This was a really enjoyable book with an unusual structure blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Joseph Knox appears in the narrative as himself and the whole book is told through interviews with the people and suspects involved in the missing person case of Zoe Nolan, a 19 year old student who disappeared from a party at her halls of residence in Manchester. I thought that the story was very interesting, with enough twists and turns to keep things moving along, but this is very much a book that depends on its structure for success. I would particularly recommend the audio book version, which is excellent and has a full cast. This type of production works really well with the narrative and is definitely the best way to get the most out of the story. Overall, I found this a compelling book and would recommend it widely.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A very well put together and narrated explanation of a real kidnap/murder mystery. Has an end but also does not. Narrators were excellent and I wanted to believe all of them all the way through. Cannot being to think what it must have been like for the family.

I was very grateful to be given an ARC of the audio version of this book. Having listened to it, I really feel audio is the way to experience this story. There is a wonderful cast of young actors who bring these characters to life and the interview format lends itself really well to an audio book.

The story revolves around Zoe Nolan who vanishes one night from a party in her student accommodation. No trace of her is found. Through interviews with her sister, friends, boyfriends, parents, police and others, Joseph Knox tries to get to the bottom of what happened uncovering some unsavoury details about Zoe and her peers along the way.

Despite the title, this is not actually a true crime book - Zoe's story is entirely a work of fiction but it is told in such a convincing way that it is sometimes easy to forget that fact. Knox himself appears as author of a book about Zoe but never tries to overshadow the story or other characters. He expertly allows the players to move the narrative along in their own voice just dipping in and out with other information from time to time.

I loved this book, in fact I forgot I was even listening to a book so real it was. It feels like a true crime podcast. Again, major kudos to the cast who did a stellar job on this. It was a fantastic listen.

Really enjoyed this audiobook. Fast pace of storyline. Clear and understandable narrator. I would recommend.

I haven't been able to finish this audiobook, but I will. It is so chilling and believable that I am having a difficult time listening to it. Absolutely superbly done!

Unusual, this! I have been listening to quite a few true crime podcasts over the past few Covid months (I can recommend Death in Ice Valley, West Cork and Bear Brook). I opted to listen to True Crime Story as an audiobook and it worked really well. I am now left wondering how it works as a book, as listening to it was a great way to appreciate the story. Anyway, all I can talk about is my own experience, so here goes.

I felt apprehensive about the innumerable cast members who contribute to the audiobook narration, including Joseph Knox appearing as himself. It worked, it was easy to differentiate between all the voices and once the rhythm was established, each narrator became part of the whole story.

Zoe Nolan disappeared in Decemer 2011 and she vanished without a trace. Evelyn Mitchell has started researching and has been busy interviewing family and friends and looks to Joseph, as a published author, for his input and mentoring skills. We learn, as listeners and readers, more about the backstories of the various characters who featured in Zoe's life whilst she was living in the Tower in Owens Park, Manchester, a building that itself had a rather dark history. Zoe is living there with her twin sister Kim and outshone her on so many levels. Resentment? Perhaps. Friends with secrets? Of course. Backstories? For sure!

Odd things happened. Underwear was stolen, voices heard, jackets nicked. Kim was bundled into a van and held against her will for a short time and closely examined for physical attributes.

The surface is only just being scratched but it is clear that a murky world is coming to light.

This is a well paced narrative and such an unusually constructed story. If you love crime podcasts, you will enjoy this.

Oh this is a very clever book. Everything, from the almost shocking and jaw dropping foreword, through to the astonishing and almost emotional conclusion, is pitched perfectly and works so well in the hands of the multi-narrator cast for the audiobook that I found myself completely engrossed in everything about it. This is what original fiction should be. It was both unique and yet all to familiar and had I not known this was a work of fiction, I would have sworn that I was listening to a true crime podcast or something very, very similar. And because this is a work of 'metafiction ' - a made up story mimicking the styling of a true crime book, you even have the author as narrator experience as part of the audiobook which adds something very special to the portrayal in it's own unique way.



This is almost a book within a book - the author recounting his experience working with another author on developing a true crime story which looks into the unsolved disappearance of a University student, Zoe Nolan, from her apartment building in Manchester in 2011. Author Evelyn Mitchell is determined to uncover the truth behind Zoe's disappearance and we learn very early on that her investigations are not without their problems. The story is told through a series of interviews with family and friends of the missing woman, as well as being interspersed with scenes narrated by the author, Joseph Knox, which echo the kind of narrative and the supposition and speculation that are to be found in all true crime fiction. Scene setting, directing the attention of the reader to the key elements of all we are reading or hearing. It feels like a true story, every part of it screaming authenticity, and in that respect, having it narrated, rather than reading it myself, gave it a podcast kind of air.



