Follow Me
This latest book was a listen for me, rather than a read, and in that vein, this review of Sadie will include my thoughts on both the plot and the audioboook.
From the Audible description:
A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial-like podcast following the clues she’s left behind.
Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister, Mattie, in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.
But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.
When West McCray – a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America – overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.
Courtney Summers’ Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep listeners riveted until the last track.
This is one of the more unsettling mysteries I’ve found in a while. When we watch crime dramas, we see clues revealed and suddenly some brilliant detective or agent links the pieces together, and voila, the mystery is solved. I feel like Sadie is somewhat more realistic. For a long time, the clues don’t make sense to the people desperate to find out what happened to her. The not knowing is part of what makes you want to know what happens in the story.
At times, it is easy to judge Sadie, but then you remember she is nineteen. You see the juxtaposition of her bravado, grief, and immaturity, and you just want to help her.
Without being too spoilery, I’ll say this. There are no easy answers in Sadie. No neatly wrapped results, and as I finished listening to it, I wanted to cry and I’m still thinking about it. I didn’t expect that when I first started listening to the story, and I don’t mind being unsettled. The very end of the narrative explains precisely why we as readers- as people-should be unsettled.
One thing that I think makes Sadie a compelling listen- perhaps more than a reading would be- is that it is told with multiple narrators, and West McCray’s part is like actually listening to a podcast. The multiple voices- especially Sadie, Maybeth, Claire, and West- bring a level of realism and emotion to the story that I believe enhance the story and evoke perhaps a greater reaction than merely reading the characters might.
The number of voices, the complexity of a podcast within a narration, could have been a disaster but in this case, I think it works well. If you’re a fan of podcasts like S-town or Serial, I think you’ll enjoy listening to this one. You get both the Podcast and the perspective of its characters.
Put this one on your list if you like a good mystery, and you’re ok with things not wrapping up in a pretty package with a nice bow.