A Killer in the Low Country

by Candice Fox, Uzo Aduba (Narrator), Chrissy Metz (Narrator)

Lenght: 5h 00min

Two high school teachers—Amber Dorris and Leticia Laye—become obsessed with a true-crime podcast about the 1999 murder of 12-year-old Sarah Gerlach.

Amber’s marriage to her real estate agent husband Gary is on the rocks. As a distraction, she and Letitia become increasingly absorbed by the case against local Blake Wernerhet. Blake was convicted of murdering Sarah, who was the little sister of a friend of his. While he maintains his innocence, everything points to this man being a vicious killer of an innocent girl.

As Amber’s personal life crumbles, she begins communicating with Blake in prison, drawn in by a connection she can't quite explain. Convinced of his innocence, Amber and Leticia hatch an elaborate plan to help Blake escape during his final appeal hearing.
But is Blake a good man wrongly accused, or has Amber placed all her faith in a charismatic monster?

About the Creator

Candice Fox is the author of 11 internationally bestselling crime novels and the winner of three prestigious Ned Kelly Awards. She has also cowritten nine New York Times bestsellers with James Patterson, the world’s bestselling thriller writer.

In 2022, Candice’s fourth book, Crimson Lake, was adapted into the major ABC TV and Amazon Freevee series Troppo.

Candice is the author of the Audible Original HUNTING GAME.

A meticulous researcher, Candice has interviewed a serial killer on death row, been to prison three times (for work purposes), and—while on honeymoon in the US—took a road trip to famous crime scenes looking for clues. She has also dined with a former president of the United States, filmed a cameo role in her latest screen adaptation, and, as an animal rescue volunteer, has rescued countless wild animals.

The complete list of narrators Uzo Aduba, Chrissy Metz, Jessica Almasy, Dan Bittner, Nile Bullock, Bailey Carr, Chris Ciulla, Merissa Czyz, Janina Edwards, L.J. Ganser, Piper Goodeve, Allison Hiroto, Josh Hurley, JD Jackson, Chris Kipiniak, Eddy Lee, Ryan Jordan McCarthy, Soneela Nankani, Ana Osorio, Dina Pearlman, Therese Plummer, Kim Ramirez, Aida Reluzco, Rebeca Robles, Mark Sanderlin, Shayna Small, Nick Sullivan, Amanda Turen, Gabriel Vaughan, Landon Woodson, and Ryan Jordan McCarthy.

Available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Mystery

5 pages, Audible Audio

First published September 11, 2025

About the author

Candice Fox is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney's western suburbs composed of half-, adopted and pseudo siblings. The daughter of a parole officer and an enthusiastic foster-carer, Candice spent her childhood listening around corners to tales of violence, madness and evil as her father relayed his work stories to her mother and older brothers.

As a cynical and trouble-making teenager, her crime and gothic fiction writing was an escape from the calamity of her home life. She was constantly in trouble for reading Anne Rice in church and scaring her friends with tales from Australia's wealth of true crime writers.

Bankstown born and bred, she failed to conform to military life in a brief stint as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy at age eighteen. At twenty, she turned her hand to academia, and taught high school through two undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees. Candice lectures in writing at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, while undertaking a PhD in literary censorship and terrorism.

Hades is her first novel, and she is currently working on its sequel.

Reviews

[Taury · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Killer in the Low Country by Candice Fox is an audiobook-only thriller set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, and honestly it felt more like a B-rated movie than a solid crime story. It was not a good audiobook at all. The narration sounded like a play being performed, with over-the-top delivery that made it hard to take seriously. Instead of pulling me in, the performance was distracting and took away from the story. If you’re sensitive to dramatic narration, this one may be a miss.

[Vicki Andrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me, this book was not about collecting evidence relative to a murder; it was about collecting evidence to relieve the two teachers of their teaching duties. The whole book was ridiculous.

[Kimberly Dolese · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was weak, but the performances were great.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great audio production. The narrators were so good and the story had me hooked

[Julia Belova-Pachefsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hilariously chaotic & the best palette cleanser. If you’ve just come off a hard or deep read, I highly recommend this. It was easy to listen to, and it was amusing. Gave it 5 stars for the pure entertainment.

