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dowryofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
4/5 stars
This is a fiction written as a nonfiction true crime novel in the same style as [b:Daisy Jones & The Six|40597810|Daisy Jones & The Six|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580255154l/40597810._SY75_.jpg|61127102]. Full cast audiobook narration with accents and everything. It was a thoroughly entertaining read.
19-year old Zoe Nolan vanished, into thin air as it seems, after a college party when she left the room and never returned. Writer, Evelyn Mitchell, becomes intrigued by Zoe's case and begins investing, interviewing everyone in Zoe's life and putting it all together for her book True Crime Story.
Evelyn gets murdered after she finds a crucial piece of evidence near the end of her research and Joseph Knox actually writes himself into the story to finish the book that Evelyn had started.
There are lots of characters and clues intricately crafted to keep you guessing the entire book. You can tell how much time and thought went into placing every piece of information we get. All of the clues about whodunnit are circumstantial and you could really point it towards any of the toxic and lying characters in this book and say they did it. Until that final piece of evidence that narrows it down. I did guess who the culprit was, but to be fair I literally suspected every character in this book at one point in time so I was still shocked when the reveal came.
If you're someone fascinated by true crime and especially theories around missing person cases, I think this is definitely a book for you. It had such a realistic feel.
This is a fiction written as a nonfiction true crime novel in the same style as [b:Daisy Jones & The Six|40597810|Daisy Jones & The Six|Taylor Jenkins Reid|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580255154l/40597810._SY75_.jpg|61127102]. Full cast audiobook narration with accents and everything. It was a thoroughly entertaining read.
19-year old Zoe Nolan vanished, into thin air as it seems, after a college party when she left the room and never returned. Writer, Evelyn Mitchell, becomes intrigued by Zoe's case and begins investing, interviewing everyone in Zoe's life and putting it all together for her book True Crime Story.
Evelyn gets murdered after she finds a crucial piece of evidence near the end of her research and Joseph Knox actually writes himself into the story to finish the book that Evelyn had started.
There are lots of characters and clues intricately crafted to keep you guessing the entire book. You can tell how much time and thought went into placing every piece of information we get. All of the clues about whodunnit are circumstantial and you could really point it towards any of the toxic and lying characters in this book and say they did it. Until that final piece of evidence that narrows it down. I did guess who the culprit was, but to be fair I literally suspected every character in this book at one point in time so I was still shocked when the reveal came.
If you're someone fascinated by true crime and especially theories around missing person cases, I think this is definitely a book for you. It had such a realistic feel.
briartherose's review against another edition
Really wasn't grabbing me. Nothing about it rang true, and that's a fatal flaw in a book whose entire concept relies on you believing it to be true. Eliza Clark's Penance is a much better execution of a similar concept.
sputniknorman's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
georginaspivey's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
About halfway through, I was like “It’s going to be the gay guy, and he’s just pretending to be gay isn’t it” and then i banished the thought cos surely not. Surprise! It was him. The intertextuality and blend of the real and the false in the writing is the only thing saving this from a 2 star. Penance by Eliza Clark did ethics of crime and media 100 x better imo
fionacummings64's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
martinal's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
wishknots's review against another edition
3.0
I was enjoying the flow of this book. It’s definitely a page turner but the ending was a complete let down. Three or four pages tacked onto the end with a summary explanation that was very unsatisfying. It was the person I had expected but the solution was handle poorly. I had to knock a couple of stars off for that.
thephdivabooks's review against another edition
4.0
This is a challenging book to review without spoilers but I am going to do my best because you’ll get the most out of it if you don’t know the twists and turns. This is a unique book, both in the narrative structure and how it’s presented. The audiobook is absolutely the right format for this book. It not only has a very full cast recording, but the book often reads like a podcast or something in the recorded media format and the audiobook enhanced the experience of the book.
Set in Manchester, UK in 2011, the story twists upon true crime investigations and podcasts that permeate popular culture. Zoe Nolan was 19 and a student at the University of Manchester when she disappeared after a drunken Christmas party. She was a music major, had a great group of friends, and a serious boyfriend. She lived with her twin sister, Kim, and two other students, though the sisters had intended to go to separate colleges. There are a variety of characters and they all have something to hide, making the book filled with cliffhangers as perspectives shift.
As with so many true crime stories, everyone who consumes the case inserts their own perspective into it:
“Everyone who looked at her saw something different. Some of them saw what they wanted to, some of them saw their worst nightmare.”
The book unfolds in a unique and fascinating format, filled with interviews, personal accounts, news, details from the investigation, witness statements, and other documents. As each new document or resource is revealed, so is another clue to the broader story. The author, Joseph Knox, plays a role within the story as an investigator. Evelyn Mitchell is another investigator luring Knox into the twisted story by emailing him sections of the book as she writes it. We learn upfront that Mitchell was killed, and Knox has taken over finishing the book and publishing it.
The book is filled with different viewpoints and perspectives. Everyone reacts to Zoe and the crime in a different way and sees what they want to. The reading experience is strange and feels off-kilter. The book itself is somewhat addictive and at other times repulsive, but always pulls the reader back in (not unlike a real true crime story).
The authenticity Knox has created fascinated me. At one point I did search for Zoe Nolan because it seemed like this must be based on a real case. Knox, I feel safe assuming, intended this to be the cast. Isn’t all true crime coverage a blend of fact and fiction? Here, the blend favors fiction, but even with real cases there is an element of grand sensationalism that occurs through coverage in pop culture.
The book delivers best on innovation in the narrative format and the broader message. The crime story itself, while intriguing, eventually felt like it took a backseat to the structure of the book. A compelling story with a novel and fascinating approach to story-telling.
Set in Manchester, UK in 2011, the story twists upon true crime investigations and podcasts that permeate popular culture. Zoe Nolan was 19 and a student at the University of Manchester when she disappeared after a drunken Christmas party. She was a music major, had a great group of friends, and a serious boyfriend. She lived with her twin sister, Kim, and two other students, though the sisters had intended to go to separate colleges. There are a variety of characters and they all have something to hide, making the book filled with cliffhangers as perspectives shift.
As with so many true crime stories, everyone who consumes the case inserts their own perspective into it:
“Everyone who looked at her saw something different. Some of them saw what they wanted to, some of them saw their worst nightmare.”
The book unfolds in a unique and fascinating format, filled with interviews, personal accounts, news, details from the investigation, witness statements, and other documents. As each new document or resource is revealed, so is another clue to the broader story. The author, Joseph Knox, plays a role within the story as an investigator. Evelyn Mitchell is another investigator luring Knox into the twisted story by emailing him sections of the book as she writes it. We learn upfront that Mitchell was killed, and Knox has taken over finishing the book and publishing it.
The book is filled with different viewpoints and perspectives. Everyone reacts to Zoe and the crime in a different way and sees what they want to. The reading experience is strange and feels off-kilter. The book itself is somewhat addictive and at other times repulsive, but always pulls the reader back in (not unlike a real true crime story).
The authenticity Knox has created fascinated me. At one point I did search for Zoe Nolan because it seemed like this must be based on a real case. Knox, I feel safe assuming, intended this to be the cast. Isn’t all true crime coverage a blend of fact and fiction? Here, the blend favors fiction, but even with real cases there is an element of grand sensationalism that occurs through coverage in pop culture.
The book delivers best on innovation in the narrative format and the broader message. The crime story itself, while intriguing, eventually felt like it took a backseat to the structure of the book. A compelling story with a novel and fascinating approach to story-telling.
elsuth's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0