Sometimes an author comes up with a genius idea that grabs the reader by the throat in the early chapters and refuses to let go until the final pages are turned. Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson is just such a novel. Crime fiction fans will be unable to resist the hypnotic nature of this narrative.
Tell Me What You Did is the story of Poe Webb. As a teenager, her mother was murdered, but what no one else knows is that she witnessed the killing. Now, as a thirty-year-old living in Burlington, Vermont, Poe has a loyal fanbase obsessed with her podcast, Tell Me What You Did. On her show, anonymous guests confess their darkest crimes in hopes of getting others to understand or at least sympathize with their worst decisions. Poe can’t guarantee that the authorities won’t come looking for her guest, but she can offer them an audience to get things off their chest.
Her boyfriend Kip serves as her producer and their popularity just continues to rise. Then one day, they are approached by an odd man. Against her better judgement, Poe allows him on the show where to her astonishment, he confesses to her mother’s murder. Her listeners (and book readers) might assume this is a great development, but there’s only one problem, Poe killed the man who murdered her mother several years ago. Or at least, she thought that’s who it was.
This complex moral quandary forms the backbone of Carter Wilson’s storyline. Readers will anxiously turn the pages to see how Poe is going to deal with this revelation. Along with the fast-paced thriller aspects, Wilson going all in on the psychological realities of this situation for Poe. As she has to open herself up to more and more people—will she ever tell the police?—readers witness her evolution in striking ways.
Fans of Carter Wilson will delight in knowing that Alice Hill, who was the protagonist of his debut novel, Mister Tender’s Girl, makes an important appearance in Tell Me What You Did. Poe and Alice share many commonalities as characters and the exploration of that dynamic brings new depth to Carter Wilson’s oeuvre.
To reveal any more plot points in this review would be a disservice to the reader. There are secrets here at that best uncovered as one advances through the tangled plot. Just remember to clear your schedule as Carter Wilson’s Tell Me What You Did is the type of book you want to read in one sitting.
BUY LINKS: Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson
Disclaimer: A print galley of this title was provide to BOLO Books by a publicist. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
