-
You
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $27.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Hidden Bodies
- By: Caroline Kepnes
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past 10 years, this 30-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he's heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him. In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can't stop looking over his shoulder.
-
-
Not as good as the first
- By Whiplash on 09-20-18
By: Caroline Kepnes
-
Gone Girl
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media - as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents - the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter - but is he really a killer?
-
-
Half way thru I didn't care what happened
- By AnneLena Mattison on 07-03-14
By: Gillian Flynn
-
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
- Dexter, Book 1
- By: Jeff Lindsay
- Narrated by: Jeff Lindsay
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened - of himself or some other fiend.
-
-
I love the show, like the book
- By Heather on 02-14-13
By: Jeff Lindsay
-
Behind Her Eyes
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Pinborough
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar, and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she's thrilled she finally connected with someone. When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar...who says the kiss was a terrible mistake but who still can't keep his eyes off Louise.
-
-
Probably my least favorite book in a long time.
- By Elaine Matticks on 01-25-18
By: Sarah Pinborough
-
Sharp Objects
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: She must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful 13-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly.
-
-
Unbelievable and Predictable
- By Anonymous User on 09-19-18
By: Gillian Flynn
-
The Woman in the Window
- A Novel
- By: A. J. Finn
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna Fox lives alone - a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times...and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, mother, their teenaged son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn't, her world begins to crumble. And its shocking secrets are laid bare.
-
-
Forced myself to finish it
- By Kacey H. on 05-11-19
By: A. J. Finn
-
Hidden Bodies
- By: Caroline Kepnes
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past 10 years, this 30-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he's heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him. In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can't stop looking over his shoulder.
-
-
Not as good as the first
- By Whiplash on 09-20-18
By: Caroline Kepnes
-
Gone Girl
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media - as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents - the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter - but is he really a killer?
-
-
Half way thru I didn't care what happened
- By AnneLena Mattison on 07-03-14
By: Gillian Flynn
-
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
- Dexter, Book 1
- By: Jeff Lindsay
- Narrated by: Jeff Lindsay
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened - of himself or some other fiend.
-
-
I love the show, like the book
- By Heather on 02-14-13
By: Jeff Lindsay
-
Behind Her Eyes
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Pinborough
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar, and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she's thrilled she finally connected with someone. When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar...who says the kiss was a terrible mistake but who still can't keep his eyes off Louise.
-
-
Probably my least favorite book in a long time.
- By Elaine Matticks on 01-25-18
By: Sarah Pinborough
-
Sharp Objects
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: She must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful 13-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family's Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly.
-
-
Unbelievable and Predictable
- By Anonymous User on 09-19-18
By: Gillian Flynn
-
The Woman in the Window
- A Novel
- By: A. J. Finn
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anna Fox lives alone - a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times...and spying on her neighbors. Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, mother, their teenaged son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn't, her world begins to crumble. And its shocking secrets are laid bare.
-
-
Forced myself to finish it
- By Kacey H. on 05-11-19
By: A. J. Finn
-
Dark Places
- A Novel
- By: Gillian Flynn
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Cassandra Campbell, Mark Deakins, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas". As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived, and famously testified that her 15-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who've long forgotten her.
-
-
Riveting but brutal
- By Gray on 12-09-12
By: Gillian Flynn
-
The Girl on the Train
- A Novel
- By: Paula Hawkins
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, India Fisher
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people's lives. Every day the same. Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
-
-
Couldn't Finish It
- By Dephress on 03-16-18
By: Paula Hawkins
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
American Psycho
- By: Bret Easton Ellis
- Narrated by: Pablo Schreiber
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.
-
-
OMG, Did I just go there? Wow
- By Christopher on 11-07-15
-
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- The Millennium Series, Book 1
- By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why we think it’s a great listen: How do you one-up a book that’s already a global literary phenomenon? Hire Simon Vance to (flawlessly) interpret the loves, lives, and murders of Sweden’s cold and secret-filled world. A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue. It's about the disappearance 40 years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden.
-
-
A Classic Mystery with Wonderful Characters
- By Robert on 12-22-08
By: Stieg Larsson, and others
-
Under the Dome
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Raul Esparza
- Length: 34 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when - or if - it will go away.
-
-
The end sucks!
