An excellent example of how easily a skilled writer can draw readers into the story line. Written in the style readers expect to find in a true crime book, TRUE CRIME STORY is a fiction from start to finish. As I read, it was easy to believe this was non fiction. Joseph Knox crafted the story whole piece, then released it on an unsuspecting public. It could so easily be a movie that I expect we will see it sooner or later. 5 easy stars for the story and I'd give Knox's writing 5 stars too.

I’m a big fan of all things true crime, especially books. This one was very intriguing and I found myself having a hard time putting it down.

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.

True Crime Story is a fantastic rec for anyone into thrillers with a true crime or podcast Focus. I know that this novel focuses on just one aspect but I do think it would appeal to a broad range of Thriller fans and especially fans of these two particular subgenres. I want to say I think Joseph Knox is famous in the UK but I might be thinking of someone else by the way this is an good read and a solid thriller

I’ve seen mixed reviews on this one but I loved it!

Told through interviews, police notes, letters, diary pages and multiple POV’s, this fictional story reads like an actual true crime read.

Interesting characters kept me intrigued throughout this read. The audiobook version was also really good if you prefer that reading method.

A book that throughout felt like a piece of non-fiction as the twists and turns of this "case" unfolded and I tried to find out who would want this young woman with a bright future to be gone - there were many likely suspects! Zoe Nolan went missing one night from her apartment building in Manchester and there are many people who could be involved with her disappearance. An author Evelyn Mitchell is interested in investigating and writing a book and along with Joseph Knox they bring this story to life, but some of that is fiction and some non fiction!

I knew very little before going into this book and I hope to keep that way for you as I loved my reading experience going in blind and not knowing where this book will go. I read this book mostly via audiobook and I completely recommend reading this one that way as they had a great cast of characters that really made this book come alive. And also, reading in this form made it feel as though this book was a series of podcasts episodes and for me that was a big plus. I have a hard time with audiobooks and listening to it as if each chapter was a podcast worked so well for me!

Such a cool and intriguing book! The pacing was just what I needed! Very tense and I was on the edge-of-my seat a lot of the time!

Title: True Crime Story
Author: Joseph Knox
Narrated By: A Cast of Narrators
Release Date: December 7th, 2021
Page Count: 402
Format: Ebook/Audiobook
Start Date: June 26th, 2022
Finish Date: July 2nd, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

This book had me thinking that it was based on a real crime story many times. I can't tell you how many times I stopped reading just to check to make sure it wasn't. It's really well written. It reads like a documentary. I loved it and would absolutely read it again! I could see this being turned into a movie. And the cover really adds allure to the whole story as well. It's blurred out and gave me many questions. My only thing is that I wish I could have had more of my questions answered at the end. I also really felt for the twin in the story. Everybody treated her like she was just some deranged person who shouldn't be taken seriously. I found that very sad. Just because she made mistakes doesn't mean that she should just be cast aside like she's nothing. I really got into this book as you can tell. I am curious to see the other books that Knox writes.

For true crime lovers this is a winner! Reads like fiction that is supposed to be true crime and it’s blurred to the point you forget it’s not real. Excellent execution! Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

I honestly tried SO hard to finish this one over the last year. I loved the idea of it, and the concept, and how completely and utterly believable the book felt while I was reading it, but it was SO hard to keep track of all of the different characters and of who was saying what about who and to who.

The concept, again, was abolutely brilliant, but I just don't think I was the right reader for it at the time.

I may try to go back to this one in the future, but for now, at about 56% through, I am putting it aside.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the gifted digital review copy.

This one missed the mark for me. The premise is good. The execution didn’t land.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Although it was confusing at time, I enjoyed this book overall. I liked the story telling through interviews, articles and emails. It was interesting but a bit slow paced for me.

Thoughts: About a chapter or two in, I had to look this up to make sure it was a fictional story. Knox inserts himself as a character in this tale of a young college girl gone missing, twisting together a plot filled with lies, secrets, motives, and shady characters that could leave readers wondering if there isn't some truth to it. I struggled a bit with the dialect of the characters, but that's my limitation as an American reader, and at times it was difficult to distinguish between some of the characters. The ending, while a smidge unsatisfying, is quite realistic given the plot. It took me a while to really get into the story because there were a lot of character "sidebars" that led nowhere, but once the story got moving towards the midway point, it was hard to put down. The plot picked up, suspects emerged, and the hint of a body or two made the second half of this book intriguing and worth the read.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

I have been wanting to read a book by Joseph Knox for a number of years now. I’ve heard only good things about his Aidan Waits novels, a gritty Manchester based thriller series which sounds just my cup of tea! But then True Crime Story hit the shelves and the book world (the book world I inhabit anyway!) went bonkers for it. So, to celebrate the opening of a brand-new shiny Waterstones near where I live, I decided to treat myself to a new book – I picked True Crime Story. Well, that was over a year ago now, but I finally managed to find a gap in my reading schedule to squeeze it in. And what a treat it was!

