I love! Podcast mystery books! Such a good time every time, so much fun. The Podcast part is always my favourite part, and this one had a really solid mystery. I liked Dee enough, and I really liked her and Sarah together. Some parts of this were unrealistic, but I read almost exclusively YA mystery thrillers so I have a healthy suspension of disbelief and was completely unbothered. This is a great spooky time read, very nice fall atmospheric book. I recommend!

~Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of I Hope You Are Listening by Tom Ryan in exchange for my honest review.~

I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan is a fast paced, tense mystery novel. We follow Dee, who ten years ago was the only witness to the abduction of her best friend, Sibby. The story takes place in the present, where another child goes missing.

Ten years after her best friend goes missing, Dee cannot recall much about the abduction. To help cope with this, she creates a podcast (which no one knows about) about true crime and solving unsolved cases with the help of her followers. Another child is abducted and she realizes that there is a possibility that her identity might be revealed.

Starting with the positives, I loved that this book had great LGBTQ+ representation. I also loved that Dee's dad was a stay-at-home dad. We as a society should start normalizing these types of thoughts, however I was guilty of being shocked (a good one!). Another thing I would like to add is that Dee is seventeen years old and is written like a seventeen year old. Some books can't do that well but I think Tom Ryan did it beautifully.

I believe that this was a good read. It wasn't extraordinary or groundbreaking but it set what it intended to do. However, I think it lacked a deeper meaning. Because Dee was a very private main character, I feel like we as readers weren't able to sink deeper into her own thoughts, into what she was directly feeling as things unfolded.
This book is a more of a character-driven novel with mystery aspects. It takes a while before she starts investigating herself halfway through the book. But when you get to the mystery part, it's fast paced and flows really well. The ending was alright, pretty satisfactory (but pretty easy to guess).

So, if you’re looking for a solid YA mystery that’s more character-driven, this is the book for you

I really enjoyed this book, a strong heroine, that was believable. a heroine we care about as we watch her growth and her courage. a mystery that has haunted her since her childhood and how she handles the guilt she has taken on. her lesbianism is just an accepted fact. male author but believable as a female narrator

”The thin, delicate thread of connection that had been feeding back to me from the past, that I’d been hanging on to for so long, had already been broken, and I’d been the only one still hanging on to an end.”

Dee Skinner is the girl who wasn’t taken. When she was 7 years old, she witnessed her best friend Sibby being abducted and she was never seen again. Now 10 years later, she deals with her guilt and trauma by creating an anonymous true crime podcast called Radio Silent. But when a new little girl goes missing, she has to decide if revealing her own secret identity is worth finding out the truth, especially if both cases are connected.

This book started out strong for me! The mystery intrigued me and the w/w romance had my attention right from the start. I also appreciated many of the themes discussed in this book, such as loss of innocence and survivor’s guilt.

The first half of this story was solid, but the second half really fizzled out in my opinion. It ended up being really forgettable for me if I’m being honest. I finished this book a few days ago and I’m struggling to remember the plot/character names without looking at my notes. The podcast aspect of the story became kind of irrelevant, the best friend (who I wanted to find out more about) was missing from almost the entire book, and the romance really fell flat. The ending also wasn’t for me, and I found that the explanation for everything that happened to be unsatisfactory.

Overall, this was a good read for spooky season but it wasn’t as good as I was hoping it’d be. The plot was intriguing, but the execution left a bit to be desired. However, I still do recommend this book to people looking for an inclusive YA mystery.

*Thank you to Netgalley & Albert Whitman and Company for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Wow, this was a great YA thriller mystery. I don't normally love YA thrillers because they tend to not be realistic and things don't always add up. I really really enjoyed this entire book and read it in one sitting. I am a sucker for a book with a podcast in it and this one had it! We are following Dee who runs a podcast that is incredibly famous. It is to help find missing people, she started this because her best friend was abducted 10 years ago. Dee survived the abduction, but her best friend was kidnapped. I think the idea of a podcast to help solved missing person cases is amazing.

