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Psycho

By: Robert Bloch
Narrated by: Richard Powers
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Summary

It was a dark and stormy night when Mary Crane glimpsed the unlit neon sign announcing the vacancy at the Bates Motel. Exhausted, lost, and at the end of her rope, she was eager for a hot shower and a bed for the night. Her room was musty, but clean, and the manager seemed nice, if a little odd.

This classic horror novel, which inspired the famous film by Alfred Hitchcock, has been thrilling people for 50 years. It introduced one of the most unexpectedly twisted villains of all time in Norman Bates, the reserved motel manager with a mother complex, and has been called the "first psychoanalytic thriller".

©1959 Robert Bloch (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
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Critic reviews

"Icily terrifying!" (New York Times)

"A terribly chilling tale." (Bestsellers)

What listeners say about Psycho

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Excellent novel and narration

An excellently read account of Bloch's most famous novel. My only criticism is the missing of the last few paragraphs from the original novel and Mrs Bates's final line 'She wouldn't even harm a fly...' Other than that, a great reading.

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decent telling

story is timeless. narration is a bit off for my liking but it's not terrible. an enjoyable listen

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Great, just great.

Fabulous story. Loved every creepy minute of it. Brilliant !!!
Narration was spot on, very , very good.
So much better than the film and I just love the film.
Great characters, I felt so sorry for Norman and his struggles with
“ Mother”
Can’t
Highly recommend this book.
On next to Psycho 2.

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great classic

love the storyline well read and written good characters really good book and great classic

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Was shaking in my boots !!! Well, a tremble !

Every bit as good as the Movie, suspense and excellently narrated, nearly listened to the full story in one go, a must 😄

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excellent story

Great to finally hear after years of watching the movie bit different but good 👍👌

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So well written

I remember when I first watched the film on TV when I was babysitting and how much it terrified me but I’d never read the book until now.

It was so well written. Almost understated which made it much more effective than some more modern books of this genre.

I totally recommend this book.

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Great story, well told.

Great story, gripping and highly enjoyable, yet different in places from the famous film. The narrator was fine and effectively conveyed the story. It's hard to imagine how groundbreaking this must have been in the 50s when the idea of a serial killer wasn't widely understood by the general public, but it remains a cracking good read today.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Wow!!

Although a bit dated I enjoyed narration's book a lot more than I thought I would, and the narrator's voice was a perfect match for this audio book.....

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really well told story and gripping

amazing how long ago this was written, which makes sense given the way the material is handled but I think it's aged really well- absolutely gripping and if I didn't know the twist it would have blown my mind! :) inspired lots of subsequent stories and really well read

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