I enjoyed the story of the Fairbanks Four. I had no heard of it before picking up this book and I feel like I should try to find out more about this case. I will saw the book itself was a little rough. A bit jumpy and hard to follow at times. It felt like I was forcing myself to read it instead of jumping at the chance to spend time with it. All and all it was good and a story that more people should read/learn about.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

It has been a hot minute since I've read some true crime that really impressed me so if you're looking for something to really compel you, this is your book. I knew absolutely nothing about this story before listening (the exact way I prefer it due to the overreporting of a handful of true crime cases) and I was invested the entire way. Wrongful conviction cases are what I am most passionately interested in and this was absolutely no different. When you have no familiarity with the case, it almost reads like fiction because you're waiting for the twists. The writing was compelling, and the research was incredibly well done. This could be a sleeper for some of the best true crime of the year, and I really enjoyed the ride.

Wasn’t able to finish. It read like a transcript and was really hard to listen to. Might have been easier to read but listening to the audiobook was too hard

Thank NetGalley for the copy

I listened to the audiobook and narrator did a good job. I listen to a lot of podcasts, audiobooks and other forms of media involving true crime as well as general fiction mysteries. I felt like the concept of this one was good but the execution could have been better. I totally understand that crime tends to have a lot of people and details but it seemed like no extraneous people or details were eliminated from this story making it unnecessarily confusing to follow.

I came into this book not knowing anything about the Fairbanks Four. I enjoyed learning about the case and the people involved and how the case unraveled. I struggled with the way the book was laid out. I feel like there was a lot of random sections- like the rewinds- and bouncing back and forth was hard to follow. I also felt that there were a lot of side stories or details that weren’t pertinent to the case and felt like it was just filler to make the book longer. Overall, I enjoyed learning about the case and the history, but it could have been written cleaner.

While this is an important story that absolutely needs to be told [and that is why this gets 2 stars and not just 1; I had never heard of these boys and this murder and I have to give it a star for teaching me something new], unfortunately, this is NOT that book.
At times very confusing [there is a lot of jumping around, and it seems a BILLION characters <--it seems that every single person who had maybe even heard about this case was interviewed and that bogged everything down often], very jumbled [again, so. many. people. that. were. not. important. to. the. story. and that just made for a lot of extraneous blahblahblah], and often boring [the daily minutia of the author's life, teaching, students, children, marriage etc etc etc made me just want to scream] that in the end, this book was not even close to being a book about 4 men who were incorrectly accused of murder and jailed, but a hot mess of a book that just happens to have that event IN IT. I was so close to DNF'ing, but I realized I was almost finished, so I soldiered on; a day later, I am unsure that was worth it and am, overall, very disappointed as this was one book I was very much looking forward to.

Mr. Coffey is a new-to-me narrator and for the most part, his narration was okay, but there were enough aspects of the narration that I didn't really like/enjoy [one of the things he did was weird, oddly-paced pauses that just about drove me crazy] that made it just a 2 star listen for me. I'd maybe try and listen to him again, especially if it was a book that was written better than this one was [because I think, outside of the pausing issue and a couple other things that I am sure are just me, I think he did the best he could with the material he was given].

Thank you to NetGalley, Brian Patrick O'Donoghue, Chris Henry Coffey - Narrator, SOURCEBOOKS [non-fiction], and RB Media/Recorded Books for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

This title was hard for me to get through. I'm not sure if it was just the dryness of the written or what. I am a fan of true crime so I had expected to be interested in the title, but it just didn't hold my interest.

I love a good true crime story and I hadn’t really heard anything about this case before. The narration was done very well and the facts of the case were interesting, but the way the information was presented was a little hard to follow at times. I found that I had a lot of trouble especially at the beginning keeping track of all of the names and who they all were in relation to the case. I think it is definitely worth a listen though and I would recommend it overall.

I was really interested in the story of the Fairbanks Four, it’s an important case and one that deserves attention. But I struggled to stay engaged because the writing felt all over the place. Granted I usually read more fiction.. I do love true crime non-fiction. The timeline was confusing for me, and there were too many side stories that pulled me away from the main point. I also had trouble keeping track of all the people mentioned. I wanted to like this more, but the way it was told just didn’t work for me.

Am I a 40something women who loves audiobooks and true crime documentaries? Yes. This book I feel was written for me to take on long walks and listen to then unfolding of one amazing professor who took his students on a journey of discovery and truth.