I really loved how this showed the aftermath of what Dee has been dealing with for the past 10 years. I don't know how I would handle being the girl who wasn't taken while my best friend was. Dee is trying to help solve a current case of a little girl who has gone missing and it is eerily similar to her best friends case from 10 years ago. I think this is a solid thriller that literally keeps you on the edge of your seat. While it did have some faults, they were so minuscule that they don't even matter! I would highly suggest reading this if you've been looking for an exceptionally written YA thriller full of great characters and an amazing plot.

This started out kind of slow, but it quickly snowballed into a fully fledged mystery that had me on the edge of my seat. It starts off with a podcast. One I would probably listen to in real life. The premise of the podcast is someone putting out missing person cases out into the world for their listeners to help solve. That's when Dee comes in. She is The Seeker. She started this podcast so she could help others when she couldn't help the one person she wanted to the most all those years ago. Now y'all can read the rest of the summary for yourselves so I'm gonna get to the rest of the review. Spoilers ahead!!

What I loved:
- Sarah and Dee's relationship. Oh gosh they were so so cute. We didn't see quite as much as I was hoping for but it was still amazing.
- The complexity and sort of intertwined-ness of the main two cases. They were two separate things that were forced together. I loved that the story had me guessing for a lot of it.


What I didn't love:
- Burke. Just...he had the potential to be such a great character. I wanted to love him but he was just not good. He constantly trivializes Dee's trauma and tried to make it his own. He made some good points in his arguments that Dee wasn't the only one affected by Sibby's abduction...but he also made it seem like Dee was always saying that she was. Dee was perfectly aware that others were affected. But she had a right to feeling the way she did. He also constantly was pushing her to get involved in the new case, even after she said she was too close and that it was hurting her. She should've had been allowed the time and care to come to the realization that she, herself, needed to be involved for her own peace of mind. But all he did was push her and stop talking to her.
- For all the times Dee talks about how she's on high alert and doesn't trust people/strangers...she sure did just randomly trust strangers throughout the whole book. Just got into a strange man's van, drank and ate whatever was given to her without second thought, trusted that yeah going into the basement with only one exit is totally safe.
- okay I both loved and didn't quite love that Dee's queerness isn't all that upfront. I love it because it was so natural for everyone to just accept that she liked girls and often teased her about her crush on Sarah. But also...I really like when, in the story, characters are like "oh yeah, I'm a lesbian" or "I'm queer". Again I didn't hate it, I was quite fond of the situation. It was also a relief that there was almost no homophobia in this book. There's only a brief subtle mention of it for maybe 2 pages.

Again, it started off kind of slow and, for me, didn't really get super interesting or pick up until 70% of the way in. But this was a really quick and exciting read. I definitely recommend if you're in the mood for a mystery!!

4.5. stars

WOW. This needs to be turned into a movie immediately!

Ten years ago, Dee Skinner witnessed the kidnapping of her childhood friend, Sibby Carmichael. Throughout the years, there has been no signs of Sibby, and all Dee has been left with are the haunting memories of being in the forest when her friend was taken. Now, in order to deal with pain, Dee runs an anonymous podcast called Radio Silent, where she discusses missing person cases and encourages her listeners to help her solve these cases. Shockingly, another girl goes missing--from the family who moved into Dee's childhood house. With potential links to Sibby's case, Dee gets a chance to finally find some answers after all these years.

<i>I Hope You're Listening</i> was fantastic. It's a mystery/thriller that will keep you on your toes, especially as the book advances. Dee's pain and trauma are written respectfully and while this isn't the first book I've read about a secret podcast, it was still entertaining. I also appreciated the lovely queer representation. There were no conversations about gay suffering and woes about coming out--it was just two girls who liked each other and decided to be girlfriends. I thought this was quite refreshing and the subtleness worked well with the story since the main focus was on Dee finding out more about Sibby. The ending was far from disappointing; I was pleasantly surprised with how nicely things wrapped up.

