I do love a good podcast thriller, although nothing is beating “Listen For the Lie” that I reviewed earlier this year.

Although another reviewer really struck me, ‘is this a thriller?’ This has me thinking … is it? The pacing is so off. The tension never actually builds. The flipping from past to present day/podcast doesn’t work for me. The ‘revenge’ isn’t revenge enough for me.

The twists (at least I hope they were meant to be twists) were not a surprising.

It was an overall very dull book, which is surprising.

The MC, Poe, was also a dud. Acts all edgy but draws the line at certain killers … okay you aren’t edgy then. The dialogue was so awkward. The cursing felt forced and fake in an effort to make Poe seem more ‘hard’. She’s carrying such a chip on her shoulder but I’m not quite sure why. (Yes, you see the beginning, but the loop was closed..)

Actually all the characters were let downs. Boring, one dimensional and I never really figured them out. I didn’t like them or hate them .. I never felt like I knew the characters. So in the end, I didn’t care what happened to them.

Am I the only one who was confused if we were in a rural house vs city?

My last annoyance – the police. Too small to offer help? This isn’t serious enough? Someone’s life is being threatened? Surprising with her very popular podcast no one has figured out where she lived yet, you would think the very small police force would be aware of one of their residents doing this popular, sketchy podcast. The ‘request for state police’ that was denied or the fact that the sheriff was sitting outside in his personal time, but just during dinner time (so not during the night when a criminal would cliche be attacking). It was weird. It didn’t make sense. I get she didn’t want her secret revealed, but that wouldn’t be enough for me to report a threat and ask for safety. Who cares if your ‘secret’ is revealed if you are dead.

To me this reads as a debut novel, but it is not. It was not my favorite. Read fast though, so don’t let the page count scare you.

Amazon Link – Tell Me What You Did By: Carter Wilson

Stats: 448 pages – First published January 14, 2025.

_{***Thank you to Poisoned Pen, NetGalley and of course, the author Carter Wilson, for a  copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Publishing January 14, 2025.}