Books

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox: Post-modern playfulness

Joseph Knox becomes a character in his own novel in the twisty and compelling novel True Crime Story.

Joseph Knox has produced something extraordinary. True Crime Story begins with a note from his publisher stating that “they and Mr Knox have mutually agreed to conclude their business dealings and have no plans to undertake any future projects”.

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True Crime Story by Joseph Knox is out now (Doubleday, £14.99) Book Cover: Waterstones

This immediately throws the reader off balance, and it takes a few pages before you realise it’s all part of the plot. Knox is in fact a character in his own novel, which is told through competing and often conflicting statements by the friends and family of Zoe Nolan, a Manchester student who has vanished without trace.

This post-modern playfulness works because it is embedded in a rich and compelling plot that twists and turns until the final pages. Sometimes risk pays off.

True Crime Story by Joseph Knox is out now (Doubleday, £14.99)

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