I enjoyed this, but the ending confused me. Like what??? ( )

As the main character's secret is unfolded, another mystery begins to surface. Some people won't like the ambiguity of the ending but I think it's suited to the building feel of the story. An interesting read. ( )

Still an Unsatisfactory Ending Alert ™
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook (February 24, 2022), released simultaneously with the Audible Original audiobook.

This was just a confirmation from reading a print version that it was the same confusing ending as it was from listening to the audiobook. I thought perhaps there might be more foreshadowing or other subtle information that would explain the ending which I might have missed from just listening to the audio. Nope. It was just as much of a mystery.

Wildlife is one of six Amazon Original Kindle eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released February 24, 2022 as part of the Trespass Collection of short stories which "Take a walk on the wild side. When nature gets up close and personal, it isn’t always pretty. A fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors. A child searches the darkness for the gleam of a tiger’s teeth. A woman holds off a colony of oddly relentless prairie dogs. In unsettling stories that range from horror to magical realism, award-winning authors lay bare the secrets hidden in the land." ( )

Unsatisfactory Ending Alert ™
Review of the Audible Original audiobook (February 24, 2022), released simultaneously with the Amazon Original Kindle eBook.

[Was going to be a 4, but dropped to a 1 in its final minute]
I had a road trip out of town yesterday and thought that I'd squeeze in a quick audiobook during the journey. I have been mostly enjoying the Amazon Original Trespass series of short stories on Kindle, so I thought I'd try one on audio. It was a big mistake in this case.

This is the story where a "fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors" which is mentioned in the Collection's synopsis (see below). Samantha (Sam) has moved into her deceased father's house after a separation from her husband. The house backs onto a ravine which is full of wildlife such as foxes, raccoons, armadillos, etc. Sam is in some sort of PTSD crisis, the background to which is only gradually revealed. The result of it is that she has vowed to never take the life of any living thing.

Sam comes up against her ravine neighbour Zanth (irritatingly, the two names sound very similar on audio), who is just about the opposite. He is killing everything around him that he can. This includes the trees, plants and possibly the wildlife (by digging murderous ditches and moats spiked with broken glass, barb wire etc.).

The suspense and mystery of this conflict is built very effectively throughout, but then as we head into what we would expect to be a final confrontation, the whole thing is undercut by an unexplained mysterious entity in the final minute (final page). You are left completely mystified and wondering whether it was extraterrestrial, supernatural, horror or fantasy illusion?

Wildlife is one of six Amazon Original Kindle eBooks/Audible Audio audiobooks released February 24, 2022 as part of the Trespass Collection of short stories which "Take a walk on the wild side. When nature gets up close and personal, it isn’t always pretty. A fallen tree sparks a poisonous feud between neighbors. A child searches the darkness for the gleam of a tiger’s teeth. A woman holds off a colony of oddly relentless prairie dogs. In unsettling stories that range from horror to magical realism, award-winning authors lay bare the secrets hidden in the land." ( )