About the Book
The Twisted Ones is a folk horror novel by T. Kingfisher, set in rural North Carolina. The premise: Mouse, a young woman with her dog Bongo, travels to clean out her deceased grandmother's hoarded house. What starts as a tedious but manageable task shifts when Mouse finds her step-grandfather's old journal. His entries read like paranoid ramblings at first, but as Mouse spends more time in the surrounding woods, she starts encountering things that match his descriptions exactly.
The book owes a visible debt to Arthur Machen's 1904 novella The Great God Pan, which it references directly and builds on rather than simply borrowing from. Kingfisher uses the remote, claustrophobic setting and the dog's presence throughout as grounding elements, the horror escalates slowly, but the domestic details (a messy house, a loyal pet, an anxious narrator) keep it from feeling abstract. It reads more like rural American weird fiction than conventional supernatural horror.
This is a standalone novel. It won the RUSA Award for Best Horror, which is a librarian-awarded distinction rather than a fan vote, worth noting for readers who weight professional recognition. The book is relatively compact by horror fiction standards, and the pacing reflects that: it doesn't linger unnecessarily.
Narration & Audio Performance
Hillary Huber is an experienced audiobook narrator with a long track record across multiple genres, and her work here is well-suited to the material. She reads Mouse's first-person narration with a dry, slightly self-deprecating tone that matches the character's voice on the page, anxious without being shrill, wry without undercutting the dread. Kingfisher writes Mouse as someone who notices odd details and talks herself through fear, and Huber captures that interior monologue quality without making it feel performative.
The horror sequences benefit from Huber's restraint. She doesn't ramp up artificially when the text gets tense, which is the right call for this kind of slow-burn material. Listeners who prefer more theatrical narration may find the measured approach underwhelming, but for readers drawn to psychological and atmospheric horror, it works. Character differentiation is functional, there aren't many speaking roles, but those that appear are distinct enough to follow without confusion.
If you're unsure whether her delivery suits your preferences, the Audible sample is worth checking before committing a credit. That said, there's nothing in her approach here that would push most listeners toward the print version.
The Audible Verdict
The Twisted Ones is one of the stronger modern folk horror novels, and Hillary Huber's narration is a genuine fit for the material, measured, dry, and effective. The audio format works here because the book is heavily first-person and interior, and Huber handles that register well. This is a case where the narration adds to the experience rather than just delivering it.
Listen on AudibleIs This Book a Good Fit for Audio?
The Twisted Ones translates well to audio for a few specific reasons. It's written in close first-person throughout, Mouse narrates everything directly, including her internal processing of increasingly strange events. That style of narration tends to benefit from having an actual voice deliver it, and the pacing of the prose is conversational enough to stay clear over long listening sessions.
The horror itself is atmospheric rather than visual. There are no maps, diagrams, or appendices that a listener would miss. The book doesn't rely on formatting tricks or footnotes. What matters is tone and rhythm, both of which audio can deliver as well as print, if not better in this case.
The one potential friction point is the journal sequences. Mouse reads excerpts from her step-grandfather's writing, and the shift in register between his voice and hers may be slightly harder to track in audio than on the page. Huber handles these transitions clearly, but listeners who are prone to zoning out during dense passages should be aware that the journal material carries important plot information.
Popular Listener Questions
Is this book a standalone or part of a series?
The Twisted Ones is a standalone novel. It's not connected to other books in a sequence, though T. Kingfisher has written other horror novels if you want to continue with the same author.
How scary is this book? Is it graphic horror?
It's more atmospheric and unsettling than graphic. The horror builds slowly and relies on dread and strangeness rather than gore. Readers who like psychological and folk horror tend to respond to it better than those looking for conventional slasher or body horror.
Does the book reference or require familiarity with Arthur Machen's work?
No prior knowledge is required. Kingfisher references The Great God Pan directly within the story, and the relevant context is provided as you go. It helps to know the source material exists, but it's not necessary.
Is the narrator Hillary Huber the right fit for horror?
She's a restrained narrator rather than a theatrical one, which suits this particular book well. If you prefer highly dramatic horror narration, the Audible sample will tell you quickly whether her style works for you.
Did this book win any awards?
Yes, it won the RUSA Award for Best Horror, given by the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association.
Similar Audiobooks
The Hollow Places
Also by T. Kingfisher, also folk horror with a first-person narrator in an isolated setting. A natural next listen if The Twisted Ones works for you.
Atmospheric horror built around a decaying rural estate and a gradually escalating sense of wrongness. Similar pacing and dread-over-gore approach.
Rural American weird fiction with a slow build and deep roots in older horror traditions. Readers who responded to The Twisted Ones' Machen connection often point to this one.
The Great God Pan
Arthur Machen's novella is directly referenced and influential on The Twisted Ones. The audiobook version is widely available and relatively short.
Folk horror with a domestic setting, dry first-person narration, and a slow-burn structure. Readers who like Kingfisher's grounded approach to horror tend to respond to this one.
Audiobook Details
| Title | The Twisted Ones |
|---|---|
| Author | T. Kingfisher |
| Narrator | Hillary Huber |
| Genre | Folk Horror |
| Year | 2019 |
| Publisher | Gallery Books |
| Abridged | Unabridged |
| Cast | Single narrator |
| Author-narrated | No |
Ready to listen?
The Twisted Ones is available on Audible. If you haven't used a free trial credit yet, this is a reasonable title to use it on, the narration holds up and the audio format suits the book.
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