- By Jace Nuzback on 11-07-13
By: Stephen King
-
Behind Closed Doors
- By: B. A. Paris
- Narrated by: Georgia Maguire
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth; she has charm and elegance. He's a dedicated attorney who has never lost a case; she is a flawless homemaker, a masterful gardener and cook, and dotes on her disabled younger sister. Though they are still newlyweds, they seem to have it all. You might not want to like them, but you do. You're hopelessly charmed by the ease and comfort of their home, by the graciousness of the dinner parties they throw. You’d like to get to know Grace better.
-
-
what a complete waste of time!
- By Tanisha on 04-10-18
By: B. A. Paris
-
The Golden Couple
- A Novel
- By: Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Marin Ireland
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal - she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault - and almost absorbs the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death. Marissa and Mathew Bishop seem like the golden couple - until Marissa cheats. She wants to repair things, both because she loves her husband and for the sake of their eight-year-old son. After a friend forwards an article about Avery, Marissa takes a chance on this maverick therapist.
-
-
WOW, ..needs to be a series!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-12-22
By: Greer Hendricks, and others
-
The Institute
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon.
-
-
Not number one, but still a really good read!
- By Julie Mo on 11-29-19
By: Stephen King
-
The Silent Patient
- By: Alex Michaelides
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins, Louise Brealey
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening, her husband, Gabriel, returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety.
-
-
So disappointed.
- By Susana on 01-02-20
By: Alex Michaelides
-
Flowers in the Attic
- 40th Anniversary Edition
- By: Gillian Flynn - foreword, V. C. Andrews
- Narrated by: Mena Suvari, Gillian Flynn - foreword
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They were a perfect and beautiful family - until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed. They are kept in the attic of their grandmother’s labyrinthine mansion, isolated and alone. As the visits from their seemingly unconcerned mother slowly dwindle, the four children grow ever closer and depend upon one another to survive both this cramped world and their cruel grandmother.
-
-
Loved the book so much but...
- By Nicole on 03-28-20
By: Gillian Flynn - foreword, and others
-
The Last Thing He Told Me
- A Novel
- By: Laura Dave
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother. As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was.
-
-
Confused
- By SB on 05-05-21
By: Laura Dave
Publisher's Summary
How far would you go for the perfect love? A young man’s dark obsession with an enigmatic, gorgeous writer leads to murderous consequences in this erotic psychological thriller.
You walk into the bookstore and you keep your hand on the door to make sure it doesn’t slam. You smile, embarrassed to be a nice girl, and your nails are bare and your V-neck sweater is beige and it’s impossible to know if you’re wearing a bra but I don’t think that you are. You’re so clean that you’re dirty and you murmur your first word to me - hello.
When aspiring writer and recent Brown graduate Guinevere Beck strides into the bookstore where Joe works, he’s instantly smitten. Beck is everything Joe has ever wanted: she's gorgeous, tough, razor-smart, and sexy beyond his wildest dreams. Joe needs to have her, and he'll stop at nothing to do so. As he begins to insinuate himself into her life - her friendships, her email, her phone - she can’t resist her feelings for a guy who seems custom-made for her. So when her boyfriend, Benji, mysteriously disappears, Beck and Joe fall into a tumultuous affair. But there's more to Beck than her oh-so-perfect façade, and their mutual obsession quickly spirals into a whirlwind of deadly consequences.
Dark, masterful, and timely, debut novelist Caroline Kepnes' You is a perversely romantic thriller that's more dangerously clever than any you've heard before. A chilling account of unrelenting passion, this tale of love, sex, and death will stay with you long after the story ends.
Featured Article: Happy Cicada Season! Welcome Brood X with These Buzzy Throwback Best Sellers
Every 17 years, the periodical cicadas known as "Brood X" emerge from the ground in regions across the Eastern US. Whether you find its distinctive racket—a mechanical din of whirrs and clicks—nostalgic or maddening, the dulcet sounds of our favorite audiobooks are a timely complement (or antidote) to the sonic swarm. To make them feel at home, we present our favorite listens from past cycles—and some new recommendations to bring them up to date.

Editor's Pick: Best of the Decade
Talk about a come-up in the age of cybersecurity!
"When I define best of the decade, I like to think it is for those that had one of the largest popularity surges I have ever seen. Brilliant author Caroline Kepnes came out swinging with her first ever novel, You. When I first discovered You, it was not because I was looking for it. Actually it was an accidental click, however it must've been fate because after reading the summary, I was intrigued instantly. Now a hit television show on Netflix, You was made for greatness plot-wise and narration-wise. Performed by the talented and dulcet tones of Santino Fontana, You couldn’t have set a higher bar for itself! If you’re not hip to the thriller greatness sprinkled onto this decade by Kepnes with her seemingly innocuous Joe Goldberg, I highly recommend You to anyone. As we come to the end of a decade of such technological advancements and surges in the topics of privacy and internet vulnerability, You is the eye-opener, Twitter-conversation-starter of the decade."—Nicole R., Audible Editor
More from the same
What listeners say about You
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A. Paz
- 03-17-19
Really terrible book.
