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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?
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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
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
- 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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3 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
- Alison Waterfield
- 11-12-23
I'm on my third listen, I can't stop thinking about the story
I just can't get over this book, so many layers, so well written from so many points of view, it feels like a collage of information, the various textures of format keeps it fresh, I can't get enough of 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
- Louise Black
- 06-07-23
Black Mirror
A fantastic reflection of true crime and how it’s told in the modern day. Very black mirror esque.
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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
- Laura
- 29-03-24
Modern, dark and memorable
An interesting insight into the world of journalism, true crime and internet slueths. I really enjoyed this as gave a bleak perspective into online subreddit threads, online bullying and dysfunctional relationships. Mean Girls with murder!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- lcolumbine
- 09-05-24
It was okay
I got really hooked into the story at the start but it felt like it got a bit lost in the middle.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- HC
- 20-05-24
Depressing
No criticism of the author but not a great book to listen to if you are feeling less than 100%. I found it very depressing.
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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
- S A HAVERY
- 20-08-23
Excellent story and performance
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.
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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
- 18-11-23
Brilliant
Loved every second of this. Really left like I was inhabiting this dreadful seaside town
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1 person found this helpful
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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
- Katie Smith
- 22-03-24
.
…. Z…. …. … and you know it was a lie that you didn’t get the job and you were just a bunch more stupid and dumb than the people
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