I was not familiar with the "True Crime" genre. Early in the book it read like fiction. As the story progressed, it became non-fiction and what I would call a character assassination. The line between what actually happened and how something might have happened was crossed so many times that it was confusing. The writing was clear and direct and provided all the necessary details to create great mental images. As the ending came, the author's argument became so strident I thought for sure the ending would be different. If true crime is your thing, you'll love the detailed description of the court proceedings.

This is the first book by this author I have read and it was an interesting one. I don't read a lot of true-crime stories but they fascinate me, nevertheless.

Cherry Walker was a lady in her late thirties who had an intellectual disability and who just started living independently in a small apartment. She has a pretty full life, spending time with friends, watching horror movies and going out to eat.

Kim Cargill is a mother of 4, a nurse's assistant and a very volatile person who seems to almost lead a double life.

How these two met and how their lives have become forever linked is the subject of this book.

The descriptions of the abuse that Kim heaped upon her children, exes and others in her vicinity is horrendous, and I can't help but wonder how she acted towards the vulnerable people that were in her care. I would have liked that to have been covered in the book.

The writing style in this book is a little bit confusing to me, because it swings between the formal style that police officers use, a very casual style that one person would use in a chat with a good friend and a easy-to-read storytelling style. I think if there were direct quotes used from police reports, it should have really been indicated more clearly.

All in all though, I enjoyed the book, and I appreciated that Cherry Walker was front and centre of this book, because she was the innocent victim in all of this. It still shocks me what people are capable of doing to others :(

I give this book 3.5 stars. I would like to read other books by this author in the future.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books.

I have not read a true crime book in years, but was captivated when Net Galley and Kensington offered me an ARC for an honest review. This is a narrative about Cherry Walker, a 39 year old African American woman who was diagnosed as being mentally retarded. She had just begun to live on her own. Her burned body was found in an out of the way location near Tyler, TX. The coroner's decision was death by homicidal violence. It goes into the investigation of her death, the search for her killer and the trial of a woman described as a narcissistic sociopath / psychopath who not only abused her four sons but also the men who fathered them. I will not go into any more detail, but recommend this journalistic treatise to any reader who is interested in true crime.

This has the fascination of witnessing utter cruelty and mounting evidence of crime. A mentally challenged woman falls into clutches of a sociopathic woman who treats her children badly. Cherry is at a moment in her life when she is trying to learn to be independent; Kim Cargill discovers her and leaves her child with Cherry for days - inappropriate all around, as Cherry's carers too her and the local government monitoring social service. Mr Phelps does his research thoroughly and we learn the horrific details of Kim's life and what has lead to Cherry's nasty death. Apparently at time of writing of this book Kim is sittting on death row in Texas, despite numerous appeals. It is a grimly fascinating story and i see from MrPhelps bibliography that he has written up many such cases and that they are bestsellers - I am not surprised. This is a fascinating stud that I feel almost bad about reading with such dedication. -I think it's because that in the end the murderer gets their due .. and all is right in the world.

Unfortunately it didn't take me long to realise that I didn't like the style of writing, but I read on to the end. For me there was just too much over explanation. This is a version of the true story of Kim Cargill, and her trial for the murder of her son's childminder Cherry Walker .

There's one thing I learned from this book: reported true crime will not become my favorite genre. The case no doubt is interesting and shocking, it could have been told as a suspenseful thriller, but that as clearly not the intention of the author. He shows us, without a clear timeline, how a sociopath not only killed an innocent woman but for at least 20 years abused her four children, her ex-husbands and boyfriends, how she manipulated everybody or her narcissic interests.
The questions arising in the end are: does the death sentence bring Cherry back to life or help to make the community safer? Why was she allowed for so many years to treat her children like that, wh did she nearly always get them back? Why didn't any judge or social worker ever stop this?

I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books, Pinnacle for the ARC of "Don't Tell a Soul" by M. William Phelps for an honest review. The genre of "Don't Tell a Soul is true crime, and this is the first time I have read and reviewed a true crime novel. This genre reminds me of the true case trials on television, and through M. WIlliam Phelps' vivid descriptions of the crime and characters, I felt that I had a front row seat.
The author retells the death of Cherry Walker, a kindhearted woman with mental challenges, who is found murdered and burned on the side of the road. Kim Cargill often left her son at Cherry's house to babysit for days on end. Cherry has been given a subpoena to testify at a custody hearing dealing with Kim's abuse to her child. Kim Cargill has a history of abusing her ex husbands and children. If Cherry does testify, Kim will be in major trouble. With Cherry's death, Kim has no worries about her testifying.
I find it fascinating how the author can process and explain how a sociopath and complicated liar can manipulate people so easily. From the autopsy to the actual trial with witnesses. attorneys and the jury, the author manages to give a visual timeline. I felt like I was in the courtroom. I would recommend this book for those who would like to experience a true crime novel.

