I want to start by saying this is not really a horror novel, although horrific things happen. It's a mystery/thriller with multiple points of view, several red herrings, and an engaging and twisty narrative. Even though it's not horror per se, I still loved this story and found myself reading well into the night to find out all the secrets.

A boy named Jake dies in his garage and, at first, it appears that a stunt he performed had gone wrong. That same day, a very troubled and bullied girl goes missing.

What follows is a story which entwines these two events through several viewpoints. We follow the perspective of Jake's brother, the missing girls father, a website of amateur sleuths who become obsessed with this case, and others. There's one point of view which serves as a huge curve ball once the identity is revealed and that reveal changes the narrative!

We'll discover how those two tragic events are related as information and secrets start to be discovered. And it's not going to end the way you might think.

The pacing of this novel is excellent as we switch viewpoints in every chapter, leaving these sometimes mini cliffhangers until we cycle back to that character. This makes for a tense and unpredictable read which I'm a huge fan of.

Your feelings towards certain characters will change over the course of the book as hidden things are ultimately uncovered. You're never really sure who you can rely on.

I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

I absolutely loved this book! I grabbed it for the Pantera references (obviously, I had to), but it completely blew me away. It hooked me right from the start, diving deep into Caleb’s chaotic headspace, and the story just kept pulling me in. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in three days. What really stuck with me was how real it felt, especially with the modern touches that show just how connected and reliant we are on tech such as social media and online forums. My favourite part? By far the last few chapters! Absolutely wild. Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, it hits you out of nowhere. No spoilers, but trust me, it’s worth the read.

Following the death of a teen with a decent social media following and the subsequent videos that were posted after his death and the attention it brings. His family and their lives are turned upside down.

I'm kind of speechless. This was a wild ride.
Multi first person POV and use of social media formatting made it interesting.

I don't even know what to say that won't deliver a spoiler. I normally take notes while I read to help write a review, but I was so invested I forgot. The emotions ran the gamut. I would definitely say there should be a Trigger Warning, while it's obviously about the loss of a child/close loved one I was not expecting the raw emotion, especially when Caleb viewed his brother's body.
As a mother, but not one that has lost a child, a good part of the first bit of the book was pretty heart wrenching. Which speaks to the authors ability to convey emotion in writing.

I'm impressed and will be keeping an eye on this author.

This book was an incredibly journey that felt like a true crime documentary! It’s not scary or creepy horror but more of a mystery/ thriller! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for ARC of this book and opportunity to read it early! I really enjoyed it!

this was very close to home. i think for many of us at this current time in society. there is a heavy worry lingering about the use of social media. especially for how gripped and manipulated people are at the moment. including more and more the younger generation. having not even the brain development to comprehend these channels i do worry more and more for everyone who is now almost addicted to the world in these small screens. more needs to be done. more seemingly isnt being done.
i recently was touched by a true life story of a boy found by his mother who had been said to fall foul of a social media stunt. and so i was instantly wanting to read this novel. and im actually glad the twists made it different to the story id read in the news.
there is many shocking moments in this book.
the social media sleuths are also very relatable to whats going on at the moment. sometimes you think it helps. something you know it doesnt. but adding this POV i thought was a genius touch to this. it added to the ramping up of the angst throughout too.
i felt so much for Caleb who's also one of the POV in the book. i had unshed tears a few times when i thought of being a sibling of this tragic case. i wanted to go and hug my own many a time. and felt a protectiveness over him.
there is the added plot of the disappearance of troubled girl which adds more question and mystery to this. and i didnt see how it would all come together until the pieces started to slot into place. at which point i was stumbling over myself to keep reading. i had the book open whilst cooking. whilst ironing. whilst watching tv. i needed to know how this would end.
a brilliant and stark book. it managed to touch all the emotional check point of a good thriller but with much more depth to it.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

The references to Pantera, Iron Maiden and specifically Van Halen drew me right into this book.

This was a great read. I always love a book with transcripts, and this one had podcast transcripts and forum posts. This book gives insight into how reliant we are to our phones and internet.

I couldn’t put this down once I started it. It’s about love, loss and family, as well as horrific things happening. I highly recommend this book.

The Sound of Tuning Out by Shane W O'Haire is a debut novel that is an engaging and twisty mystery / thriller.

When seventeen year old musician Jake Bodkin tragically dies in what police call a social media stunt gone wrong, his loved ones are left behind to pick up the pieces and grieve. When a new post on Jake's page is posted, his brother Caleb is shocked. It seems Jake had signed up for a service through the social media platform LIV that will post pre-arranged videos and posts even after the user has died. This service called Epilogue gives the families of the deceased the opportunity to still see their loved ones posts and memories, all activated by certain trigger words. Elsewhere in the neighborhood, a troubled girl goes missing. She has been battling addiction and mental health issues and has run away before. But when the police find a connection between her and Jake, new theories and secrets come to light, pointing the whole investigation in another direction.

I am unsure about saying more about the synopsis because I truly want everyone to read this and I don't want to spoil it! This was a great debut that had an engaging plot with intriguing characters that were well written. The way that O'Haire has written this novel is unique with multiple first person POVs and the use of online forums and chats. One thing that I will say is that while this is billed as a horror it definitely is more of a mystery novel. The pacing of this novel was great, alternating viewpoints but tying everything up together at the end. Definitely going to look for more from Shane O'Haire!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shane O'Haire for this ARC. Expected publication date is February 21st 2025.

This was a fantastic thriller. Twists, suspense, tension. The mystery was riveting. I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.

Wow. What a great read. Could not put it down. Thank you for letting me read this in advance. I stayed up way to late trying to get to the end.

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review.

I LOVE found media/ergodic literature. Each chapter being a different kind of storytelling really kept me enthralled and entertained. Whether it be Donna’s father’s online posting, Caleb’s journal-type POV, or something new and different than usual, the change-ups really kept me engaged. I particularly liked the diary-like entries by an unknown author, and how it kept us guessing who was writing it throughout the story. Not only who by name, but even if the killer was the one writing it at all or a new connection yet to meet.
One thing this novel did really well was the differentiation between the POVs, specifically Caleb vs. how everyone else viewed him. Especially reading the last chunk, it completely changed how I viewed him. Of course his POV was emotional and filled with his true feelings, but outwardly no one would get any of that. This was one of the best examples of this multi-narrative I’ve seen done.
This book did a lot of things well, and I was incredibly impressed with how well thought out the intricacies of the plot were.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The premise sounded interesting, but the horror classification made me hesitate a bit. Not to worry, it is mostly a whodunnit-type thriller. Yes, the killer may as well have worn a t-shirt that said, "I'm the killer", but besides that, I enjoyed this one. The storytelling is cool, told through several POV's and social media postings, a journal and an unknown author. Is it the killer? This is also a tragic and emotional story in a way. Caleb's brother dies, supposedly filming a YouTube stunt. Then a girl goes missing. There are also themes of bullying and some good, timely social media commentary. I would recommend this sort of crazy read and would read more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Shane W. O'Haire for this review copy. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication day of February 21st.