I don't want to go too far into the 'case' but it is fair to say that there are a whole host of suspects, the kind of unreliable witnesses that make getting to the heart of the story so very difficult. There are few voices which felt trustworthy, all of then authentic in portrayal but problematic in terms of their history and the involvement with the victim. We are drawn into Zoe's complex and tangled world, from twisted family relationships to unexpected friendships and a pseudo-celebrity status that makes her undeniably popular. And yet nothing is as it appears on the surface and the more evidence that we are provided with, the more confusing the tale becomes, but in a way that still makes perfect sense.

I really liked the style of this book. It reminded me of so many true crime books that I have read, focusing on the life of the victim and trying to piece together her final days and suppose what might have happened. We hear from not only the friends and family, including her twin sister who is accused of jealousy and yet makes a compelling see to the contrary, but also the police involved in the investigation, and whilst this may be a 'cold case', it feels current and very real, Joseph Knox capturing the feeling of fact within a world of pure fiction.



If you like crime novels and you enjoy true crime stories, then I would heartily recommend this book - it's a perfect blend of both worlds. I started listening to this book whilst on holiday with Mandie, and she was so engrossed, she had to buy a copy too just to finish listening to it. For me, the audiobook really made it live, and the multi-cast recording was absolutely spot on, instilling in me a mix of emotions as I felt myself warming, and taking exception, to the various people brought into my world. This is a complex story but one which, as a work of fiction, is very clever. As a blended style of narrative, it is absolutely brilliant. And there is a twist in this tale, one that will may knock the wind out of your sails, but one which just seems to tragically fit. Definitely recommended.

A highly original story that you just can't put down.
Zoe Nolan has started Manchester university. She wanted to go on to study music at another establishment but was rejected. Zoe shares accommodation with her twin sister, Kim who is forever in her shadow.
One evening Zoe goes missing and the story tries to peace together what has happened.
The story is told through the eyes of a author who is trying to piece together the case and find out what happened to Zoe.
Told through narratives from all the characters that were interviewed, this is a highly original told story. The originality of how this story makes it stand out even more than the way it is told.
This is a dark tale with such complexities of characters involved that it haunts you and stays with you long after you have finished it.
This is so different than any other story I have ever read, that I surely think this is going to win Joseph Knox some justified awards.
The audiobook version is like a performance which all the different narraters involved and is absolutely compelling.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to listen to in return for a review.

Hands down this is one of my books of the year, if not the decade! What a clever piece of writing and how brilliantly narrated. I don't think I have read anything by Joseph Knox before but I will most definitely be going back to peruse his other work. I thought this was an incredibly well thought out story which was executed in such a way that I had to keep checking to reassure myself that it was actually a work of fiction rather than a real investigation. The characters are very well considered and come across as highly realistic. Merging the disappearance of Zoe with the chat between Joseph and Evelyn was a masterstroke in lifting this from another missing girl story to an engrossing read (or in this case, listen). Fabulous!

A book made for the audiobook!
Absolutely fabulous read/ listen.
A premise so unique that it made me want Joseph Knox to become an investigator or make a podcast!
As a huge fan of true crime, podcasts and audiobooks, this book was made for me!
The execution was nothing short of spectacular and was so believable, I had to do some research of my own to confirm it was actually fiction. That speaks volumes to me!
There were lots of characters and therefore lots of narrators, but that just made it all the more authentic, and I loved the little sound effects of the typing and texting noises, they were such a cute addition! The narrators were all very distinctive though, so it was easy to follow.
The plot was so gripping, the kind that made me think about it when I wasn't listening to it. Truly absorbing.
I'm so blown away by this novel that I really hope I do it justice, but all I can say is 'read it, listen to it, and marvel at it.'

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Joseph Knox for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is such an interesting book. The audio version was fascinating yet harrowing. The book focuses on the disappearance of Zoe Nolan. The book is brilliantly written. The audio version has different voices for different characters which made it easier to figure out ‘who is who’. This is a brilliant read for any true crime fans. I can’t recommend it enough. It is harrowing, dark and gritty.

First things first, after the initial few minutes of the book you're going to want to goggle it! Don't do it, just go with it and enjoy this ingenious masterpiece.

I don't want to say too much as a huge amount of the enjoyment of True Crime Story is trying to figure out what's actually going on. This need to know more persists from the first few lines to the final full stop.