I did think that the beginning was a bit slow (it definitely took me a few tries to get into this book) and there were some elements of the plot that were jumped into too quickly, but overall, I thought Tom Ryan's approach to a thriller was excellent. Again, the beginning took some time to get into, but after pushing passed that, I read the last 60% of the book in one sitting. Would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in YA thriller/mystery, especially one with LGBTQ representation!

This is an amazing book for someone who may just be starting to read more mystery and thriller books!! The plot of the book is solid enough to keep people intrigued and rushing to figure out how the book will end after the main plot point of the book, the disappearance of the young girl, and enough plot development and character growth occurs to keep people interested through the second half of the book.
The podcast element really solidified this book through its role in Dee's character and the role it carries in the plot, it was seriously so cool and it reminded me why true crime podcasts are so popular!
I will say the characters in the book could be pretty hit or miss in terms of their writing and how fleshed out they could be, I really enjoyed Dee's character and I felt like her character and her development was well written, I just felt like some of the others could have been fleshed out a little bit more because they all had amazing potential!
I also think that, while this book is good for people just getting into thrillers and mystery books, it may not suit people who have read a ton of the genre, unless they are looking for a little more character-focused thriller book.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it to anyone looking into the genre!!

An huge thanks to Netgalley and Albert Whitman & Company for the chance to read this book.

TW: child kidnapping, drug use, homophobia, cult

"I hope you are listening" is a captivating YA mystery, with a cute queer romance, missing cases, guilt, friendships, intense characters, a story with many plot twists. I enjoyed reading it and my attention was captured right away!
Dee is a really interesting and lifelike character. Her guilt (even though she couldn't have done anything) was very realistic and the way she found to "deal with it" and to help other people with her podcast is brilliant and moving. It was so eerie and sad reading how many people went missing every years and none knows nothing about them. I loved the way people were trying to solve cases, finding clues, contacting people, digging up and the importance of the Web, if used in the right way.

Dee doesn't want to get involved directly, she doesn't want to reveal her identity as the Seeker, but when another girl in her city is missing and there are similarities between this case and Sibby's, she is forced to deal again with her best friend's kidnapping. She decides it's time to get some answers and she starts to investigate, helped by a new girl in town, Sarah.

"I hope you are listening" follows multiple mysteries, intertwining during the whole book: Layla's disappereance, the kid missing, Sibby's kidnapping and The Seeker's cases for the podcast in a very interesting novel. I was captivated right away, following Dee and Sarah looking for clues and answers, investigating and uncovering. The queer romance is very sweet and I loved reading about them together, but even though it's there, it doesn't put aside the mysteries and how much Dee grows in her search for the truth, unraveling emotions and burdens she still has.

I really loved reading about Dee and her investigation. She's stubborn, fierce, quiet and determined and the traumatic event affected her, her family and her friends, changing everything. Dee is not a perfect character, none in this book is and it's one of the thing I liked the most. They fight, make mistakes, get angry and selfish and they are wonderfully human. Dee and her best friend Burke fight, there are misunderstandings, questions and it's very natural.

I liked the characterization. As I wrote before, Dee is a wonderful character. Burke is another character I enjoyed reading about, supportive, stubborn and who was also hurt by Sibby's disappearance. Dee's parents are supportive and worried this new disappearance could bring their daughter painful memories, while Sarah, the new girl in town, is a welcome novelty in Dee's life and she's ready to be there for and help her in this mystery.

The mysteries, some small and some big, are interesting and they captured the reader's attention, who wants to know what happened to Sibby, what will happen next, following these improvised dectives in their search for the truth and justice.

I really liked this book, I devoured it, but I found some parts a bit unrealistic, but I won't spoiler anythingOverall "I hope you are listening" is a 4 stars for me and I recommend this book to those who are looking for a captivating mystery (mysteries), intense and complex characters and a thrilling story.

Review to come to blog on October 16th during my Blog Tour stop and on that day on Goodreads as well.

