Limetown

Right up front- I'd not even HEARD of the podcast before reading this intriguing and at times frustrating novel (?). Told in dual voices and time lines, it's the story of Emile, who vanished, and his niece Lia who is searching for information about him. Is this horror or sci-fi? Not clear but it was a good read. Thanks to net galley for the ARC.

"From the creators of the #1 podcast Limetown, an explosive prequel about a teenager who learns of a mysterious research facility where over three hundred people have disappeared - including her uncle - with clues that become the key to discovering the secrets of this strange town.

On a seemingly ordinary day, seventeen-year-old Lia Haddock hears news that will change her life forever: three hundred men, women, and children living at a research facility in Limetown, Tennessee, have disappeared without a trace. Among the missing is Emile Haddock, Lia’s uncle.

What happened to the people of Limetown? It’s all anyone can talk about. Except Lia’s parents, who refuse to discuss what might have happened there. They refuse, even, to discuss anything to do with Emile.

As a student journalist, Lia begins an investigation that will take her far from her home, discovering clues about Emile’s past that lead to a shocking secret - one with unimaginable implications not only for the people of Limetown, but for Lia and her family. The only problem is...she’s not the only one looking for answers.

Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie are first-rate storytellers, in every medium. Critics called their podcast Limetown “creepy and otherworldly” (The New York Times) and “endlessly fun” (Vox), and their novel goes back to where it all began. Working with Cote Smith, a PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize Finalist, they’ve crafted an exhilarating mystery that asks big questions about what we owe to our families and what we owe to ourselves, about loss, discovery, and growth. Threaded throughout is Emile’s story—told in these pages for the first time ever."

I love that podcasts are now becoming more tangible through books.

I listened to all of Limetown Season 1 in a day and was immediately devastated to be finished with it, so when this popped up on NetGalley, I was thrilled! The book follows Lia Haddock and her uncle, Emile Haddock, on their alternate journeys to discovering Limetown.

Unfortunately, I think the book is not nearly as good as the podcast. Each podcast episode ends on a slight cliffhanger, where the listener (or the reporter) is just discovering something deeply unsettling. The book tries to replicate this, but instead of making the story more compelling, it just becomes more and more frustrating as new mysteries appear without resolution. It was definitely compelling - I read it in two days - but it wasn't nearly as good as listening to the podcast.

(An aside: can we all agree that not every story needs to be told in *every* medium? Podcasts are being adapted to television shows, FFS. This is getting nonsensical.)

I loved the first season of this podcast so I was surprised that it took me a while get into this book. However, once I got into the rhythm of the book I enjoyed it a lot. It definitely still leaves you hanging, and is a good companion to the podcast in that way. I’m excited to go back and listen to season two of the podcast.