Cleverly pieced together with interviews, emails and statements it kept my mind boggling right until the end. I listened to the audio version and it was hugely atmospheric. The interviews and statements even have that white noise and background interference you'd expect from tape recordings. I know some listeners found this irritating but it definitely added to the drama for me. I can also imagine this would work perfectly in text form and would love to dive into the snippets of emails and police statements so might even buy this for my shelf.

Murderinos, true crime fans and podcast fanatics, you will devour this and crime fiction fans equally will get trapped in it's twisty tangled web.

Read it or listen to it but you need to add it to your TBR pile now. I'm immediately adding Knox's other books to mine.

I really enjoyed this stand-alone novel from Joseph Knox, an author who has already shown his considerable writing skills in his most impressive Aidan Watts series. I found True Crime Story to be original, innovative and entertaining in a really clever way. But having let it settle for several days, I find that it is also a book that gives me cause to consider it over and over. There’s a lot to this book that stays in the mind and makes me want to think through some of the attitudes that it throws up.

True Crime is unquestionably a great listen and a fantastically impressive novel, but it also deals with some really rather intense questions about the nature of our celebrity culture.

True Crime Story plays on our current fascination for True Crime podcasts. The fact that there is a full cast audio-book just reinforces that feeling and this narration is brilliant in making you feel just as if it is a true crime podcast that you are listening to. In this instance, it is the case of talented music student 19 year old Zoe Nolan, who in December 2011 disappeared from her shared student accommodation in Manchester University and was never seen again.

Her case intrigues writer Evelyn Mitchell and she begins researching Zoe’s disappearance and interviewing those closest to Zoe at the time.

What the reader is party to – and how we find out the details pertaining to Zoe’s disappearance is contained in exchanges between Evelyn Mitchell and her friend, another author named, yes, you guessed it, Joseph Knox.

So what the reader gets is extracts from Evelyn’s interviews for her book, interspersed with e-mails from Evelyn to Knox and vice versa which detail the progress of the investigation and contain speculation on what these interviews mean.

Evelyn’s interviews focus on those closest to Zoe. Her twin sister Kim, Zoe’s father, Robert Nolan, her mother Sally and her closest friends Liu Wai, Andrew Flowers, Fintan Murphy and Jai Mahmood.

What emerges is a picture of a dysfunctional family and a disparate group of friends who each carry their own troubles with them. Each one of them has something they want to reveal about Zoe or one of the others in this tight circle – or to share an opinion they’ve carried around for the last ten years wanting someone to listen.

We are treated to interview transcripts and recollections from her friends and family of the night that Zoe disappeared. What emerges is a confused and unclear account of Zoe and what happened that night. Her friends are by and large unlikeable; from her boyfriend through to her unreliable sister and her obsessive dad, it seems that everyone interviewed has something they are hiding. Zoe’s father Rob is determined to take centre stage in his daughter’s dramatic disappearance while others shy away from the media spotlight.

The reader is caught up in these accounts, trying to decipher who can be believed. The more you find out, the creepier this story becomes and as the investigation goes deeper the atmosphere becomes more menacing and the story more complex. Then there’s the exchanges between Evelyn and Joseph ‘Foxy’ Knoxy which themselves tell another story….this is metafiction taken to a glorious level.

Verdict: True Crime Story really does have all the hallmarks of a real case and it feels and sounds authentic. That Joseph Knox has managed to pull off something so ambitious and absorbing is a real achievement. Fast paced and utterly addictive this blend of fiction with a factual feel is compelling and so cleverly written. True Crime Story is a brilliant tour de force.

Zoe Nolan disappeared three months into her first year at Manchester University in 2011. Years later, struggling writer Evelyn Mitchell wants to write about what happened girls that vanish into thin air like Zoe. She starts speaking to the people in Zoe's life to find out more and undercovers a whole host of secrets and lies. She realises she may have bitten off more than she can chew and enlists the help of fellow writer, Joseph Knox. Evelyn gets closer to revealing the truth about Zoe's disappearance, but someone wants the truth to remain hidden is watching Evelyn from afar.

I can safely say I have never listened to an audiobook like this ever before. I challenge anyone to listen to the first ten minutes of this book and not have their interest sparked and the story slip under their skin before they have even realised it.

I love books written in the epistolary style and for the most part I really enjoyed the structure of the interview transcripts from Zoe's friends and family and the email exchanges between Evelyn and Joseph. There are sixteen different narrators used in the audiobook and I really felt that enhanced my experience as a listener. It was especially effective in blurring the line between fact and fiction and the case felt so real to me as I listened to it that I was tempted to google for news stories to look further into Zoe's disappearance.

