Happy Halloween! I hope you're having a satisfyingly spooky evening.
I've already mentioned how much I love audiobooks and the role they play in managing my ADHD. Certain podcasts fill that same role. I'm referring to the modern version of radio plays. Audible has skillfully produced several of these kinds of shows. Not only are the stories engaging and the voice acting compelling, but the sound effects and background music create an immersive experience. I often find myself removing an earbud to check if a certain sound is coming from my surroundings. The best news is that they're included with an Audible membership . One such gem is The Orchard, starring Eric Bana. While Bana is the star, the entire cast is phenomenal. Set in Australia, The Orchard blends crime drama and supernatural mystery. The scariest part is being a single parent to a precocious pre-teen girl.
When a teenage boy is found dead in a disused orchard on the grounds of an exclusive, private girls' school, seasoned detective and struggling single parent Adam Durwood is assigned to investigate. While his superiors and the boy's grieving parents are willing to write it off as suicide, Durwood can't ignore physical evidence that says otherwise. Meanwhile, his 12-year-old daughter begins to dig into the family mystery behind her mother's stay in a long-term care facility.
As the pieces of the boy's death come together (aided by good old-fashioned library research), Durwood's relationship with his daughter begins to unravel. She is drawn to the three female upperclassmen who knew the deceased best. They provide a community for her in stark contrast to the bullying she faces in her own school because of her mother's disability.
Block some time. You will not be able to stop listening to this haunting, relatable tale of memory, myth and unexplainable forces.