I'm abandoning this audiobook having listened to 62% of it. And this is the part where the thrill really, finally, gets going.

Chapter 1 started strong. We're introduced to Earth Plus, the virtual space in which nearly all human interaction takes place in the mid-21st Century. We meet Cassie, whose job is getting legal access to the stories and Name/Image/Likeness of crime victims for use in online true crime simulations. We get glimpses into the dystopian real earth ("Earth minus"). Eighteen hour days spent in Earth Plus are common, as are "neural flares," brain damage that results from too much time spent in simulated spaces. Also, we discover that Cassie ending the first trimester of a long-awaited pregnancy.

Then we arrive at Chapter 2, where Pinter sends any subtlety from the first chapter up in, er, flames. You can read the book description to learn that Cassie's husband, Harris, dies in a fire at their house, which he set after claiming to be a "beacon" in what is soon revealed to be an online cult of which he was the leader. All over the world, thousands of other beacons follow his lead and burn themselves and their families.

Flash forward 10 years. Cassie's life is ruined. She's the widow of the notorious cult leader, who continues to proclaim his innocence. She has no income because she gets fired from her job, and insurance companies won't honor the claims on her house or Harris's life because of the crime involved in his using Earth Plus for organizing a cult. And of course she miscarried the baby. And now she learns that the cult may still be active and planning a bigger action.

I gave it hours' more of my attention to see if it would get interesting and it just never did. Which is a shame because there's the potential here to explore society's fascination with and the ethics around true crime. There was a chance to critique our increasing dependence on technology, and what that means for the nature of truth. But okay, this is a thriller. Let it be what it is.

Except it wasn't that thrilling. Nothing so far felt surprising. And even as the book's big plot reveal unfolds [I'm avoiding spoilers here], it's pretty clear where it's going. But I'm not invested enough in the characters to want to go along for the ride.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great- different voices for characters and emotions. I’ve never read anything like this one before, I’m not usually big enough to sci-fi but the premise really drew me in. I loved it! I was captivated from the very beginning and didn’t want it to end. Several twists throughout and I would love to read a sequel to this. Highly recommend!

At first I was really into the world building in Past Crimes. As it went on, it became more familiar. Deja Vu. The future world wasn’t really holding up. The jumping back and forth all happened in this future making it hard to get your feet firmly on any ground and differentiate the two stories. Then it became a tale of the underground vs the big corporations. I don’t disagree with the sentiment. I had trouble emersing myself in this world enough to connect with the movement.

Past Crimes es un thriller con toque de ciencia ficción de futuro cercano sobre los peligros de la inmersión total en la realidad virtual, que cumple una labor admonitoria para con la sociedad actual sin dejar de ser trepidante, aunque algo previsible.


La protagonista de la novela es Cassie West y su trabajo consiste en asegurar los derechos sobre los crímenes más terribles que se convertirán en simulaciones para el consumo de masas. La acción transcurre en el año 2037, una fecha muy cercana en el tiempo a la actualidad para alertarnos sobre la verosimilitud de su relato.

El negocio del entretenimiento no conoce barreras y la reconstrucción de crímenes reales mueve billones. Cuanto más truculento y maligno, mejor. Lo que no imagina Cassie es que pronto se convertirá en protagonista de uno de estos crímenes.

Jason Pinter basa su relato en la lucha contra el sistema, contra la automatización y el aislamiento al que nos someten los sistemas cada vez más perfeccionados de realidad virtual. Es quizá un tanto exagerado al mostrarnos las consecuencias de la pérdida de libertad, como cuando explica el sistema de acogimiento de huérfanos que más nos recuerda a un sistema carcelario futurista que a otra cosa, pero aunque la forma utilizada sea poco sutil, el mensaje subyacente sí va calando.

Tampoco es sutil con sus personajes, que son bastante maniqueos sobre todo el MAL representado por la todopoderosa corporación que no tiene escrúpulos para manipular los escenarios en busca del mayor retorno de inversión posible. No cabe duda de que contiene algunos deus ex machina para salvar las peores situaciones y creo que tiene material para un conversión cinematográfica que sería muy entretenida. El mensaje cala, aunque solo sea por la insistencia con la que nos golpea con un objeto contundente en forma de capitalismo desaforado.

