Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: 44.1644° North
AUTHOR: Josh Lanyon
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: JustJoshin Publishing
LENGTH: 3 hours and 390 minutes
RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2023
BLURB:
The decades-old disappearance of 21-year-old teaching student Deirdre Duncan is the holy grail for true crime buffs—and Skylar Brennan, the host of the Ugly Town podcast, is no exception. In fact, on the mean streets of the internet, he’s considered an expert on the case. But in law enforcement circles, he’s viewed as just another crackpot internet sleuth.
Every February, the remote New Hampshire village of Woodlark is the site of a candlelight vigil for Deirdre. Family, friends, and “supporters” of the long missing girl gather at the spot where she was last seen. This is Skylar’s first vigil, and his fans are excited, but maybe not as excited as the person who’s been anonymously emailing him coordinates to what this poison pen pal claims is Deirdre’s grave.
REVIEW:
Skylar is a criminology professor who has a side gig with a true crime podcast. For the first time, he decides to attend the vigil for the missing person who has inspired a number of books and other podcasts in the small town of Woodlark, NH, the last place Deirdre Duncan was seen. Somehow, somebody doesn’t like what he’s had to say on the podcast, because he’s been getting death threats. He’s contact law enforcement but gotten no response, so he decides he’s going to check it out. But things are bit weird from the get go and he meets a stranger named Rory who definitely gives off LEO vibes.
When somebody messes with Skylar, Rory is there to help. There are other folks there who consider themselves the “experts” aren’t too thrilled with Skylar’s theories. Perhaps because they hit too close to home? As Skylar gets closer to both Rory and the truth of what may have happened to Deirdre, Rory is not happy with his decisions. They are going to have to agree to disagree about the next steps.
True confession. I’m not really a true crime follower – although I do LOVE Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. This story which the author lets us know has some inspiration in a real “true crime” is really really good. I really liked both MCs. They are thrown together at the annual vigil for Deirdre, the missing person here, and “fun” ensues. Rory’s identity is a bit of a mystery, although Sklyar intuits his profession pretty quickly. He’s unprepared though to find that someone other than himself has taken the death threats he’s received seriously – and that is a little scary. While the mystery is the focus of this story, the budding relationship between these two men who have struck out with love in the past is quite interesting as well. Skylar’s sleuthing may get him into difficult situations, but Rory won’t ignore his gut, so things may work out. I would certainly welcome more of their story. For fans of true crime shows, mysteries and budding romances, I think this book will leave them wanting more of the MCs and reaching a satisfactory resolution to the mystery at hand. And if you’re like everyone else, you’ll rush to google the real unsolved mystery that inspired this tale. So interesting! Highly recommended.
Oh this was so good! I have been waiting for this audio for a while and it was totally worth it. Kale Williams is an absolute master of his craft. Whether it’s paranormal, cozy mystery, straight up romance or this noirish type of mystery, he’s just so so good. While I enjoyed the story as a book, I find just that little extra something with the audio in this case. Skyler and Rory as just perfectly performed here. They start out as strangers, but there is definitely something a little off and when Rory confesses who he is and what he’s really doing there – that scene was GOLDEN in this narrator’s hands. The humor and underlying danger are so expertly conveyed in this audio production and I just enjoyed every second of it. Josh Lanyon and Kale Williams are a winning combination every single time and I look forward to more of their collaborations in the future.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Reviewed by Sadonna […]