The Dead Don't Speak

by Aaron Olson

The Dead Don't Speak but perhaps they do in this short horror novella. Thomas Grady is a school teacher who runs over a bicyclist one night. Leaving him for dead. A week later Thomas is confronted by the man on a city bus one foggy morning. Is his guilt confronting him or is something more paranormal at stake?

To find more updates find the author on instagram avoart_life and Tik Tok aaronolson_writer

Genres: Horror

First published July 1, 2023

About the author

Hey thanks for stopping by my goodreads page. I’m an Author based in Rhode Island. I released my first novella The Kids From Yesterday last summer. It’s a coming of age story set in the 2000s. Events like 9/11 and others will set the path for Trevor on his discovery who he wants to be in this world. You can get a copy at Amazon for just 9$! If you wanna follow my instagram for more updates on my next novella my Ig tag is avoart_life

Reviews

[myreadingescapism · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella packs quite a punch!

[MikeLikesBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read Novella that will give you an eerie feeling like you’re watching an episode of the old tv series The Twilight Zone. A high school English teacher has a terrible secret that he pays dearly for. Something is in the fog or is it all in his mind? This psychological thriller will get you in the mood for spooky season or anytime you want to read a good horror story.

[Gabrielle Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story, it felt super creepy and I enjoyed watching Grady descend into madness trying to cover up his crime and deal with a vengeful spirit. I was a bit confused in the beginning and I felt the story could have used more narration to give deeper insight into Grady’s increasing unease and panic. It was a super fast read and fun concept, and definitely could’ve been taken further and made longer and more in depth. Overall I had a lot of fun with it!

[Laura Bilodeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun, captivating book. I genuinely enjoyed this reading experience. It was a quick read, only 114 pages and I got it done in the matter of a few hours between 2 kids and inevitable life stuff.
I came across Aaron and this book on TikTok and I was very intrigued by the thought of a conversation based, dramatic rendition of a book. It seemed like the perfect October vibe and it absolutely was. Through the pages you see the MMC Thomas Grady becoming progressively more mentally ill, deranged, paranoid even which ultimately becomes his demise. The book held multiple POV’s and various timelines which made it both challenging and fun to try and keep up with. As a reader I was drawn in, feeling the anxiety and angst surfacing and I was completely immersed in this storyline wondering and internally debating what would happen next.

Definitely an easier, lighter read for those looking for light horror or a suspenseful, psychologically motivated thriller. This novella easily could’ve been carried out longer and been made into a full length novel or even movie.

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short supernatural story about being haunted by your actions.

It does get a bit dry, especially in the beginning. The dialogue is heavy and repetitious. I did start to skim it, but after the main character became more unhinged and unpredictable I was interested again.

[Tiziana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grady è un insegnante di inglese che ha superato la cinquantina. In una mattina uggiosa, in cui la nebbia pare così spessa da poter essere tagliata, invece di prendere il suo furgone per andare a scuola prende l’autobus – e qui incontra Ed che inizia a fargli domande sulla sua vita, sul passato, e sul peso che la sua esistenza può esercitare su quelle che ha attorno.
Il fatto è che Ed è morto, qualche giorno fa, ed è stato Grady ad ucciderlo, investendolo e non prestando soccorso – ed Ed gliela vuole far pagare perseguitandolo.

124 pagine di quasi solo dialogo che sono un percorso che si snoda tra negazione, senso di colpa, rabbia, incubi, follia.
L’unico problema è che i dialoghi non sono virgolettati – lo so, lo so, è brutto di solito. Ma non se ne sente la mancanza, mentre leggevo riuscivo a sentire il botta e risposta, a cogliere i toni...Olson è un fantastico dialoghista.

[Chelsea Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! It was a quick, unique and creepy read. It’s mostly dialogue, which I loved, and thought that was a cool way to go about the story.

