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Throughout the book you witness the birth of the podcast, Katie telling Lacey’s (the girl who was murdered at age 19) sister Megan that they are starting this endeavor and thus trudging up a lot of the past and also experiencing the varying public opinions around the girls starting the Podcast endeavor. Eventually, Katie finds out who killed Lacey and why and is utterly gutted over it. Fortunately, she isn't like everyone else and does the right thing. SUMMARY: Katie grew up in Cornwall, a small vacation-beach town in England. When she was 19 (?) Lacey, a classmate from growing up (who was also very mean to Katie), was found dead after a beach party (bonfire). The case is cold; the community wanted it put to rest to avoid losing tourism and after Lacey's BF died by suicide shortly thereafter, he was the natural scapegoat.
Katie and Sophie start a true crime podcast to discuss the murder of, Lacey, 5 years ago. Lacey was murdered at a beach party that Katie was at, so it makes her close to the case. As they start interviewing old friends of Lacey's more evidence and secrets are brought to light. Through most of the book I was thinking "Hmm... I like this more than I thought I would..." (a good narrator helped significantly) however the last 8% dragged the book down hard. Sadly, the victim of that murder, Lacey, was at that party that was attended by several teens who were soon to go off to college. Most of them were friends since childhood, yet one of them was very likely was responsible for Lacey’s murder. This is especially the case because not all of this group of young people were friends. Overall, a solid debut novel. It was slow going in the beginning, but still fast paced and intriguing. I'd be interested in reading more from this author. Feel free to invite some friends to join our Round Table community!http://www.goodreads.com/group/invite_members/26989-goodreads-authors-readers
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Sophie is excited about the Podcast but Katie is skeptical from the start despite agreeing to do it. It made me question her reliability as a character more than once. The Author Resource Round Table on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/116489?group_id=26989 There was something about the blurb of The Beach Party that spoke to me with its beach setting and one of the people attending the party ending up dead. I was curious to see where the story would go and what happened to Lacey, and I've been looking forward to read it. Somehow, this book ended up being a mixed bag for me instead, and unfortunately it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. I'll try to explain briefly why. Now, some years later, Katie co-hosts a true crime podcast with a friend from Uni, Sophie. Sophie is also beautiful, popular, a social media influencer, etc. Sophie is also dating a guy Katie grew up with. Given these... personal connections... Sophie talks Katie and her BF to do a new podcast called "Small Town" investigating Lacey's death. As they settle in, Katie realizes that life has gone on without her since she left and all is not the same in this world. Will she be able to break down the walls and get people to talk or will this case be cold forever?
As the smoke from the bonfire spirals into the night sky and the cool drinks slip down our throats, none of us can take our eyes off Lacey . She dances in the dunes, her long golden hair damp from her late-night swim, her smile dazzling, her blue eyes closed. This is a wonderful mystery, beautifully constructed and the narration alongside the podcast elements all make for a truly thrilling ride for the reader. There are many twists and turns in this book that keep you guessing from the very start. The characters were very well developed and the descriptions helped you feel like you were right there. This is a gripping novel with an ending that you will never see coming!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Katie and Sophie met at university whilst studying Journalism together in London. Sophie enjoys being more of a broadcaster whereas Katie enjoys writing. They combine their talents together to create a True Crime podcast called Small Town. They focus on the unsolved murder of nineteen-year-old Lacey Crew in Cornwall. Katie grew up in Cornwall and has inside knowledge surrounding the event that led to Lacey’s body being discovered. She was there – does she know something that she had forgotten? Can secrets stay buried forever? Kate and Sophie were writing and producing episodes for the podcast quite happily together…until Tom came on the scene. She knows him from Cornwall, they grew up together, and he was also at the party that preluded Lacey being found dead. There is a lot of tension between Katie and Tom, and they allude to something happening between them at one point. I had fairly low expectations based on having been let down so many times by false advertising; books described as “unputdownable” or as “mysteries” or “grabs you and won’t let go” only to find that yet again you’ve been mislead. I love the concept of this book where the podcast was a cold case where two of the people on the podcast team knew the victim and were present at the time of her murder. As someone who has never actually listened to a podcast, it was interesting to see some of the process involved. I also liked the extenuating circumstances that made it very difficult to figure out who the killer was. More than that, the twists closer to the end of the book really caught me off guard, thus making this debut novel a truly riveting read. As the book continues on you slowly find out more about the night of the beach party and also experience the interviews of those willing to go on the podcast in real time.
To be honest, the story was so strong it would have been a great listen even without the whodunnit, especially with the theme of the unsolved murder Podcast giving extra interest plus the glamorous social influencer bestie and the friendship dynamic now she is dating a childhood friend of the protagonist, which is another intriguing, strong story in itself.I'm not sure if I'd read this author again. The narrator, however, was excellent and great casting. Overall my opinion is very "free kindle unlimited vibes" A better KU book, but still a KU book.
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