I Killed Zoe Spanos

May 11, 2020
A slow-burning psychological thriller based on Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca plays out in parallel narratives, pre- and post-confession. When 17-year-old Anna Cicconi takes a job as a summer nanny in the Hamptons, she hopes it’ll be quiet, an opportunity to pull back from the partying and complications of her life in Brooklyn. Instead, people everywhere are struck by her resemblance to Zoe Spanos, who’s been missing for six months, since New Year’s Eve. The longer Anna spends in Herron Mills, the more she’s plagued by confusing fragments of impossible memories, until she confesses that she’s responsible for Zoe’s death. But her story doesn’t add up, and teen investigative reporter Martina Green is determined to discover what happened to Zoe and whether Anna is involved. Frick (All Eyes on Us) deftly employs multiple perspectives along with excerpts from Martina’s Serial-like podcast, Missing Zoe, to construct a twisting mystery. While the story relies a little heavily upon coincidence, tension and atmosphere mount as Anna’s uncertainty grows, and incorporation of faulty memories makes for an intriguing exploration into the nature of truth and reality. Ages 14–up. Agent: Erin Harris, Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management.

Narrators Jenni Barber and Jayme Mattler lead a full cast in this YA homage to Daphne du Maurier's classic psychological suspense, REBECCA. While Barber and Mattler do most of the heavy lifting, it is the full cast that steals this audiobook show. The title character mysteriously disappears, and, as could only happen in contemporary times, a podcast sets out to solve the crime. As the supporting cast voices the podcast that runs through the story, listeners are treated to full, immersive audio with voices, static, variable sound quality, news clips,and sound effects. These vignettes drive the narrative forward. Once listeners hit play, they won't want to stop until they find out what happened to Zoe. A.R.F. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine