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Penance

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Penance

By: Eliza Clark
Narrated by: Anna Gilthorpe, Emily Goldie, Evie Hargreaves, George Weightman, Holly Jay Bowes, Salima Saxton
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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 Murder Exciting 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  
Loved how the story felt very real, like a real true crime case! Really enjoyed the way it was written between the main storyline, interviews and podcast entries. The narrators bought the entire book to life!

Easy listening

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This book has so many elements that I enjoy in media. (Fictional) True crime, shocking events, high school drama, accurate representation of teen vocabulary. I really enjoyed listening.

Engaging

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Some interesting themes but ultimately long, drawn out. I started to dread listening to it, but I hate not finishing it so I ploughed on. Not sure what it was all for.

Not as clever as it wants to be

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.