don’t know why but I had a really hard time connecting to the narrator and feeling the connection between her and the other characters. The relationships didn’t feel earned, I guess? So the emotional components kind of missed the mark for me.

The Rumor was one of my favorite mystery/thrillers that I’ve read last year. So when I was offered a copy, I instantly jumped at the chance. I ended up speed reading my last book so I could start this one. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Astrid made a rough start of her life. She started drinking at a young age and it spiraled her life out of control. She’s lied, cheated, and destroyed everything in her path just to get another taste of that amber liquid.

Now she’s trying to make her life better. After her stint in rehab, she moves in with her Mother in a small town where everyone knows your name and your business. Her Mother has eyes and ears everywhere to keep Astrid on the straight and narrow.

She believes the changes in her life will set her on the right path but temptation seems to be around every corner, breathing down her neck. She still attends AA meetings and decides to stick with it. Astrid even makes some dear friends along the way.

But there’s something from her past that keeps rearing its ugly head and now someone is tormenting her. She feels someone watching her and following her every move. Then she receives something earth shattering in the mail, now she knows that someone is out to get her.

Will Astrid fall down that black hole again? Or will she drag herself out of the deep?

Wow! This book was fantastic and intense. I thought I knew who, what, and why but I was wrong and way off. I’m impressed.

There was a few parts of this that reminded me of Friday the 13th part one. Oh, you’ll know when you get there. It’s probably not what you’re thinking.

Who Did You Tell was an intense thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put this down and finished it in record time. It was that damn good. You must really think hard before you put trust in someone. People aren’t always what they seem.

An excellent book by Lesley Kara.

Astrid is a recovering alcoholic who flees to her mothers small England town, after alcoholism takes everything from her. She ends up meeting friends at AA, but can she trust them?

Astrid has someone who is stalking and haunting her, could it be one of her new "friends", is her boyfriend really dead? Is her new love interest for real, or is he out to harm her as well.

Read to find out! Highly recommend.

Thank you for the ecopy of this book. I will be posting a full review on Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram! Many thanks.

I love a good setting story, especially while locked down during the quarantine. It was nice to be transported to the coastal English town with an entertaining story to tell. The book is developed well and keeps you guessing until the very end (and beyond - don't forget the epilogue, it's critical). I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day.

I did have a bit of a hard time relating to the central characters fight with alcohol but having friends that have been through the 12 step program of AA, it helped me gain a greater understanding of the addiction. For that alone, the book is absolutely worth picking up.

Overall, very well put together and a fun book to read.

WHO DID YOU TELL is an interesting novel of suspense that give the reader a peak inside the mind of a recovering alcoholic. If you know someone with a drinking problem, this book could provide insight regarding what happens to them when they drink and the struggles those in recovery experience. The characters are realistic and engaging and there were some plot twists that I did not see coming. Good read.

DNF
Took too long to get into story.
Too slow
Nothing enticed me to turn the page. Just more slow gloom and doom.
I didn't like the main character

This book started out really slow for me I had a hard time getting into it but when I did at around the middle of the book it drew me in and I was able to finish it and really liked it!!

Six months sober and teetering on the precipice of failure. Thirty two year old Astrid Phelps is struggling to regain a semblance of stability to her life. She's had so many black outs there is no possible way to gauge the extent of misery or destruction she's wrought on innocent people. Is she responsible for her ex-boyfriend Simon's suicide? After discharge from Rehab she feels compelled to move in with "Mum" in a small seaside town ... where everyone knows your business. Just how many dreams and goals has alcohol stole from her life? She dreads attending the weekly AA meetings. While attempting to move forward, she is not only haunted by her past relationship with Simon, but someone is gaslighting her .... or is that only paranoia? Almost magically, a young man emerges from the sea in a dripping wet suit, while she is aimlessly strolling the beach. This burgeoning relationship with "Josh" causes much anxiety and apprehension as she is unable to own up to her addiction and reluctant to "come clean." In the mail she receives a picture of Simon and glued to the back is a woman's hand dripping with blood. Later she receives an envelope containing a page torn from the obituary section of local paper .... a deceased name has been crossed-out and neatly above it is printed her name.
Lesley Kara weaves a twisted claustrophobic and intricately plotted narrative punctuated with multiple gut punch reveals that escalates to unexpected exhilarating denouement. The multi-layered characterization of Astrid provides motivation and incite on her struggle to fight addiction while attempting to deal with guilt and achieve redemption. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine- Random House Publishing for providing an electronic uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.
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Stylish thriller about a reforming alcoholic who takes shelter in a seaside village with her somewhat estranged mother. She has secrets of course and it appears someone else in town knows them. Knows enough about them to threaten her life.

