Summary –

University student Anna Winslow has gone missing. The circumstances of her disappearance are far from ordinary, a fact that only fellow student Melissa Lopez appears to appreciate. Motivated by an unexplained and disturbing voicemail message from Anna on the night of her disappearance, Melissa’s curiosity quickly turns into a deeper investigation, an obsession even, which she chronicles as a regular podcast – the very recordings that you are about to listen to. She quickly discovers that Anna was a loner with hearing difficulties and had disappeared for a week earlier in the year, only to return with perfect hearing, but with increasingly unstable behaviour.

For some unknown reason, I spent the first 3 episodes of this thinking I was listening to a true crime podcast. Even when I righted myself, it was hard not to be absorbed into this as though I was listening to a true crime podcast.

Over eight 30min episodes I got to hear the story of Anna Winslow and make my own conclusions as to how she went missing. Through the voice of Melissa as she began her own investigation, I listened intensely, willing myself to pick up on any and all clues so that I could work out the mystery for myself.

I listened to this podcast EVERYWHERE. While I was working, in the bath, in the car, as I was cooking etc. I really was completely engrossed in what I was listening to. There are so many components to this story, many characters that are introduced and many storylines to follow that are woven together to make one big tapestry.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this story which absolutely make for a fun listening. I even rewound some bits so I could listen to them again. I almost felt like I was in my own mystery game, solving the clues independently. It was a very absorbing audiobook.

I’m steering away from revealing the plot line because it’s one of those plots that would be spoiled by the smallest of things. It’s better for you to experience the whole audiobook with an open mind that is unclouded by spoilers.

I enjoy books that word on the premise of the main character investigating the case but there was some added element in the fact that I was listening and not reading that made it feel more real and made it more compelling.

I had originally shied away from crime fiction podcasts and audiobooks because I fell asleep once and what I was listening to gave me terrible nightmares, but this has taught me that perhaps I can still listen to them. Listening in 30min episodes was definitely a plus as it was easier to focus on what was happening in a small space of time versus a longer space of time. Don’t get me wrong, I listen to some LONG ARSE audiobooks, I just think that in terms of crime fiction, shorter is better for my brain to understand and focus on.