También contribuye al ritmo la narración de Ellen Quay, muy adecuada para este thriller entretenido y trepidante.

This book started out with a unique premise that's part Cyberpunk 2077 and part Westworld, if Westworld was set in the Metaverse. But after the midpoint, it took a very sharp turn into Tropesville and I quickly lost interest. (Like, I lost interest to the point where I only half paid attention to the audiobook and I could still guess the plot twists...)

I did really love the worldbuilding. It's set in the future, but the author has callbacks to current issues in the US (public school "indoctrination," society's obsession with true crime, etc.) so the setting feels familiar, yet different in a dystopian sense. It's very creative and very cyberpunk.

The mystery aspect didn't really grab my interest too much. It was your typical underground rebellion vs. big bad corporation. There's a huge twist at the end that was cool, but I'm not sure if it was anything really relevant to the main plotline.

Ellen Quay was a great narrator for the audiobook! Her narration made it easy to follow the action and her voice made the FMC, Cassie, sound personable and relatable.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the arc.

Four stars for this speculative dystopian novel which examines the consequences of our obsession with true crime and entertainment technology. What if, instead of listening to a podcast or watching a show about Ted Bundy, you could stand next to him in a virtual simulation and talk to him yourself? If you are (un)lucky enough to live in the time of Earth+ you can….but what are you willing to give up to do that?

One thing I love about this genre is how you get to explore a whole new world and in Past crimes that world is equally fascinating and terrifying. I was hooked from the beginning. I could not get enough of the details of this future world or the story we follow in the pages of the book. At one point, I thought something too obvious and easy had happened but I was happy to be proved wrong! It’s a compulsive page turner, that is worryingly feasible.

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to and read a copy of the book. The audiobook was definitely my favourite. The narrator did an amazing job, drawing me right into the action from the first line.

If dystopian. speculative, sci fi or true crime are your go to genres, push this to the top of your TBR list.

Thank you to the author. publisher and NetGalley for a chance to review an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Past Crimes by Jason Pinter
✨Thriller✨Sci-Fi✨
_________
Netgalley Arc Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: February 6th 2024

The year is 2037, in this ready player one meets black mirror sci fi book. People’s obsession with true crime has resulted in sales, reaching out to victims families to get permission to license their likeness which is turned into Virtual Reality Sim where the public can then participate and experience these crimes.

Our main character Cassie has lost her husband in the Blight where hundreds of people have lit themselves on fire as part of a mass cult suicide and Cassie’s husband Harris is being deemed the ‘cult leader’ but cassie refuses to believe he would be apart of something so terrible.
10 years later Cassie has suspicion that a second blight is on its way but how can she prove it to everyone else when the world is against her.

murder mystery, cults, AI, Virtual World? what a fantastic read that i can’t wait to get a physical copy of in my hands. A really fun read well done.

TW for: Child loss, Gaslighting, Loss of Bodily Autonomy, Institutional Abuse, and medically horrific things in one small part.

I really enjoyed this sci-fi thriller. It was filled with future technology as the backdrop to a really great large arcing story.

The main character is interesting, though sometimes skews a little to "strong female character". Overall, she was well-written and interesting. The story has moments of heart wrenching sadness, but the snark and humor keeps it feeling light instead of nail-biting.

I'd highly recommend it, and it's a must read for anyone who likes futuristic thrillers.

I loved this dystopian book, finding ourselves in a world where death and life are commodities is scary and exciting at the same time!

I absolutely loved this sci-fi/ thriller adventure! It was action packed, set in the future with lots of new technology, and included serial killers and cult leaders from the past! All these components made for an amazing novel! Cassie and her husband Harris are the focus of this book. In a future where life is way too expensive to have much of anything, and most of the actual world is a disaster, people do most of their living in the virtual world. While coming home late from work one evening, Cassie realizes her house is on fire, and tries to get to her husband, who has died. Thousands of houses all over are also on fire, and soon Cassie realizes the police are claiming her husband as being the one to orchestrate "The Blight". Ten years later Cassie does not leave her house because everyone thinks she had a part in the horrific murder/suicide of The Blight. Cassie goes on an amazingly difficult adventure to prove her husband was not the mastermind behind this historic tragedy.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes dystopian futures, action packed scenes, cults, and futuristic technology!

