This is a very spoilerific review, because I Have Thoughts About This Book. Be warned.

I've read Robert McCammon books since the late 80s/early 90s. I know pretty much what I'm getting into with his books. But this one didn't work for me as well as some others have.

For one thing, there are children in peril. I don't have kids, so I don't have the reflexive dread that parents often have whenever children are threatened, even in fiction. But as I've gotten older, the idea of ANYONE helpless being threatened by Really Bad People really bothers me. I don't watch/read stalker stories, where women are in trouble and helpless. I just don't have the stomach for that stuff anymore. Too much of that happens in real life, and I just don't need to have it in my fiction. And make no mistake: there are REALLY Bad People in this book. Like, cartoon bad. The only way I got through it was to know that the kids were mostly okay. Mostly.

And then there was the character of Curtis, the titular Listener of the title. I kinda think that McCammon might have been trying not to fall into the Magical Negro trope, but I'm not really sure he avoided it very well. Curtis can communicate telepathically with Nilla, the 11-y.o. girl of the kidnapped pair. This telepathy seems to be a rare gift, just something that folks are born with, nothing weird or nasty at all. This telepathy helps Curtis to communicate with Nilla, and to pass word to her father and to help to save the children. It's what ultimately saves the kids.

But Curtis is a gentle soul, someone who can't imagine hurting anyone. He's relentless in working to save the kids. And, because this is set in the 1930s in Louisiana, he runs afoul of white people. There is a section I can only call torture porn, where three rednecks that Curtis had tried to flag down for help absolutely savage Curtis and leave him where they are certain he'll die. They'd have lynched him if they'd had any rope. But they didn't, so they left him with a boxcar full of rattlesnakes.

So naturally Curtis is too pure to survive. His death conveniently removes any question of what would happen to a black man who broke into a store to steal clothes after he'd been beaten to a pulp, stripped naked and left for dead, and who might have been blamed for the death of one of the Very Bad (White) People in that time and place. At every turn, Curtis is a tool for the White People In DANGER!!!!!1!!1! Seriously. O.o And he's good and sweet and steadfast (his heroes are the characters from Le Morte D'Arthur, ffs), so naturally he's doomed to die for the white kids. Jeezopete.

I dunno. I think the book was well put together, but Curtis deserved better. I just had issues, especially with the beating scenes, so I can't be as positive as I wish I could be. Though there is one lovely little bit of description close to the end, as Curtis's soul leaves his body.

Disappointed.

There was lots of potential here, but characters and plot points felt rushed and not really fleshed out. Boys Life from McCammon is one of my favorite books, but this one, even with a cool connection with that book, falls well short. Decent read, but nothing special.

It's not that the book isn't well written or that the story is terrible, but rather that the book spent so much time in the mind of someone who was rather awful. He wasn't even interestingly evil -- more impulsive, not very introspective, and -- especially for an experienced conman -- not very good at understanding his compatriots. Now, there was another protagonist -- the hero -- who sits dangerously close to the "Magical Negro" trope. Or maybe he's firmly immersed? Particularly as his real role seems to be walking out of his own life to rescue a random little girl.

I'm assuming that the novel purposely has quite a few nods to King's "The Shining."

Thank you Cemetery Dance for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Listener will be released February 27, 2018. It can be preordered from Cemetery Dance, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, B&N.
This was my first time reading a Robert McCammon book. I've heard such good things that I was already starting to collect his books and Boy's Life is on this year's TBR. This book just made me an instant fan and now I want to go back and read everything he ever wrote.
This is part historical novel, set in 1934 and part supernatural suspense blended together expertly. The story is told in Parts and we are introduced to the immoral, unscrupulous adults, John Parr/Pearly and Ginger LaFrance who swindle folks to make their way during the Great Depression. McCammon scandalizes us with what some people are willing to do to survive by taking advantage of others. This kind of evil knows no bounds.
In contrast, another Part is our protagonist's story, Curtis Mayhew. We instantly love Curtis. A young, black man who lives with his spirited mother Orchid (she made me laugh out loud) and works at a train yard helping weary travelers with their luggage and such. An honest living.
I was blown away at how effortlessly McCammon transported me to the setting of his story. I could see it all through Curtis' eyes. Every situation he found himself in was just another way for McCammon to reveal more layers of this young man's character. We become very invested in his life--then, towards the middle of the story, we also meet Nilla-a girl about the same as Curtis born into privilege and we discover why Curtis and Nilla are so special.
The lives of all these unique characters intersect under some very intense circumstances and I'd say the last 200 pages MUST be read in one fell swoop. You legit cannot put this book down once our story climaxes and begins its push towards the finish. I never wanted it to end. I could have read about Curtis Mayhew forever. I feel confident adding him to my short list of favorite literary characters of all time. All the kids in this story were so fleshed out, making this story dangerous and risky, my mom-heart was beating out of my chest.
In a word, I love this book. I'll be adding it to my all time favorite stories and I know I'll be visiting it again and buying myself a copy when it comes out. Please take it from me and BUY THIS BOOK. Preorder it, throw your money at it. A must have for any serious reader.

