The Recordings by Kyle Zona

Kyle Zona

Author

The Recordings

Joseph Bailey—recently fired after a student-scandal—moves to Baxtor Springs, hoping to publish a novel unlike his previous textbooks. After a massive explosion claimed hundreds of lives in Baxtor Springs, Joseph feels inspired to use the tragedy in his writing. But would it be malicious to write about the victims as an outsider? Alone in his smart home, Joseph asks his Home Device to play a record—but his words are misinterpreted. Instead, the Home Device plays the recording of a murder, a recording unfamiliar to Joseph, who is struck with inspiration for the novel. He furiously writes, giving the crime a second life, fueled by his desire to be no longer labeled by his past. Desperate to get his new novel on the stands, Joseph befriends a local bookstore owner showcasing new authors at an event to support the victims of the massacre. As Joseph reads his book aloud to the eager audience, he notices someone watching him, and for the first time, he feels anxious that the killer has come to collect his due. These fears are pushed aside when Joseph meets Arturo de Leon, a local bar owner who invites Joseph for a drink. As Joseph pursues Arturo, the murderer is determined to uncover how Joseph put details of his dark past into words for the world to read.

Reviews

In this thriller debut, Zona conjures a twisting—and twisted—tale of a town shaken by tragedy, and the three men drawn together in its wake. While reading for a charity event at Baxtor’s Books, Joseph Bailey, the rising author of Rabbit’s Revenge, encounters lonely whiskey bar manager Arturo de Leon, sparking a breathlessly paced romance. But, as the two men explore their present, former prisoner Noah Crane seeks answers about the past, namely, how Joseph’s book mirrors his murder of an old man, forcing them, and the town, to confront the traumatic events simmering below their cultivated surfaces.

The Recordings is a bold endeavor, boasting a complex cast with alternating perspectives and a tough-minded approach to topics like childhood trauma and suicide, all wrapped in a compelling narrative that blends romance, mystery, and even tech thriller—Zona makes clever use of H.D., the digital assistant whose apparent mis-hearing of a drunk command yields a jolting piece of evidence that both upsets and inspires Joseph and leads to unforeseen consequences. That thread opens the novel up to explore rich thematic material, such as questions over who has the right to retell stories of crimes. Zona’s emotive, often shorthanded storytelling brings exciting life to scenes and moments of connection or danger, though it feels most assured in the novel’s first half, before the thriller elements push the characters into an escalating chain of complex scenarios, some that strain credulity or feature over-the-top violence.

The character work and prose are both strong, and Zona is committed to capturing not just suspense but a rich sense of this cast’s lives without slowing down the narrative momentum. Zona brings welcome authenticity and forward-thinking views to his largely LGBTQ+ cast that refreshes, though a few stereotypes-played-as-jokes may divide some readers. A passionate heart drives The Recordings, and readers of thriller fiction powered by convincing, complicated people will find Zona an author to watch.

Takeaway: Twisting, surprising, emotional thriller debut, with touches of tense romance.

Comparable Titles: Christopher Murphy’s The Other Side of the Mirror, Tal Bauer’s The Grave Between Us, Eva Robinson’s Influenced.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

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