I hope my review saves someone else from suffering through this book. I honestly think this is one of the worst books I’ve read in my lifetime. I only gave it one star (and that is a generous score) really awarded to the narrator - he did a good job reading the book.
Terrible plot. Completely sick and unrealistic. Lacks any sophistication.
Save yourselves time and read something else (and hopefully better).
40 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Em
- 07-17-15
Wow. This. Book.
This is an awkward one to recommend to my close friends and colleagues. Not that I’m particularly prudish or haven’t read “Fifty Shades of Grey” (I have), but because not only is the content of “You” extremely explicit at times, the narrative perspective is also so uniquely dark, that there’s this moment of full-on anxiety when someone I’ve recommended it to starts listening (what will they think of me!?!?). But, while this book REALLY ISN’T for all audiences (and certainly not children), I’ve yet to have a friend not agree with me that there’s something totally brilliant happening here.
So, all disclaimers aside, here’s the deal. I have been an Audible Editor for seven years. I listen in full to – on average – five books a month. I sample and browse countless audiobooks all day long for work. This is the BEST narration I have ever heard, bar none. Caroline Kepnes has created a narrative voice that is intriguing, full of snark, complex, uniquely dark, and incredibly intelligent (all great literary things!), but still pretty hard to get on board with. How do you root for a stalker? How do you start to care for someone who, despite his protestations in chapter two, is a complete and total f**k-up? Well, Santino Fontana’s narration gets you there. He brings this character to life – and I don’t mean that in the way all good narration brings a character to life. I mean that Fontana resurrects an impossibly irredeemable soul and makes you love him. This book is frightening, gritty, edge-of-your-seat stuff that is so much fun to listen to, and it stays with you long after you finish listening to it. It’s the perfect summer listen – don’t miss it. And don’t judge me – or yourself - for loving it!
580 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- iScott
- 01-20-20
Millennial-era, anti-feminist smut
1 of 5, no exaggeration, and no "you'll dislike it or LOVE!!! it" BS, this book is vapid. It's entertaining sure, but ONLY because it 'explores' the mind of a crazy person (AND, does so, from and laughably bias feminine perspective), at the end of the day its all about sex, deception, and the line in between. And for every person that I've personally offended with this review so far, YOU'RE the problem. My issue is with the writing NOT YOU. There's nothing wrong with liking smut, it's literally designed to be entertaining BUT that in no way makes it objectively ANYTHING, and to pretend that this book has any REAL development (character, story, etc.) is a bold claim that I encourage any taker to defend. If you think I'm wrong then I have a challenge, ... "put up or shut up", I argue that this book makes little sense as-is, BUT pretend that every character is female and it all makes sense. This stems from the writers failure to adopt a realistic male perspective and before anyone starts shouting anything about sexism, I invite you to try the same thing that I did, take lines from this book , remove the gender pronouns and and ask a 50:50 split of people from all walks of life to guess at the gender of the individual making the claim. If you honestly come back with anything approaching a 50:50 split, you have my sincere apology. That said... "self deception is the most dangerous type... do you FEEL honest???". and for those willing-but-lazy individuals, try this, get a hold of a text copy of the text and run a search on the words 'inside', 'eat' and 'blow' and see if you think this book has a reasonable take on the male perspective. ALL that said, I read this book hoping that some stupid director screwed up the authors work, well... the book is better the the show in the same way the 4 of 10 is better than 1 of 10. ... in short temper your expectations and know that you'll probably wanna read this alone.
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MsMindfulConsumer
- 01-04-18
Cheap Ad Hoc End Oozes Over Otherwise Witty Story
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
A better ending. Even a mediocre one, had it not been as cheap and artificial would have sufficed to leave the book standing. SUBTLE SPOILER ALERT It seems like the author didn't know where to take this fresh witty story she created and reached for a ready-made shocker ending so prevalent in cheap modern thrillers. Endings are hard in general and they're hard to get right. And maybe this particular story might have been particularly challenging. But the scale of the wreckage was too big, the motivation too “cringey,” that it spread its mess over the entire project and there was nothing for even sympathy to recover. Sure, dark endings seem less trite than happy ones...or they did, a decade ago before everyone started going for the twisted shockers.
