Well written with good character development but very predictable to me. I just couldn’t get into it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When I read this synopsis, I was immediately interested because it reminded me a lot of the base plot of a horror movie that I like a lot, called Ready or Not. As I was having trouble catching up with the story, I started listening to the audiobook, and that was good because I was able to read it in two days.

The author has a very good proposal. The idea of ​​a visceral competition for an inheritance, which pits all the characters against each other, sounds very good in theory. In practice, I couldn't help but find several problems in the story, so the good idea was more in potential than in execution. This starts with the characters: right away, we are introduced to several people, all connected to the Benedict house in some way, from the protagonist Kelly, to the employees of the housekeeper, Agatha. With the death of the lady, her will must be read so that it is known who will be left with her assets. However, contrary to what usually happens, the reading of the will in this house means the beginning of a deadly competition into the night, and inherits whoever is alive in the early morning.

It sounds interesting, but it's hard to put up with any of the characters featured. Everyone is annoying, everyone sounds superficial. I know this was partly intentional, but making the story revolve around boring people makes the story itself difficult. And when you have no empathy for any character, you don't care if he lives or dies. And if you don't care who dies, then what is the fun of this competition? Well, I was curious because I wanted to know what the conclusion would be. But that was not thanks to the characters - although some eventually turned out to be interesting. They even bring a certain diversity, but are overwhelmed by stereotypes that, even if purposeful, sound exhaustively forced.

The story itself is ok. It doesn't bring anything incredibly innovative, but it has a good enough narration to make you curious about what will happen at the house. When I reached the end, I was satisfied, because the conclusion was logical and concise. It is a horror book that sounds like a horror movie more or less, but I would say that the flaws in this book are much more evident. Unfortunately, it was not a reading that worked for me, because I consider the characterization and development of the characters essential, and I didn't find any of that here.

Note: as for the audiobook, I liked the narration, but the voices used for the characters (especially Alex and Kelly) are extremely funny, sounding annoying. It's hard to like them when the voice sounds like a bad joke from the start.

I overall really enjoyed this story, and I wish I could give 4.5 stars. I only had a couple of issues with the audiobook. I absolutely loved most of the characters. They were a bit stereotypical, but the exaggerated traits helped to distinguish them all. Typically, too many main characters can be convoluted and confusing, but it was handled very well here. I was immediately hooked on the plot from chapter one. The first chapter did an excellent job of establishing the setting and mood while almost instantly getting your attention. This was definitely NOT a slow burn. The detail was fantastic, it painted a picture without being overblown.
Some characters were a bit too stereotypical for my taste, like Alex and Clara. I felt as though Madame Astra’s character changed drastically from her chapter introduction to the next. The voice acting for some characters was a bit cartoonish to me and took me out of the drama of the story, especially for Kelly.
Other than those few things, this was incredible. The only thing that kept me from listening to the whole thing in one sitting was a college paper due. I know this type of inheritance fight has been done before, but I feel like this was a fresh and exciting nonetheless.

Thank you Steak House Books & NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review, but mostly for giving me the opportunity to read this!


Published April 27, 2021

If dark humor and satire are your thing, Dead End Drive is for you!


When the rich matriarch of the Benedict estate passes away all of her "loved ones" are invited back to her home. For what some believe to be a will reading/distribution of her assets, but most know better. Everyone from her staff, family & even her spiritual guide are welcome. Who makes it to the end to receive their inheritance? Dead End Drive is a mashup of The Hunt movie with hints of Ready or Not, jam packed with bloodshed & humor. You'll be grateful for your own family & that you're not apart of the Benedicts'. I loved how fast paced & graphic this was from the very beginning. Down to how creative the characters were introduced. I hated, yet appreciated every single self loathing character. My favorites were not the ones you'd usually root for, the bad guys.

This was my first book from Ian Kirkpatrick, but promise it won't be my last. I was able to listen to the Audio version narrated by Kieran Regan. There where a slew of voices, with many different accents to take on & Kieran delivered! I usually have trouble following that large of a cast, but each voice was so unique that you immediately knew who was speaking before you were informed. I devoured this book, every opportunity I had.

Are we suppose to root for Kelly? Cause I really just wanted him to die. If we removed him from the story, I would have greatly this much more. The premise is fun and most of the characters are interesting, plus the story moves at a nice and fast pace. Looking forward to someone making the us into a movie!

I originally read Dead End Drive when it was first released on NetGalley, I had thoroughly enjoyed it then and was glad to revisit it again as an audiobook!

After dear old Agatha Benedict passes away, those closest to her are gathered together for the traditional reading of the will to decide the fate of her estate. After the first victim hits the floor, the gloves are off. Alliances are formed (only to be put to the test as numbers dwindle) and old rivalries flare up. Caught amidst it all, Kelly’s instincts and survival skills are put to the test as he is forced to go toe to toe with the more…blood thirsty inhabitants of the estate. He has to navigate his ways through the estate, back to the wall to avoid taking a knife from the shadows, while trying to figure out who he can trust...if anyone.

