Hookergate: Criminals and Libertines in the South

Narrator has a mercurial voice, smoky, gritty— very expressive and unique. One of those rare female voices that people either seem to love or hate, and personally I love her voice. I feel like women get hate for having voices that are not traditionally feminine, and I think that’s what’s going on in the reviews that are critical of her voice. While a lot of content creators seem to be striving for the same vocal aesthetic, Lux ATL has a one-of-a-kind tenor and cadence which makes her an absolute treat to listen to. And she can tell a story. The writing was fire, I could see everything as she was describing it. She breathes life into these characters. I listen to a lot of true crime and have never heard anything quite like this. I binged season one and now I’m looking for more of her content.

I binged this podcast, and I love the storytelling. I am not usually a fan of anything except “Just the facts, ma’am” kind of stories when it comes to true crime, but I suspended my preconceptions and went outside of my comfort zone. I am so glad I did! I love the dialogue and characterizations. Great work! Very creative. Dr. Lindsay Byron has fashioned a whole world that I can picture because she’s given the cues from her narrative. I hope she’s working on Season 2.

This story is jaw-dropping! Once I got started, I binged the whole thing in a week, which is unheard of for me. I appreciate the way the story is real and down to earth, showing so many parts of the human experience, and done so with as much respect and care as possible with such a story. It’s tender work, and I think the author navigates it well. The way Lux tells the story paints a vivid picture, and I can’t wait for season 2! (I was so pumped to find out there was a second season.)

I don’t understand all of the negative reviews. After listening to the first episode, I am HOOKED! “True crime”-esque podcasts are not my typical genre of podcast, but the writing in Hookergate is so clever and engaging that I can’t wait to start episode 2!

I concur on all the negative critiques of the narration and style of this podcast. The storytelling is over-the-top dramatic from the first sentence. I had to turn it off about half way through the first episode, and that’s a rarity for me. It just doesn’t seem well-produced. Finally, the background music is not well-balanced to the narration.

I wanted to find out the story in this podcast, but I couldn’t get past a couple of things. The biggest problem was the overly dramatic reading and constantly changing accents/voices of host & author, Lindsay Byron. Byron also dramatizes some facts in episode 1 when she says this story takes place in “my small southern home town...Danville, VA.” Danville is not a small town. Neighboring South Boston is a small town. Danville is a small city, which means there is no “local bar” there although she says there is. Even South Boston has too many bars to make such a comment. If this podcast was read in a normal tone & at a normal pace, I could probably overlook the dramatization of the facts, but as it is, I just can’t listen to it any more.