DON'T TELL A SOUL by M. Willam Phelps
I was provided with a digital copy of this book for review by Netgalley and Kensington Books.

I've long been a fan of M. William Phelps, investigative journalist and true crime writer. I enjoy the type of detailed writing that presents true crime stories in such a well-researched form. This book is another example of his talent for choosing interesting stories and sharing them in a way that makes us feel that we know the nitty gritty of the case. This case is a real heartbreaker. It involves a young lady who is adapting to finally being out on her own in her own efficiency apartment by the name of Cherry Walker. Her friends know her to be sweet and unselfish. Cherry was 39, but with her mental disability she was much like a child herself. She became attached to a young boy that a neighbor of hers in the same apartments was babysitting for. When the neighbor could no longer watch the boy, Cherry allowed herself to be talked into taking on the task.

Problem was, the boy's mother was unreliable, often leaving him for days without calling, with no clean clothes or food for him. Cherry put up with it because she loved the little boy, using part of her food stamps to feed him. Little did most people know, but the boy's mother Kim Cargill, was a woman with a lot of problems on a downward spiral. And when Cherry got a subpoena one day for her to testify against Kim in a Child Endangerment case, that's when something awful happened. Everyone's lives changed then. This story will leave you shaking your head at all of the things that had already gone on, and twisted outcome that develops.

Don‘t Tell a Soul by M. William Phelps

For some unknown reason, my guilty pleasure reading is True Crime. I’ve read a fair amount of crappy books in this genre, and also the “higher quality” titles from authors such as M. William Phelps, which are generally fairly well written. So I was happy to read an advance copy a Don’t Tell a Soul (provided by Kensington Books/Pinnacle and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I had never heard of this case, so I wasn’t aware of killer’s identity when I began the book, although of course as soon as I read that a woman named Cherry Walker was missing, I knew who the victim was! Cherry was a devoted and trusting young woman who happily took over the regular role of babysitter when a friend (who had previously been the babysitter) asked her if she wanted to babysit to earn some money. As the story unfolds, we learn that the little boy’s mother often left him at Cherry’s apartment for days on end, and he was generally hungry and dressed in ragged clothes. Cherry, at age 39, spent hours (days, actually) with the little boy, playing with him like she was his playmate rather than a responsible adult. We learn that she had only recently moved out of her parents’ house to live on her own, because she was “mentally retarded” (their term, not mine) and functioned at the level of a 6- to 9-year old.

Red flags!!! Seriously, what kind of mother would leave her young child in the care of someone with such limitations? It turns out that boy’s mother, Kim Cargill, was the WORST kind of mother. She had four children (with 4 different fathers) and she was abusive and cruel to all of them. Her ex-husbands tried to get custody to save their kids, but somehow Kim generally managed to avoid losing custody. Finally, as the court date nears for the custody hearing for the child Cherry babysits, Kim is horrified that Cherry has been asked testify in court against the child’s abusive mother. Sadly, Cherry never got the chance. On the Saturday before the scheduled Wednesday hearing, Cherry’s body was found on the side of a road, after being doused with lighter fluid and set on fire.
 
The book has the expected narrative style of a book by M. William Phelps, and pulls the reader along on a path of increasing horror as Kim’s behavior toward her children and their fathers is revealed. If you don’t know the story (as was the case for me), it may be difficult to read, although there is a straight retelling of the facts of the case, rather than a gratuitously violent recitation of the horrible events. If you DO know the story, I expect there will be quite a bit of “aha” moments, that somewhat explain how this woman came to be the monster who killed Cherry Walker. I truly hated Kim by the end of the book.

I did appreciate the fact that I didn’t know that Kim was white and Cherry was African-American until I saw the photos at the end of the book, because race was not relevant – Kim was equally cruel and vicious regardless of race. I also appreciated that Phelps went to some lengths to elaborate on the opportunities he had given Kim or her family to present her version of the story.

Fans of the true crime genre in general and Phelps in particular will want to read this. Four stars.

