Solving Cadence Moore by Gregory Sterner

Author : Gregory Sterner
Title : Solving Cadence Moore
Published : 2017
Publisher : Aperture Press
Pages : 370
Genre : Mystery / Thriller

     Ten years ago, famous young singer Cadence Moore disappeared without a trace on a remote highway in western Pennsylvania. To this day her fate remains unknown. Was she kidnapped or murdered? Or did she simply run away in search of a new life, leaving behind the abuse and heartbreak that haunted her? Charlie Marx, host of the popular conspiracy radio show “Underground Broadcast,” is obsessed with Cadence. Desperate to find her after deceiving his boss to save his job, he launches an investigation of his own, digging deep into the missing woman’s past and uncovering her darkest secrets. Working feverishly for weeks, he claims to have solved the mystery and promises to reveal Cadence’s fate at the end of a groundbreaking podcast series and live radio special. But is it all a lie? As years of twisted details slowly unravel, Charlie races to solve the biggest mystery of the decade. If he succeeds, it will mean closure for Cadence. If he fails, his entire world will come crashing down live on air—and the truth may be lost forever.

     Firstly I would like to thank Kelsey from Book Publicity Services for supplying me with a free copy for an honest and fair review. I'm always in the market for a good thriller or mystery novel. But lately, I have read an abundance of police-based novels in this genre. So I was looking for something a little different. When it comes to Solving Cadence Moore I think it hit the mark taking on an older genre and giving it a more recent going over. With podcasts and mini-series all the rage it only feels at home to deliver a book in the former style. I was very curious to see how this format word transfer over to the written word. 

     Much like the style, it is pulled from we a story in pieces, it one getting us a little closer to the truth. It's an interesting way to deliver the story to me. More often than not I'm given a story in as if being told it from start to finish. On occasion, we flip back and forward within flashbacks. But here our podcast host gave more blocks of information. Much like its source genre each on pulls apart an aspect of the lives of the people involved in Cadence's disappearance. In this way, we get a lot of information given to us and for me gave a good all-round view of the events that took place. I like that each of them has a different view not only of how she disappeared but also who she was as a person. As with real-life, the opinion people have of us changes a great deal.  Maybe this is down to what certain people mean to us. It is the face we show them and how much of the real us we want to show them. 

     Overall I thought this was a well-written book. The author set his bar high and knew what he was going for. for me he brought a sense of realizing to the book and the style he was going for. The narrator much like his real-life counterparts tends to bring a lot more of themselves to the story than they would like you to believe. With there own bias coming up to the surface whether they want it to or not. We are only human and it is a hard thing to go into such a topic and not do so. especially in the case of Charlie who has everything riding on the outcome. This book for me delivered a solid mystery that kept my brain going from start to finish. He has also captured the world of true crime podcasts and all there little quirks and foibles, much like its cast of characters. 

     I think if you are looking for a thriller that is a bit of the beaten path then Sterne's book will definitely peak your interest.  The hole true-crime angle adds a lot of weight to the story and also gives us a few more layers to dig into. It is that fine balance between the crime that may or may not have happened but also what the narrator has invested in it. It for me ticked all the boxes I was looking for.