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The Blackout cover art

The Blackout

By: Ruth McIver
Narrated by: Michael Robinson, Tim Walter, Brigid Gallacher
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Publisher's Summary

I know all about being afraid of the dark. Like my uncle, in my thirties I found my way into my own dark forest, face-to-face with the big bad wolf. He was so close to me the whole time, I could taste the blood on his breath. Meeting him felt like a fairytale. In fact, I met him at a bar called the Wolf's Lair. - Blackout, a podcast by Georgia Sansom

A sensational trial for an historic serial murder. A podcast that shines a light on how a city became afraid of the dark. A missing woman with a trail of secrets. A top lawyer famous for defending notorious criminals. A retired homicide cop hunting for the truth.

Intriguing and distinctive, this taut novella in three interweaving narratives will have you listening with the lights on.

This project is a work of fiction. Names, characters, companies and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, companies or events is entirely coincidental.

©2022 Ruth McIver (P)2022 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.

What listeners say about The Blackout

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
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    70
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Story
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    71
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Murder Mystery

Initially I couldn’t get into it but as it was an Editors recommendation I persevered & thoroughly enjoyed it.

I like that it’s based in 2 Australian cities & the colour it gives when describing the areas, suburbs, buildings & dress styles.

I love a good thriller & enjoy when there’s different character perspectives.

Would read/listen to another from this author.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I gave up because of the narration

This started well enough and seemed like it would be an intriguing story. However, when the first male narrator started voicing a female character so poorly I couldn’t take it any longer. How could the producers make such an obviously bad error? He gave her such a ridiculous clowny voice that I stopped listening to what he (she) was saying and marvelled at how badly the character was being handled. Sadly, that’s as far as I got.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love ever second

I didn’t think this was going to interest me as it started after a book I finished but I actually loved ever second of it

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A very short whodunnit set in Melbourne.

Lots of local Melbourne knowledge, which made it a fun read. But no real surprises revealed. Kind of a
pain-by-numbers whodunnit.
Glad for the “free monthly read”.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Light read

Quick short read. Writing was fine, a bit choppy. Second level characters a bit one dimensional

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good story

Quite enjoyable who-dunnit, told through different voices and over different timelines. The performer who read Joel had a super grating voice, but I persevered to the end.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t finish

I can’t remember when I last couldn’t finish a book but this is one of them. Struggled with voice of narrator. Kept finding myself zoning out.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

It's OK-ish

It was an ok-ish listen if you need something to listen to, but, only if you don't need to pay for it. There are a lot of holes (Like WHY is Jessica called Bailey when it is her sister, Lauren, who is married to Austin Bailey?). As others have pointed out, the voice for Joel was annoying when speaking as a female.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great thriller!! Enjoyed it very much.

It took some time to get used to the narrator’s voice but as the story progressed, I enjoyed listening to him. I think the voice, tone and pitch was just perfect when describing the very criminal acts but annoying when speaking as Tracey or the other female characters. I also agree I was confused by why Jessica’s surname is Bailey when her sister is the one married to Austin Bailey. I think someone missed this in the editing which is a bit careless. Overall thought, a great podcast, story and thriller if that’s what you are after.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Everything Sounded So Real!

Brilliant use of writing the story from first person using different characters to tell their story and build the puzzle pieces together. Terrific author and fantastic narration.

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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.