Pinnacle Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Don't Tell a Soul. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Don't Tell a Soul is the true crime story about the suspicious death of 39 year old Cherry Walker. Found on the side of the road, having been murdered elsewhere and burned, the police follow crucial clues left at the crime scene to find a suspect. Investigative reporter M. William Phelps, in exhaustive detail at times, goes through the crime, the identification of the suspect, the background of that suspect, and the trial, to bring the story full circle.

The problems that I had with Don't Tell a Soul were the oversharing of certain details and the awkwardness of the writing. The horrific nature of the crime and the coverup should have been compelling, but the dry delivery of the details did not convey this. With the focus more on the criminal than the victim, I did not feel that Cherry Walker's life and death was of importance to this author. The information that I gleaned outside of the reading of this book was more compelling, so I would not recommend the reading of Don't Tell a Soul.

When I came across this book on my eReader, my first thought was, "What is this?", followed after I started to read it, "Why in the world did I request this?", as I am not into true crime anymore, but then I realized it was a book requested because I need to expand my knowledge of that section of the store. I can't only recommend the one or two titles I read of true crime years ago. So I read this.

As a child I LOVED true crime. At one point it was all I would read. Now that I am older, I don't enjoy reading about people hurting others, fact or fiction. This was true, which made it much sadder than a murder mystery book.

As I was reading this book, I thought it was written on a more middle grade/YA level, other than the content of the book. The word choices, the repetition, the very simple A to B to C type of "storyline" all made me feel like I was reading a middle/YA reader. I guess with true crime, it is rather exact, A to B to C leads to murder and the murderer getting caught. Maybe that's the pattern for all true crime and why I liked it as a kid, it was more my speed than other adult books?

Anywho, this book was very depressing. The poor victim (WARNING: some pictures of the body, one from far off and one showing the mid-thigh down, not graphic but made me tear up. She was a HUMAN BEING. What was done to her was so WRONG.), was mentally handicapped and sweet as anything and the murderer was just EVIL, at least as portrayed in the book, but seriously, to kill and then burn the body of a mentally handicapped woman, for ANY reason is just pure evil, especially to show no remorse or sorrow, other then in getting caught is pretty terrible.

I am glad I read this to have another title/author of true crime to recommend to my customers, but I can never un-read what happened to that poor woman and for that, I am not glad. A solid 3 stars. Recommended if you like true crime books, as it told the story clearly.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books Pinnacle for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

This is my first book by this author, and it won't be my last. I am a big fan of true crime novels and documentaries, and this won't disappoint. The horrific crimes are taken right from the day's newspapers and seem very credible as plot points, the characters very realistic. I highly recommend this book.

Very intriguing book! I loved the suspense starting from the first page. Good book!! I recommend it to everyone.

I had a very difficult time with this book. It reads like you are reading a transcript from a true-crime tv show where they are doing a documentary and interspersing it with scenes of re-enactment by actors. There is very little actual dialogue. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it were written more like fiction, events in the present moment for the reader.

This is a true crime story about the murder of a young woman, and the person who murdered her.
I was a bit confused when I started reading this book. The beginning consisted of several separate documents, testimonials and recollections that didn't make sense to me until I was about halfway through the book. I finally realized that the beginning of the book is background for the trial.
The author did a great job of researching and explaining different events leading up to the murder as well as going into great depth about each person involved in the case.
The trial section of the book was much easier reading. It was complete and concise and wouldn't have been as clear if I hadn't read all the short statements, documents, interviews etc. in the first half of the book.
The only suggestion that I would make is to add a preface explaining how the book would read.
The photos at the end added a lot to the story. Thank you for adding them.

Cherry Walker was a mentally challenged 38 year old, out on her own for the first time in her life. Her parents, Cathy anf Rueon realize that Cherry was missing after not hearing from her on their customary day. This book tells the story of Cherry Walker, whose body was foundd burned by the side of the road in TX. Cherry was introduced to Kim Cargill and was given the task of watching Kim's youngest son, Timmy. Told very factually, as if from court records, we hear testimonies from Cherry's parents, her caseworker Paula Wheeler, Kim Cargill's various husbands and sometimes friends as Kim's life unfolds and leads up to Cherry's murder and her susequent trial.

