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Penance

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About this listen

'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

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?

©2023 Eliza Clark (P)2023 Faber & Faber Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Scary Murder Crime

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
All stars
Most relevant
Devoured in 3 days. Compulsive reading. Wry and resonant on fandoms, online communities, true crime and teenage girlhood.

Brilliant, engrossing, eviscerating

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right, I like the fact it was based near Whitby. I didn't enjoy the fake true crime of it all. The actual bits with the story was good. kinda didn't understand the need for the supernatural aspect, but Eliza Clark loves doing that

I don't know if I liked it

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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.

Captivating

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Novel is presented in the form of a true crime novel written by a disgraced journalist. This is (in my experience anyway) a new, relevant and exciting way to present a tale of what is ostensibly a “mean girl” murder that is, of course, anything but that once the writer delves into the backgrounds of the murderers. Very well read by the performers (maybe the podcasts could have been replicated with some American accents?!) the novel moves at a great pace, never lagging and leaving the reader (listener) wanting more. Had I had the pleasure of reading this on a sunny holiday rather than listening during a chaotic house move I am sure I would have devoured it within a couple of days. Brilliant work by the author I look forward to her next work.

Excellent story and performance

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Really enjoyed this book and audio. The narration. I didn’t want it to end can’t wait for the next one.

Eliza Clark strikes again!

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