a really original crime novel - so really refreshing.
If you like your true crime documentaries on TV - then this is exactly for you - in book form. Told from the POV of a young missing girl''s family, friends and police - we get a really rounded insight into this young girls life in her first term at university.
As told to an investigative author - who in turn has made contact with a certain "Joseph Knox" - so this is a sharp and clever way of really making the book stand out.
For those like me who are often put off thinking crime novels can be a bit gruesome - this is completely without gore and violence - so really refreshing.
Some interesting and innovative twists and turns along the way - and never predictable - this is a book you will really want to discuss. The best kind!

Wow. This is an extraordinary read from the Uber talented Joseph Knox.

A stand-alone read aside from his brilliant Aidan Waits series, this a disturbing tale of a missing 19 year old Manchester university student, Zoe Nolan.

Written in a unique and completely creative and inventive style, Knox brings a True Crime Story, a kind of Netflix documentary on to paper. Rather than the usual of book to tv, he’s turned the tables in this quite magnificent read.

With a cast full of unscrupulous characters, this interview style book is set out in such a clever way. Throughout the book there is a simmering dark, almost evil lurking.

The real seller, or show stopper here is that you will doubt and never be sure as to what is fact and what is fiction.

It will grab you, suck you in, you will be addicted and want to binge it like your latest tv box set.

It’s too early to say book of the year for 2021. BUT it will be up there.

Absolutely Stunning

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I love true crime. This is an interesting story that I had never heard before. It’s incredibly descriptive and I feel like I know the people in it. I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for writing this review.

In 2011, 19 year old Zoe Nolan, upset with her boyfriend, rushed away from an end of term Christmas party being held in her student flat. She was never seen again.

Author Evelyn Mitchell, intrigued by the many stories of young girls disappearing, decides to find out what happens once the initial quest for answers dies down. She uses Zoe’s story as her inspiration, and sets about meeting her family and close friends. After many interviews and some investigative work, she comes across a possible conclusion. This book is the transcript of those interviews, interspersed with a series of emails where poignant questions are asked and threads are tied together.

I loved the style of this book, the way it reflects the tone of current documentaries where interviews are chopped and rearranged to frame a narrative. Given the subject, it really works well, and an intriguing story has been created. I’m a little tight with my 5 stars but not today. Loved it.

Ok, so the plot in this may be one we've all seen hundreds of times before (female student stalked, lies and secrets, a 'how well do we know those we're close to' vibe) but what makes this a blast to read is the playful way that the narrative pretends to be 'true' including a 'Joseph Knox', publisher notes and Sebaldian photos.

The main story is carried in interviews that have been spliced together, very similar to Daisy Jones and the Six, though the individual pieces are smaller here, I think; and a framing email exchange between 'Knox' and his writer pal - the 'found footage' feel makes this a page-turner despite there being some holes in the plot (who writes an unaddressed text message, especially when the message is clearly meant for someone close - don't we just reply to an existing thread? Ah, but the plot needs the mystery...) and a sort of left-field crazy solution!

Just the thing for switch-off reading or as a palate cleanser between heavier fare.

This book was thoroughly compelling. I’m still not sure whether it’s fact or fiction. I think it was especially good read for me as I’ve lived near where the story took place. The ending took me into a completely different direction that what I was expecting.

In December 2011, 19 year old university student Zoe Nolan left a party in her shared accommodation and was never seen again. What happened to Zoe? And what happens to all the girls who go missing like this? Joseph Knox blends fact and fiction to try to answer these questions. A thrilling crime story that is all the more gripping because of the true nature of it. A good read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.