Member Reviews
Tell Me is the second in the Inland Empire series. I have not read the first book and it made a difference. Frasier does give us a fair amount of background, but I still felt there were holes in my understanding of both Daniel’s and Reni’s backgrounds, especially at the beginning of the book. Still, I enjoyed the story.
Three girls and their guide are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail as part of a social media addiction treatment program. The guide is murdered and the three girls go missing. A pair of hikers stumble on the camp, take pictures of the dead body and upload the video to social media. A bit of irony, mais oui? Then they go missing.
I connected with both of the main characters. They both have emotional baggage but are smart and committed and finding ways to deal with their own issues that don’t involve alcohol or drugs. Of course, it helps that Reni is a dog parent, even though Edward isn’t a big factor in the storyline.
The story was nicely complex with lots of moving parts. The pace was Goldilocks right, not too slow, not too fast. I was really impressed by the ending and all the twists at the end. There’s a great sense of place. Of course, after reading the Author’s Note, it made perfect sense as because of the pandemic she changed the location of the story to her own backyard. And after this book, I have a much better appreciation for how bad the Santa Ana winds are.
I fully intend to follow this series going forward.
My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this book.
First, I'll admit that I didn't read the first book in the new series. I didn't feel lost, but I can see where some of the background from the first book may have been helpful in this one. But don't feel like it's necessary for you to read book 1 to enjoy book 2.
Tell Me is a gripping story with a few twists and turns along the way that you probably won't expect.
This series, Inland Empire, is a can’t put down for me. Criminal profiler Reni Fisher and detective Daniel Ellis both have horrible past experiences, damaged in their own way, and determined to bring good back into the lives needing their help the most.
There is always a gory don’t eat lunch first part of the book, but once you get past it, you can take a breath and follow along as they piece the puzzle together, leaving just the right amount of border unfinished, so you don’t get to the end before the author intended.
There was one part of the storyline where I felt Anne Frasier lied, a part where I thought she was better than that. A part that still sticks with me and makes me question why she felt the need to deceive. There had to have been an easier way to rewrite this portion, and I wished she could have a do-over.
The 2nd installment in the Inland Empire series had me just as riveted as the first one. Daniel asks Reni to help with a murder and finding some missing hikers. Reni is still dealing with her traumatic past and trying to help Daniel get answers on his. I found myself turning the pages quickly as they rush to solve the mysteries. Lots of unexpected twists and turns!
*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
I was already a fan of Anne Frasier before I read Tell Me. I received this book as an ARC and was so excited when I realized that it was a sequel to Find Me since I'd enjoyed that one so much. Tell Me did not disappoint. I tend to skip parts in most books just because there's so many unnecessary details. That's not the case with this book. Every detail is interesting and important to the story, overall.. I thought the ending tied everything up nicely but I'm still hoping there's a next book or 10.
. Criminal profiler Reni Fisher and detective Daniel Ellis both deal with traumatizing pasts. It brings them together. Now they're grappling with a crime that they need to solve before more people die.
Thank you Anne, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the digital copy of this amazing thriller. I couldn't put it down once I was past first chapter.
The narration is indubitably remarkable and the flow is luminously fluid that with my eyes closed, I was able to imagine the scenes vividly. The mystery hooked me in and kept me glued when the plot became intense. More so, Reni's thoughts intrigued me. Her reserved personality is fabulously portrayed.
The elements in the fiction are marvelously captured. I really couldn't get enough. This is a must read. I will definitely recommend this book.
This story loosely continues a short time after <u>Find Me</u> left off. Reni prefers the dessert to civilization. She spends her days painting and surviving. Her father was a serial killer, and her mother was no angel... as we find out in <u>Find Me</u>. It was a wonder that Reni didn't follow in the family footsteps.
Instead, Reni teams up with Daniel once again to catch another killer. The victims, who eventually become suspects, are a group of teenage girls who are popular "influencers" on the internet. The parental involvement in this story is a stark contrast to the type of parenting that Reni had endure as a child.
i liked that Daniel and Reni are moving closer together. That, for me, was inevitable, but I loved those subtle touches and looks. Slowly but surely....!