My Rating: 4.5
I received an advance review copy of the audiobook Past Crimes by Jason Pinter from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for feedback. Thank you!
This novel kind of blew me away! Science fiction can be very hit and miss for me, and this is definitely a hit. Ellen Quay is a fantastic narrator, and the plot kept me riveted until the last page.
The characters are complex and engaging, and the not-so-distant future that they inhabit is close enough to home that there’s a certain edge to this book’s experience. I often found myself thinking that although we don’t currently have murder-themed amusement parks, the exploitation and fixation supported by the true crime industry hold tremendous influence in contemporary society.
In its triumphant balancing act between bleakness and hope, I think that Past Crimes will be a hit this year. I would especially recommend it to fans of Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s works.

4.25 stars
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘

Thanks NetGalley, Dreamscape Media publisher, and the authors for a great advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

This book might be my new top favorite sci-fi, dystopian book so far. The story was really interesting mixed with some satirical elements and that hooked me from the start to the end. The pace was great and I kept wanting to listen more due to the thrill. The world-building was detailed enough for me to understand what was going on. Set not so far away from the current time, it's easy to understand the futuristic elements in the book. There were some parts made me wanted to laugh out loud.

There were only some drawbacks. Some parts of the book were dragging. Since this is a sci-fi book, listening to it can be confusing sometimes. I might need to re-read the book because of this. The twists were great but were not mind-blowing.

I totally recommend this book for readers who like crime, mystery, thriller, sci-fi, and dystopian genres!

I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this, but I know that I didn’t enjoy it. The narrator made the cheesy writing feel even more cheesy, there were way too many things going on but not a whole lot of cohesiveness. It felt very scattered, like the author had so many ideas but couldn’t find a way to connect them in a way that made sense. It seemed like the novel Murder Trending, but without the likable characters.

I loved this mix of genres. We are doing a New Year New Books program for patrons and a training for staff throughout Colorado. This book will be featured in the genre mashup section. Very imaginative

Thanks to NetGalley and @dreamscapemedia for letting me listen to this audiobook. While the story reminds me of some other books with these kinds of themes (dystopia, true crime, virtual reality), it is a fun combination with a good (maybe not surprising) twist at the end. The narrator was excellent -- conversational through most of it but then with the right dramatic flair at just the right parts -- and made the experience a lot of fun.
I recommend this to anyone who liked Ready Player One and who enjoys techno thrillers.

I’m not normally much of a sci-fi fan, but the premise here was too tempting to pass up and I’m glad I didn’t — it’s relatively grounded speculative fiction and so hard to put down once you get going!

Premise - it’s the mid 21st century and the Cassie’s husband commits suicide in the largest organized/distributed cult death in ever… and allegedly her husband is the diabolical leader of the death cult. It doesn’t make sense to Cassie - after a long struggle with infertility she was finally pregnant. Her husband had everything to live for. So why did he light their house on fire?

This future world is dystopic - we’re all living in the metaverse and true crime enthusiasts have created a theme park full of infamous murder simulations. Cassie has to infiltrate that creepy company to figure what really happened to her husband.

This is a great crossover read - there’s plenty of action and futurism for traditional sci-fi fans, but it also feels grounded in reality and the story is more plot-focused than world building-focused. I definitely recommend!

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: sci-fi
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: maybe
✨ Recommended For: fans of The Farm, The Hunger Games, etc

💕 Characters: 4/5
💕 Writing: 4/5
💕 Plot: 4/5
💕 Pacing: 4/5
💕 Unputdownability: 4/5
💕 Enjoyment: 4/5
💕 Book Cover: 4/5

Thanks, NetGalley and Severn House, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

STOP I loved this, thanks NetGalley! A black mirror dystopian satirical thriller set not far enough in the future for my comfort level, this book is about the natural progression and evolution of the global true crime obsession and how with the aid of technology, it continues to erode people’s personal lives. Coupled with veiled references to various corporations and government entities it felt like an incredibly realistic portrayal of how sensational crimes may be treated as monetary opportunities in the near future. If you too are concerned by the increasing invasiveness of the true crime wave, you’ll really enjoy this one (and also be a little sickened).