What a great story this is! Set in the American south during the Great Depression, The Listener is a unique tale. Starting with a man we'll call Pearly and ending with the opening of a free clinic, Robert McCammon sucked me in as he always does and now I have another book to add to my All Time Favorites shelf!

With a young black man as the protagonist and a few visits to characters we've met in the past, (I want to say so much more about them, but I can't spoil the surprise for you!),
I wasn't sure for the longest time where this story was going. But when Pearly meets Ginger LaFrance, and joins her cold quest for riches, I knew I was in for the long haul.

Not since the book MINE, has Robert McCammon created such a cunning female villain. Crafty and OH SO cold, Ginger is capable of anything. When she concocts her evil plan with Pearly as her back up, you just know it's not going to go well. And when another of her family members joins their crew, you cannot help but feel that it was a mistake on Ginger's part. You also hope that Ginger doesn't succeed.

At a certain point in The Listener, you just have to hold on for dear life because this tale races to the denouement and you HAVE to know what happens. I recommend shutting yourself in a room for the last 50 pages so you can read it without being bothered. Trust me on this! You will be rewarded with an ending so poignant, yet so perfect and totally satisfying that you might find yourself with a tear in your eye. Not saying that happened to me, (it TOTALLY happened to me), but you know, prepare yourself. Perfection in an ending is so rare, but I think McCammon achieved it here.

The only bad thing about getting an ARC, (and in this case it's a REAL ARC, that I can hold and hug tight to my chest, not that I did that), is that there isn't anyone to talk to about this story. I can't wait for you to read it so we can talk about Curtis and Pearly and good old Nilla.

In February when it's released, I hope you will remember my words here today and hop on the opportunity to read The Listener. Please come and share your thoughts with me when you're done. I hope that Curtis invades your mind space as he has invaded mine, and we can talk about how much we both love him. Or perhaps we can talk about THAT character that was such a memorable part of another GREAT, (maybe the best?) Robert McCammon book, and how much we loved seeing them again? I sure do hope that we can, my fellow readers. I sure do hope we can.

The Listener has earned my highest recommendation!

*Thanks to Cemetery Dance for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*

All the ⭐️’s! Perfect in every way. A new addition to my top ten of all time!

I have had a terrible and stressful few weeks (months, really) and am having a difficult time focusing or finding the energy to write a review so this will be much shorter than it deserves.

First off, I have to say that The Listener has an opening scene that will cement the villain as one of the worst of all time in my mind. He is truly one of the vilest, evilest, most selfish of monsters that my eyeballs have come across in quite a while. Be warned, be warned, beeeee warned! If you can get through that scene you are good to go.

Anyhow, without spoiling things, that vile creature sets off to do more evil and pairs up with a lady who is just as monstrous as himself. Together they plot to hurt innocents for their own selfish gain. But what they don’t expect is a little supernatural twist between the innocents caught in their twisted little plan.

This story is disturbing and horrifying and 100% captivating. McCammon is one hell of a beautiful writer and he draws you into his world of villains and innocents and prejudice and pain and kindness and if you don’t root for the good guys to win after all they’ve been through, you might just be a monster as well.

The writing in this novel is simply beyond compare. My heart broke time and again and all of my emotions were engaged. This is a story that I will never forget and I say that about almost nothing because things no longer stick in my brain unless they engage my heart.

I don’t know what else to say besides READ THIS BOOK. I do not think that you will regret it.

An intense drama with supernatural overtones, The Listener rattles along at a hell of a pace but without compromising on character or setting. In my head, the whole thing was filmed in stark black and white and directed by Charles Laughton.