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Plaything
When the Toller family moves in to the run-down house next door, Bailey McDaniel immediately notices strange behavior in the clan’s eldest son Glen. The pale-skinned, ginger-haired fifteen-year-old is aloof, prone to unforeseeable mood swings, and carries a morbid interest in the macabre. His bookshelves are lined with an array of well-worn true crime paperbacks depicting the serial and mass murders committed by a multitude of convicted madmen. It is Bailey’s overbearing mother and devoted therapist who insist that a friendship with the boy next door is worth pursuing, seeing that Bailey spent much of the past year in self-imposed isolation.
Reluctantly, Bailey heeds their advice and a friendship between he and Glen quickly materializes. It is, however, a friendship Bailey will grow to regret. As the layers peel away one by one, Bailey comes to find that Glen’s interests and obsessions are far more sinister thanstudying the brutal acts of those less than human and his fantasies are much darker than Bailey could’ve ever imagined. It is these fantasies that lead to the abduction of a pretty high school senior and a series of grisly murders that leave a small middle-American town bathed in blood.
Plaything is a relentlessly brutal story that plows through barriers never meant to be crossed, a nightmare that will leave readers clutching the novel with an incomparable fear, and waiting with baited breath until its savage conclusion.
Reluctantly, Bailey heeds their advice and a friendship between he and Glen quickly materializes. It is, however, a friendship Bailey will grow to regret. As the layers peel away one by one, Bailey comes to find that Glen’s interests and obsessions are far more sinister thanstudying the brutal acts of those less than human and his fantasies are much darker than Bailey could’ve ever imagined. It is these fantasies that lead to the abduction of a pretty high school senior and a series of grisly murders that leave a small middle-American town bathed in blood.
Plaything is a relentlessly brutal story that plows through barriers never meant to be crossed, a nightmare that will leave readers clutching the novel with an incomparable fear, and waiting with baited breath until its savage conclusion.
435 pages, Paperback
First published April 20, 2018
18 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Brandon Ford
39 books39 followersBrandon Ford (b. August 28, 1981) grew up in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started writing at the approximate age of 8 and spent a lot of time testing the waters with various genres. He wrote dramas, comedies, essays, plays, and, of course, thrillers. There were few things he took pleasure in crafting more than a good old-fashioned scary story. Throughout grade school, as well as high school, he continued to build his portfolio with various works (mostly short stories and novellas, but a few plays here and there). He’d pass around these manuscripts to friends and teachers for feedback. Knowing others enjoyed his work and craved more inspired him to keep going.
A few months shy of 23, he sat down to pen his first novel, which became Crystal Bay. Arctic Wolf Publishing, a small press based in Georgia, picked the book up a few years later. Shortly thereafter, he completed Splattered Beauty, an ode to his favorite Scream Queens. In 2009, he teamed up with Alan Draven and Jessica Lynne Gardner for Creeping Shadows (Pixie Dust Press), a collection of three short novels. Ford’s contribution, Merciless, was heavily inspired by a real-life kidnapping that took place in California in 2002. In March 2010, Arctic Wolf released his third novel, Pay Phone. Ford has also contributed works of short fiction to several anthologies, including Abaculus 2007 and Abaculus III (Leucrota Press), Sinister Landscapes (Pixie Dust Press), Raw: Brutality As Art (Snuff Books), and The Death Panel (Comet Press). Some of his biggest influences have been writers like Jack Ketchum and the late Richard Laymon. In his spare time he enjoys reading, watching bad TV, and all things horror. He still resides in South Philadelphia.
A few months shy of 23, he sat down to pen his first novel, which became Crystal Bay. Arctic Wolf Publishing, a small press based in Georgia, picked the book up a few years later. Shortly thereafter, he completed Splattered Beauty, an ode to his favorite Scream Queens. In 2009, he teamed up with Alan Draven and Jessica Lynne Gardner for Creeping Shadows (Pixie Dust Press), a collection of three short novels. Ford’s contribution, Merciless, was heavily inspired by a real-life kidnapping that took place in California in 2002. In March 2010, Arctic Wolf released his third novel, Pay Phone. Ford has also contributed works of short fiction to several anthologies, including Abaculus 2007 and Abaculus III (Leucrota Press), Sinister Landscapes (Pixie Dust Press), Raw: Brutality As Art (Snuff Books), and The Death Panel (Comet Press). Some of his biggest influences have been writers like Jack Ketchum and the late Richard Laymon. In his spare time he enjoys reading, watching bad TV, and all things horror. He still resides in South Philadelphia.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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April 22, 2018This hardcover is numbered 14 of 52 copies produced and is signed by Brandon Ford .
September 8, 2022
Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
Narration 5/5
July 27, 2020
I received this audible free and give my review voluntarily.