Would you ever listen to anything by Caroline Kepnes again?
Had she ruined the book with an ending and left it at that I might have. A good chunk of the story really was engrossing, fresh and witty and simple and sophisticated. So even an ending thrown at the reader because the story seemed to have grown too big and proved too cumbersome for the author But I can't look passed what I see as a brazen and ugly set up for Book 2......through 10 Coming Near You...
What does Santino Fontana bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
A very appropriate quick nonchalant rhythm that flows naturally with the story. He doesn't skip a beat, even if the reader might have been tempted to, which not only matches the tone of the story so perfectly, it actually adds to it by speeding the reader along.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
The book starts out as a rather clever and original psycho-romantic thriller that's funny, fresh and just a really interesting easy read/listen. The plot is seemingly simple and lighthearted - quests for young love and hot sex, twentysomethings in the big city, college, books and bookstores, struggling writers, IKEA and Swedish meatballs, delicatessen cupcakes and skirts with long slits, big money and no money. A stylish and simple concrete frame. But these lighthearted and somewhat cliche elements are all caught in the hero's rather clever web of insights...and deep dark twists. Shiny clean metal pieces added in for a rather interesting mixed art piece. But the dark twists are quick, and almost funny, and there because they need to be - it's who the hero is and what the book is seemingly about. The metal pieces are just still simple and “less enough” to be “more.”
And then it all just falls apart in the last few pages and flops over the nice pan, ruining it completely.
Here is what I mean:
--SERIOUS SPOILER ALERT START--
The murder in the “grand finale” was proceeded by a few pretty gruesome ones so it wasn’t that the murder hit us out of nowhere. Nor was it the setting – the crazy cage had been set up, if not too predictably, at least early enough, so that wasn’t the cause of the rot either.
--SERIOUS SPOILER ALERT END--
Instead, the flop came from the drastic change in pressure. Licking her lips, the author decided to throw in some cheap and artificial events into her hitherto elegantly simple mix, and then shake everything up, in hopes of a good boom. But cheap is cheap and more is less and the cake deflated and our resulting emotional folds were left hanging awkwardly, leaving us feeling ashamed and uncomfortable.
--SERIOUS SPOILER ALERT START--
Prior to You’s death, we were able to take the cue from the light no histrionics tone of the book and the protagonist-murderer and move from murder to murder, if not with a chuckle then at least without too long a pause, the way the book seemed to intend for us to do. The deaths weren't really ones we could mourn, so it didn’t equip us nor did it need to, with ways of doing so.
The murder of "You" and the overly dramatic and shockingly predictable circumstances of it hit differently. In some ways I was left feeling speckles of deep sadness for the unfortunate heroine, whom, unlike the other victims, we had been made to know as well as Joe. Plus the author called her You - so Us, Me! So yeah, it's a bit hard for me to brush off my own death, as vapid as I may be. So asking us to go with it in the same manner as with Twitter Guy’s and Peach’s chainsaw massacres –as yet another creepy twist in a fun horror show - was a bit much.
On the other hand Beck was no Anna Karenina - even if she had been likable enough, which I didn't think she was, she didn't have that scale, that depth, and obviously wasn't meant to in this “uber” modern tale told with such sophisticated nonchalance which is why the speckles of “Anna-Karenina-tragedyness” seemed so off - invoking guilt and shame. This wasn’t meant to be f*cking Tolstoy and, encased in its simple concrete and metal frame, there was no room for this lump of dough to grow with psychological analysis. Nor did the author prepare a delicately subtle emotional membrane to pop. So instead, it, well, flopped.
All over that nice mixed-medium pan.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SUrso
- 12-05-14
I want Santino Fontana to narrate my life.
What did you love best about You?
This is the best audiobook I've ever listened to. It's hard for me to say that because there are some fantastic books out there. This one is now my favorite. I will listen to it again, and again.
What other book might you compare You to and why?
There is no other book like this one. Not that I have read, and I think the only thing close to it would be Misery by Stephen King.
Have you listened to any of Santino Fontana’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I would listen to him narrate a phone book. Seriously, all he has to do is change up the billion accents he can mimic and I'd be entertained for days.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
"Can't say no to Joe"
Any additional comments?
If you had trouble reading the second person point of view in print, this is the answer. You'll love it. Get this one. Seriously.