But seriously the narrator of this story sounded like Booger from Revenge of the Nerds and for me…. I don’t know I found that all more intriguing until I looked it up and was disappointed it wasn’t him.

I found this book to be a mixed true crime account that struggles with focus.

"The Fairbanks Four" tackles the harrowing 1997 case of four young men wrongfully convicted of murder in Fairbanks, Alaska. The book aims to expose the systemic failures and racial bias that led to their convictions and eventual exoneration nearly two decades later. While the subject matter is undeniably important, the execution left me underwhelmed, resulting in an overall MEH reading experience.

Let's talk about the strengths first:

- The book is well-researched and succeeds in highlighting the injustices faced by the Fairbanks Four, as well as the tireless efforts of the community and investigative journalists who fought for their freedom.
- O’Donoghue’s inclusion of journalism students in the investigation adds an interesting dimension.
- I felt the book did a good job of showcasing the challenges and emotional toll of cold case reporting.
- The audio production was clear and professional. The issues with the book stem from its structure and writing rather than the audio presentation.

Now, let's look at the longer list... The weaknesses:

- The narrative is often chaotic and difficult to follow. Chapters are broken into rapid-fire sub-sections, introducing a flood of characters and side stories that muddle the central thread.
- The author’s tone can feel biased and, at times, unnecessarily hostile. He also added far too many personal anecdotes and opinions, often inserting them in ways that detract from the main story.
- O’Donoghue admits to taking “liberties” in reconstructing conversations. To me, this COMPLETELY undermines the trustworthiness of a nonfiction account, especially in a case hinging on the accuracy of testimony and evidence.
- There is an overabundance of detail, with lengthy interviews and tangential stories that add confusion rather than clarity. This makes the book feel like a slog in places, sapping momentum from what could have been a gripping narrative.

In conclusion, *The Fairbanks Four* is an informative but uneven true crime account. While it shines a necessary light on a miscarriage of justice and the community’s fight for truth, its disorganized structure, excessive detail, and the author’s distracting presence prevent it from reaching its full potential. If you’re deeply interested in the case or the workings of wrongful convictions, you may find value here, but for general true crime readers, there are more compelling and focused books in the genre.

I really liked the the book itself, but the narrator was a bit weird with pronunciations and emphasis at times. It was very sparse, but just enough that I kept thinking about it.

The Fairbanks Four presents a powerful true story about injustice, racial bias, and the determination of a community to right a devastating wrong. The subject matter is deeply important, and journalist Brian Patrick O’Donoghue’s role in reopening the case brings a compelling layer to the narrative. That said, the book occasionally feels uneven—strong on details but sometimes slow in pacing. While it didn’t completely pull me in, I appreciated its message and the spotlight it shines on systemic flaws and the people fighting to fix them.

I really wanted to like this book so much more than I did. Mainly, it boiled down to the structure of the book. There were so many asides about different news stories happening at the same time as the main story and there were so many people and opinions. It became difficult to follow what was happening and frankly, I couldn't seem to remember the names of the accused.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that this book does justice to all the work that was done to help the Fairbanks Four.

Thanks to RBmedia | Recorded Books and NetGalley for my audio arc!

I will be slightly biased for this book since I grew up in Alaska, so books from there will always have a soft spot in my heart. I had not heard the story of the Fairbanks Four prior to listening to this book. I feel as though the author did a very good job presenting the facts of the case along with all of the research and reporting that was required to free those four from incarceration, which can be difficult to do when the timeline spans so long. I am so incredibly disappointed with how the case was handled by the state and the prosecutors' office, and am so heartbroken that the four wrongfully convicted men cannot seek any compensation after having so many years of their lives stolen.

The Fairbanks Four audiobook tells the story of four Indigenous teens— Marvin Roberts, George Frese, Kevin Pease, and Eugene Vent—in Fairbanks, Alaska, wrongfully convicted of murdering John Hartman in 1997.

Narrated by Chris Henry Coffey, the audiobook is delivered with calm, respectful clarity. The narration is clear, steady, and respectful, which really suits the tone of the book. There’s no dramatization or overproduction — just a solid delivery that lets the story and the voices of the wrongfully convicted men shine. I appreciated how the audiobook allowed space for the emotional weight of the material to sink in, especially during the more intimate, personal moments.