I received this book from the Tour Host in exchange of an honest review.

I was already looking forward to this book and so I was excited that I had the chance to read it early. In the end I managed to wait at least until October 1st as I wanted this one for Hallowtober. But boy this was a ride, I just couldn't stop reading. Thankfully, between all the exciting parts there were also some moments to breathe.

Meet Dee, or Delia. A girl who had a very traumatic experience. When she was a kid her best friend got kidnapped while she was there. We see how that still affects her to the day and also that this is why she started the podcast. To at least help out others because she couldn't help Sibby. She is a strong character, or at least tries to be. I loved her from the first page and she only got better with each new piece of information we get about her.

At times we go back in time, 10 years, to the moment when the kidnapping happened. My heart broke when we got the last piece of the puzzle. Poor Dee. :(

I am not a fan of podcasts in real life, probably for the same reason as I am one to read audiobooks. My ADHD just doesn't let me concentrate on things like that. But I do LOVE LOVE podcasts in books, especially thriller/mystery books as it definitely adds something to the story. I also liked, hopefully that is the correct word given what the podcast is about, the podcast and how much hard work Dee put into it. And how much good it did. We see several cases and we also read about other cases. Dee has quite a record with finding people, so I could only imagine how hard it is for her that she never could find her best friend.

The romance was just perfection, it was there and it was fantastic, but it wasn't overpowering from the mystery, the exciting moments. Sometimes that happens, so I am happy with how it ws done here. You are definitely shipping these characters. I just love reading how Sarah affected Dee. Just by wearing something cute, or just by saying something. It was adorable. I loved seeing them get closer and I just loved how sweet Sarah was. How she listened, how she figured out Dee's secret but also kept it a secret, and so on.

I absolutely loved Dee's parents, and my favourite would be the dad. He was just hilarious and wonderful. The things he said just didn't fit his age so that both his wife and daughter would at times cringe at it. I had a big laugh when Dee and Burke came home... to find Dee's dad totally baked. :P

I am still not sure about Burke. On the one hand, great character and I do understand why he changed and became more distant. HOWEVER, I was just pissed that he kept pushing Dee into doing a podcast about Layla while she clearly said no. While she clearly was uncomfortable with it all. Respect her damned wishes. Even later on he keeps saying stuff that just had me rolling my eyes. I get he was affected just like Dee, just like many people. But no need to chew her out. :|

Quinlee (or whatever the bitch name was) was one of the worst characters in the book and I kept hoping that karma would dole out some justice because hot dang that woman is a mess.

I loved that this all took place in a small town. There is just something special about mystery/thriller books that take place in there. Everyone knows each other.

The ending and seeing Dee go full out on finding Sibby was just wonderful, exciting, the pages went by even faster than they already did. It was great to see Dee follow the snippets of information she had and make something out of it. She is always saying that she just finds the stories to tell on her podcast and that she leaves the rest to the Laptop Detectives, but here she is, along with Sarah, and she is doing something amazing.
That scene when [spoiler]she found Sibby? TEARS, I was just so happy to see Sibby alive. Healthy. Then there was the scene when Dee was running away and broke out of the forest, OMG more tears. You had all that tension and then that scene happens in front of you and BOOM, tension just flows away. Beautiful. [/spoiler]

The Layla case was also an interesting one and the parallels with Sibby were creepy. I can just imagine how it is for Dee, for the town. Another missing girl. Exactly 10 years after. Copycat? The same person again? I am glad that this case also got closure, and no I won't tell you what happens.

I was so happy with the last chapters. That was a great way to end this book. A great conclusion.

All in all, if you are looking for an exciting and mysterious read with great characters and sweet LGBT romance? Try out this one. Perfect for this Halloween season.

4.5 STARS


This time, the mystery is personal.


