West Cork
4.9/5
Critic Rating
In West Cork, it’s simply known as ‘the murder’. In 1996 French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier is found dead near her holiday home. There are no witnesses and no known motive. The police suspect one man in this community but they can’t make a charge stick and he refuses to leave, living under the glare of suspicion ever since. This series brings together an incredible cast of characters, many of whom have never spoken publicly before. The family of the victim bring to life a woman lost; the suspect puts forward his defence; and local people explain what it’s...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Catherine McGregor • The Spinoff NZ • Aug 24, 2021
"As someone who came to the documentary first, I worried I’d get little from the audio version of a story I already knew. I needn’t have worried: the podcast (now widely available) is still completely gripping, and the prime suspect turns out to be even more sinister when you can only hear his voice."
Score: 5
Philip Watson • Telegraph UK • Jul 1, 2021
"Brilliantly reported and compellingly constructed."
Score: 5
Nadine O’Regan • Business Post • Jun 19, 2021
"Not since Serial had a true crime podcast generated a buzz like it … Refusing to reveal Bailey as a suspect early on, instead offering a calm and well-paced approach to their storytelling and returning Sophie to the centre of the stage, the podcast series was a breath of fresh air. It was also an engine that powered a surge of interest in Sophie Toscan du Plantier all around the world."
Score: 5
Justine McCarthy • The Times UK • May 23, 2021
"Seminal series … a work of forensic journalism stamped with integrity."
Score: 5
George Fenwick • Stuff NZ • Apr 25, 2021
"West Cork is made with such originality and quality that it’s too good to ignore. It’s addicting and harrowing – and an utterly unforgettable testament to the power of good reporting."
Score: 4.5
R F McMinn • Frequently Arsed Questions • Apr 20, 2021
"There’s one ding against this because it’s about a murdered woman (enough already) but it’s well produced and quite twisty. But there’s also a ding against it because the story has so clearly been padded out, that you feel a bit exploited. Still, you can set up your player to skip intros and outros, and you can also skip forward through the ads, just to punish them back. …"
Score: 5
Taran • Podfluence • Apr 13, 2021
"West Cork is an excellent binge for any true crime podcaster listener. The duo does an excellent job of painting the scene, including the Irish countryside. A suspect was recently arrested for the crime in part to the awareness the podcast brought."
Score: 5
Patrick Radden Keefe • New Yorker • Jan 10, 2019
"...it knocked me out like no podcast since S-Town. A masterpiece. Listen!"
Score: 5
India Knight • The Times UK • Apr 29, 2018
"I’m gripped by the West Cork true-crime podcast. I suspect you will be, too. West Cork is the new Serial. It may even be better."
Score: 5
Eliana Dockterman • Time • Mar 30, 2018
"The hosts beautifully communicate how a tragedy can impact a town and its people in devastating ways."
Score: 4.7
Nicholas Quah • Vulture • Mar 7, 2018
"But the podcast, led by documentarian Jennifer Ford and investigative journalist Sam Bungey, is vastly more soulful than so many of its peers, in large part by functioning as an exploration of how a tragedy, mixed with spectacle, can redefine and consume the terms of a place, a person, and a time. It’s a haunting, unforgettable coda, and a reminder of why it’s so difficult to be more than the sum of things that happen to us."
Score: 4.5
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • Feb 11, 2018
"Forde and Bungey do their work with sensitivity and clarity, and this is a well-made show, with a great twist in episode 5 that makes it ripe for bingeing."
Score: 4.9
Brian McIntyre • Orchard • Feb 10, 2018
"It is a high bar for a piece of journalism to tell the insider something new, forcing him to rearrange the architecture of a murder case which has found coordinates in his mind across twenty years. Audible’s West Cork has so much original reporting, such depth of curiosity, and such breathtaking access to key players and opposing opinions, that it clears the bar. It becomes a strange kind of magnum opus – the cultural equivalent to a Book of Evidence. Indeed, it acts as a stand-in for a crucial legal document which, as yet, has never been presented in court."
Score: 5
Una Mullally • Irish Times • Feb 8, 2018
"Across the podcast, the breadth of research and interviews is impressive ... weaving a narrative that encourages binge-listening ... An eye opening study of an investigation. For many Irish listeners, West Cork will be the first time a podcast approaches a local story with the same depth of stories in Maryland (Serial season one) or Alabama (S-Town)."
