The Sound of Tuning Out started slowly without much character or plot development.
As the novel progessed it gained neither steam nor gusto.

The Sound of Tuning Out is marketed as a mystery. It follows the people in a Seattle suburb after a teen influencer unexpectedly dies. There are several points of view utilized throughout the story. The story begins being told in a linear manner but the addition of letters or journal entries disrupts the timeline.

I thought the concept of the book was good and I was interested to read it, unfortunately there were more negatives about the novel than positives.

For me, the characters in general were interchangeable. Not in the sense of their character or histories, but if I read you a quote from a character, you wouldn’t be able to tell who said it. All of the characters spoke very similarly and stiffly.
Another issue that I found was the addition of the aforementioned letters/journal entries. I know they were supposed to be vague and unspecific so the audience couldn’t tell who had written them, but to me they seemed out of place with the rest of the novel and were unnecessary.
And finally, the times seem to not add up for me. There were several sections where a character was described as being so young she couldn’t remember her mother being alive, and later in the book it is stated that she was 10 years old when her mother passed away which is certainly old enough to have some memories of her.
The novel wasn’t horrible but it certainly was not very enjoyable, so I am rating it 2/5 stars.

Nice book but not really up my alley.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book. 3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed the creative storytelling throughout this book such as social media/podcast posts and news stories. This is the first thriller I've read where the audience is brought to the courtroom with jurors and still unsure of the outcome; it's always pleasant to discover a fresh take in a thriller novel. The outcome itself was not too shocking. I would have loved more insight to Jake and Donna as characters when switching viewpoints. They had a lot of appeal. Caleb was a bit boring and a few parts of the story dragged. I always like when a dog is included in a book and living their best life. Shoutout to Fenrir! The commentary on social media was interesting and frightening. I could see a similar service to Epilogue captivating many users. The ending was satisfying, in the sense that the killer finally experienced pain, fear, and death. The ending also showcased the authors' horror writing skills.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. I liked the book. Had a good time. Will recommend to others. Liked the characters

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

Thank you NetGalley and Shane W O’Haire for the arc copy of The Sound of Tuning Out for an honest review.

The Sound of Tuning Out is about Caleb following his brother’s death that was initially ruled an accident but then information comes out that rules it a murder.

This book sounded interesting and I really wanted to love this book but some parts were hard to follow. I understood the chapters and could follow those but then the extra mini chapters that start with #1 at the end of one of the chapters and then continue on where hard to follow and were sometimes confusing to me. I could have done without them and I think the rating would have been higher for me if those were not in the book.

The very last number chapter I still have no idea what it meant, so if someone has some incite I wouldn’t mind if you shared it. I think I missed something along the way. I felt they could have ended it with the chapter on Caleb.

Over all though I thought the story was interesting and look forward to more work from Shane.

I was intrigued by the premise here but couldn't get into the writing unfortunately. I'm not a huge fan of the mixed media storytelling style, and found the writing a little all over the place for my personal taste. There were also an extremely unusual number of exclamation points... This one just wasn't for me.

Tragic stories
Multiple pov
TWs
Mixed media
Short chapters
Very dark

Steady paced thriller that begs the question of if these 2 bizarre events are some how connected or just weird coincidences?
This one starts to drop off with suspense around the middle of the book. There's still and underlying mystery that Caleb is bound to find out how his brother dies and Donna is connected.

Once the multiple povs is done it switched to a viewpoint from the book of a jury member. Which is odd but interesting.
The ending didn't surprise me like I hoped it would. But this is a solid read.