While Tom Ryan's debut, Keep This to Yourself, was a murder mystery at heart, I Hope You're Listening is a new mystery, one with a much more sentimental air. Ten years after Dee witnessed the abduction of her best friend, Sibby, another child goes missing in her small town, and all signs point to the two incidents sharing common origins. What already rattles Dee starts to eat away at her more than ever, and forces her to face everything she's learned and felt in the years since Sibby disappeared. More than that, she has to acknowledge the role she can play as the Seeker, the voice for those missing, if she wants to find the latest vanished girl.

Really, though, with all the personal ties clouding the way is it even possible?


I Hope You're Listening finds its primary ingredient in grief.


It's more character driven than Keep This to Yourself, if you ask me, with a greater amount of introspection and interpersonal conflict. That's not to say it lacks mystery, though! Of course I loved the elements that give this its mystery flavor: Dee tracking down clues, the past rearing its ugly head, and so much more. 

The heart, though, is in the grief surrounding Sibby Carmichael's disappearance, and its links to the latest case. While it's one thing to be the anonymous Seeker for cases Dee has no connection to, it's entirely another to dig into her own traumatic past, even if it means saving a child's life. Ten years ago, she watched kidnappers whisk her best friend away, and could do absolutely nothing to help. What seven year old child stands a chance against adults in such a scenario? But she blames herself all the same. No one else does, but everything she didn't do to save Sibby haunts her.

And with the newest case, that haunting grows stronger. She's torn between not making the same "mistakes" over again (not that anyone would accuse her of making mistakes the first time), and confronting the overwhelming emotion that accompanies a revisit of her deepest trauma. Even worse, it affects her relationship with her loved ones, sometimes in ways that hurt, and with good reason.

Really, I marvel at the strength in Dee's character. She's remarkably well-rounded, and stands in a position no teenager should ever feel they must stand in. I can't fault her for the sometimes brusque way she treats others, or her secretive paranoia, or the ever-changing tension in her relationships. She feels utterly human, and I have to love what that brings to the book!


Relationships, really, form another important ingredient.


Dee's relationship to Sibby is the source of her grief and guilt. Her relationship with Sarah is a chance at a fresh start, or even understanding. Meanwhile, she can trust her parents to trust her, even if they don't always show their support in the way she would most prefer. Her best friend has her back, even when it hurts, her school enemy is trying to help, even if she's not particularly kind about it, and the Laptop Detective Agency trusts her direction and ability to find the truth, even if they don't know her beyond her podcast pseudonym.

This web is so deeply important to every facet of I Hope You're Listening. It's the deep tethers of relationships or the fragile lack thereof that spur everything onward, whether in the present or ten years ago, and I absolutely adore how cleanly this merges both character and plot.

I also appreciate that we do get another queer relationship from Tom Ryan, and that there's minimal bigotry to accompany it. Sure, I wish the LI had a little more substance, but also? Dee deserves some peace and happiness and support, so I can't really complain about her getting a good girlfriend. 


I Hope You're Listening deserves a place on your shelves.


Releasing October 6th, just around the corner, it's already earned a place on mine (once I have money again 😭). Between a high level of enjoyment, excellent characters, and threads that come to complete ends, I have to recommend it. Sure, it will require a little extra suspension of disbelief from you (similarly to Keep This to Yourself, which maybe stretched a bit in the final chapters), but if you can get past the tiniest bit of that, I fully believe you'll find an enjoyable, rewarding mystery. 

And maybe if you want the full experience, you'll give it a go on audiobook! It doesn't have big podcast sections like Courtney Summers's Sadie, but I suspect it will pair nicely with the audio experience. 



CW: loss of a loved one, kidnapping, suicide mention, smoking, drug use, animal death mention, homophobia

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read on 9/29/20 at 10am EST.]

I decided I needed to read this book after reading the synopsis. It gave me Sadie vibes and I absolutely loved Sadie.

I read this in one day. I loved it! I have a bit of an obsession with YA books and I always seem to reach for the mysteries.

“Is there something you can do to help?
Listen up.
Let’s try”

Ten years after witnessing her best friends abduction, Delia “Dee” Skinner runs a podcast called Radio Silent that helps find missing people.

