Shane W. O'Haire's debut novel, The Sound of Tuning Out, offers a compelling exploration of grief, family dynamics, and the influence of social media. The story revolves around the tragic death of seventeen-year-old Jake Bodkin, who dies while performing a stunt for his YouTube channel, leaving his family devastated. As they try to piece together the events surrounding his death, they begin to question whether it was truly an accident.

O'Haire uses multiple perspectives and diverse formats, such as social media posts, journal entries, and forum discussions, to unfold the mystery of Jake's death. This approach effectively captures the complexities of the digital age and highlights how online personas can often hide deeper issues.

The pacing is engaging, with alternating viewpoints that maintain the reader's interest in uncovering the truth. Although some plot developments may feel predictable, the emotional depth and exploration of modern themes offer a fresh take on the thriller genre.

Overall, The Sound of Tuning Out is a thought-provoking debut that blends mystery and psychological thriller elements. O'Haire's examination of the intersection between online fame and personal tragedy creates a narrative that resonates with contemporary readers. While it may be slightly predictable at times, the novel’s emotional depth and relevance make it an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

I was immediately drawn into The Sound of Tuning Out by its captivating premise, which promised a thrilling exploration of secrets and lies in a quiet suburban community. I found myself struggling with some aspects of the storytelling. There were too many "mysterious voices" woven into the narrative, which often left me feeling confused rather than intrigued. There were just enough clues presented to intrigue me to figure out the mystery. There were some surprises and it has been cleverly written in parts.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

"I continue to breathe, but I am dead."

The Sound of Tuning Out mainly follows two people, Caleb Bodkin and Brett Howe. Caleb's brother, Jake has just died a horrific death that leaves more questions than answers and Brett's daughter, Donna has vanished, leaving behind vague clues. As the story progresses, we see how their lives are affected, how relationships change and how secrets slowly reveal themselves.

Trigger warnings: Addiction, Death, Suicide, Murder, Abuse, Violence, mental health.

I did enjoy elements of this book. The plot was very interesting and pulled me in from the start. I really liked the characters, they felt realistic and well-established from the beginning. I really enjoyed the concept of 'LIV' the social media app talked about through and its role in the whole plot. That felt fresh and original.

I did find the pacing to be a bit weird, which threw me off at times. Sometimes I was flying through the chapters and super engaged. Other parts felt long and drawn-out when it didn't have to be, which made me lose engagement. I did pick the book back up every night, it just wasn't completed as fast as my previous reads this year.

The ending just missed for me. I liked the final section with Caleb, as all the pieces are put together very simply and transparently. This helped as the section before, told from a totally new POV was interesting but again, threw me off and lost the pacing/impact it could have had. I didn't enjoy the unnamed POV sections throughout the book and found myself having to re-read to try and absorb the information it was telling me - so having this POV for the last line of the book felt disappointing.

Overall, I am giving the book 3/5 stars and would recommend this book to others who are interested in very modern thrillers. I am excited to see what is next for Shane W. O'Haire and would definitely pick up his next novel, I'm interested to study his writing style further.

Thank you Shane W O'Haire, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

2.5 stars rounded up. I was immediately drawn into The Sound of Tuning Out by its captivating premise, which promised a thrilling exploration of secrets and lies in a quiet suburban community. The author’s ability to weave together complex themes and characters is commendable, and there’s no doubt that the story has a lot of potential.

One area where the book could be improved is in its narrative structure. The use of multiple points of view, while ambitious, sometimes made it challenging to follow the story’s flow. Especially with the introduction of a new perspective towards the end. It felt a bit unexpected and unnecessary.

In terms of pacing, there were moments where the narrative felt a bit slow. Trimming some sections could help maintain a more consistent momentum.

Despite these areas for improvement, the author shows a keen insight into human nature and the dynamics of small communities. The writing is engaging, and the mystery is intriguing enough to keep you curious until the very end.

Overall, it’s a promising debut with a lot of heart, and with some refinement, it could truly shine. I look forward to seeing how the author grows and develops in future works!

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

I was intrigued by the premise, but all of that was lost in execution. The writing was amateurish for the content. It made it difficult to get into the story.

Personally this is a genre and story that I love and enjoy reading but unfortunately I was unable to capture the essence of the story. I understood the concept of the story yet found it difficult to grasp and failed to hold onto my attention.
Even though I wasn’t able to fully understand or comprehend the story I still wrote this review to inform the author and publisher that it maybe a great story but not all readers might not be able to have a grasp of the story or being able to their attention held to finish reading the book.

This was a really good mystery/thriller book! I was instantly hooked from the beginning and the cause of death was so unique it made this book stand out for me. I loved the different pov’s and uses of blogs for this story. I am a multiple pov person so it ticked boxes. The middle dragged out a tiny bit for me and I feel as if some could have been chopped down but I was so eager and excited to find out who the killer was, I was sold either way. I LOVED how there was a complete new pov towards the end for the use of jury service as it gave an experience from an outsiders perspective and I was able to jump into this characters shoes, which was perfect for this book and the ending. That was so cleverly incorporated in. I couldn’t guess the motive for the killer at all so it came as a surprise for me which again ticks the boxes for a mystery/thriller. I do really recommend this book, it was defo worth the read

[Arc received through Netgalley]

I am not very sure how to start this review. I did not particularly enjoy this book, I think the premise was interesting but the delivery leaves a lot to be desired. The plot was interesting and well crafted but I couldn’t get over how immature the writing felt to me. The characters seemed to all have a very similar voice and most times the tone wasn’t in line with the topics represented. All of these characters were mostly unlikeable and not very enticing. Overall I think the execution of this could have gone much better and this book would have improved with a couple more rounds of editing.

