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A review by emilynied
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book kept me on my toes! I went into it not knowing much, but I was interested by the premise because from reading the blurb, the author, Joseph Knox, was featured as a character in the story. Interesting, right? I picked it up, expecting a fictional mystery about a missing college student, but was instead greeted with a note from the publisher about disagreements with the author (Joseph Knox) and new knowledge come to light about his familiarity with the case. HUH? THEN, I flip the page and there's a note from the author himself, again reiterating the split between himself and the publisher. THEN, I flip the page and there's a photo of a girl, with a note underneath detailing her name, age, quick story and the last moment she was seen alive.
Now, as you can imagine, I was shook, because why did it feel so real?! I actually had to recheck online that it was a purely fictional story and not even inspired by a singular case from the real world. Nope, purely fictional. So, all of this to say, Knox sucks you into this world using a variety of storytelling techniques and I was hooked from the first page.
The book is crafted using a variety of letters, emails and news clippings, and the entirety of it is written interview style (think "Daisy Jones and the Six" with the name of the character and a snippet of their "interview" with the writer themself). It's a really cool storytelling technique and made it feel like more of a true crime investigation than a story.
The writer who was working on investigating the story of the missing college student is revealed to have died in the first few pages, and Knox, who had been conversing with her as the project came into fruition, finished up the book for her (again, all fictional) and got it published. So again, HOOKED.
The characters in this book are gritty and very unlikable, and as another reviewer put it, "at first, it seems like a sordid nasty soap opera that Zoe (the victim) left behind, but eventually every minor detail becomes important." There's so many intertwined plot lines and big reveals and uncovered secrets. As the story winded down, I was wondering if we would even get a definite ending. I did, however, guess the killer (which, tbh, I'm pretty proud of myself for). This was, however, a very thrilling read.
Now, as you can imagine, I was shook, because why did it feel so real?! I actually had to recheck online that it was a purely fictional story and not even inspired by a singular case from the real world. Nope, purely fictional. So, all of this to say, Knox sucks you into this world using a variety of storytelling techniques and I was hooked from the first page.
The book is crafted using a variety of letters, emails and news clippings, and the entirety of it is written interview style (think "Daisy Jones and the Six" with the name of the character and a snippet of their "interview" with the writer themself). It's a really cool storytelling technique and made it feel like more of a true crime investigation than a story.
The writer who was working on investigating the story of the missing college student is revealed to have died in the first few pages, and Knox, who had been conversing with her as the project came into fruition, finished up the book for her (again, all fictional) and got it published. So again, HOOKED.
The characters in this book are gritty and very unlikable, and as another reviewer put it, "at first, it seems like a sordid nasty soap opera that Zoe (the victim) left behind, but eventually every minor detail becomes important." There's so many intertwined plot lines and big reveals and uncovered secrets. As the story winded down, I was wondering if we would even get a definite ending. I did, however, guess the killer (which, tbh, I'm pretty proud of myself for). This was, however, a very thrilling read.