Zoe Nolan, new to Manchester University alongside her twin sister Kim, disappears one December evening in 2011 without a trace. Seven years later aspiring author Evelyn Mitchell decides to write a book about Zoe’s disappearance, turning to bestselling author Joseph Knox (yes, THAT Joseph Knox – the guy with his name on the cover!) for help and advice. Evelyn manages to interview most of Zoe’s friends and family, slowly piecing together the mystery surrounding Zoe’s disappearance. What she is told from those who knew Zoe best rings true. Their stories, their points of view are the same. But Evelyn can’t ignore the startling differences she also discovers. Will Evelyn, with the help of Joseph, be able to solve the mystery of Zoe’s disappearance before it’s too late…

In True Crime Story the author strives to give the reader the feeling that this is an actual true crime story. And he does. In spades. I finished reading this book several weeks ago and despite knowing this is 100% fiction, I still can’t shake the belief that it’s not in some way real. When I was a few chapters into the novel, I found myself googling Zoe Nolan, just in case someone by that name had ever gone missing. I’ve read other novels with a fictional true crime angle before but in my mind they’ve been just that, fictional. There was something about the way the author has written this story, perhaps immersing himself in the narrative in such a strong way, that totally worked for me. I know it’s not real but oh my gosh, it felt so true to life. The way the characters behave and act, their flaws and their idiosyncrasies, their relationships. I believed every single word.

The story is told using written and verbal transcripts collected by Evelyn Mitchell and sent to Joseph Knox for his thoughts, feelings and input. There are quite a few characters involved in the story – Zoe’s sister, her parents, her university friends, teaching staff and those investigating what happened in an official capacity. They all get to share their observations of Zoe (and each other!) in the lead up to the night of her disappearance. The book is presented in quite a different way that I can’t recall seeing before. There’s very little spoken dialogue as each character’s account is delivered to the reader as it was put to Evelyn. There’s no discussion, no sharing of ideas. She doesn’t ask questions or interrupt their memories. I know many readers don’t like a lot of dialogue between characters in their novels, that there can be a point where there’s too much and it detracts from the story, but I think I need that interaction. So much so that I did on occasion find myself drifting away from the story a little.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. If you enjoy well-written mysteries and you’re looking for something very different to the norm then True Crime Story is a must read. It’s a highly original, intelligent story delivered in such a way that it’s hard to forget. I would LOVE to listen to the audiobook version as I think that could be a slightly different experience, in a strange, inexplicable way. The author has done a masterful job in making his plot, his characters and the Manchester of the book totally believable, which I take my hat off to. I can only imagine the amount of work which went into plotting and planning Zoe’s story. What I do know for sure is that I am excited to read more by Knox and my copy of ‘Sirens’ will be moving to the top of the terrifying TBR as soon as possible. Recommended.

This one was a DNF for me. I was not able to keep up with all the characters. It was intriguing but I just couldn’t get into it.

I love when fiction mimics reality! Told through interviews with friends of missing girl Zoe the reader gets a sense of who Zoe is and what may have happened to her. But as with multiple narrator fiction we only get the information that the characters reveal to us. In the end, mystery solved, super creepy and would definitely recommend to suspense and horror fans alike.

I struggle with interview style books. While the idea is great, its just hard for me to release to characters

This took me a minute to get used to the format. It was a little awkward to hear from many people via interviews and emails, once adjusted -- I followed fine. Parts of the interviews felt real, everybody has their own version of what they saw or didn't see. I was interested in the outcome, but it was a slow process.

The format of this book was incredibly fun, but the editing and sequences could have used some work. I wasn't sure if some things were omitted on purpose or because I was reading it on a Kindle. It was an enjoyable read and definitely clever, but perhaps not as clever as it thought it was.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy to True Crime Story.

This is my first Joseph Knox novel and the premise seemed promising- told in an interview style similar to "Daisy Jones and the Sixth," we learn about the mystery of a missing college student as it is uncovered by Evelyn, a writer who is trying to put all the pieces of this crime together. Told through emails and interviews she's gathered over the years, this novel portrays itself as factual, even bringing the RL author into the drama a bit. Unfortunately, this created a very confusing few minutes for me as I started the novel.

I have mixed feelings about this novel- at times I wanted to DNF it. I enjoyed the last half much more and Knox kept me guessing until the very end, which is a rarity. I think the interview format was mostly successful here, because we all know how reliable memories are, especially 7 years later, but I felt like a lot of it was repetitive because of so many different perspectives.

Rounding up to 3.5- not my favorite but I certainly enjoyed the twist at the end as well as the unique format.