True Crime Story

By: Joseph Knox

Narrated by: Joseph Knox, David John, Sarah Parks, Chris Thompson, Drew Dillon, Ciara Baxendale, Louis Bernard, Shane Zaza, Caitlin Griffiths, Conor McLeod, Dolly Webb, Grace Cooper, Isla Lee, Levi Bro

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

A strikingly original novel in the vein of Daisy Jones and The Six meets Riley Sager, True Crime Story twists together transcripts, emails, and documents into an investigation of a missing college girl, also weaving in the mysteries of how the narrator, "Joseph Knox", came to be in possession of these files and what fate befell the original author, as well as why Knox might not be telling us everything he knows.

Zoe Nolan disappeared from Manchester University in 2011. Her story was sad, certainly, but hardly sensational, Joseph Knox thought. As a crime writer, he felt that dead girls were everywhere, and the missing ones just didn't cut it. He wouldn't have given her any more thought were it not for Evelyn Mitchell.

Another writer struggling to come up with a new idea, Evelyn attended one of Joseph's publicity events, and she was wondering just what happened to all the girls who go missing. What were the stories there? What happened to Zoe? So Evelyn began investigating herself, and sending Joseph emails with chapters of the novel she was writing with her findings. Uneasy with the novel's corkscrew twists and turns, Joseph pays closer attention to the real story....

True Crime Story is an ambitious, sharp exploration of our obsession with all things true crime, from a former crime book seller.

©2021 Joseph Knox (P)2021 Recorded Books, Inc.

Made an OK Road Trip

i am ambivalent about this book. It's better than most mysteries nowadays. It is well written and realistic. The problem is the characters are just not that compelling, and that is ALL this is. The mystery/crime/murder take a backseat to characterization, such as it is, and most of that is very tedious, too long and too wordy. Oh yeah, there is a solution to the crime, but that takes up about 5 minutes at the very end. Ergo, it wasn't that important. It is about characters, and while they are at least realistic, they don't merit so much attention. Really this is a book about five or so very ordinary college students from Manchester--all with problems, all with secrets, but in the end, just ordinary. I guess that's a plan for a book but you expect character-driven stories to be much more exciting and interesting.

As for the format, I don't think it had much effect either way. It didn't detract or add in any particular way.

I listened to this on the road and it was entertaining. I appreciate the writing, which was much better than normal. The story itself needed more style.

True crime story ?

Knowing from the start this is a book of fiction, after the first paragraph it has you doubting if you read that right. Wait? Is this real? No. But, is it tho? Lol different style of writing than I’ve ever experienced.

Solid read, but slightly disappointing

I could just be a dumb American but there were times that the performance was hard to understand. The story was interesting but didn’t grip me and keep me on the edge of my seat until the last handful of chapters. I liked all the tid bits of questions and things that left the audience wondering but I think it hit a point of overkill and just got to a point that was confusing just trying to keep track of them all. Most of those questions are answered at the very very end leaving the story line desiring more closure. I don’t regret reading this but I don’t have any interest in a re-read.

Horrible waste of time

Do not listen to the recording. The story is boring until the last 10 pages and the actors are difficult to understand.
Why is this being promoted so heavily?
11 hours of my life I will never get back.