It's so cleverly written because every character is an unreliable narrator, with their own agenda, version of events and secrets they're hiding. Because of this, I really enjoyed speculating about who was really to blame as well as wild and wonderful theories about Zoe's secrets - I was so engaged in the audiobook that when I wasn't listening to it, I was thinking about it. There are a ton of revelations and twists, including one that made me literally shout out loud as I heard it. It's creepy and sad and clever as many of my opinions on the characters were completely changed by the end of the book. I identified the culprit early on with a hunch but the context was still unexpected and intricate enough to shock me.

The only slight drawback was that the pace felt a little slow around the middle of the audiobook, because you were listening to five or six versions of the same event before you got a snippet of information or a clue. Some events in the plot felt far fetched too, These were minor things and didn't dectract from my overall opinion of the book.

"True Crime Story" is an apt title in some many ways - it's impossible to know who is telling the truth and it's written in such a way that it felt so real that it really messed with my head. I was lucky enough to be given an audiobook and book of the novel and there is a slight difference in the ending between them which has really got me thinking and reexamining the whole book.

All in all, it's a fantastic listening experience and one I would recommend to both fans of psychological thrillers and the true crime genre. I really want to buy it for all my friends so we can discuss it!

Thanks to the author, Netgalley, and Penguin Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a mixture of true crime and fiction , it’s based on the disappearance of student Zoe Nolan.
The story is told through the interviews of the people close to Zoe , her sister , friends and her parents. It’s chilling to realise that this actually took place .
It’s a book that will stay in my thoughts for sometime , it would be easier to forget if was just a well written thriller , but unfortunately it’s based on a true story which makes it more disturbing. There are many twists and turns in the story and I was surprised by the conclusion and the perpetrator , who was hiding in plain sight.
I found the narration to be excellent and overall a unique , enjoyable and somewhat unsettling read.
Highly recommended!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio.

This audio book was fantastic. Very cleverly done with different voices and subtle background noise to identify if a chapter was an email etc.
A sign of an good audiobook is when you wish you had read the book. A sign of a good audiobook is when you order the book to read. I have. This was a great book that at first I did wonder if it was real life. Definitely 5 stars for me!

loved the structure of this book, written as a investigative documentary with a cast of characters. I listened on audio so that was easier to work out who was who. the narration was like a mini drama. Set in Manchester in 2011 a female student goes missing. the story develops around the investigation and lead up to the disappearance. I had to google the student's name to see if it was for real. The storyline is a mix between fact and fiction and very well executed. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

A story I felt invested in from start to finish. I loved this book, it really kept me gripped and I needed to know more about the situation of the missing girl, her twin and a mismatch of friends and family who led me to become more and more suspicious. I didn’t enjoy the audio quality of the “interview” sections of the book- I found the noise distracting.

My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook of ‘True Crime Story’ by Joseph Knox in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook is read by a full cast with a running time of 11 hours, 22 minutes at 1x speed.

This highly original crime novel presents itself as a true crime book focusing on the disappearance on Saturday 17 December 2011, of Zoe Nolan, a nineteen-year-old Manchester University student. She walked out of a party taking place in the shared accommodation where she had been living and was never seen again.

Seven years after her disappearance, writer Evelyn Mitchell finds herself drawn into the mystery. She interviews Zoe's friends and family, and begins piecing together what really happened in 2011. She becomes aware of troubling inconsistencies in the reports and also uncovers evidence of Zoe’s secret life.

Finding herself stalked by a shadowy presence, Evelyn reaches out to crime writer Joseph Knox to help her make sense of the case. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Every now and then I like to read true crime books and so felt that Knox was quite clever in writing a novel using a style that imitates true crime nonfiction.

With respect to the audiobook, ‘True Crime Story’ with its format of interviews, emails, and reports proved a perfect title for an audiobook edition or to be experienced as a combined read/listen. It has sixteen narrators, including the author, again giving the sense of a series of podcasts or an audio-based documentary.

While audiobook productions are usually polished in terms of sound quality, there are some crackles, white noise, and the like in some sections that increases the sense that you are listening to off-the-cuff recordings.

This was an unusual and totally absorbing work of untrue crime. Simply brilliant!

I feel that this will be a novel that will appeal to readers of both crime fiction and true crime. Highly recommended.

Jeeeeezzz what a story, completely unputdownable!

Firstly I have to tell you that the physical copy has quickly been added to my wishlist because I need to have it on my bookshelf.

The audio experience was so good, apart from the interviews..

I didn't enjoy the "interviews" audio, it's quality was not great, but I assume this has been done on purpose? However, for me the constant white noise in the background started to irk me a little bit eventually.

But the cast made the whole story come to life and kept me absolutely 100% invested in the story from start to end, it is really entertaining and has a number of twists and turns to keep you on the edge and guessing.

Highly recommend!