Audiobook Review: With a Kiss We Die by L.R. Dorn
Author: L.R. Dorn
Edition: Audiobook, eARC
Publisher: William Morrow (July 11, 2023)
Genre: Adult, Thriller
Synopsis
I’m Ryanna Raines. And welcome to “The Raines Report”.
Ryanna Raines is the host of a popular true-crime podcast. Her specialty is investigative journalism, her style is truth-seeking moxie, and with millions of listeners along for the ride, her star is rising. But when an intriguing message is left on her tip-line, the reporter is pulled into the most challenging case of her career.
The mangled bodies of a husband and wife have been discovered in their multi-million-dollar estate in Southern California. The prime suspects are their twenty-two-year-old son and his girlfriend, two college theater students who are now facing arrest and indictment. In a surprising move, they only want to speak with Ryanna, offering exclusive interviews in exchange for her help getting their side of the story told.
Instead of a badge or a weapon, Ryanna carries her voice recorder onto the battlefield of the high-profile murder investigation. Through a series of interviews, Ryanna examines her subjects from multiple angles and diverse points of view, breaking past the walls of “he said, she said” to pierce at a dark and horrible truth.
My Review of With a Kiss We Die
With a Kiss We Die is an intimate thriller following a pair of star-crossed lovers accused of a heinous murder told through a true crime podcast. It is also shallow and disappointing. Yes, I am mad about it.
I received a free digital eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Expectations and Disappointment
To spare you from reading a whole novel of ramblings about my feelings on this book I’ll sum them up shortly: it was a disappointing read and I’m still mad about it months later.
The premise intrigued me. I like a Romeo and Juliet inspired story, was curious to read about two drama students and was hopeful that this book would deliver a nuanced and critical look at true crime podcasts and our media fascination with brutal crimes. Unfortunately, With a Kiss We Die delivers none of that.
Maybe that’s where my subdued rage comes from, the potential for this to be a great book was there…and just not used in the slightest! As someone who loves character-driven thrillers and is always looking for truly nuanced and critical fictional takes on true crime, I had such high hopes that this book would be a match made in heaven for me. Instead, it left me feeling almost betrayed by how much it underdelivered on every aspect.
Straightforward Mystery
What With a Kiss We Die delivers is a straightforward mystery with red herrings that don’t work, superficial characters that aren’t interesting, a main character who isn’t particularly critical in her journalism and a truly predictable ending. It’s not twisty, it’s not nuanced, it wasn’t particularly memorable.
The whole book hinges on the push and pull of “did these college students commit a violent double homicide or didn’t they”. That’s the question. But somehow, despite Ryanna consistently reminding us of this, With a Kiss We Die never actually manages to pose an interesting mystery.
To me, the book just didn’t commit either way. Either, we could have an actual mystery with alternate suspects and a real investigation. Or, alternatively, we go all in on the idea that they did it and dig deep into their motives. With a Kiss We Die commits to neither option, instead hovering in the middle with half-hearted attempts at investigative threads, red herrings, and a study of what could drive someone to murder. It’s incredibly frustrating, to say the least.
Theatre Kids You Want to Murder
Jordan and Victoria, our resident murderous theatre kids, are truly insufferable. It took me less than a single chapter to want to throw my phone with the audiobook against a wall just to make them stop talking. They’re artsy and in love and they need you to know it. I’m all here for unlikeable characters, but Jordan and Victoria aren’t just unlikeable, they’re not even interesting.
They felt like caricatures of insufferably pretentious drama students and even the attempts to dig into their characters and backstories were sloppy and didn’t yield any depth.
Not a Critical Thought to Be Found
With a Kiss We Die does not deliver any actual examination of the ethics of true crime content or the relationship between journalists and their subjects. As you might be able to tell, this is the aspect that really disappointed me more than anything about this book.
Firstly, With a Kiss We Die draws inspiration from a real murder case. I appreciated the author being honest about this upfront. However, for a book ultimately inspired by real life violence and tragedy, it is shockingly unreflected when it comes to engaging with its true crime format.
Ryanna mentions that she feels conflicted about being so close to Jordan and Victoria and how she has a responsibility to be objective. Ultimately, she let’s herself be blinded by her subjects and fails to actually discuss the work she does, how true crime content contributes to the sensationalisation of violent crime or what the ethical implications of her kind of reporting actually are. It all feels shallow, like a facade of actual journalism put onto something that is anything but.
A Superb Audiobook Production
The one aspect of With a Kiss We Die that I genuinely enjoyed was the audiobook production. I couldn’t imagine consuming this story in any other format! Reading a book full of podcasts transcripts does not sound like my definition of fun or engaging. So I am happy to report that the audiobook has a full cast, great performances and very good sound design. The production might be the only reason I didn’t DNF this book, if I am being brutally honest.
Overall…
…With a Kiss We Die has a promising premise that it fails to bring to fruition every step of the way. If you aren’t going into it with the expectation of a great story or a nuanced look at true crime, it’s a fun and straightforward mystery with a nice audiobook production.
This book is for you if…
…you like true crime podcasts but have no new episodes to listen to. Here’s something fictional instead!
…you are looking for a straight forward murder mystery that’s elevated by a great audiobook performance
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One Comment
erin💙
adore this cover