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!

This was a really cool audiobook (unlike any other I’ve listened to) in that it played very much like a podcast. I enjoyed the interview sound bites voiced by lots of people- it really enhanced the experience.
I did find it a bit drawn out and repetitive at some points.
Also, the ending felt a little abrupt? True crime fans would very much enjoy- it is easy to forget that the entire book is fiction!
Thank you NETGALLEY for the exchange a review.

The audiobook version is extremely had to follow along with. I’m going to dnf for now until I get a physical copy to read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

A mix of fact and fiction we follow a story revolving around a missing 19 year old university student. We follow the events that lead up to her disappearance through various ways. A very compelling listen with a full cast of characters.

This is a fantastic story. I have to say that the audio book is phenomenal and I definitely recommend going that way if you can. Ideally, it’d be best to have both the book and the audio so you can sort of look and refresh quickly between character stories but either will do just fine. The audio, though, is a full cast and it’s brilliant.
Zoe Nolan disappeared from her university back in 2011. Although her story was sad, Joseph Knox (yes, he wrote himself into the story), didn’t think it was anything spectacular or anything. He felt that dead and missing girls everywhere just didn’t cut it for a crime writer. He probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it all if it weren’t for another writer, Evelyn Mitchell.
Evelyn has been struggling to come up with something new and after attending one of Joseph’s publicity events she began wondering what happened to all of these dead and/or missing girls everywhere. She wanted to know what their stories were and what happened to Zoe. So, Evelyn began to investigate by herself and sent Joseph emails with the chapters of her upcoming novel as she wrote them. Joseph felt quite uneasy about all the twists and turns of the story and became rather interested in it all despite himself.
This story is so good but the audio definitely boosts it up a lot. I didn’t love where the story went towards the end but aside from that it was just plain fun to read/listen to something so different from everything else out there. I definitely recommend giving this a chance!

This was definitely a interesting read. It took me a while to get into it but I definitely like she enjoyed it. Would recommend it to my fellow book readers.

I didn't love the format of the book, jumping around to different conversations. With that method, there was a lot of duplicate information that was unnecessary.

I was surprised to find myself laughing out loud. Many of the people were comically sarcastic and constantly making fun of each other. It is hard to believe these people were friends at one point. Even the dad is mean to Kim.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

No matter how hard I've tried, I can't get into this one. It seems to be well loved by a lot of people that have the same reading tastes as me, but there is something about it being called true crime but isn't true that may be holding me back. That or the beginning is just one I've tried to get into a few times and failed.

Thank you Netgalley and RB Media for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

I found this book to be okay. It was a little bit confusing keeping all of the different testimonies straight while listening as I'm not good with identifying people by voice. It would have been much clearer if the person's name was stated prior to them speaking. It really took away from the story when I was trying to figure out who was narrating.

The story was decent. The premise was fantastic, but the delivery fell flat and when the twist came at the end, I didn't even know who the person was. It was weird. This book reminds me of a thriller version of Daisy Jones and the Six the way it's narrated and written. However, I didn't like it nearly as much. I do think that this would be better on audio than in print, as the different narrators does make the flow interesting. My main complaint is that I didn't always know who was narrating. All in all this was a solid 3 star book.

On to the audio, which I already touched on. The audio for this book was really good. In fact, I would only recommend it on audio. I think the print version might get a little dry, like the print version of Daisy Jones did. The audio is what kept me listening. I just wish I would have had more clarity on who was narrating.

Wow this was one of the best true crime books I have ever read. I listened to the updated audiobook and it had a full cast which made the book seem so real which created an epic sense of atmosphere and tension. Not only was this crime very local to me as it was centred around Manchester. It was fascinating and truly haunting and disturbing. It actually felt like I was there listening to the real life interviews and I was the detective trying to work out who did this awful crime. This book is definitely a must for all those true crime fans or all those readers local to Manchester, UK. This book will definitely take a while to get over reading. It felt like no stone was left unturned. This was definitely a very haunting tale that students should read or listen to.

So much praise goes out to the author and publishers for bringing this disturbing story to light.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/true-crime-story-by-joseph-knox-rb-media-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365 or lady Reading365 or ladyc reading

I tried to listen to this audiobook a few different times. Maybe this is a book that needs to be read and listened to with the interview writing style.

I remember the case when Zoe Nolan went missing and I also remember Zoe's Angels and the Charity set up in her memory but this book fills in a lot of gaps missed by the police and the lies told by her "Friends" and family.
Evelyn Mitchell a budding writer is the person who interviewed all the characters and pieced the story together unfortunately Evelyn didn't get to finish her book but her friend Joseph Knox a published author who she used as a sounding board and proof reader throughout her investigation did and narrates this audio book

There are a lot of twist and turns and it became a gripping listen so although a sad story due to it covering a real disappearance this audio book is well worth a listen

This book was archived before I had time to read it, so I am not able to give accurate feedback. Thank you for the opportunity, sorry I was unable to get to it in time.

Thank you Joseph Knox, Recorded Books, and Netgalley for my gifted audio book.

Synopsis:
Seven years ago, Zoe Nolan disappeared from a campus Christmas party. Now, struggling writer Evelyn sees the chance of her life in telling Zoe's story. She turns to her writer collegue Joseph Knox for support - and as the two of them are interviewing everyone who knew the girl back then, they discover more than they could have ever imagined - and find themselves in big danger...

My thoughts:
I started listening to this book for the first time back when I got it in October. But with all those different POVs, voices, and especially accents, I found myself really struggling to keep up, since I am not a native speaker. That's why I DNF'd the first time. BUT I am more than freakin' glad I came back and listened to the whole thing because this unique story with its even more unique telling is really close to perfect. The narrators did a great job, and the author did even more so. I loved how he displayed the characters, brought them all to life. And what I loved most was how he wrote himself into it. I had to remind myself a couple of times that this work literally is FICTION! I couple of times I thought I figured out what was going on, but even though the ending felt a little rushed, it was surprising, emotional, and wrapped up quite nicely.

This was my first book by this author, and I cannot wait to discover more.

I really thought this book had promise. I love crime novels so a book that purports to be true crime but is actually fiction, I was intrigued….. and disappointed!
“Zoe is missing and only her friends know what happened”
I love the multiple narratives and interview style of the book. You glean so much information from the various perspectives, also the correspondence from the two authors claiming to research the case. At the beginning of the book I was intrigued and drawn in. By the second part I was becoming confused by the fact vs reality sub stories. I felt that as we were discussing a main character’ disappearance there should have been more from Zoe. Sadly there wasn’t and I slogged on, hoping to have some wonderful eureka moment. When it came it was a bit of a let down. I felt the final and most crucial part of the book was rushed and tied loose ends together in a gap hazard way.
I was left with more questions than answers about the authors role in the story. I understand that the suspense is building throughout the investigation and as more comes to light, you are given both red herrings and clues which will add to your experience of this book.
I really wanted a better conclusion.
In comparison, if you read this title I suggest that you choose the audio book. The various narrators and dialogue add spark and depth to the plot that you don’t experience in the paperback. You identify better with the characters and immerse better into the text. That being said, the ending is still a let down.
You are still left with questions and to me that makes it an unsatisfactory read.
Sorry.

3.5 stars

Told in mockumentary style and super original in that the author features himself as one of the characters, this book started off slow for me but picked up as it progressed. I initially found the many different and ever changing characters to be quite confusing. Sometimes their snippets were so brief, it was difficult to keep up. I listened to the audiobook so perhaps it would be easier in written format. I loved the use of the many narrators to represent the different characters, but some of the narrators were harder to understand and I missed information as a result.

It took some time for me to understand how this book worked. I was initially confused with the author inserting himself in the story but when I finally got it, it was brilliant! The ending was terrific. As it approached, I found myself compelled to keep listening. I just wanted to know who was responsible for Zoe Nolan’s disappearance.

This was a unique mystery thriller disguised as true crime. The audio version was worth listening to but just know it may take some time to get oriented. The synopsis was basically two writers - Evelyn and the author himself Joseph Knox - investigating a cold case that involves a missing person named Zoe Nolan. Evelyn is the lead investigative writer and is sending her discoveries to Joseph for feedback in making sense of the clues. What they uncover in their interviews are the many events, lies, secrets, deceptions and crimes that happened and may be related to Zoe’s disappearance seven years ago.

I received an advanced audio copy from Netgalley and RB Media in exchange for an honest review.

I read True Crime Story in summer 2021, and it was easily my favourite book of the year. I have been telling everyone who will listen about it!

This Audio version did not disappoint. It felt creepy and very realistic. A perfect version of the book. I was really disappointed when it finished.

If you only listen or read one book this year, make it this one!

The interview style of the book took a bit to get used to but once I got going, I found it really intriguing. I loved that there was a distinct voice for each character, it really helps me follow along with the story.

This book felt almost like a non-fiction podcast so if that's your jam you'll love this book.

I loved the interview style of this book. I could easily thought this was a non fiction book. It was intriguing

This book was absolutely gripping. I couldn't stop listening, nor could I stop checking to see whether the people and case in the story were real, it felt so authentic.
True Crime Story is told interview style, which lends to the realism, as do the complex characters and haunting story as the case of a missing girl is revisited years down the road.
The case went cold, all leads going nowhere in the search for missing college student Zoe Nolan. Will the case ever be solved, or will Zoe and/or her captors forever evade being brought to light?
Those closest to her at the time of her disappearance, friends and her twin sister may have answers that would lead to the truth. But will revealing and digging into the past be dangerous?
Pick up True Crime Story and see for yourself.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.