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Backstory

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Backstory

By: Gabriel Bergmoser
Narrated by: Emma Harvie, Zahra Newman, Ryan Johnson, Zenia Starr, Tom Conroy, Zoe Trilsbach, Michael Caton, Brooke Satchwell, Helen Thomson, Jonathan Jagoe, Uppy Chatterjee
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About this listen

Five friends, one university creative writing course, one weekend away to celebrate. Nobody expected it to end in disaster.

Ten years ago, promising young writer Keith Brooks fell to his death during a weekend getaway with his university friends. The official story? A tragic accident. But when disgraced journalist Phoebe Black stumbles upon conflicting accounts from Keith's surviving friends, she uncovers a web of lies that suggests something far more nefarious happened on that fateful night.

As she delves deeper into the past, Phoebe uncovers a group of once-close friends torn apart by jealousy, lies and ambition. With each revelation, the lines between truth and fiction blur, and the consequences of that night reach far beyond Keith's death. Phoebe must confront her own past and the nature of truth itself as she races against time to catch a killer.

Whose version of events is accurate? And how far will these people go to hide their dark secrets?

©2025 Gabriel Bergmoser (P)2025 Audible Australia Pty Ltd Thriller & Suspense
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The actors portrayed the characters so authentically that it was hard to believe that it is a work of fiction. The actual story itself is something else, absolutely fantastic. I loved the twists, constant questioning of what the characters truth actually is versus what they are telling the world. Keeps you guessing right up until the end! Absolutely recommend!!

Wow!

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An enthralling mystery than keeps you hooked. An excellent exploration of the inner workings of a creative life, and the relationships forged inside it.

Expert performances and production values coupled with Bergmoser’s twisted plotting results in a unique storytelling experience. Highly recommended.

Brilliant use of the form.

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I enjoyed this book a lot, it had a good amount of suspense in the plot and kept me guessing right up until the end. The voice acting was great, all the performers were engaging and brought the characters to life. Would recommend a listen!

Kept me guessing

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Loved this! Such a great and unique way of setting out the story. Knocked it out in a day!

Loved it

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Love the way it was laid out, it flowed nicely. All parts were well performed

Great story

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Impeccable performances and a sustained mystery keep Backstory moving at a clipped pace but the pace doesn’t hide some of Bergmoser’s more philosophical ideas. A tale of the varied layers of truth and what colours and motivates people to pick their subjective points of view.

A group of mostly terrible 21-year-olds graduate their creative writing course at a Melbourne based university. A weekend away leads to one of the dying and over ten years later a chastened and unemployed journalist finds some leads that open up the cold cause célèbre. Of the five who went away that weekend, three are flourishing in their careers as authors — or at least making a living that keeps them well protected. How will they deal with someone rattling the cages of the past, and how will journalist Phoebe Black learn to work with a colleague she doesn’t remember fondly from her own past?

Gabriel Bergmoser’s ‘Careless Authors’ novel Backstory is riveting

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This was just a great listen. Complex plot great narrators. Highly recommend. Loved all the different perspectives of the story.

Couldn't stop listening

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The story was fabulous and up to par for Mr Bergmoser. The narrators were great except one woman who mumbled; so much so that I had to turn up the volume full blast to hear what she was saying. I love this author and await the next book eagerly.

Tangled friendships

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I really enjoyed the characters, plot, and storytelling — they were engaging and well developed throughout. However, I felt the very final narration wasn’t necessary and slightly took away from the otherwise strong ending.

Good characters & story

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What a find in the audible plus catalogue. Great story and narration is exceptional. Aussies are the best narrators. No over-acting or corny-ness. A Stella cast that did this unique story justice

Loved this so much

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