The Anatomy of Desire: A Novel

Written by L. R. Dorn

Narrated by Santino Fontana, Shelby Young, Marin Ireland and 11 more

Audie Award finalist for Multi-Voice Performance!

Performed docuseries style by a star-studded full cast including Santino Fontana, Shelby Young , Marin Ireland, JD Jackson, Dan Bittner, Vikas Adam, Gabra Zackman, Fred Berman, Darrell Dennis, Oliver Wyman, Jonathan Davis, Hilary Huber, and Lisa Flanagan

For fans of riveting true crime docuseries a la Serial and Making a Murderer, The Anatomy of Desire is a modern tale of crime and punishment exploring unbridled ambition, blinding passion, and the dark side of desire

Claire Griffith has it all, a thriving career, a gorgeous boyfriend, glamorous friends. She always knew she was destined for more than the life her conservative parents preached to her. Arriving in Los Angeles flat broke, she has risen to become a popular fitness coach and social media influencer. Having rebranded herself as Cleo Ray, she stands at the threshold of realizing her biggest dreams.

One summer day, Cleo and a woman named Beck Alden set off in a canoe on a serene mountain lake. An hour later, Beck is found dead in the water and Cleo is missing. Authorities suspect foul play, and news of Cleo’s involvement goes viral. Who was Beck? An infatuated follower? Were she and Cleo friends or lovers? Was Beck’s death an accident . . . or murder?

Told in the form of an immersive investigative docuseries, L. R. Dorn’s brilliant reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s classic crime drama, An American Tragedy, captures the urgency and poignance of the original and rekindles it as a very contemporary and utterly mesmerizing page-turner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: May 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063041950

L. R. Dorn

L. R. Dorn is the pen name for Matt Dorff and Suzanne Dunn. Matt is a Southern California native and graduate of the USC School of Cinema who has written, produced, and/or directed more than sixty hours of dramatic television (CBS, NBC, ABC, Showtime, HBO, Lifetime). He is a member of the Writers Guild of America West. Suzanne is a two-time Emmy Award winner for interactive programming who has written two movies for television. She grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and earned degrees from Penn State and the University of Chicago. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Reviews for The Anatomy of Desire

[Stephanie Miller Hofman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fabulous story - passion, ambition, and success in the Instagram age! Fantastically performed, like listening to a true crime podcast and documentary.

[Selina Cooper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not too bad. All star cast. Somewhat captivating story. Kept my interest. Good but not great. Because a number of the actors had multiple roles, it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've only ever listened to one podcast, not seen any of those true crime documentaries that have become so popular, so I totally surprised myself by how much I liked listening to this on audio. It starts as an investigation of a social media influencer accused of the murder of her girlfriend. There are many narrators in the cast but one soon becomes easily able to discern who is talking. A documentary filmaker soon enters the picture, and he follows this story to its conclusion. There is a trial, we hear from different witnesses and see exactly how the case is presented, prosecution and defense. I was completely gobsmacked by the ending. Yet, it made sense and completely brought everything full circle. Secrets, consequences and details of a life that was anything but easy brought to an ugly conclusion.I don't think I would have liked this as much had I read instead of listened. The heard voices made it seem real.ARC from Netgalley.

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had such a good time with this book! I have listened to a few audiobooks narrated by full casts and I usually really enjoy the experience so I jumped at the chance to review this book. The really liked the idea that this book was told as if it were a podcast and I couldn’t wait to see how the story would unfold.This book tells the story of Cleo Ray. Cleo is a very popular fitness influencer on Instagram and YouTube and her life is more than a little complicated. Cleo and Beck go out on a remote lake and Beck is found dead in the water soon after with Cleo nowhere in sight. This story chronicles the events leading up to that day and the journey to justice. The book is told as a podcast where Cleo’s life and actions are looked at in great detail.There was plenty of excitement in this story. There were times that I thought that I had everything figured out only to learn something new that changed my whole perspective. This really was a complex story and there were a lot of surprises that popped up throughout the novel. Some characters are only met briefly but I thought that they all felt very authentic.The full cast narration of this book really took things to the next level. This is an all-star cast of narrators and they all did an amazing job with the book. The story was narrated in a manner that it really felt like I was listening to a podcast complete with episode breaks. I loved the back and forth between the narrators and I thought that this style of narration was perfect for this book. I feel like audio is the way to go with this book and I really enjoyed the whole experience.I would recommend this book to others. I thought that it was incredibly well done and immensely entertaining. I would not hesitate to read more of this writing pair’s work in the future.I received a copy of this audiobook from HarperAudio via Libro.fm.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Anatomy of Desire by L R Dorn is a reimagined telling of An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. It has been given a fresh, contemporary feel. Told in a “docuseries” format via a series of interviews, it is a psychological thriller and peek into the mind of a young woman and her Desire to be successful. Cleo Ray, a social media influencer, is accused of murdering her girlfriend, Rebecca/Beck Alden by drowning her while on a canoe trip. Cleo claims innocence, and as you read the interviews, you wonder, did Cleo do it, or was it an accident? The trial testimony is well-done with perspectives from both the defense and the prosecution. I look forward to reading more from the writing team known as L R Dorn. Thanks to William Morris, Harper Collins, Scene of the Crime, and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are freely given.