[Areadingsunflower · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

This was a very fast paced, horror/thriller novella. It's was primarily made up of dialog but surprisingly still very atmospheric. It was a fun and entertaining read. I do however wish the story was fleshed out more and that the dialog was more defined as it was kind of hard to tell who was talking to who. The eerie/creepy vibes were there, which I enjoyed. With that being said, I do recommend it!! 😊

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual Rating 4.5

I love this one! Being mostly dialogue It was fast paced and easy to read, still keeping it creepy throughout! This is my first read by Aaron Olson, but I will be reading more! From start to finish the journey on this bus ride from hell we were on with Grady was wild. I went in pretty blind & I highly recommend if that’s your thing because this was such a good read.

Can’t wait to see other peoples thoughts on it!! I am super glad I got a chance to read this book & I highly recommend!

[Jess Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super quick and fun read! The story concept is unique and I feel like it could even be more detailed at some point and turned into a full novel. Unique writing style as well! I read this in about an hour, so give it a go!

[Grace Bair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only issue I had was the lack of quotation marks. It’s hard to keep track of who is saying what especially since this book is mostly dialogue. Otherwise I though it was a great short, fast paced thriller. Perfect for spooky season and will be rereading in October!

[gxthbeet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read. The dialogue was hard for me to follow, and it was difficult to know if someone was speaking or thinking thoughts, due to the lack of conversational quotations. Other than that the book was a good read!

[Jessica Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Dead Don’t Speak before release, I read some of it when it was still bare bones and he fleshed it out well. This short story was a little creepy and I was engaged with the dialogue and was curious to see how it would end. Recommend for anyone who enjoys the paranormal vibes. 🖤

[Saydee Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a fast read but really enjoyed reading this book it was perfect for spooky season.

[Blair Caron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟. 5

This book formatting was unlike anything I've ever read, mostly made up of dialog.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it, but it genuinely creeped me out.

My only critique is that sometimes it was difficult to tell who was actually speaking.. and I do wish there would have been more things/people, hunting/haunting Grady (that we could have pictured, and read about)

All in all, I think it was a very interesting, creepy, fast-paced novella. Perfect for spooky season. 👻

[Mrs Moa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick creepy read perfect for spooky season.

Told mainly via the POV of the spirit of a hit and run victim who is haunting the guilty driver. Formatted a little differently in that the majority of the story is the dialogue between characters.

[Tiziana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grady è un insegnante di inglese che ha superato la cinquantina. In una mattina uggiosa, in cui la nebbia pare così spessa da poter essere tagliata, invece di prendere il suo furgone per andare a scuola prende l’autobus – e qui incontra Ed che inizia a fargli domande sulla sua vita, sul passato, e sul peso che la sua esistenza può esercitare su quelle che ha attorno.
Il fatto è che Ed è morto, qualche giorno fa, ed è stato Grady ad ucciderlo, investendolo e non prestando soccorso – ed Ed gliela vuole far pagare perseguitandolo.

124 pagine di quasi solo dialogo che sono un percorso che si snoda tra negazione, senso di colpa, rabbia, incubi, follia.
L’unico problema è che i dialoghi non sono virgolettati – lo so, lo so, è brutto di solito. Ma non se ne sente la mancanza come non si sente la mancanza della parte descrittiva, mentre leggevo riuscivo a sentire il botta e risposta tra personaggi, a cogliere i loro toni, a percepire l’atmosfera del racconto e dell’ambientazione...Olson è un fantastico dialoghista.

[David Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story following Brady, a teacher, who begins to encounter a lingering entity who keeps following or appearing. More spooks and a mysterious fog come in as the story escalates while Brady tries to figure out a way to escape the entity.
It's important to keep note of the subtitle, which indicates this is written in dramatic form. Expect it to be a little different and it's actually done very well. I appreciate the dark undertone and all the anxiety and other feelings you know the MC carries.
A quick read novella and great for the spooky season. I recommend reading this.