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. The writing could be a tad quirky at times, and Reni has to grow on you, so I wouldn't suggest reading these books out of order. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book almost immediately following Find Me (Inland Empire #1). I thought the first book was a fun, engaging read. I think this book is even better.
I read this book in 3 days, which is quick for me, and I did not get bored at all. I really enjoy the pacing in this series. It is pretty consistent and neither too slow nor stuffed with over the top action. You get to know the characters and watch them grow as people. There are some side stories, but they do not distract from the case which is the main storyline. Instead, they add to your understanding of, and the connection you have with, the main characters.
For those who enjoyed the first story and wanted to know what happened to Daniel's mother, Frasier does not drag this out for several books. You will know her fate in this book.
I look forward to seeing where Frasier takes this series next.
Tell Me is a sequel to last year’s Find Me, which was the start of the Inland Empire series set in California’s Mojave desert, about Reni Fisher, a former FBI profiler who is the daughter of a serial killer, and Daniel Ellis, a homicide detective from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office. While you could just about read this as a stand-alone, it would make a lot more sense if you read them in order, and this one has major spoilers for Find Me. I enjoyed both books for the gorgeous descriptions of the desert and mountain scenery, sympathetic and interesting lead characters and compelling plots.
Three teenagers go on a mountain hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, as part of their stay in a luxury retreat called Kaleidoscope, which specialises in “digital detox” for youths obsessed with social media. In the middle of the night their guide is murdered, and the girls disappear, then the couple who discover the body upload a video of the scene to the internet before themselves being attacked. Daniel asks Reni for help with the case, but she is initially reluctant as she has her own project - finding his mother, who disappeared when he was a child - but after seeing the scene and discovering that one of the missing girls has a previous connection to him, both Reni and Daniel will put their lives on the line to bring them home.
This had a strong start, introducing sullen traumatised Emerson, sent to Kaleidoscope by her desperate parents after being involved in a school shooting, and stuck on the trail with a spoiled pair of Influencers, and their clean cut but hypocritical guide. The central mystery is what happened to the missing girls, and can they survive alone in the wilderness. The villain is revealed rather early, but while the plot seemed rather obvious, the author cleverly wrong-foots us as to exactly what’s going on. The secondary plot about Daniel’s mother continues the mystery from the first book, and showcases Reni’s skills as an investigator. While perhaps a little slow in the middle, this builds to some exciting final scenes and a satisfying ending. It’s unclear whether the series will continue - I do hope so as I liked both characters in spite of all their baggage.
The author’s note describes how this was written during the pandemic - but it is set afterwards with only the briefest mention of it - and without naming it. She thanks the state of California for legalising marijuana and credits “edibles” for getting her through the Lockdown - this is reflected in some of the vivid landscapes described in almost hallucinatory detail - you can almost feel the heat and smell the dust - it almost made me want to go hiking to see the colours for myself. Almost. Finding a fly infested corpse in a tent would be pretty off putting.
The concept of rehab for social media was interesting - only in California? - and the short but macho movie star throwing his weight around but then reduced to tears by his daughter’s plight had me wondering who she based this on...
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC. I am posting this review voluntarily.
Tell Me is available now.
Thanks to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer publishing, and the author Anne Frasier for this ARC of “Tell Me”
“Tell Me” is the second book in the Inland Empire thrillers, after the first book “Find Me” which I had already read and loved it, so I was very excited to receive this copy before publication. I read this book very quickly, in just a couple days and really enjoyed it. I liked that this book answered all the questions I had after finishing the “Find Me” and that it was able to further explore these ideas, instead of rushing through them in the first book. It picked back up with the same main characters, had good character development, and the writing flowed well.
I loved the atmosphere and setting of the book and the detailed writing that really gave me a good visual of where the book was taking place. I would definitely recommend this book to thriller/crime/mystery lovers and can’t wait to read more by this author!
Another great dark story with surprise twists from Anne Frasier. The first book was a bit more darker and with a little more shocking twists, but this one has a modern day topic that makes you think of what could cause people to do extreme things. I love seeing the loose ends tied up from what was left in the first book. I loved seeing Daniel and Reni work together once again in this book.