I still finished it pretty quickly so there is something to say about the effectiveness of the plot, but really, what I appreciated about this book ends there.

Maybe the fact that I found this in the horror section, despite the abstract stating it was more of a thriller than a horror, led me to have different expectations for it. There were some supernatural elements that I felt were mostly there to add to the spookiness but were never really deepened.

I think, in general, what this booked lacked in almost every aspect (characters, topics etc) was depth.

Shane W. O’Haire’s The Sound of Tuning Out is a gripping psychological thriller that weaves tragedy, mystery, and the dark side of internet culture into a chilling narrative. The story begins with the shocking death of seventeen-year-old Jake Bodkin, a YouTuber who perishes while attempting a dangerous stunt. What initially appears to be a tragic accident soon takes a sinister turn as unsettling details come to light. When Donna Howe, a local woman, vanishes without a trace, the two cases become eerily connected, sending ripples of fear through the quiet suburb.

O’Haire masterfully builds suspense, intertwining the lives of grieving family members, relentless investigators, and online sleuths determined to uncover the truth. As the media frenzy grows, the small town becomes a pressure cooker of speculation and paranoia, making it difficult to separate truth from rumor. The novel expertly explores themes of social media’s impact, the hunger for viral fame, and the hidden darkness lurking beneath seemingly ordinary lives.

The characters are well-developed, their emotions raw and authentic, making the stakes feel real and urgent. The plot twists are unpredictable yet satisfying, keeping readers hooked until the final, unsettling revelations. Fans of psychological thrillers and true crime-inspired fiction will find The Sound of Tuning Out a haunting and thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page.

The concept for this story is unlike others in its genre and I love that. This book was well thought out and really had me invested in all the POVs trying to figure out every detail for myself. The addition of forum posts and podcast scripts made me feel like an investigator which I loved. The representation of the music scene was *chefs kiss* and the ending was exactly what I needed from the story. I’d recommend this book to fans of Pantera and fans of crime documentaries!

This book was decent but not great. I enjoyed the story and develop, and generally like books with different POVs. I did feel as if it dragged on a bit and there were no surprises with the ending.

I enjoyed this! I was hooked from the beginning and fully invested throughout. I loved the use of various formats to tell the story. This was a really immersive read! I would highly recommend this! Special Thank You to Shane W. O'Haire and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an emotional rollercoaster! It took a bit for me to really get into it, but once I did, I did not want to put it down! I really enjoyed the alternating viewpoints, in the end it as all tied together nicely with an ending I did not see coming!

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/d76c337c-283f-4e02-a755-32dc073355a8

I think this is more of a thriller/whodunnit than a horror. For me it dragged on and I did feel quite bored in parts. I liked the social media aspect of it but it wasn’t the best.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The premise sounded interesting, but the horror classification made me hesitate a bit. Not to worry, it is mostly a whodunnit-type thriller. Yes, the killer may as well have worn a t-shirt that said, "I'm the killer", but besides that, I enjoyed this one. The storytelling is cool, told through several POV's and social media postings, a journal and an unknown author. Is it the killer? This is also a tragic and emotional story in a way. Caleb's brother dies, supposedly filming a YouTube stunt. Then a girl goes missing. There are also themes of bullying and some good, timely social media commentary. I would recommend this sort of crazy read and would read more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Shane W. O'Haire for this review copy. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication day of February 21st.

The premise for this book is extremely intriguing, and that’s what lead me to requesting the ARC. The multiple platforms used in the storytelling from text messages, to web forums, and interactive blogs offer a unique format that really emphasize the social media aspect of the plot. This is a fun debut, and a strong launch into the thriller genre. There are points where the sentence structure is clumsy, and the language feels a little unnatural. This was sometimes distracting and could pull me out of the story. But overall, I would recommend this read to anyone looking for a new take on a thriller and will be looking out for more from Shane W. O’Haire

It's classified as Horror, however, I felt it was more Mystery/Thriller.

I felt as a debut novel, it was a strong start and I would probably read more from this author in the future.

I felt like the beginning was strong and kept me engaged, and then about the middle of the book it started to lose it's steam. I loved the mixed media and multiple POVs. I did have the killer figured out fairly early out, however.

First off, I didn't realize this was classified as horror until after I finished. That's not really my genre but honestly, didn't really get horror vibes. Thriller/mystery, but not horror.

I was intrigued by the way the book was written. The different POV's, the social media aspect, etc. Sadly though, it really didn't end up working for me. I found that it made it really hard to get into the book. The last section of the book also just seemed kind of out of place to me. I understand what the author was going for in letting us see things from a juror's POV, but it just didn't really seem to fit.

I do appreciate Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. While this book may not have been a five star read (in my opinion, of course!), I would definitely be willing to read more by this author and see what they come up with next :)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

For a debut novel, this was strong. It’s more of a meditation on grief and dysfunctional dynamics, but with a core mystery to be solved that keeps the pages turning.

I admit, I saw the killer coming a mile away and kept hoping I would be mistaken, but….i was not, which was disappointing. However, there are several different POVs and a few different story threads woven throughout, so there was more to the overall plot than just the whodunit, which held my interest enough to finish the novel.

All in all, a strong first effort and I would recommend it to readers who like a more literary take on their mystery/suspense stories. I would read more by this author, because I feel like he has some great ideas!

This was a fantastic thriller. Twists, suspense, tension. The mystery was riveting. I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.