Fans of true crime await every M. William Phelps book just like followers of rock stars yearn for the next live concert or new music. Phelps, handsome with a legit rock legend look, consistently delivers with stories you may or may not have seen in the headlines. All with an assortment of narcissists, sociopaths, victims, luckless pedestrians, and the sad survivors who would give all they had for a time machine to undo it all.

Cherry Walker, the victim in 'Don't Tell A Soul.' is such a sweet, caring and a true innocent your heart will break over her cruel and senseless murder. Kim Cargill, the killer and mother of the boy Walker babysat, is a violent, sinister monster determined that Walker will not testify in her child custody hearing.

Phelps exposes the story, the back stories, and nothing but the truth. But you knew that, didn't you?

Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington publishing, and M.William Phelps for this ARC. I'm not usually a fan of true crime, but this story sounded interesting enough to make me want to read it. Having said that, I found there were so many examples in this book describing Kim Cargill' s reasons for being the way she was, made the book drag in those places. The story itself was interesting, the ending was obvious but I enjoyed the legal aspect of it.
Review also in Goodreads.

Knowing nothing about the case prior to reading "Don't Tell a Soul" I was somewhat surprised at how well it examines the case. Tracing Cherry Walkers life, particularly her last few months, is intriguing. Looking at Kim Cargills life is even more fascinating. That these 2 lives collided and Cherry died in an horrific way makes for compelling read.

The author lets his dislike for Kim Cargill become apparent very early on in the book. That she is dislikable is made very clear. That Cherry was very likable is also apparent. The juxtaposition of these two is oil and vinegar. Left to themselves they would never mix. Only when you had turbulence do they combine.

My thanks to the Author, the Publisher, and to NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for this unbiased review.

Often truth is far nastier than fiction.

Gethry Walker and his wife Rueon, become increasingly worried when they don’t hear from Gethry’s daughter, Cherry. Cherry is a loving, caring and very conscientious daughter. However, she has learning difficulties and with the help of carers visiting her daily, has finally been able to move into her own flat and gain some independence. It therefore comes as shocking news to the parents that her body has been discovered on an open plot, badly disfigured after being set alight.

This is the true story of how the police (from the Tyler Police Department) are tasked with discovering why this murder in Whitehouse, a small town in Texas, was carried out. They do have a suspect almost immediately; Kim Cargill a forty-three-year-old, three-times divorcee and mother of four boys, but suspecting her and proving that she had maliciously killed Cherry, was not going to be straightforward.

I found the writing and language used by the author very interesting. The story is relayed step-by-step as to who Kim Cargill is and why she needed to murder Cherry, her mentally retarded babysitter. What did Kim’s ex-husbands, boyfriends and sons think of her? It was fascinating taking each step, with the author’s help, to try to understand Kim; a narcissist and also the perfect casebook example of Borderline Personality Disorder. She had the ability to lie with such conviction that she even managed to convince a school friend, who she hadn’t seen for twenty odd years, to change all her passwords while she was incarcerated awaiting trial on the custody charge of her youngest son, Timmy, thus preventing the police from immediate access to these vital pieces of information on her movements.

I read this book thinking that if this had been fiction, I would have thought that the author was seriously stretching the storyline, because this type of behaviour would never be allowed to happen “in real life”! How silly of me! This is the story of a murderer, who is possibly the most vicious, vindictive and nasty human I’ve ever come across. The way she behaved towards her children is horrifying and. for this alone, she should have faced a long jail sentence. However, this behaviour is almost insignificant when you realise how she deliberately sets out to murder Cherry to prevent her from testifying in the custody battle she’s facing over her youngest son.

