True Crime Story: The Times Number One Bestseller

Product Information

I liked this book. I am more than willing to try just about any audiobook that features a full cast. I just really enjoy the experience of listening to full cast bring a story to life. As soon as I heard about this book, I was more than ready to give it a listen and I found it to be quite entertaining. I enjoyed the engrossing, gripping, dark writing style and this smart, multi layered, extremely interesting story! In today's society I doubt that Knox expected many people to get through the whole book without googling Zoe Nolan but it's testament to my own patience that I was a few chapters in before I did so and to Knox's skill that, even when I didn't immediately find information about Nolan, I wasn't completely convinced she'd never existed. Knox does a great job of holding up a mirror to human nature, not just in building a believable portrait of a missing girl and those she's left behind, but also in understanding and encouraging a reader's capacity to get to a point where we're actively wishing Zoe into existence just so the sad story of yet another missing girl can be true. Dark, right!?

She came to Great Holm in 1992, with her husband Paul and their young family. Their children attended local play groups and schools. In 2017 Zoe retired from the NHS where she was a Consultant Psychologist working with teams and families in the Midlands helping teenagers remain safely at home, in school and out of care or custody. She lives in Great Holm with her husband who is Chair of the Consortium Milton Keynes and a school governor.It was a bit of a toll to get through this, as I found it slow and taking too long to get to the point. Every now and then, a suspenseful moment would occur. I kept chugging along in hopes that the ending would be worth my while. It wasn’t. Even though there are so many voices, characters, the author adroitly achieved to write the story centered on Zoe and what happened to her. She was always the main character. To learn more about her secrets and past help us more to complete the whole puzzle. The book progresses by means of a series of interviews with all her friends, fellow students, family, and staff, brilliantly edited and arranged to provoke doubts, and send the reader off in all directions. Gradually all the characters reveal themselves with their own words. Who knew what, and when. Will she ever turn up? I typically love the "interview-style" formatting, but I had some problems with the way this was done which impeded my enjoyment of the story overall.

We learn about the first story by following the second one, centred on Evelyn Mitchell, a writer acquainted with Joseph Knox. At some point, she became obsessed with what happened to Zoe Nolan and started collecting thorough interviews with anyone and everyone who knew Zoe. Slowly but surely, she built up a picture from these testimonies which contradicted the official version of events. A very stylish novel revealing not only the unreliability of witnesses, but also the voyeurism in much crime reporting, crime investigation, and yes, in those of us who enjoy crime fiction.” - The Tablet

First comments - I finished this yesterday and at this point in time I have no idea what my rating is going to be. Slightly contradictory however it was a good story which I didn't particularly like from an author I do like... So what didn't work for me? Knox chose to tell his story from the perspective of several voices in a series of interviews, though it's really the would be author doing this, some with law-enforcement, others, off the cuff, giving us a true POV experience. Perhaps this is how it would be if you were reading a case report of police and the notes of an author. He Said: She Said: and then They Said Again: and Again:; I'd have preferred a narrative read. Due to the amount of business to be transacted the Cabinet has 'delegated authority' for some decisions to be taken by Council Officers. The Council's constitution provides a detailed description of these responsibilities. Calling in a Decision

There are Publisher’s notes and Editor’s notes-added I think-to have this fictional story read as true crime-but I just found them to be confusing. 🤷🏻‍♀️I loved Joseph Knox’s The Smiling Man, so when I saw that he had written this stand-alone, True Crime Story, I was really excited to read it. Evie is currently doing research for her next book, one she hopes will balance the scales. It's definitely about the victim....a Manchester university student named Zoe Nolan who disappeared in 2011.