Saving 6

I’ll admit: I rolled my eyes at the idea of *another* ‘troubled teen’ story. Then Matthew Forsythe’s Joey Lynch opened his mouth—all swagger and cracked vulnerability—and I was hooked. His performance is the kind that makes you forget narration exists; he doesn’t *read* Joey’s lines so much as *exhale* them, like the kid’s too tired for anything but the truth. The real masterstroke, though, is how Forsythe and Jacqueline Milne play off each other. Milne’s voicing of the female characters (especially Joey’s love interest, the fiercely pragmatic Aoife) isn’t just distinct—it’s *textured*, with a dry wit that cuts through Joey’s self-pity. Their chemistry in the tense, flirtatious scenes is so palpable you’ll rewind just to catch the subtext. That said, the pacing isn’t perfect. The middle act drags slightly during Joey’s solo introspection—Walsh’s prose is vivid, but Forsythe’s delivery can’t always mask the occasional meander into angsty repetition. And while the Dublin slang adds authenticity, listeners unfamiliar with terms like ‘bold’ (as in mischievous) or ‘yoke’ (thing) might find themselves Googling mid-chapter. Still, the payoff is worth it. The final act’s confrontation between the brothers is a tour de force of audio drama, with Forsythe’s voice breaking in all the right places. If you’ve ever loved a flawed character despite their worst choices, or craved a story where the setting feels like a living, breathing trap, this is your audiobook. Just clear your schedule—you won’t want to pause.