This book was well written, the characters, world, plot and story line were all well described, believable, deep and complex enough to make me fully vested. I really enjoyed the read! Twists I did not see coming and the smooth yet fast paced flow made the book stay in my hands till the last page! Really, this is a new author to me, and I am an instant fan!!!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC if Don't Telk a Soul by M. William Phelps that I read and reviewed.
Okay this is the first true crime book that I have ever read but I as an addicted to the ID television station so I figured I would give it a shot and I am glad I did. At first I can honestly say I had no idea way the author picked to write about Kim Cargill, at first she seemed like one of those crazy psychos I watch on ID all the time but as I got deeper into the book I realized she was her own kind of crazy. A woman who could kill and burn the corpse of her special needs babysitter because she did not want her to testify in court is one sick woman and then the things she did cover up the crime and see how the police we investigating, it would be something I would expect my favorite suspense author to write in a fiction novel not a person to actually do. Then how she abused her children and her exes and the people in her life just made me sick. I kinda wished I could have been on the jury and given the woman the death penalty myself.
Reading this book made me realize how evil someone can really be and I love the fact the author chose to highlight a woman on deathrow. We always hear about the evil men in society and the evil women are overlooked and this book looks at one of those women who are evil to the core but can hide behind a pretty face and make people do what she wants because she is pathological liar that can hide the evil extremely well. I believe that is why the author picked Cargill for his book she was so evil and she did not care about anyone but herself, yet no one realized that about her until it was too late and they were sucked into her world and in some way hurt by her. She was a very interesting person to study. As I reader I hated her but her lies kept drawing me in just like they did her victims.
I am giving Don't Tell a Soul five out if five stars.

Mr. Phelps is the only true crime writer I will read. He is the expert. Somehow he gets inside of the murderous villain explaining how and sometimes why they do what they do, and he also brings the victim, the innocent ones to the forefront fo the story.

Kim Cargill is a narcissist, a psychopath, a sociopath and just a down right mean woman! A horrible mother, abusive to her children and her husbands. A bad egg! When threatened with having her last child taken from her, she takes out the babysitter, the one person who could blow her world apart.

Cherry Walker is the exact opposite. While she may have the mind of a child, she knows right from wrong and isn't going to compromise herself for Kim. Unfortunately we know from the beginning of the book that Cherry was killed. But the person she was is told here and I will never forget her.

And in the end of this book, that will be who and what you remember. Cherry Walker, who stood up to the hell that was Kim Cargill.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this book!

Given the nature of this book, I cannot say I liked it but the subject was well researched. It was very easy to see the author's bias while reading this though I do agree with his conclusion. I'm just amazed that Kim Cargill was allowed to abuse her husband's and children and manipulate friends and neighbors for so long. If someone had spoken up sooner maybe Cherry would still be alive.

Very well written true crime. It is hard to believe there are people that sick in our world. The beginning was confusing as it did introduce a lot of characters and it was hard to keep them all straight in my head

DON'T TELL A SOUL by M Wm Phelps. Worried parents, who have a 39 year old daughter, Cherry. Though mentally challenge she is on her own, everything she did was structured, Where is she, her apartment is a mess, this is not like her .A guy going to work, spots something on side of road, a charred body. Cherry was naive and easily manipulated by Kim, which led to her down fall. Phelps give us a detailed look at a cold case, having done detailed research, and vivid description. A book that goes deep into a case may not be for all, different, good plot. Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.

M. William Phelps is my favorite true crime author to date. This is because he turns these cold hearted murder cases into something we as readers and crime aficionados can get lost in and learn from. Now, with that being said, he tells this story with poise and ease and I did enjoy it. However, there were so many different introductions in the beginning in terms of the people who were supervising the crime scene that I got a little lost. I couldn't seem to remember who was who, what they did, and how it played into this murder case. Remembering these details is important for me as it helps me to understand the case as a whole, so when too many people are introduced I become a little disinterested. After all, this is a true crime murder case not a introduction to detective work.

As far as the case and the way it is told goes, Phelps does a wonderful job. Readers will not only learn about the victim and killer, but a slew of important background information that is helpful in understanding how everything played out. I really did enjoy the book due to this and would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy this genre.

This is a factual account of the cold blooded murder of Cherry Walker, and the trial and conviction of Kim Cargill for that murder. Cherry was mentally handicapped and although she was in her late 30s, she had only recently begun to live on her own with the help of an aid who would check in on her and help her with her daily living skills. Cherry was so proud of her little apartment, and everyone who knew her loved her, and was proud of her accomplishments. Everyone but Kim Cargill that is, who saw her as an easy target to be used and manipulated. Kim had 4 children by 4 failed relationships, often telling her various men that she could not get pregnant and then "surprising" them with a pregnancy in order to manipulate them further. She did not seem to want any of her children or get any joy from motherhood. Her children were an outlet for her anger, something to bully and beat on and take out her rage. But after already having lost custody of one child she was willing to kill to keep from losing custody of another. Not because she wanted him, or cared about him, or loved the child, but mainly because she did not want to have to pay child support. I am not a violent person but honestly this book made me want to throttle Kim Cargill myself. It was satisfying to learn how her lies caught up with her and ultimately landed her on death row. I would have liked to see pictures of her trial but the version I received did not contain any.