[Ives Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like with any indie novels or other works, I had hopes of liking this one, but unfortunately, this was just a nope for me.

[shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a bit out of my comfort zone, yet it was an interesting read! I loved how creepy the plot was and because of that I wish there was more to it. I understand this story was a novella, yet the ending to me felt a bit rushed. I wanted to know what he saw before dying and to know more about him as a person. Maybe even a bit more on Ed. It was also hard to understand the talking parts of the story as there was no quotations (might just be because I was reading online). Although there was some minor things I wasn’t a fan of this was still a very engaging story to read and will love to read more from this author at a point!

[Samiha Ilom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read for me. I came across the book in tiktok and immediately ordered it from Amazon. Loved the concept. Very Agatha Christie meet Stephen King it gave me. Some parts are downright spooky. Because of the dialogue based formation and less narration it was hard to guess where the spook will appear. So that was a nice surprise. Could have dragged a bit more on the story but hey all spooky short stories are short like this. The dialogues got a bit confusing at times without quotation marks. Would have loved to know more about Eddie. The ending was justified, it won’t be a proper horror mystery if the readers don’t keep asking they would have loved to know what Grady saw last.

[Kiki Marie Bookish Wh0r3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very quick read…not just because it’s short but because it is dialogue driven so it flows very nicely. It’s a story that makes you not sure which character you’re supposed to feel sorry for. It makes you really question what is reality and what is delusion. The end will leave you with so many questions. I hope there is a prequel of the event that actually lead to the conversations had in this book or even a sequel that investigates what actually happened at the end. It was worth the read!

[Katarra C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella! It was a really fast paced read being that it is mostly dialogue. Watching Grady descend into complete and utter madness from the start of the story to the end was such a fun experience. I’d love to learn more about Ed and to have his perspective of the night of the accident. Overall, this story is well written and definitely has a relatable “spooky” factor.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story has all the creep factors you need. It is well written and drags you into it and leaves you wondering in all good ways. I will say the only thing I disliked was the lack of quotation marks because it was mostly dialogue it made it a little hard to figure out who was speaking at times. But overall, I enjoyed this short creepy tale and can't wait to read more by Aaron.

[Lydia Desaray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading Aaron Olson’s work.
For this to be a super short novella. It definitely kept me on my toes. There were a few bits of gore. Thrills.
I kept going “WAIT WHAT!”
I need more!
Needless to say, I’m very excited to see what else Aaron creates!! 😊

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded to 4

This was a quick read as it's only just over 100 pages.

I enjoyed it, it's something a bit different! It's a thriller / horror story.

The only main negative for me was that it didn't have quotation marks, but that's just a me problem🤣🤗

[Maribel De Robles · Rating 5 out of 5]

One fatal mistake can cost you your sanity. This book is a reminder not to be a shitty person. The truth always catches up to you. Was it Grady’s conscience tormenting him? Because the dead don’t speak or do they?

[TheBookishHen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super quick, creepy read!
I really enjoyed this. This writing style was definitely unique to me, but I found it easy to read.
Definitely a fantastic spooky season read! Glad I stumbled across this one.

[Audrey Finchum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written in dramatic form. I loved it. This paranormal thriller is very reminiscent of the original Twilight Zone TV show. There are some twists and shocks that I did not see coming. It is a fast-paced, easy read.

[Tamarra Tyrode · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title and other reviews I had seen made me snap this book up and by it so fast!
I was ready for a scare, ready for the confusion, ready for the paranormal and all of it never came.

If you read this KNOW IT IS ALL DIALOGUE that probably would have helped if I had known that.

It was hard to follow, the words and text spaced so wide in between that the 122 pages if crammed together would probably make 30 pages.

It definitely was not a book for me as much as I constantly waited for it to grab me and take me on a thrill ride it kinda just made me want to finish it to say I finished it. I honestly think it would have better been released in a short story kind of book. It is Paranormal but not Ina. Spooky way.