How to kill friends and influence people
Partial Veil review
Production company – Ylem Media
Rating – 
There is a saying here in the UK that “ you wait ages for a bus, and then three turn up at once”. This epithet also seems true with podcasts as this year draws to a close. No sooner do I publish my annual awards post, than I start a whole slew of shows that could easily have taken a collection of pixels formed into a golden brain trophy.
This is one of those shows. Before we start though, I want to give massive thanks to Citeog Podcasts who created This House Will Devour You. Thanks to them, I got in touch with a load of creators on Bluesky, including Ylem Media, who make this particular show.
So what’s it about?
Strange things are afoot in the town of Baron, North Dakota. Local oddball Halo Rhys has gone missing. After the discovery of a body in the woods not far from his house, the FBI are called in to investigate.
It soon turns out that things are really not what they seem. The skeptical FBI investigators seemingly know more about the case than they let on. As a result, they are almost instantly at odds with the residents.
Local police officer Josie Ward gets caught in the middle of the investigation. Torn between her friendship with Halo and her commitment to her job. Secrets from her past emerge that closely parallel more recent occurrences, and an unlikely group form to try and uncover just what is going on.
Is it any good?
You may have already guessed from my rather frothy preamble, that yes, it is very good indeed. This is a prime example of how an audio drama can be made without the backing of a large production company.
There were times when I looked through the cast list because I was sure I recognised some of the actors. I’m sure you will find familiar sounding voices too. Whether this is by accident or design is irrelevant really though. The voice talent is, for the most part, excellent. Seeing as Ylem Media is essentially a solo effort, and self funded, my mind is blown that Allison Cossit has assembled such a talented cast to bring this story to life.
That last sentence segues rather nicely into this next paragraph. The story is very well written. Is it completely original? No. There are similarities to other shows I’ve heard in the past. That said, it’s certainly not a rip off of anything. I like to think that this show wears its inspiration on its sleeve. I’m not going to mention the shows, because that way lie spoilers, but it’s more of a distillation of ideas that have made this a force to be reckoned with in audio drama.
As I write this, I’m listening back to the first two episodes to refresh my memory. I think I’ll have to get through the whole thing again, because I’m sure there are little Easter eggs hidden away that are just waiting to be decoded.
Final thoughts
I feel very honoured to have been sought out to review this show. I have so many places to discover new shows that unfortunately I miss more than I should. Thankfully I got into this one, and now I’m passing the recommendation on to you. Whilst more of a commitment to your time than last week’s show, it is well worth a day or so (depending on your schedule) to get through. I guarantee once you start you won’t want to stop.
Also, as not only a Welshman, but a local to Swansea, it’s always nice to hear my hometown get a mention, especially in an American audio drama (even if it is in a piss take).
You can get Partial Veil here:
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods