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Penance
- Narrated by: Anna Gilthorpe, Emily Goldie, Evie Hargreaves, George Weightman, Holly Jay Bowes, Salima Saxton
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
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Penance
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Summary
A GRANTA BEST OF YOUNG BRITISH NOVELIST 2023
Do you know what happened already?
Did you know her?
Did you see it on the internet?
Did you listen to a podcast?
Did the hosts make jokes?
Did you see the pictures of the body?
Did you look for them?
It's been years since the horrifying murder of sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson rocked Crow-on-Sea, and the events of that terrible night are now being published for the first time.
That story is Penance, a dizzying feat of masterful storytelling, where Eliza Clark manoeuvres us through accounts from the inhabitants of this small seaside town. Placing us in the capable hands of journalist Alec. Z. Carelli, Clark allows him to construct what he claims is the 'definitive account' of the murder - and what led up to it. Built on hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, painstaking historical research, and most notably, correspondence with the killers themselves, the result is a riveting snapshot of lives rocked by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil.
The only question is: how much of it is true?
Critic reviews
'One of the summer's most talked-about books.' Sunday Times
'An unmissable banger that you need to preorder immediately.' Alice Slater
'You've never read anything like this.' Julia Armfield
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What listeners say about Penance
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 14-01-24
outstanding
Brilliantly done book.
Despite knowing what happens from the very beginning the description of the build up to the main event was so captivating. I never wanted the book to end. It is really interesting how it shows true crime podcasts/books being often disrespectful to the victims family and friends yet the events of the book were based on a true crime that happened in the 90s in America. I think it shows the hypocrisy of true crime fans and writers, that I found myself so captivated by this story and agreeing that the ‘writer’ has done wrongdoings by the way he treat the victims families yet that is exactly what this entire book does to a real case. Obviously Eliza Clark changed a lot of the main features of the true case (names, locations, dates) so she didn’t do what the writer did in the book to that extent. I hope this makes sense it was hard to put into words. But overall, a brilliant read and would absolutely recommend.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bryony Porteous-Sebouhian
- 09-08-23
Thought provoking and unique
As a fan of true crime (kind of a retired fan) this book was very interesting and definitely put into words many things I've been thinking and feeling about the genre for a while. Through the narrative structure of a true crime book being told to us, by a fiction author with a muddied past, we are forced to question what necessity and function true crime holds in our society. The vivid world of complex interpersonal relationships between a group of high-school girls who all have their own dysfunctions, traumas and struggles was painted with a near-spooky realism. This book places the reader/listener in the contradictory shoes of: creator of true crime content, consumer of true crime content, and perpetrator of crime, and forces you to take a hard look in the mirror in every instance.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 28-10-23
Gripping and thought provoking
I was not too sure whether I was going to get into it at the beginning but into it I did get and I found this book rather haunting. I have teenage children and work in a high school and this is truly a thought provoking read. I am not a massive fan of true crime but the reviews were good and I thought it would make a change, I am so glad I downloaded it as an audiobook The narration was fantastic and kept me interested the whole way through.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- DoodleMole
- 30-11-23
Absorbing
An addictive read about a community and the strangeness of teenagerdom while also being an insightful query to the industry of true crime and the money made by the repackaging of awful things happening
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Markrlll
- 23-01-24
Gripping and horrifying and fascinating
Such a great and disturbing listen - brilliantly presented and fabulously damning of all sorts - should have been on last year’s Booker long list
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shannon
- 17-07-23
A gripping read
I found this to be such an interesting and original take on true crime. Loved it- may new favourite author. Boy parts is also excellent
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jay
- 21-08-23
Excellent
Great story that keeps you gripped till the end, really making you think about true crime and obsession surrounding it.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-04-24
5 out of 5
I really enjoyed this audio book. It’s definitely disturbing but thought provoking at the same time. I love Eliza Clark’s writing and the narrators were great.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- katfink2001
- 07-02-24
Captivating
What a usual premise and delivery of a book. I found this story captivating. I’m not sure how much is lost in listening to the book rather than reading it - it’s not always clear what the source material is - but I imagine much is gained from the different narrators, making the story seem even more real. It’s fascinating that I don’t think I would have enjoyed this story as much if it were actually real. It would have felt gratuitous and voyeuristic. Yet transferred into a fictional story you can enjoy the story without guilt. Very meta! Highly recommend this.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- francesca
- 07-08-23
New favourite book
I had high expectations after listening to Boy Parts and I was not disappointed. This has to be my new favourite book. It’s perfectly written, such a perfect encapsulation of the secondary school experience as a girl, amongst other brilliant themes that are expertly tackled.
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1 person found this helpful