DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Maggie Siff returns for this sequel to GWENDY’S BUTTON BOX. In the first audiobook, which was coauthored by Stephen King, Gwendy is an awkward teenager whose life is transformed by a magical button box that brings her good fortune and terror in turn. Now 37 years old, Gwendy is a bestselling author and congresswoman. Suddenly and without explanation, the button box reappears. Gwendy brings it home to Castle Rock, where she faces personal challenges and sinister forces that tempt her to once again use the button box’s power. Much like in the original story, Siff’s performance focuses mainly on the characters and their relationships. Her voicework creates a palpable sense of warmth and connection—a comforting atmosphere that is constantly threatened by the horror lurking beneath the surface. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
09/30/2019
Chizmar returns to Castle Rock, Maine, after the 2017 novella Gwendy’s Button Box, co-written with Stephen King, in this appealing chiller. Now 37 years old, Gwendy Peterson is shocked when the button box, a mysterious mahogany device that dispensed intricate gifts in exchange for acts of service and derailed Gwendy’s childhood, reappears in her Washington, D.C., office in 1999. Gwendy has always wondered if the presence of the strange box during her formative years had something to do with the charmed life she’s lived since, including a loving marriage, a stint as a bestselling author, and now a chance to shape her country as a congresswoman. During a holiday visit with her parents in Castle Rock, the return of her mother’s cancer and the mysterious disappearances of several young local girls move Gwendy to give herself over once again to the dark temptation of using the button box, hoping that she can wield its power for good. Short, punchy chapters keep the pages turning, but the mystery of the missing girls lacks the urgency of the first book in the series. Still, the charming protagonist and thrill of temptation will enthrall fans and new readers alike. (Nov.)
From the Publisher
Chizmar carries the tale forward into Gwendy’s future with sympathy and grace. The result is at once an independent creation and a particularly intimate form of collaboration....Chizmar’s voice and sensibility dovetail neatly with [Stephen] King’s own distinctive style, and the book ultimately reads like a newly discovered chapter in King’s constantly evolving fictional universe.”
—The Washington Post
“[An] appealing chiller.... Short, punchy chapters keep the pages turning....The charming protagonist and thrill of temptation will enthrall fans and new readers alike.”
—Publishers Weekly