[Ginny Muse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining with good narration. I enjoyed listening to this and wondered how things would play out. But the story went off the rails too much for me.
Interesting set up as two teachers (Amber and Laticia) get caught up in listening to a true crime podcast about an old murder as the man convicted of the murder is up for parole. Getting too caught up on the case is an exciting part of the story. But there’s too much else going on - several teaching situations with specific student info, very bad teacher behavior, husband drama including cheating and financial problems, and the many tangents of exploring the case and different people connected to it. Amber seems like a pretty level headed English teacher at the start of the story, but by the end she has lost it. I don’t think I liked the direction this went. And I didn’t appreciate language and behavior.
It’s a well done multi-cast true crime drama. The audio is good. The story could be better.

[Toni · Rating 1 out of 5]

who thought this was a good use of these great actresses' voices?

[Becky Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to this on a roadtrip. It was a quick read. First time listening to a book read out like a play or movie. It was interesting that’s for sure. Loved the characters. Loved the story and the mystery of it. Definitely wasn’t expecting who the murderer was and what had actually happened.
Some of the background sound effects were a little annoying especially since I was driving.

Overall a great listen, great story and great characters

Definitely recommend

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived this! Kept my attention all the way when I’ve been having trouble focusing. I loved the acting and production!

[Veronika Hrancova · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audiobook performances were good and kept me engaged at first. The story starts with an interesting setup—two teachers bonded by their obsession with a true crime podcast—which had a lot of promise.
However, the plot lost me when they suddenly turned into criminal masterminds. That shift didn’t feel believable, and it pulled me out of the story. I actually found myself more invested in the subplot about the kid who wanted to become a district attorney, which felt more grounded and compelling than the main storyline.
Strong narration and a promising idea, but the execution didn’t quite work for me.

[Whitney Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my second audiobook by this author, and honestly, it surprised me. The beginning was a little slow, and for a while I wasn’t convinced it would hit the same way the other book did. But once I got halfway through, I was invested. The pacing picked up, the tension got good, and suddenly I was hooked.
And that ending?
Absolutely did not see it coming.

Overall, a satisfying listen. Definitely worth sticking with past the slow start.

[Sonia Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first full cast audiobook. At the beginning, it was a bit strange but then it turned into quite an experience. I loved it and it was all so well done - the narrations, the ambience noises and background. It was just like hearing a movie playing in the TV without looking at the screen.

The plot was good but it didn't go the way I wanted and I didn't like how it ended, sorry.

[Beth Flanagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened upon this book and got really interested in it. I had figured out the "who done it" but I really enjoyed how it came about. this was a good book. Chrissy ans Uba made it even better. I loved listening to them. I'm even satisfied with the summation of the characters going forward.

[Amanda Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great narrators!!

[Janice Meek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fast, punchy and perfect for when your brain needs a vacation from reality. The wit keeps it afloat. It won't change your life, but will definitely kill an afternoon.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Audible original that is narrated by a full cast and sounds like we're listening to a movie. I enjoyed the voices (they are well known actresses). I'm not sure I loved the snippets of podcast that were thrown in though. And I did not like the voice of student DelToro. she sounded like a year old meanwhile Sarah, a 12 year old, sounded almost like an adult.
Anyway, the story itself was okay. Without spoilers, there was a few things that happened that made me want to reach in and smack some sense into the main characters. For teachers, they made some stupid decisions. I also thought it was weird how they talked with the students.

[Taylor Sullivan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Acting/narrators were the only thing keeping me listening to the end. For me, the story exemplified everything that can go wrong with two true crime fans believing that they know better than investigators because they listened to a podcast…

**spoiler below**
Two adult women, who are educators, and neither one gave the other a reality check during this whole book?! Neither one thought, “Hey, let’s not try to help a convicted killer escape custody… that would be crazy and incredibly illegal”? Unbelievable!!

[Karen Holst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the storyline was on the weaker side, I’m giving this 4 stars because the performance was excellent! Uzo Aduba (crazy eyes Suzanne) carried the story. She was fun and witty and it kept me entertained. However, I thought all the performers did an excellent job and kept me invested.

[Leah Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book without a definitive ending.