I don’t usually care for books with such a flawed protagonist but the author manages to make her, Astrid, somehow relatable, somehow rootable. It’s well worth it to see how things turn out in the end.

Who Did You Tell? is a tough read because for each page, the reader is trapped inside the head of protagonist Astrid. Astrid is a 32-year old recovering alcoholic forced to move back to her hometown of Flinstead, a small coastal town in England. It's been six months since Astrid had her last drink, but only about six seconds since she last craved the oblivion that drinking brought her. Now she's living with her mother, and attending weekly AA meetings, but she can't escape her own demons and broken memories of her past life. Astrid lives inside her own head, and it's not a nice place to be. On top of all her other issues, Astrid is having disturbing flashbacks of her former lover and is receiving threats from an unknown person.

I felt such tremendous empathy for Astrid thanks to talented author, Lesley Kara. She so wants to re-start her life. She meets a wonderful man one day on the beach and hopes it could lead to a loving relationship, yet she's loathe to admit her truth to him. He introduces her to his father, and the father commissions Astrid to paint a trompe l'oeil in the beautiful old home father and son are remodeling. Everything is so promising, but before her new life can begin, Astrid needs to learn who is behind the threats she has been receiving and own her addiction.

As I said, this isn't an easy read; Astrid is such a haunted character. However, I thought it was a terrific book and would highly recommend it. My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing a eGalley in exchange for an honest review. Who Did You Tell? will be available on June 16, 2020.

I loved this book! Written in first-person, with an unreliable protagonist, and a cast of interesting characters that had me wondering about identities and motives through the story. It was a twisty, easy read that held my attention.

This was a very easy read and I really loved Astrid, aka Hilary. You could feel her pain and live those AA meetings throughout this book. I recommend picking up this one, thanks Net Galley.

This book grabbed me from the start and I read it straight through in two days. Genuine characters, intriguing relationships, and unexpected plot twists Highly recommended

A recovering alcoholics secret. This had a twist I didn’t see coming and Lesley delivered it well. The characters were well developed and you could feel the struggle the main character Astrid (Hillary) goes through.

Determined to start her life over and redeem her past actions, Astrid must face her alcohol fueled history while keeping her worst sins a secret. She is slowly building a future but someone is determined that she will not forget the past. As the story slowly unfolds, Lesley Kara builds the tension while feeding the mystery to the point where both of Astrid's worlds must collide. As the truth rushes from Astrid's past, the story explodes and the end will definitely be worth the read.

A very easy read that had me hooked from the beginning! I loved the main plot and the way the characters were written. I found myself fully submerged into the story. A great read!

What an absolutely wonderful read this was. I knew from the first chapter this was going to be a good one and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. This is a book that had me surprised at times. The novel moves quickly and I became addicted to the characters you truly become part of their world, feeling their feelings and seeing things through their eyes, especially the main character, Astrid.

I really liked the way each chapter told the story and I loved that it was easy to follow with concise chapters. It’s full of secrets and lies but you won’t be able to quite put your finger on it all until the final pages where a big twist throws the reader. I was shocked at the deception that I’d totally missed. There are times when you read a book that after a few chapters you have a fair idea what the twist is but this book threw me for a loop. This is a book which I can honestly say you won’t want to put down. Great characters and a superb story-line.

Fantastic book! I could not put this book down from the moment I started it. Very very suspenseful! There are do many twists and turns you wont see what's coming. You will never guess the ending!

Astrid was an alcoholic who had lost it all. The worst loss she experienced was her boyfriend dying. She felt it was her fault. The guilt was eating her up. In her thirties she was back living with her mother and attending AA meetings. She was trying to get her life back, but someone keeps sending her pictures and threatening notes about things she had done in the past. She also felt like she was being followed every time she left the house. She had left so many terrible memories behind, but they kept following her and it threatened her sobriety. What had happened in the past? Her memories were hazy since she was more often than not in a alcoholic haze. Did someone else know what happened in the past? Who did they tell? What a great suspenseful read and a great twist at the end . I loved it!