158 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kathart47
- 09-30-15
Brilliantly Creepy
Reading "You" was like reading someone's twisted, sociopathic diary entries...which, ironically, is exactly what the anti-hero Joe does throughout the story. I couldn't stop listening as each chapter got darker, and yet still wanting to hear this "relationship" unfold. I often found myself sympathetic to Joe and hating the "victims" as the story progressed...not sure what that says about me! The narration from Santino Fontana (BTW, what a killer name) was stellar, and I'm definitely planning to pick up Kepnes' Hidden Bodies in 2016.
51 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tina
- 01-20-16
Deeply disturbing exceptionally well written
I can't find a single fault with this audiobook. In my twenties, I was a book snob. I read the classics and tried to like unredeemable characters (Wuthering Heights). Or heart wrenching melancholy (Anna Karenina). I read D.H. Lawrence, Somerset Maugham, Dostoyevsky, blah blah...you see where I'm going with this. That's why I could listen to this book and get the intelligent well-read bookstore clerk's fascination with the beautiful self-absorbed writer. I don't read deep books any more. I don't want to fall into a depression brought on by Mr. Tolstoy and his ilk. For the most part, I want a little escapism while I do the dishes or my grocery shopping. How this book was slipped into the romance section, I have no idea. I will never listen to this book again. I won't buy the sequel. I also won't return it This really is a well written book and I won't sully it because it's not what I was expecting. If you like reading a dark "romance" you'll love this book. It reminds me of The Collector by John Fowles. Another book that was very well written, but I could never read again.
22 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- cristina
- 11-13-14
Loved it
The "stalker" theme seems to be all around us lately and is, quite frankly, not my favorite. Would probably not have even considered this had it not been for a post on Facebook by a friend whose tastes on books I usually share (the fact that this is how I came upon this book is actually ironic). So glad I followed her advice! And so glad I listened to "You" rather than read it on paper. Mr. Fontana is PERFECT as the first person narrator--the stalker who becomes increasingly obsessed with his prey. And Ms. Kepnes keeps your interest throughout, with the lies and deceptions becoming more and more involved, preposterous...and believable. It will make you want to reset all your social media privacy settings. It will make you cringe. And it will make you laugh! Yes, there's a lot of humor here. (Considering the theme, it is actually a pretty light--if riveting--read). Well done! I can't wait for her next one.
107 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stacey
- 07-26-15
Not even the rain has such small hands...
The narrator is amazing and he is the one of two things amazing about this book. The prose is well-written and melodic. I absolutely loved how Caroline Kepnes used such ornate and beautiful prose. One of the most beautiful lines in the book is when Joe says, "Not even the rain has such small hands..." The book was so beautifully written and I appreciated Ms. Kepnes' writing style. Yet, I did not like this book.
We follow Joe through a descent from mad into more madness. The main character, you understand from the beginning, is not quite right. He describes his view of people and interactions. He justifies his treatment of others by painting them as awful, mean-spirited and shallow. His perspective, skewed as it was, only made me sicken for the people he is involved with. I was worried about them.
Even when told from his perspective, I could not find any feeling for him. From the beginning, I was hopeful, but even then, I never rooted for Joe. I just wondered why no one else he met was creeped out by Joe. When he admitted to having stolen a cell phone, I could not understand the reasoning of the main victim/heroine. One thing I can say is that everything about this book is intense. I am still disturbed by the happenings in the story. I just found myself feeling the emptiness that I felt before after watching Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler.
I was not involved with the character--I was involved by with the people in contact with Joe. I wondered if he was supposed to be some kind of anti-hero, but he had no redeeming qualities.
Despite not liking this book, I have to let people know that Ms. Kepnes is a brilliant writer. I just did not like this book.
130 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chantal Noordeloos
- 01-10-19
Well written, but the first person narrative was overwhelming
I can’t fault the writing, so my mere 3 stars are just a personal opinion, not a well grounded critique. The books is interesting, the story is good. The voice is even really fascinating in the beginning, but I found I was growing tired of it about half way through. It absolutely suits the main character, but his inner voice is so spiteful and so unforgiving, it ruined the other characters for me. Everyone was just such a jerk, and I hated being in Joe’s petty thoughts the whole time. Like I said: just personal feelings. The book itself is solid, I just wish the author had opted for a third person narrative. I absolutely understand the reason why she didn’t, but it was just too much for me. I had already bought the second novel, but I am going to read something else first before plunging back into Joe’s head.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- johanna
- 07-09-19
Enjoyed it
The way the narrator read was breathtaking, it wasn't boring and felt that the book itself kept you on your toes.