The book itself is well-researched and thoughtfully written. It exposes deep flaws in the justice system — from rushed police work to racial bias — and centers the real human cost behind the headlines. The author also does a commendable job amplifying Indigenous voices and communities that are so often overlooked in mainstream true crime. It walks you through the legal missteps, the racial biases, and the human cost of a justice system that failed four young men simply because they were indigenous. It’s eye-opening and heartbreaking, but also filled with resilience and community strength.

I’m giving it four stars rather than five only because parts of the book, especially the mid-section focused on legal battles and court documents, can get a bit dense and harder to follow in audio format. I had to rewind a few times to keep track of names and timelines.

Still, this is a must-listen for fans of true crime that focus on justice, not just crime.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

The Fairbanks Four was a new case to me. It is properly subtitled injustice, for this was the overarching theme that stuck with me the most. There were lots of contributing factors as to why the four locals were charged with murder in the first place, but it was clearly a case of shoddy detective work and an effort to get quick arrests and subsequent convictions to put the public at ease. The fact that this kneejerk response results in wasted lives and heartache for all involved is rarely taken into account at the onset.
I felt that there was a bit of drudgery in this telling which bogged down my listening experience. I do usually like lots of details and backstories. But overall the facts were displayed and tension rose and the ending result was sort of just blurted out, I felt. I also wanted to hear what, if anything, is going on since the trial ended. Overall this is likely a good account of this case if you're interested in a lot of details.
The narration was decent, but did not necessarily enhance the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARL. All opinions are mine.

I really struggled with this book. It took me forever to get through and this last time I went back to it, netgalley had taken it off the new website completely so I was unable to listen to the whole book.
Firstly, the story felt really hard to follow. It felt like it just jumped from one detail to the next, never fully setting the scene for the reader but rather just starting fact after fact. Yes it's a nonfiction book, but it felt really dry and boring. Even though the story itself is pretty cool. The execution was not.


The narration of the audiobook felt very flat. It lacked depth so I had a hard time following even more so because there was nothing to latch onto. No major shifts in tone or inflection enough to shift the story from scene to scene.

Overall I don't think this is terrible but I wouldn't not recommend it. I think it's an important story but it needs to be rewritten in a way where people will actually pay attention to it.

I didn't know anything about this story before reading this book, and I appreciated the author's investigative journalism approach to the book. I think investigating wrongful convictions in an effort to get them overturned is an important work, and this author did a good job with shining light on all the angles of this case.
If you enjoyed this book, you might also enjoy The Sing-Sing Files, which also deals with wrongful convictions, but the author, Dan Slepian, was a more entertaining writer.

"The Fairbanks Four" tells the harrowing true story of George Frese, Kevin Pease, Marvin Roberts, and Eugene Vent—four young Indigenous men wrongfully convicted of murder in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1997. The book follows the brutal assault and death of teenager John Hartman and the subsequent investigation, which led to the four men's convictions despite a lack of credible evidence. The story unfolds against the backdrop of a tight-knit Alaskan community and a justice system marred by prejudice and procedural failures. Over nearly two decades, a grassroots movement—led by local journalists, university students, and the Fairbanks Indigenous community—fought to overturn the convictions and expose the systemic flaws that led to the miscarriage of justice (BookBrowse, Barnes & Noble).O'Donoghue, a longtime journalist and professor emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, draws from his own investigative reporting and the work of his journalism students to reconstruct the events and the fight for exoneration. His background in local journalism shapes the narrative, offering an inside look at how collective action and persistence can challenge entrenched legal injustices (Alaska Public Media, BookBrowse).The audiobook, narrated by Chris Henry Coffey, runs about 11 hours and 21 minutes. Listeners have noted Coffey’s performance as clear and engaging, helping to make the complex case accessible even to those unfamiliar with the legal intricacies or Alaskan context (Audible).O'Donoghue’s writing style is heavily journalistic—fact-driven, methodical, and detailed. For some listeners, this approach makes the book a compelling page-turner, loaded with information and keen insights into the workings of local justice and activism (BookBrowse, BookPage). Others, however, find the style at times disjointed or choppy, with the sheer volume of information occasionally overwhelming the narrative flow (NetGalley, Goodreads). Still, even critical reviewers acknowledge that the story itself is gripping and important, and that O'Donoghue’s commitment to uncovering the truth is admirable