This was a really interesting book.

We get to see the aftermath of those events. How Dee feels about being the one left behind and the guilt she feels from it.

When we hear stories about abductions we don’t really think much about the people left behind. This novel definitely shows that side of it.

Tom Ryan did a fabulous job with the characters and the mystery surrounding the town. I’m also happy to report I didn’t figure the mystery out until everyone in the book did. This almost never happens with me!

The only negative thing I could say is I wish we learned more about the other characters. But that is mostly because I really enjoyed the book and wish we could have gotten more.

I plan to read more books by Tom Ryan ASAP.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the early copy of this book.

3.50 Stars. This was a good YA mystery. I’m a big mystery fan and have been since I was a little kid running around with my Nancy Drew books. When I saw this book, about a gumshoe teenager, I thought that this could be a lot of fun and might even be a little reminiscent for me. I did enjoy this read but I do have to admit I’m a little bummed that I didn’t love it. There is a lot of really good here, so much potential for a fantastic story that I’m disappointed that there were too many bumps that just kept this in the good but not great category.

I loved the premise of the book. After surviving an abduction that led to her best friend’s kidnapping 10 years ago, Dee runs a popular podcast searching for missing people. While it’s too late to help her best friend, she can help find others. Podcasts are so popular right now especially true crime ones so I thought the idea for this book was not only timely but really interesting, I sure was not going to pass up reading this.

One of the main issues I found was that this book almost felt like two different books. I sat down yesterday and attempted to read this whole book but I could not get into it. There were a lot of podcast elements which I didn’t think were written all that interestingly and I wondered why is it so popular with her listeners? And I also felt like the main character was too stiff and I just didn’t understand or connect with her enough. I ended up putting the book down and watching The Incredible Doctor Pol fix-up animals instead.

Today, I sat down with determination that I was going to read and finish this book. Luckily, for me, the second half of the book was really good. It felt so different to me. There was finally a new secondary character who wasn’t wooden or yelling at the main character Dee for no reason. Sarah, who is the potential romantic interest for Dee, was just what the story really needed. She got Dee to actually talk and feel and all of a sudden I’m connecting and liking Dee too. Not only do the characters improve but the podcasts sudden becomes interesting and as readers we are in the middle of not one, or two, but three mysteries. While some mysteries are larger than others, they all kept me wondering and most importantly reading. I had fun with the last half and I just wish the whole book was that good.

As I mentioned there were multiple mysteries going on. The big mystery ended up being the climax of the book and was really exciting. It had my blood pumping a bit which was always fun. However, the medium sized mystery ended up with a disappointing end. It is solved but we don’t know how. Nothing is said how the pieces were put together and how the person solved it, nothing. Instead the person just knows all the answers and announces them. It was a bit deflating after the great ending of the big mystery. A similar thing happened midway in the book too when Sarah figures out something almost no one else knows. So how did Sarah know? I don’t know, we are never told because she never explains it and no one asks, which doesn’t make sense since it was a huge secret. I get why this was done because it moved the plot in an important direction, but it’s almost the equivalent of giving the lady knight the new power of flight right before she is blasted with a column of dragon fire. You’ve got to explain the “how and why’s” to your readers, you can’t just make it so.

As you can probably tell this was a bumpy read for me but I still liked it. Half the book is really good and well done, it’s a shame it all didn’t come together. Even with my issues, I would still recommend this to mystery fans. In fact I’d recommend this to any mystery fans from teens to adults. Had I read this as a teen I would have LOVED IT! The YA, FF romance is super cute and the second half of the book is fun to read. The thing is you just need to be prepared for some bumps and some big ones at that, but I still think this is worth the read.

I loved Dee, I thought she was a great MC. Dee runs a podcast called Radio Silent where she tells the story of people gone missing and asks the internet or laptop detectives to help. She does this because 10 years prior, her best friend was taken and she couldn't do anything then, but she can do something about it now. When another little girl goes missing, Dee finds herself in the middle, trying to solve the mystery of the past and present.

