Excellent!!!

Paradise isn’t what it seems in this podcast about a series of shootings that left one man dead in the serene setting of Malibu Creek State Park. In 2018 Tristan Beaudette was shot and killed while sleeping in his tent on a weekend camping trip with his two very young daughters. The podcast is upfront. The sheriff’s department has made an arrest but is the one behind bars really the one responsible? The show is definitely road trip material as it kept me guessing throughout the eight episodes. The only difference between it and most podcasts that inquire about if a crime is truly solved or not is by the end of this one my mind was all but made up. It gave it a sort of fulfillment that you don’t always get in true crime. Hosted by Dana Goodyear of The New Yorker the pod is produced by Western Sound and Pushkin Industries. Its 4.1 stars out of 1,600 ratings acknowledge the mixed reception it received from the true-crime podcast community. While some feel the case was pretty cut and dry from the beginning, others (myself included) appreciated seeing the bigger picture and whole thorough story of what was happening in Malibu. Bad cops, possible cover-up, eccentric locals; you couldn’t write this stuff. If you did people would say it’s too over the top but in the city of Malibu, it was reality. MY ONLY gripe is that I truly hate when reporters press people who don’t want to talk. I understand it’s a part of the job but it’s not my favorite thing to hear albeit brief in one episode of this pod. The show is finished with the average length of episodes being about 39 minutes long and a bonus episode being released just last month. Sound production is great even though part of a helicopter ride. Trigger warnings for violence and family loss. Similar Pods: What Happened to Annie? Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder, and Who Killed Emma? For more reviews check out @themastercast on Instagram and @mastercastpods on Twitter

I'm a sucker for a good crime story and Lost Hills is an interesting look at one I hadn't heard much about before. I like the storytelling elements and hooks from one episode to another. My only critique is that I have to wait a week to hear the next episode. I guess I should have waited to binge them.