[Bridget Thomas (Cruisingthroughpages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took a min to get into. I had never listened to an audiobook with this style of narrative. It was like listening to a movie. At first I was worried I just wasn’t going to like that but as it went I really started to enjoy the style. I also struggled with the voice actors at first. It’s a pretty famous cast but I just wasn’t feeling a couple of their voices in this setting. But once I got used to the whole thing it was fine. The 2 main characters were actually pretty funny and the story was just so wild at times that I had to laugh. The case itself was interesting and it kept me guessing up until the end. I thought I had it figured out a few times and nope, I didn’t. I really wish there was more to the ending though. I would have loved an epilogue. Other than that it was an entertaining listen and one I’m glad I came across

[Morgan (Mo) Heldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun to listen to. There were various points when I was yelling at the main character and her husband, who is insufferable, and other times when I was cackling at the dialogue from Leticia.

The production was good, the background noises weren't distracting and the voice acting was on point.

Many people have talked about how unrealistic it is, and I agree, but I do think that's part of the point. Maybe it's not a commentary, but it felt like it to me. So many true crime fans get swept up in cases thinking they know all the details and more than the investigators involved. It's absurd. And so is this story, but it was still a fun ride.

[Ashley Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a South Carolinian, I had a hard time overlooking the mispronunciation of Beaufort County and the misnaming of the SC state police as SCBI rather than SLED. The author also uses terms like “torch” and “waistcoat,” which are not words we use in the US. A simple Google search and an American editor could have fixed those problems.
The book was okay overall but the change in Amber at the end was too unbelievable for me.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all, I've been deceived. When starting this book I thought it boring and typical. But I was WRONG! This story is so cleverly written! The background noises, sirens, phones, et al, were annoying in the narrative but what's 100% these days, right? Nevertheless, the story unfolds quite well. And the ending,...you'll know AT THE END. A pleasant surprise of a story. Highly recommend!

[Sheryl Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical! I have never laughed so hard over a murder mystery!

The mystery itself was a pretty good story, but the relationship between the two main female characters had me in stitches. The characters were played so well I could just imagine them in my mind as though they were real.

[Mikayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. The plot twists actually had me jumping in my seat. I genuinely wish there was a series or it was a much longer book. The ending was left of a cliffhanger, 8 years down the road. Ugh!!!!!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I was unsure about this one but I am sure glad that I added it to my library. The narration was on point. The story moved at a generous pace. Overall an attention grabbing and entertaining story. This title is in the Audible Plus Catalog for now.

[Shenanigans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this on 2026/02/19 I would listen while AI was working. Finished 2026/02/26

First of all this audiobook(full cast) has a lot going on. I rated it 4.5 stars. I enjoyed it. There is a podcast that is covering a murder. Then these two teachers, Amber Dorris and Leticia Laye become so entangled with the podcast and the murder case. Sleuth detectives.

Amber, devoted to her husband…he is an entirely other species. Leticia wants to be a detective rather than a teacher. They both become “one of those women” going to the court hearings, there is seriousness along with humor. This was good. I enjoyed it, i enjoyed the different things going on. The plot twists. The ending not what I expected.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story centers on two high school teachers, Amber Dorris and Leticia Laye, who become deeply engrossed in a true-crime podcast about the 1999 murder of Sarah Gerlach. Their obsession pulls them into a web of doubt and deception as Amber, facing personal turmoil, begins to believe in the innocence of the accused, Blake Wernerhet, and enlists Leticia in a risky plan to help him escape during his final appeal. The story is packed with unexpected twists and relentless suspense, leaving readers questioning whether Blake is truly innocent or a master manipulator, with surprises lurking around every corner until the shocking finale.

[Toni H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two high school teachers, Amber Dorris and Leticia Laye, get caught up in a true-crime podcast about a 1999 murder. The victim is 12-year-old Sarah Gerlach. The man convicted of killing her is Blake Wernerhet, who has always maintained his innocence. Amber and Leticia, as a distraction from their personal troubles, begin listening to and analyzing the true-crime podcast. The podcast revisits the old case of Sarah Gerlach’s murder and Blake’s conviction. Convinced, or at least hopeful, that Blake might indeed be innocent, Amber and Leticia hatch a plan. They decide to help him escape during his final appeal hearing.

[Sisugirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy audiobooks and this one is considered an audiobook. The exception is it has more of "you're in the moment with them" feel. You can hear sound effects in the background. Car engines, people walking, dishes clanking in a restaurant, Etc. That sort of thing. Not the typical voice only audiobooks. I enjoyed it very much. The story itself was very good. Quite a twist at the end. And that's the type of fictional crime books I enjoy. Mindless entertainment at it's best.