The large ensemble cast of characters bring a lot to the table, and Kieran did an excellent job at bringing these already interesting characters to life through his performance. His reading of the novel gave new voices to characters I was already familiar with, and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance! But in the cast itself, there’s definitely a lot to hate ( in the best way - Kirkpatrick has created a cast that I loved to hate! ) and even more to love. From the bitter old groundskeeper with a garden full of broken hearts to a murderous tennis player with enough pent up rage to level an entire city. Each character felt well thought through and fleshed out, which isn't always easy to accomplish with a big cast! I quickly developed a handful of favorites, as well as a select few that I desperately wanted to see picked off. ( You'll just have to read to see who all dies and survives! )
They aren't good people by any means, and they aren't meant to be. Of course there are exceptions, Angus and Kelly offer a fresh of breath air among a cast of sociopaths, and I would even go as far as to put Bertrand, who has more than enough blood on his hands, in the same boat.

Dead End Drive isn't for everybody, but if dark humor and satire are you thing, I definitely recommend giving it a peek and seeing if it's up your alley!

Thank you Kirkpatrick and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ian Kirkpatrick and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I think the idea and concept of this book was really good but it didn’t quite do it for me. I struggled to figure out who was who and found the characters very confusing. It may have been easier if I had read the book and not listened to the audio version. The narrator was good at getting into character. Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me but I think others will enjoy it.

TW: Death, Body Horror, Graphic Description of Murder, Homophobia, Mild Sexual Content

Dead End Drive begins with the death of Agatha Benedict, Lady of the Benedict Estate in Louisiana. Her adopted son, Kelly, is set to inherit everything, but nobody told him how things really work at the Benedict Estate. The ‘Will reading’ is the beginning of a free-for-all murder party, with the estate going to the survivor.

I enjoyed the plot and learning how many of the characters ended up at Benedict Estate. Agatha Benedict seemed to have a menagerie of broken individuals. Those who end up at Benedict Estate have not thrived in the world.

Trying to figure out who was actually in on the game and who could be trusted was difficult. Alliances could easily be broken. I found myself wondering how many times a “will reading” had taken place. How many bodies are hidden on the property? And what does it cost to clean-up after a “will reading?” I would love a history of the Benedict Estate!

My least favorite part of the book had to be the continuous descriptions of a body burning. As soon as I would be able to forget, it would come up again. It felt unnecessary – and gross.

Kieran Regan did a good job of bringing the story to life. Each character had a different voice and it was easy to distinguish one from the other. Alex’s voice was very grating, but also my favorite.

Part And Then There Were None and part Clue, Dead End Drive is a thrilling read.

I received a copy of this audiobook for free via NetGalley and am leaving this review voluntarily

It takes a creative mind and a bit of nerve to make murder funny yet still gruesome. Author Ian Kirkpatrick accomplishes this task with his debut horror/thriller novel Dead End Drive.

Agatha Benedict is the very wealthy owner of the Benedict Estates. She employees a large staff from a gardener, tennis pro, maids, cook and a butler. She pays her staff generously and in return they are extremely loyal. They have to be considering one of them may own her entire estate upon her death or die trying to inherit it.

You see there is a little known tradition at the estates that the last one left standing alive in it after the reading of the will is the owner. When Agatha dies unexpectedly her heir is 14 year old Kelly who she sort of adopted after her cat "Poopsie" died. This was a little a strange considering she has a biological daughter and some other unacknowledged adult kids running around. It doesn't really matter because only one can have it all.

I don't know what it says about me that I laughed out loud too much as this crazy cast of characters tried to murder one another. I have to give props to narrator Kieran Regan for his outrageous voices and inflections. I knew just from the accent and tone of voice who was up to no good at any given moment.

Other than Kelly there is really no one to root for in this murder spree. They are all greedy selfish killers. I was mostly happy with the ending and after the narrator's performance, with the right director and cast, this could be a fun movie much like Knives Out.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Campy, yet clumsy take on a classic mystery.

On the surface, this was an interesting concept - a very classic story, with a hint of the film ‘Ready or Not.’ Unfortunately, there was no depth beyond the obvious, very little character development, and zero subtlety. In some instances, the characters were overly superficial and shallow, which seemed unnecessary, and they often contradicted themselves — like their motives would shift radically from one moment to the next, so they almost felt like different people, rather than a developed character. This may be suited to a Young Adult audience, maybe even early teen if not for some of the sexual content. I can’t think of anyone I would actually recommend this to in all honesty.
Kieran Regan’s narration suited the style of writing and his characters were quite distinct. Great voice actor, lots of character, but this is not a listen for anyone who likes a nice soothing story playing in the background.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC.

This book seemed to me to be an attempted satire of the older "who done it" novels that involved a slew of culprits. The author's use of humor was a bit out of place, as well as not very funny. I did enjoy reading the book, until about half way through it.

Dead End Drive seemed bizarre, creepy, and deathly. The opening pages were interesting. But then, just a few pages chapters later it lost its charm. The story was poorly executed. The characters were shallow both in nature and making.
As for the audio quality of the audiobook, it was good. Kieran Regan's narration made those dark humours more hilarious.
Sadly the book didn't tickle my fancy.
Thanks NetGalley and Steak House Books for the ALC in exchange for honest review.