I have to admit, I get a lot of books/audio books for free and usually the caliber of audiobooks I get are not great. This one, however, was quite entertaining in a sick and twisted way. It takes a little too long to get off the ground but the last few hours of the book are quite terrifying. Definitely recommend for horror lovers!
I have to admit, I get a lot of books/audio books for free and usually the caliber of audiobooks I get are not great. This one, however, was quite entertaining in a sick and twisted way. It takes a little too long to get off the ground but the last few hours of the book are quite terrifying. Definitely recommend for horror lovers!
December 1, 2019
A young boy named Bailey has just gone through the most horrific event in his life, having his best friend perish behind a wall of flames, losing him for all of eternity. He's now in a downward spiral, not knowing what to do with his life, in a family that doesn't know how to even keep itself afloat, let alone deal with his personal problems. In comes Glen, a new boy to the neighborhood, one with his own sordid past. A past that he must keep hidden, unless he wants to never make any friends again. Bailey quickly realizes though, in this small town secrets aren't kept for long, and closets can never be kept shut. Revelations for both boys lead them on a path to destruction, one that neither one will be able to recover from.
Part coming of age story, part horrific tale, this novel by Brandon Ford is very well written, with an extremely vile character at its core. I have read this novel before when I first copy-edited it for Thunderstorm Books, and was asked to review it recently so I wanted to get it fresh in my mind again. I remember very much both enjoying it and being disturbed by it the first time around, and the second reading has not dulled my senses. Not since I had read The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, have I come across a character someone has put to the page that I've despised this much, and who really got under my skin. Brandon's writing really shines.
Part coming of age story, part horrific tale, this novel by Brandon Ford is very well written, with an extremely vile character at its core. I have read this novel before when I first copy-edited it for Thunderstorm Books, and was asked to review it recently so I wanted to get it fresh in my mind again. I remember very much both enjoying it and being disturbed by it the first time around, and the second reading has not dulled my senses. Not since I had read The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, have I come across a character someone has put to the page that I've despised this much, and who really got under my skin. Brandon's writing really shines.
April 25, 2020
So, wow. I have to start this review off by saying this book was dark. Like The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum or Killing Stalking by Koogi level dark. Not for the faint of heart.
When Bae (Bailey’s) friend Christian dies in a fire, he’s lost. His mother pushes him to do therapy and get out of his shell, worried that all the isolation is no good for him. In a desperate attempt to get him to make friends, she pushes him to talking to the new boy next door, Glen. Bae isn’t impressed and immediately thinks the likelihood of them being friends is slim to zero. Then Glen shows up at his house the next day and somehow they hit it off. Glen is weird though, and Bae first notices this when he catches sight of the true crime books on his bookshelves. Books all about serial rapist/murderers. Bae thinks little off it, but when he takes Glen to meet his friend Alison, he can tell something isn’t right about him. What he doesn’t know is that Glen is stalking Alison, and he has big plans for all of them From there, things go downhill until Bae and Glen end up in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Brandon Ford is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. After reading Open Wounds, I leapt at the opportunity to read another of his works. His books so far are all dark and deal with triggering topics such as suicide, rape, and the darker side of life. That being said, he does it in a way that brings attention to critical issues.
His characters and worldbuilding is amazing. I don’t feel like I’m reading a story, but an autobiography of someone’s actual life. Bae and Glen were both fully fledged characters, Glen especially. The progression of fledging psychopath to full on murderer was tastefully written and believable. Mr. Ford didn’t spare us any details, and that’s what makes it so realistic and hard to put down.
Very compelling work.
The narration was also well done making this an A+ production.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
When Bae (Bailey’s) friend Christian dies in a fire, he’s lost. His mother pushes him to do therapy and get out of his shell, worried that all the isolation is no good for him. In a desperate attempt to get him to make friends, she pushes him to talking to the new boy next door, Glen. Bae isn’t impressed and immediately thinks the likelihood of them being friends is slim to zero. Then Glen shows up at his house the next day and somehow they hit it off. Glen is weird though, and Bae first notices this when he catches sight of the true crime books on his bookshelves. Books all about serial rapist/murderers. Bae thinks little off it, but when he takes Glen to meet his friend Alison, he can tell something isn’t right about him. What he doesn’t know is that Glen is stalking Alison, and he has big plans for all of them From there, things go downhill until Bae and Glen end up in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Brandon Ford is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. After reading Open Wounds, I leapt at the opportunity to read another of his works. His books so far are all dark and deal with triggering topics such as suicide, rape, and the darker side of life. That being said, he does it in a way that brings attention to critical issues.
His characters and worldbuilding is amazing. I don’t feel like I’m reading a story, but an autobiography of someone’s actual life. Bae and Glen were both fully fledged characters, Glen especially. The progression of fledging psychopath to full on murderer was tastefully written and believable. Mr. Ford didn’t spare us any details, and that’s what makes it so realistic and hard to put down.
Very compelling work.
