Tell My Dad

I really enjoyed this book! As a reader I found myself in a tough position reading this book, there’s a serial killer on the loose, so as a reader usually you’d condemn this. Except this killer is a vigilante, only killing paedophiles in an effort to protect children and lead police to the evidence of crimes, so that makes it ok, doesn’t it?!
This is a great read, although not for the faint hearted, but it keeps the reader engrossed, it’s a real page turner. Four stars.

This story is inspired by true events but is a work of fiction. It is definitely not for the faint at heart. This is one man's journey to rid pedophiles. A lot of the scenes are questionable and do not ring true.

I am unable to provide a proper review on this title. I was able to read part of this title but I was unable to finish the story as it was lost when my kindle updated.

Tell My Dad by Ram Muthiah is a recommended thriller featuring a vigilant killer trying to eliminate pedophiles.

It becomes increasingly clear that there is a serial killer on the loose. Only this killer is targeting the pedophiles and writes "Stay Away" or "Stay Away from Little Girls" on the foreheads of his victims. While the authorities are struggling trying to solve the recent rash of abducted girls in the San Francisco Bay area, a monk wearing a red robe and a mask has no problem finding the culprits - and he is doling out deserved justice, violently, to those who are guilty.

The plot of the story was based on real events which provided the author impetus to write Tell My Dad. Clearly the subject matter, rescuing young girls from harm by abductors, makes this a compelling novel where you are cheering for the serial killer because the abductors deserve to die (painfully). Muthiah provides a backstory for the vigilante later in the narrative that helps make sense of his reasons for seeking justice, at all costs, and how he acquired the skills to do so. It is a quick read and the action moves along at a fast pace.

So, the subject matter is gripping, which can account for the many high ratings; however, the actual quality of the writing is simply okay. Parts of the novel do not flow smoothly and feel choppy, especially at the beginning. The dialogue doesn't feel natural. There is a part later in the novel with an FBI intern that, well, no spoilers here but even I can't stretch my credulity that far. I was even unsure if I would finish it at one point, but I did want to see how Muthiah would conclude his novel.

In my final analysis, I will concede that if you don't take notice the quality of the writing and simple want a thriller with action the moves along swiftly, Tell My Dad fits the description.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Waimea Publishing.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/06/tell-my-dad.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2039111390

He's a serial killer ... only his victims are all pedophiles in the city of San Francisco. He watches schools, other places that pedophiles visit looking for that perfect young little girl. When he sees anything suspicious, he follows them. He's been very successful in getting to the human monsters before they hurt the children.

What he leaves in his wake is a dead body ..or two or three... butchered, beaten, but always dead. He finds the evidence of the crimes and pulls it all out for the police to find. Then he calls the police himself to let them know that the kidnap victim is alive and the abductor is not.

The bodies he leaves behind all bear a warning written on their bodies .... STAY AWAY.

It's really hard to hate someone who is putting all the bad guys away. But you decide .. when you learn who it is and why he kills ... is he the bad guy .. or the good guy.

This book was inspired by a tragic event that happened in California. Although inspired by true events, this story is a work of fiction.

Warning : Graphic Violence

This almost reads as a true-crime. It was a hard, emotional read for me. It's well written with cleverly descriptive characters. Made me want to lock up all young children until they're 30.

Many thanks to the author / Walmea Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of TELL MY DAD. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Weapenry Co-Op for a review of Tell My Dad, a tale of vigilantism and paedophilia, and, due to the subject matter, not for the faint hearted.

A teenager is kidnapped from a mall car park but before the police can really swing into action the kidnapper is killed by a vigilante before he can interfere with her. As similar cases happen The FBI, led by Joshua Theaker, are called in.

The author states in his forward that a true case and the increasing number of Amber Alerts gave him the inspiration to write this novel and it is obvious he is writing to this agenda. The first half of the book reads like non-fiction - paedophile acquires girl, vigilante kills paedophile before he can harm her and phones the police to come and rescue her, several times. There is little mention of the police investigation, how the vigilante finds the paedophiles and next to none character development. It opens up a bit in the second half with the vigilante's history and a slightly wider plot but it still has the feeling of a recounting of events rather than any kind of analysis. I'm not going to even discuss the ridiculous message at the end.

There are some interesting points in the novel, notably is vigilantism ever justified? but it is never explored in any meaningful way as the author has already made up his mind.

Great story! Looking forward to reading more books by this author!

Tell My Dad was an absolutely chilling story that I'm not sure I was emotionally prepared for but that I'm very much glad I decided to pick up. There's a lot to be said for the power of the phrase inspired by true events.

There were a lot of different stories to follow throughout this narrative, and they were all handled well, keeping me frantically turning pages to find out how everything would come together by the end of the story. There were some scenes that were particularly hard to take, but in the end served to raise the stakes and make for a strong ending that will absolutely have me keeping an eye out for more from this author in the future.