Possession

by Matthew Derby, Brianna Holt

Brandon and Justine have just moved into their new house, an idyllic Craftsman bungalow in a picture-perfect enclave of East Los Angeles. Brandon has a new dream-job in gaming, Justine is pregnant with their first child, and those cold Philly winters are behind them. Seemingly everything is perfect… Except what lies beneath the house could destroy it all.

As Brandon (Lamorne Morris) and Justine (Kylie Bunbury) try their best to fit in and make their new home work, jarring disturbances coming from the walls, awful phony neighbors, and an always-around homeless man named Manny (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), bring up old and new traumas for the couple while pushing their marriage and future plans to a breaking point.

When what’s beneath the floorboards is revealed and the picturesque façade of suburban life is stripped bare, the cracks in the foundation can’t be ignored. Possession takes audiences on a harrowing journey into the dark realities of middle-class life, prejudice, and a system rigged.

Genres: Audiobook, Suspense, Fiction, Horror, Mystery

Audible Audio

Published August 31, 2023

About the author

Matthew Derby is an American author.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good audio with a full cast and great sound effects!

The story follows a black couple from Philly settling in their new Craftsman bungalow home in East Los Angeles. They start to hear noises in the house, the white neighbors including a homeless man are weird, but with a baby on the way, Brandon and Justine are determined to make things work.

Sorry, I can't say much! 🙊 I can't risk spoiling this at all so you'll have to listen for yourself!

I love the audio so much and find the production to be excellent! The story kept me on my toes and I could not stop listening! 😨 It's presented in a podcast style with 10 episodes, altogether 3 hours 13 minutes.

5+⭐ for the Audio
4⭐ for the story (it reminds me of a movie I've seen before)

Included with Audible Premium/Plus

[Asheley T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an Audible audio drama with a full cast. The production is absolutely fantastic. There are 9 episodes and a bonus interview that run a total of approx 3-4 hours total in length. Each episode was somewhere around the half-hour mark. I started listening thinking the story was one thing, but I realized about halfway thru the series that it’s about something totally different. (I won’t spoil anything, but I HAD NO IDEA this could be a thing!? What on earth?)

In fact, the main reason I pushed thru is because of Ebon Moss-Bachrach!! He has such a large role in this series! You may be familiar with him if you love the TV show The Bear on FX where he plays my favorite character Richie. He is awesome in The Bear and he’s also great here as Manny. I felt one way about Manny in the beginning of the series but felt completely different about Manny by the end. Really great performance by Moss-Bachrach and everyone else as well.

[Whatcha Reading Heather? · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly wish this was an actual movie because I think that the actors absolutely killed it by bringing their characters to life and the story is eerily relevant in a constantly gentrifying world. I do agree that there should have been maybe one more episode or an extended Epilogue episode so we know what happened after the big reveal, but otherwise, I was very engaged in the story and actually learned something in the process.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected but interesting

[Kaya Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This... was not what I expected? 😂

I'd say I was betrayed. Quite bamboozled, in fact.

One star for the good performances, another because I'm generous

[Pau Aiello · Rating 2 out of 5]

• The Ultimate Reading Challenge #6 - Listen to a reading-themed podcast.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It needed a better ending.

[Derrick College · Rating 3 out of 5]

I… am just dumbfounded about this Audible Original. It was such a really good listen. But.. the story could’ve had more depth and more story to it. It didn’t feel finished, maybe because I wanted more from it.
The Title makes you think, it’s going to be a black couple haunted house story. I’m all for it. But.. what it turned out to be was even more interesting. But like I said.. unfinished.
The Voice cast did an unbelievably good job at narrating this.
I gave it 3/5 of ⭐️s because it had a weak unfinished ending. And the undetailed way things ended up. Besides these points. I enjoyed this book.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the typical horror/thriller you might be expecting. When the twist comes, you're thinking, "Wow! I had no idea this type of "possession" is a real thing" and extremely problematic in some communities. This story was an eye opener to racism, gentrification, entitlement, and modern-day social issues.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was awful. Here I thought it was going to be a creepy ghost story....instead, this is some woke story about freeloading lazy assholes who can literally kick the owner out of a house in California (and likely other states) because of BS squatter rights. Awesome. The ending didn't even make sense either. This was a WASTE of time and just pissed me off.

[Das Levitz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an awful listen. The main character is racist and insufferable, the rest of the cast are made out to be hillbilly idiots. Don't bother, it's a short listen but you'll never get that time back.

[Dee | shhh.thisisalibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super creepy!😳

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was released as a series on audible. Awesome twist.

[The Litt Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Sebastian Cash Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect that twist!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had me stressed! 😫 I thought it was a ghost story and it wasn’t but the real side was way more stressful. Idk if this actually happens to people but like this is awful.

[labibliofille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty predictable and sometimes the "dynamic" sound additions made it hard to follow since the story was all dialogue.

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy, crazy story but not what I was expecting.