The narration was also well done making this an A+ production.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
September 10, 2019
Very Good
Just what it said it would give me I got in spades A very great page turner. Still needs slight proof reading but once it got started it was a great read!
Just what it said it would give me I got in spades A very great page turner. Still needs slight proof reading but once it got started it was a great read!
May 13, 2020
Here we have a sufficiently creepy story of a budding serial killer, but I found some elements more than a bit problematic.
This was my first exposure to Mark Harrietha. I found his narration skilled, but falling short of inspired. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. But I found his vocal inflections something short of true to the story.
Now, as is my wont, I'll largely forego a discussion of the plot. I'm sure there are plenty of other reviews that will summarize the plot.
First, although some of the side characters are little more than set dressing, the main characters are well drawn, if a bit heavy handed.
None of them fell into the realm of caricature, but some aspects of their personalities seemed over dramatized, as though the author were trying to telegraph to a younger audience what sort of people they are.
At many points, there is nice emotional resonance and the characters do, mostly, seem to behave within the parameters of what has been established.
However, I do have some critiques.
There is a touch of clumsiness in some of the prose. The bouncing between POVs was a little jarring.
There are some REALLY uncomfortable scenes in the book. Now, I don't mind gruesomeness or cruelty in fiction. I expect it from a book like this. No, my complaint here is that we have one character who revels in it and a second who turns into such a coward that he just goes along with it.
Which brings me to my next point that we have people behaving outside of their normal character in multiple ways, but the big one is this kid who is clearly meant to be a high order sociopath but really only displays it on occasion and toward the end it's like a switch flips and he suddenly goes from weird, a little creepy, with deviant tendencies to full on psychotic with no real trigger for doing so.
I could forgive this if there was any indication that he'd just been hiding his true nature previously, but that is not the case.
To wrap things up, I actually rather enjoyed the ending. The utter bleakness of it is really fitting for this particular story.
This was my first exposure to Mark Harrietha. I found his narration skilled, but falling short of inspired. His voices are varied and distinct. His tempo shifts are effective. But I found his vocal inflections something short of true to the story.
Now, as is my wont, I'll largely forego a discussion of the plot. I'm sure there are plenty of other reviews that will summarize the plot.
First, although some of the side characters are little more than set dressing, the main characters are well drawn, if a bit heavy handed.
None of them fell into the realm of caricature, but some aspects of their personalities seemed over dramatized, as though the author were trying to telegraph to a younger audience what sort of people they are.
At many points, there is nice emotional resonance and the characters do, mostly, seem to behave within the parameters of what has been established.
However, I do have some critiques.
There is a touch of clumsiness in some of the prose. The bouncing between POVs was a little jarring.
There are some REALLY uncomfortable scenes in the book. Now, I don't mind gruesomeness or cruelty in fiction. I expect it from a book like this. No, my complaint here is that we have one character who revels in it and a second who turns into such a coward that he just goes along with it.
Which brings me to my next point that we have people behaving outside of their normal character in multiple ways, but the big one is this kid who is clearly meant to be a high order sociopath but really only displays it on occasion and toward the end it's like a switch flips and he suddenly goes from weird, a little creepy, with deviant tendencies to full on psychotic with no real trigger for doing so.
I could forgive this if there was any indication that he'd just been hiding his true nature previously, but that is not the case.
To wrap things up, I actually rather enjoyed the ending. The utter bleakness of it is really fitting for this particular story.
June 24, 2019
I have no words for this book. Just when you think it can’t get anymore disturbing it does. Right up there with ‘The Girl Next Door’ and ‘Let’s go play at the Adams’.
I won’t forget this book for a long long time. Fans of splatterpunk and extreme horror will find this book right up their alley.
It’s a book I hate to recommend because of how intense and unpleasant it is. Excellent writing and characters you care about. Read if you get the chance.
Also, I hate Glen so much in this book. What an crazy piece of sh@t!
I won’t forget this book for a long long time. Fans of splatterpunk and extreme horror will find this book right up their alley.
It’s a book I hate to recommend because of how intense and unpleasant it is. Excellent writing and characters you care about. Read if you get the chance.
Also, I hate Glen so much in this book. What an crazy piece of sh@t!
April 17, 2020
Wow This was an excellent slow burn extreme horror
Very dark and graphic definitely a hardhitting story of abuse and mental illness
Well narrated with an ending that will shock you highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
Very dark and graphic definitely a hardhitting story of abuse and mental illness
Well narrated with an ending that will shock you highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
November 23, 2023
A Coming of Age story that is both heartbreaking and extreme. The prologue is very disturbing, and unsettling. This is my 8th book I've read by Brandon Ford, and I think this might be his darkest book.
Read
August 28, 2019The story started slowing down and then took a weird jag and kind of lost my interest
August 5, 2024
This is the darkest novel that I've read by Brandon Ford but I honestly think is well
worth the time. Highly recommended book.
worth the time. Highly recommended book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews