Small Angels

Owen’s (The Quick) latest is a creepy tale of a vengeful ghost, a haunted church, troubled sisters, and generational trauma. The audio is performed by four narrators—Daphne Kouma, Tamsin Kennard, Rebecca Lee, and Eleanor Yates—each of whom pleasingly voices their point-of-view character. Taken as a whole, the narrators sound quite similar, but the story is still easy to follow because of distinct transitions that indicate when a new character takes the stage. Although the accents firmly place the story in the UK, the novel could easily have been Southern gothic. The immediacy of sections set in the present, with unsettling voices, moving paths, and menacing figures, heightens the tension. In contrast, expository sections recounting the past are performed in a way that may lull listeners until they are surprised by the next shock. The village is filled with well-meaning people, some overwhelmed with guilt, and some blaming others in order to turn their backs on the horror that lurks nearby.