Love the story and the writing. Love short chapter always even story was quite engaging and fast paced and twist was amazing

Teenage musician Jake Bodkin dies while performing a stunt for an online video. After his death, some details emerge that imply it might not have been an accident. Meanwhile, his neighbor - fellow teenager Donna Howe, who is troubled and suffers from mental health issues - goes missing. Jake's family and detectives find a link between the two

The story is told through many POVs:
- Jake's brother Caleb who is trying to hold everything together while dealing with his brother's death, guilt over feeling like he didn't know him as well as he should have, a falling apart family, and his own medical issues.
- The unnamed killer, who has unlabeled chapters, and goes through some struggles of their own.
- Message board posts from Donna's father Brett. He posts to a forum for parents struggling to raise troubled children.
- An obnoxious podcaster named Trish who has her own forum, where people comment on threads about various crimes. These chapters were all a really accurate portrayal of the various (annoying) personas you see on message boards/social media/comment sections.
- Texts between Donna and Jake
- One of the jurors during a trial at the end

I thought this was a good premise for a novel and I was mostly interested in what was going to happen, but some of it fell short for me. I found the overuse of exclamation points! during regular narrative chapters kind of odd. Who talks like that? Also some of the writing felt repetitive. Something would be said and then it'd be repeated a page or two later in a different way. This happened multiple times throughout the book and made the writing feel a little clumsy. Occasionally the plot seemed to get muddled and confusing.

I'm not sure why this is marked as horror - maybe in reference to Caleb's sleep paralysis stuff, and possibly the last chapter? wouldn't classify it as a thriller either. It's definitely a mystery though.

Recommended for those who like multi-POV mysteries with a modern touch, and if you like stories about the aftermath of death and the toll it can take on a family.

Thank you NetGalley and Shane O'Haire for the ARC.

I really and truly tried to get into this but ended up not being able to finish it. I was not invested in the storyline or characters.

Shane W. O’Haire’s The Sound of Tuning Out is a gripping debut that explores grief, family, and the impact of social media after a teen dies filming a YouTube stunt. Told through multiple POVs and digital formats, the story feels timely and emotionally resonant. While the ending is predictable and the pacing lags at times, the writing is addictive and the themes are handled with surprising depth. Looking forward to see what O’Haire writes next after this start.

What seems like a straight forward tragic accident starts to evolve into a sinister mystery.

I did find that the plot meandered at times, and would’ve liked to see more detail from some of the main characters. The fluff could’ve been cut down in the narrative to make this read more smoothly.

What I really enjoyed was the mixed media used to convey the story as well: news reports, diary entries, letters, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley & the author for a copy!

Propelling and entertaining story that I devoured quickly. However, the writing style didn’t exactly draw me in and I didn’t feel a distinct voice was developed for each character. A multi-POV story tends to fall flat where the characters all sound like they’ve been written by the same person.

This was a very strong debut novel with such addictive writing. Even though I early on figured out the killer, but it still kept me intrigued! I don’t normally enjoy stories with a lot of grief focus, but this one was well done. Not too brutal. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for a review! Now while I did enjoy the story, I found it hard at times to stick with it and stay engaged.

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
The Sound of Tuning Out by Shane W. O'Haire attempts to craft a compelling mystery but falls a bit flat in execution. The premise, involving intricate twists and dark secrets, has potential, but the writing really lets it down. While the characters are developed with some care, they lack the depth and complexity needed to truly draw the reader in. The mystery itself holds some intrigue, but the resolution feels somewhat predictable, and the writing style doesn't add much flair to elevate the overall experience. It’s a halfway decent read for fans of the genre, but it doesn't quite stand out among other crime thrillers.

Not my kind of book at all. I didn't like the layout - the blog aspect. It was a good story, with lots of intrigue, but I found it hard to engage.

The Sound of Tuning Out is an intriguing psychological drama with a sharp, contemporary edge. The premise is layered and thought-provoking, with a dark, slow-burn mystery at its core. The writing style feels fresh, and the alternating perspectives add complexity as the story explores themes like mental health, social media influence, and the often-hidden struggles within suburban life.

Some parts may feel a bit meandering or emotionally heavy, but that seems intentional — the book isn’t just telling a story, it’s unpacking the emotional fallout behind the headlines. It’s one of those reads that rewards patience and reflection.

Overall, an atmospheric and compelling story that lingers in your mind long after the final moments.