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Sign up todayThis Wretched Valley
Narrator
Megan Tusing
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
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Length
8 hours 32 minutes
Language
English
Take only pictures. Leave only bones.
This trip is going to be Dylan’s big break. Her geologist friend Clay has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan’s boyfriend Luke, Dylan is going to document her achievement on Instagram and finally cement her place as the next rising star in rock climbing.
Seven months later, three bodies are discovered in the trees just off the highway. All are in various states of decay: one a stark, white skeleton; the second emptied of its organs; and the third a mutilated corpse with the tongue, eyes, ears, and fingers removed.
But Dylan is still missing—and no trace of her, dead or alive, has been discovered.
Were the climbers murdered? Did they succumb to cannibalism? Or are their impossible bodies the work of an even more sinister force?
This dread-inducing debut builds to a bloodcurdling climax, and will leave you shocked by the final twist.
Jenny Kiefer is a Kentucky native and an avid rock climber. Together with her mother, she is the owner and manager of Butcher Cabin Books, an all-horror bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky. This is her debut novel.
Megan Tusing is an actress, known for The Beginning and the End, The Share, and Odd Jobs. She has a bachelor’s degree in theatre from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
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Reviews
“The book is brilliantly crafted, with both vivid characters and a visceral sense of place…An unputdownable and realistic example of survival horror at its best.”
“Kiefer maintains a feeling of unease and nail-biting tension throughout. Devotees of daylight horror will be entranced.”
“Kiefer, a climber herself, utilizes her knowledge of the sport to deliver an evocative and pulse-pounding survival horror novel inspired by the Dyatlov Pass incident..”
“A skillful and bone-chilling tale of isolation and the limits of human endurance. Kiefer skillfully weaves historical horror into a modern-day setting.”
“Reading This Wretched Valley, you will find malice dangling from every branch while an old hunger gathers beneath your feet.”
“[A] propulsive, hair-raising read….with nimble pacing, scream-worthy scares, and an ever-present sense of dread.”
“Twisty and brutal, Jenny Kiefer’s debut unfolds like your favorite creepy new horror flick.”
“A fast-paced free fall straight into a Kentucky nightmare. Kiefer’s prose sings in this horrific tragedy of blood and dread and paranoia…Highly recommended.”
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