Dee was a quiet kind of brave and I liked seeing her struggle with finding who she wanted to be throughout the story. I was also a fan of the plot. I really enjoyed that she was hosting this podcast, telling a story within a story. I love mysteries and this book gave off 'Sadie' vibes mixed with 'A Good Girls Guide to Murder' that I could get down with. There were 'edge of your seat' moments that kept me saying "just one more chapter."

There were also plenty of moments that had me shaking my head with frustration. Dee's relationship with Burke (the best friend) had some unresolved issues in my opinion. Her relationship with Sarah felt off at times. Then all the classic horror movie tropes that Dee just walked into.

I still stand by that I was on the edge of my seat and I did pull an all nighter finishing this story. I enjoyed it.

Thanks NetGalley and Albert Whitman & Company for the ARC in exchange for this honest review!

Ten years ago, an adventure to a tree-house in the woods left Delia “Dee” Skinner alone after witnessing the abduction of her best friend, Sibby. Now seventeen, Dee, still haunted by her past, has vowed to help other victims by starting an anonymous true crime podcast, Radio Silent. Cloaked by her identity as the Seeker, she features missing persons cases and works with online sleuths to solve them. Dee carefully curates her cases and is able to keep her distance, but when a little girl goes missing from her old hometown, it opens doors previously thought closed and just might answer the questions she’s had since Sibby’s disappearance. But how far must Dee go to find out the truth?

It took me a while to get into this book, to be honest, but I chalk that up to only reading it while physically at my work office two days a week. I found it to be an interesting YA mystery thriller that once the action started up, it didn’t stop and I was in it for the long haul. After finishing, I really appreciate all the little bits of information sprinkled throughout the first half that came together in the end. Dee’s survivor’s guilt affects her almost every day since the incident, and I loved how the book explores how sometimes that makes you blind to other people’s feelings on the situation – you’re ostracized and believe no one can understand how you feel, and you know everyone treats you differently and walks on eggshells around you because they don’t want to say something wrong. Eventually that guilt eats away and makes you act irrationally. I wish we could have explored the characters of Burke and Sarah more, because I found them to be kind of filler. Sure, it was nice to see a f/f relationship that wasn’t questioned or side-eyed (ok, well, for the most part, there is one particular scene with a character that makes things uncomfortable), but I thought their romance progressed a bit too quickly, and while we do get some scenes with Burke towards the beginning and understand how important he is to the backstory, he does shy away for a major portion of the book.

Overall, I think this was a pretty intriguing mystery thriller. I didn’t predict the ending so I was surprised and I thought the chain of events was plausible when everything was revealed. I’m interested to see everyone’s thoughts when I Hope You’re Listening is released in just a few weeks. **Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Albert Whitman & Company, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @albertwhitman for the eARC via @netgalley. I Hope You’re Listening by @tomryanauthor comes out on 10/6! 🔦

I Hope You’re Listening is a fun, YA mystery thriller perfect for any fan of true crime. The plot immediately grabbed my attention with the mysterious childhood kidnapping of Sibby, a terrifying act witnessed by our main character Dee. The mystery is rekindled when, ten years later, another child goes missing on the same street where Dee and Sibby once lived. From there, the plot takes off as the mystery slowly unravels and culminates in a tense, climactic series of events when Dee steps out from behind the sidelines of her podcast and takes the investigation into her own hands. 🎙👤

While the main plot itself was very compelling, the side romance could have had a bit more development. I loved that it was a casual, LGBTQ+ relationship, however, as non-heteronormativity is always a plus for me. It also helped that Radio Silent, the true crime, missing-person podcast secretly hosted by Dee, gave me huge “My Favorite Murder” vibes, which is one of my favorite podcasts. This was a quick and engaging read, and I highly recommend it if you love true crime, podcasts, or mystery.

