Review of ‘The Amnesia Project’ by Barbara Winkes,
Audiobook narrated by TJ Richards
In 2003, three young women Dani, Joy, and Alice, and a teenage girl take a trip to New York City. Paige, the teenager, reveals her crush to Dani and disappears without a trace a few hours after. Dani decides to leave no stone unturned and soon enrolls in the police academy to continue searching for Paige. Thirteen years later, Dani finally discovers what happened.
This is my first book by Barbara Winkes and decided to give it a go thanks to the recommendation of Jude from Judeinthestars blog. This year I’ve decided to try new authors and as I like TJ Richards’s narrating style, it was an easy decision. I’m glad I did as this is a very good lesbian dystopian mystery audiobook that deals with very contentious issues that resonated in me both as a lesbian and a woman.
‘The Amnesia Project’ is mainly a dystopian sci-fi mystery with a romance on the back seat. I understand that the romance wasn’t the most relevant part of the plot, but it was a very important justification for the actions of the main characters. For this reason, I felt that the chemistry between the mains should have been stronger to move the story forward.
The mystery part of the plot is what really makes this book worth a read or listen. It’s a page-turner that will keep you most of the time on the edge of your seat. However, it’s not perfect and I felt that some parts were a bit far-fetched even for the universe that the author built. Having said that, there is a good critique of the role assigned to women in our contemporary society and the constant willingness of certain parts of humankind to control others. It’s scary to see some similarities with our real world.
The audiobook was narrated by TJ Richards who did a very good job with this demanding novel. Her narrative tone adapted well to both the fast-paced and the more contemplative parts and her performance of the myriad of feelings was spot-on. My only critique is that even though her female voices were distinctive, the male ones felt a bit confusing. Despite this, the audiobook is entertaining and thought-provoking. 4 stars for both the story and the narration.
Duration: 7 hours, 50 minutes.
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
