Hell Gate

I’ll admit, I went into *Hell Gate* expecting something closer to smutty camp—a spooky setting, a few thrills, the usual erotic beats. What I got instead was a story that *lingers*. Eden’s writing has a way of making the air feel thick, like the humidity before a storm, and the audiobook’s production amplifies that to unsettling effect. The graveyard isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a character, and the narrators—particularly Michael Gallagher as the enigmatic groundskeeper—make you *feel* the weight of its silence. There’s a scene midway through where Turner’s voice drops to a whisper, and the background audio faintly echoes with what might be wind… or something breathing. It’s the kind of detail that makes you pause the playback just to double-check your own surroundings. That said, the pacing won’t be for everyone. The first third is deliberate to a fault, building atmosphere at the expense of momentum. And while the erotic elements are undeniably potent, some of the power dynamics skirt close to problematic without enough narrative friction to interrogate them—though your mileage may vary. Jeffrey Holz’s performance as the antagonistic figure is chillingly good, but his scenes sometimes tip into melodrama where subtlety would’ve served better. Still, when the story *hits*—like the climactic confrontation in the mausoleum, where the narrators’ voices layer over each other in a crescendo of desperation—it’s electric. This isn’t an audiobook you listen to passively. It’s one that demands you lean in, even when you should probably look away.