foiled cover, gorgeous sprayed edges, and an exclusive, never-before-published prequel story.
Turn the page—if you dare.
Every small town has ghosts. King’s Branch has Marla.
A reclusive young woman who lives with her mother in a creepy Gothic house, Marla Gorman is the stuff of urban legends. Some believe she’s a prisoner. Others claim she’s a witch.
The evening of the first murder, Detective Carl Lancaster sees Marla leering at him from her bedroom window. He sees her again at the exact moment a second man is killed. And though Marla was nowhere near either murder site, Carl is convinced she’s connected to the crimes.
To Carl, Marla is a menace. To social worker Annie Frost, Marla bears a bizarre connection to her past. To Dylan Ellison, a struggling college student, Marla might be the companion for whom he’s been longing.
But none of them understands Marla’s true nature. She’s about to plunge them—and everyone in King’s Branch—into an unspeakable nightmare and teach them the true meaning of terror.
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About the author
Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels, as well as numerous shorter works. His novels Children of the Dark and The Dark Game were chosen by Booklist and Library Journal as Top Ten Horror Books of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his amazing wife and three wonderful children. You can follow him on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Goodreads, and Bluesky. You can also sign up for his newsletter at his website www.JonathanJanz.com.
Patricia Santomasso has always been an avid reader and storyteller. Her love of literature led her to earn a BA in English, and shortly afterward she moved from Connecticut to New York to study theater. She worked for years on stages around the country doing mostly classical plays and Shakespeare. It was there she met her husband, narrator Sean Patrick Hopkins, doing a production of As You Like It. Now she has merged her love of acting and the written word and happily reads stories out loud from the comfort of a booth. To date she has recorded over 150 audiobooks. Patricia's youthful voice and comic timing give heroines a warm relatability, and her surprising dips into baritone make her male characters engaging and believable. Paste Magazine has called her narration style "warm-but-tart," which she agrees is a fitting description. Patricia and Sean have a sweet baby daughter, Lyra Roisin, who isn't much interested in hearing either one of them read to her.
A student of neuroscience and speech pathology, Sean Patrick Hopkins has translated his understanding of human behavior and vocal performance into a career in storytelling. His classical training and versatility with dialects has helped to create distinct and varied characters across many genres. In addition to narrating over 100 audiobooks, he has been seen and heard on film, television, video games, and stages in New York City and across the country. When not in the booth, you can find him buried in genealogy research, out exploring our National Parks, and raising an amazing daughter alongside his wife, fellow narrator Patricia Santomasso.
