The Gingerbread Girl

Written by Stephen King

Narrated by Mare Winningham

In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Em starts running. Soon she runs from her husband, to the airport, down to the Florida Gulf and out to the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key, where her father has offered the use of a conch shack he has kept there for years. Em keeps up her running -- barefoot on the beach, sneakers on the road -- and sees virtually no one. This is doing her all kinds of good, until one day she makes the mistake of looking into the driveway of a man named Pickering. Pickering also enjoys the privacy of Vermillion Key, but the young women he brings there suffer the consequences. Will Em be next?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: May 6, 2008
• ISBN: 9780743571197

Stephen King

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

Reviews for The Gingerbread Girl

[reacherfan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, I didn't think I'd like this as much as I did. I'm not a big fan of short stories, but I thought I'd give it a try because it's on disc, and I really liked it. Winningham does an excellent job of reading. A reader can either make or break a story, and Winningham makes this story. A woman takes up running after her baby dies. It's the only way she can deal with the loss. Each day she runs a bit more. Mile after mile. She then goes to her father's vacation cottage, and takes up running there. Just one problem, when she goes to her father's vacation cottage, she runs right into a serial killer. That's pretty much all I want to say on the plot. This was such a good read, you'll be hooked right off the bat. The story itself was pretty good, but Winningham does such a good job as the reader, I highly suggest you go to your local library and check out the audio version of The Gingerbread Girl.

[YaYa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting story! Short but kept me interested enough to finish reading it!

[Jgrizzle Jordan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good story. Could’ve used a little bit better narration I mean I think it was just a personal opinion honestly. The narrator was fine it just wasn’t my style

[evan · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

That was pretty uneventful and I can't say I'd recommend it

[ykolstad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread --- " Oh, well that was a different story. This one will keep you glued to the edge of your seat as Stephen King breaks down his plot second by second, movement to movement into deliciously frightening "slices ". I'm not usually a fan of this genre, but it's short and has an especially "sweet" ending. Enjoy.

[cutestlilbookworm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Em takes up running after the loss of her child and as a way to escape from the growing emptiness in her marriage. She separates from her husband to spend some alone time reflecting on things on a remote key in Florida. While there she sees something she shouldn't and is forced to basically run for her life! I love how King portrays the villain...the things he say indicate the mind of a true mad man. The ending is quite fitting...this was a quick 2 hour 'listen' that kept my attention. Would recommend for those who want a quick fix of King-style suspense.

[princesspeaches_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short and right to the action! I thought this tale had just the right tempo and voice to keep it realistic.

[melanie bassett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

wow. I was unsure of this story, but decided to listen anyway. glad I did. great story!!

[Randy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this short story. Nicely narrated, very visual. I almost passed on it but in glad I didn't.

[Tammy Adkins Sellards · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome book. Mare Winningham is a fantastic narrator. Great book!

[suzy taylor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A must to listen to. Mare does such a wonderful job narrating. I couldn't stop listening. And I am a die hard Stephen King fan.

[NC Coach · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a pretty good short story overall. It's not King's best work by any stretch but it's a worthy listen for a couple of hours.

[Karen Wilson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

King has been my favorite four over 30 years, but somehow this one just fell way short. It didn’t feel like his writing at all. Not a terrible story, just ok.

[Thadrah Bounds · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

EXCELLENT BOOK. ALTHOUGH SHORT, THIS BOOK WAS THRILLING TO THE END!

[ladybug74 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book very much, though it was not so much the horror book that I expected as it was a psychological thriller. I immediately thought of Duma Key when Em left to stay at Vermillion Key so she could spend some time alone. (And didn't the main character in Duma Key also run?) I have hoped for a while that some of Stephen King's "audio only" books would come out in print, but I finally broke down and started looking for the audio books. This was a nice way to pass a few hours of driving time.