The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
glens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Very cleverly written novel, with Joseph Knox being the ‘listening ear’ for Evelyn Mitchell, who started writing the book before he took over completing it in her absence. Knox being a real writer, inserted into a fictional crime – a blend of true crime-styled writing and fiction. This was my first time reading his writing, but I may try his Aiden Waits series.
The interviews with the family/friends/incidental witnesses that Evelyn complied, with them contradicting each other many of them challenging the truth to create a cover-up.
There were no likeable characters in the story; even Zoe, the missing person, had a secret persona that was less than the innocent that friends and family believed her to be.
It was slow going from the start, and it was nearly a DNF for me at some points, but I did return to it time and again to find out how it ended. It was well written enough that I wanted to know what happened to Zoe; it was just too long.
I would like to thank #NetGalley and Random House Transworld for the opportunity of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating 2.75 / 5.0
This book was due for release on June 17, 2021
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Racial slurs, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and Kidnapping
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
amichreads's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
novabooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
travelseatsreads's review
- 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
5.0
I don't want to say too much as a huge amount of the enjoyment of True Crime Story is trying to figure out what's actually going on. This need to know more persists from the first few lines to the final full stop.Â
Cleverly pieced together with interviews, emails and statements it kept my mind boggling right until the end. I listened to the audio version and it was hugely atmospheric. The interviews and statements even have that white noise and background interference you'd expect from tape recordings. I know some listeners found this irritating but it definitely added to the drama for me. I can also imagine this would work perfectly in text form and would love to dive into the snippets of emails and police statements so might even buy this for my shelf.Â
Murderinos, true crime fans and podcast fanatics, you will devour this and crime fiction fans equally will get trapped in it's twisty tangled web.
Read it or listen to it but you need to add it to your TBR pile now. I'm immediately adding Knox's other books to mine.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Violence, Trafficking, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Drug use