Audiobook Review: 'We Thought We Knew You, by M. William Phelps, narr. Danny Campbell

 I only really got into audiobooks this year when I realize during early lockdown in February that I wasn't a major fan of being left alone with my thoughts when those thoughts were focused on a pandemic. I was therefore also very excited to hear NetGalley branched out into audiobooks, as it opened up whole new avenues for me. We Thought We Knew You was one of my first forays and I am here to discuss my mixed feelings. I will give a warning now that I will be getting into mild spoiler territory below. It will be marked clearly, but consider this warning #1.Thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Pub. Date: 12/29/2020
Publisher: Tantor Audio

In July 2015, Mary Yoder returned home from the chiropractic center that she operated with her husband, Bill, complaining that she felt unwell. Mary, health-conscious and vibrant, was suddenly vomiting, sweating, and weak. Doctors in the ER and ICU were baffled as to the cause of her rapidly progressing illness. Her loved ones-including Bill and their children, Adam, Tamryn, and Liana-gathered in shock to say goodbye. In the weeks that followed Mary's death, the grief-stricken family received startling news from the medical examiner: Mary had been deliberately poisoned with colchicine. Another bombshell followed when the local sheriff's office received a claim that Adam Yoder had poisoned his mother. But Adam was not the only person of interest in the case. Pretty and popular Kaitlyn Conley, Adam's ex-girlfriend, worked at the Yoders' clinic. She'd even been at Mary's bedside during those last terrible hours. Still, some spoke of her talent for manipulation and a history of bizarre, rage-fueled behavior against anyone who dared to reject her. Had Kaitlyn and Adam conspired to kill Mary Yoder, or was the killer someone else entirely? Contains mature themes.

True Crime is a tricky topic. It is quickly exploitative and sensationalist, sweeping aside the fact that these cases are about real people who have family members still struggling to understand. In my True Crime forays I have always searched for authors, and podcasts, who focus on victims rather than killers, who avoid the glitz and glamour and rather focus on the more humane side. In his epilogue Phelps also comments on the importance to put the victim in the centre, to avoid making a celebrity out of the killer. Sadly I don't think he entirely succeeds himself. 

Mary Yoder was killed in the summer of 2015 from Colchicine poisoning. That she had been poisoned did not become clear until shortly after her death, at which point the police begins to investigate. As the blurb states, there were various suspects at the start but they honed in on a specific suspect towards the end of the year. In  We Thought We Knew You, Phelps digs further into the Yoder family background, especially the story of how Bill and Mary met and began their family life together. He frequently makes time jumps, suddenly discussing their university years before jumping back to her painful death, after which we jump ahead and then back again. The back and forth is quite confusing and I at times found it hard to follow what exactly had been explained already and where in the timeline we were. This became especially difficult while Phelps explained the relationship between Mary's son, Adam Yoder, and his on-and-off-again girlfriend Kaitlyn Conley. 

Although I enjoy the True Crime genre, We Thought We Knew You truly did not hit the spot. What I found off-putting about We Thought We Knew You was the tone of the story itself. I will be entering solid spoiler territory here in regards to the Yoder case, so perhaps skip to the next paragraph, although I do think the below comments may be useful for any female readers considering the audiobook especially. Phelps establishes early on who is guilty for the crime. Although he perfunctorily explores other avenues, he continues to return to Kaitlyn Conley and her 'talent for manipulation and a history of bizarre, rage-fueled behavior', as the blurb puts it. Although We Thought We Knew You gives the reader plenty of evidence as to why she is guilty, it felt like Phelps had a personal grudge against Conley. (Again, spoiler warning!) During her relationship with Adam Yoder she accuses him of rape. Whether this is true or not is hard for me to say, although Phelps clearly believes it to not be true. The way he speaks of it, however, and the way he questions Conley's behavior around this alleged event may be intensely triggering for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse. I often found myself cringing at Phelps' tone and it was even harder to avoid in an audiobook. Then there is also the sweeping aside of Adam Yoder committing statutory rape, owing Conley roughly $12,000 and admitting to hitting her in court. Due to the evidence laid out, I am pretty convinced that Kaitlyn Conley is indeed the one who murdered Mary Yoder, but God, Phelps' tone felt seconds away from screeching at times. He makes it very clear in his epilogue he is not interested in any kind of feedback, but maybe me laying this out will help someone make a more conscious choice before engaging with his book. I'd also highly recommend to Tantor Audio to include a trigger warning to their audiobooks if it includes this kind of vitriol. Things can be skipped or read past in a physical book and any True Crime reader will expect "mature themes". The skipping is not always possible in audio, especially if you're not expecting it,. I'd have preferred not to have Danny Campbell yell the words 'slut' or 'whore' at me, quite honestly. 

Ok, back to safe territory here! The audiobook was narrated by Danny Campbell, who definitely brings  a passion to the project. The difficult thing with True Crime is that it does require a lot of pathos and I imagine it is also harder to "do voices" for real people. Campbell does his best to differentiate between when the text is quoting the involved parties and when it is Phelps narrating. As I am used to hearing my True Crime from mostly female podcasters I did have to get used to a male narrator initially, but quickly found myself engaging with him. The issues I have highlighted above can not be laid at Campbell's doorstep, as he simply read what Phelps put there. To return to the narrative itself, it is very repetitive at times and information keeps being presented as if it is new, which made me occasionally question whether I had accidentally skipped back. Although I was very interested in the case, I can't say that I found listening to  We Thought We Knew You to be a fun or interesting experience. These issues are almost completely due to the book itself, not the audio execution of it.

I give this audiobook...

2 Universes.

We Thought We Knew You was sadly not what I hoped for it to be. As True Crime is a very sensitive subject and genre, it really comes down to finding the authors or creators who work for you and approach it in a way that feels genuine. Sadly, M. William Phelps isn't that man for me.