This will definitely appeal to fans of YA mysteries and thrillers, particularly those who enjoyed Tom Ryan's debut and fans of true crime, podcasts, and Courtney Summers' Sadie. The framing and the podcast are artfully done and Dee is a unique and enjoyable narrator. I really loved her family and Burke as side characters, but felt Sarah and their relationship could have been expanded on. In fact, I would have enjoyed the whole story even more if it was longer and more fleshed out. Both some of the relationships and the mystery wrap-up needed some extra room to breathe and be expanded upon.

Major “SADIE” vibes which is why I wanted to read this book in the first place. I feel like a was missing the podcast element of it, the book title makes you think it will be a huge part but it only shows up in a couple of chapters and it’s disappointing because I felt like it was going to take up most of the book.

I do have to give the author props for the tasteful way they dealt with romance and relationships in the book, it’s not in your face but you still feel for the characters. I hate thrillers that are overwhelmed with a romance and the fast paced ness of the book is gone.

To be honest around the halfway point was was lagging, I wanted the podcast and I felt like nothing was getting resolved and then BOOM A CULT, which is the way to hook me into any book and I think the author was smart in putting it in the middle to keep people guessing.

BUT everything was resolved in less than 80 pages. WHAT THE HECK? There was such a huge build up, so many details and then it was like 0 to 60 with no stopping and no details. I didn’t want a slow burn but I didn’t want to feel like I was on a three second roller coaster.

I just felt let down from the hype of the book.

I thought this was another great entry to the true crime podcast YA genre. Definitely fits in with Sadie and The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I definitely wasn’t expecting the turn that the mystery took, and it kept me guessing until the end. I also loved that the MC’s sexuality is never explicitly discussed. Like, it’s not an issue or named. You know based on teasing comments from friends and family, the MC’s reaction to the new girl. It was extremely refreshing, for it to feel so commonplace.

This is a middle of the road YA mystery that is surprisingly compelling. It falls flat on the details, but makes up for it with its premise and solid execution. When Dee and her best friend Sibby went into the woods in their neighborhood, only one came out of them. Ten years later, Dee is still struggling to cope with the crushing survivor's guilt and maintaining her friendships. Yet, Dee has one way to keep her head up: She is the host of an popular and growing missing persons podcast. She finds fulfillment in helping solve or provide closures for other cases like Sibby's, but that gets turned upside down when another in town is abducted so close to the anniversary of Sibby's death.

I love the premise, the implied darkness and the hope that Dee is desperately seeking in helping close other cases like her own. I feel like it does a good job of balancing the bleakness of the situation with moments of optimism and hope (most of them coming from Dee herself, even as she feels hopeless as well). While I do think that Dee has a hard time seeing past her own pain to understand that of the other characters' - they all went through similar trauma, even if Dee was at the epicenter of that event - I wish that was communicated better throughout the book, so when the big blowout happens, it doesn't feel like she's being blindsided. Because I don't believe that Dee would be that shortsighted, given how she set up a whole podcast and refused to identify herself.

Dee also gets to have a love interest in the new girl, Sarah. The protagonist falling for the new person in town is a bit cliche, but Sarah is an empathetic listener, smart, and energetic. She's a great foil for Dee, and is also just the person Dee needed to help her cope with the current missing girl case. I do have questions about how Sarah is used in the plot (I know its vague, but spoilers, and I don't want to put a spoiler tag on the review), though. Also, there is a very cringeworthy moment at the climax when Dee screams out "I love you!" to Sarah. It was unnecessary and took me out of what was otherwise one of the best moments in the book.

Even with some of the details pulling me out of the book, I actually enjoyed it. I only gave it 3 stars because those details were missing and left some pretty emotionally charged points hanging. It was a little too easy, at times as well. While Dee is exceptional at gumshoeing, there were times when the solution came too easily, especially since Dee is so adept at putting clues together. That ending, especially, was way too easy. Overall, though, I can see a young high schooler enjoy this fast paced mystery story, even with some of the more cringey moments.