This is an example on how an author can tell a story by simply letting the facts speak for themselves. I would like to find more books written by M William Phelps on other cases that he’s researched and recorded.

I recently watched a film based on the hangings that took place in Pretoria, South Africa under the Apartheid regime. It shocked me so much that I must just add that I think the death penalty, regardless of the circumstances, (and Kim Cargill committed one of the most disgusting acts; not just murdering Cherry, but also the cruelty she used on her children) is wrong. I cannot condone its use in any circumstances and hope that eventually all countries throughout the world will desist from this form of punishment. especially as I wonder what effect it has on those prison wardens who need to take part in the execution. By killing the killer are we not also somehow committing their wardens to terrible anxiety and possibly PTSD?

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I wasn't fully aware of this being a book based on a true crime, but reading it, the realism is outstanding. In a journalist style we learn about Cherry Walker, a young woman with some mental issues. She is controlled by another woman, Kim Cargill. Kim is an abusive personality, and soon takes over Cherry's life. Kim is a narasiscst, basically a sociopath and she has no problem killing Cherry. After all, she has aboused her husbands and children, so ending a life isn't a big deal for her. IIt's a horrible sad, true story, that is written so well it feels like a thriller/suspense. The sad part, is that it was real and happened. An excellent example of why you have to pick your friends and relationships very carefully.

My copy came from Net Galley. I have left this review of my own free violation. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

A true crime story. This was written in a very prosaic style that was less than engaging. It detailed every step in the police procedures in minute detail and exhaustive explanation. And by the second half of the story was repetitive.
I feel that the way it was written will not encourage readers to explore a new genre or author and yet it is a story of a person with anti-social personality disorder that had 2 complete faces – 1 to those outside the family, especially men, and one to her children and husbands – yes she persuaded several by getting herself pregnant 4 times... The reader is horrified by Kim and yet the book taps into the reason why we read newspaper stories of dreadful crimes – and why Hannibal was made into a movie etc. This love of horror and the need to experience it 3rd hand is very strong in our psyche.

Fantastic! True crime that is unputdownable! The author does an incredible job in turning real life horrific events into a thriller. I honestly had no clue this was true crime till I got towards the end. Cherry Walker's life was ended tragically too soon for such a beautiful soul. In reading these type of books, we are reminded that there really are monsters living among us. This may give you nightmares. I will definitely be reading more, if not all, of this author's books.

A true crime story (that I'd never heard of) that repeatedly goes over more the same patterns of evidence that shows just how evil, heartless and monstrous Kim Cargill was to her kids and family and finally disposing of her babysitter's body.
Needless to say this was not a pleasant book to read and it seemed that most of the book just tore into Kim's character and kept piling on more evidence to support the statements.
About half way through the book I really felt "enough already!" as everything seemed to have been said.
Spoilers can be done by searching Google but I would not recommend doing so until you have read the book and want to find out the latest in this story.

Holy cow what a story- and all the worse for being true. I don't read a lot of true crime and I wasn't familiar with this case but Phelps brought it to life in a way I had not expected. This is one twisted tale. He does a nice job of avoiding some of the pitfalls of the genre and keeps the story moving. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is true story told in a documentary style.
A great read although very graphic in places.

This is the first book I've read of the author and it seems a pretty good detailing of a murder committed and how it was solved. The style of writing is more objective, similar to those TV shows that features stories such as this book. It's a well written nonfiction set in the investigative reporting style.

I'm obsessed with the true crime genre in all of its forms (books, podcasts, documentaries, etc.), so I have fairly high standards for how the information is presented to me. In Don't Tell a Soul, Phelps spends most of the book trying to build a case against Kim Cargill, practically begging the reader to hate her. But the thing is, she murdered a mentally challenged woman and set her body on fire. We already hate her. We don't need 400 pages of repetitive accounts of abuse against her kids and ex-husbands to convince us that she's a horrible human being. If you want a more concise version of this story (I sure did), watch the episode of Snapped that covers the case.