A Killer in the Low Country

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

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, Suspense, Mystery

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

[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

[Toni · Rating 1 out of 5]

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

[Mandy Smith · 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!

[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

[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!!

[Leah Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book without a definitive ending.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Kristina Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I expected. It was a good light read and escapism. I will say the back and forth from “podcast” to character convo was tough at first. Also some audio mixing the fade in and fade out, was a wee annoying. But not as annoying as the big who flew around in different chapters.

[Amy Lepore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two high school teachers become obsessed with a true crime podcast regarding the murder of twelve year old Sarah Gerlach. As armchair detectives, they believe Blake Wernerhet is innocent of the crime he's been accused of--so much so that they plan to help him break out of jail. The question is, are they right, or have they been duped by a master manipulator?

[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!

[Mary Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the actors that read the story, it was one of the main reasons I chose it to listen to. However I am not sure there is a redeeming character amongst the bunch. It was painfully scattered about. I almost DNF but powered through. Just a disappointing read all around (except for Chrissy and Uzo

[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.

[Megan Masters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really hard listen. Story was mid. But sad choice of voice actors. Hearing Suzanne from Orange is the New Black say b*tch about 15 times a minute was the most annoying thing, like nails on chalkboard. No hate towards the voice actors, I love their work outside of this.

[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!!!!!

[Lisa Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish there were half stars.

The narration was fantastic!! Loved it! The ending surprised me. Felt like the two main characters were me and my besties at work. There were just some jumps in suspension.

Fun quick listen.

[Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not a literary masterpiece by any means, this was a fun and entertaining short story that grabs you from the beginning and has a few twists that you don't see coming. The full cast production added to the entertainment value.

[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.

[Shannon McCann · Rating 1 out of 5]

This felt painful to complete. The main character is a pushover that falls for everything she hears. The storyline wasn't great, the characters were not likeable. The only positive was that the book was quick.

[Heidi Gray · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible, unrealistic. not sure if this was supposed to be believable. I don't know how I got through the whole thing.

[Lindsey Colburn-Malousek · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up. Fun cast of narrators…okay story.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!! From where this book started, didn't expect the twist and ending. Great story!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up for a prompt, but it actually ended up being pretty great!

[Denise Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. It was good. And the cast was great too.