Tell Me (Inland Empire #2) by Anne Frasier
Former FBI criminal profiler, Reni Fisher, and Detective Daniel Ellis are back about two months after the events Find Me, the first book in the Inland Empire series. Reni, never on stable ground after learning that she was bait in her late father's serial killing spree, is even on shakier ground now and is continuing her reclusive life in the desert. Daniel has asked her to stop searching for his mother, who disappeared one night, when he was eight years old.
Daniel needs help when a video of a body in an orange tent starts trending on social media. They have a general idea where the tent might be located but the person who uploaded the video can't be located. Daniel requires Reni's expertise with the camping area and her skills at finding missing people.
What the reader knows is that three girls and their counselor, from a treatment program, designed to sever addiction to social media, have been on a short camping trip. The wealthy girls are obviously spoiled and very angry that all their devices have been removed from their possession. These are not happy campers and there is no doubt they plan to go back to their social media ways as soon as they are released from the confines of the program.
The story has a very small world feel to it when it seems that there is a connection between so many of the characters. Still, I'd been looking forward to this follow up from the first story and enjoyed how Reni and Daniel brainstorm the mystery while also coping with their past traumas. This book ended in such a way that it doesn't need a third book but I wouldn't mind getting to follow Reni and Daniel into what looks like a brighter future.
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.
Once upon a time the criminals were the ones with the horrible, heartbreaking backgrounds. Now it seems to be the protagonists. These two, Reni Fisher and Daniel Ellis are definitely in the top five of the last few years. Reni was a famous FBI profiler who retired due to a breakdown; Daniel is a San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office detective.
They were brought together to work in 2020’s terrific Find Me Inland Empire #1; Reni’s father has promised to point out Mojave Desert burial spots for some of his murder victims. As a very young girl Reni was used as bait for some of her father’s victims. Daniel believes his mother is one of the victims. When he was a young boy she left him with a babysitter to go on a date, never to be seen again. (This is NOT a spoiler for first book)
In the outstanding Tell Me Daniel once again contacts Reni for help. He needs her to find a possible murder site in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. A murder scene posted on YouTube. If this is not a hoax, he needs her astute reading of the crime scene
The parents of three teenage girls put them into a luxury rehab center to help break them of their severe social media and electronic device addiction. As part of the treatment program the girls and their counselor/guide were on a camping trip along the Pacific Crest Trail which runs for 2600 miles through the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.
Reni and Daniel find the guide brutally murdered, while the three teens have gone missing, showing all signs of a panicked, scattered run in the middle of the night. The sheriff’s office launches a massive search for the three girls involving all the of the area’s SAR teams, along with volunteers.
In some of Reni’s down time she has decided to put her mad skills in finding people into looking at Daniel’s mother’s disappearance. By the time she has finished her investigation she wishes she had left well enough alone. Fascinating to ‘watch’ an expert at work.
There were five books I anxiously awaited for release on NetGalley this year. Tell Me is one of those five. Well worth the wait. One of the main reasons is for what Anne Frasier does with her settings. I barely know anything about the Mojave, and had never heard of the Pacific Crest Trail. Frasier brings it all alive and almost makes those places the stars.
Except for what she does with her amazing intricate story, showcasing the spoiled teenage girls on the loose in an alien environment that doesn’t take well to newcomers.
Then there are Daniel and Reni; tying their best to recover from the severe trauma of their childhoods and their last case. They are forming a tentative friendship where each might help the other.
Inland Empire is a superb series so far. I urge you to read both books.
I have to admit I was amused by the idea of social media rehab, silly idea that it is. It’s not real is it? Hmmmm, maybe I squirmed a bit.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC for review purposes.
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Another great read in the series! I enjoyed the continued story and getting to know the characters better. The book kept my interest throughout with the suspense, wondering what would happen. I have read many of this author's books and always love them. I received an advance copy for my honest opinion.
A second case for former FBI Agent Reni Fisher and Detective Daniel Ellis. After the previous case which involved Reni’s father, a convicted serial killer, she is hesitant to answer Daniel’s call for help. Daniel has a case involving the possible murder of a woman who was camping. Since the only evidence is a social media posting of a crime scene, he doesn’t know if there was a murder or if this is a hoax. Reni knows the area well and would be able to help him locate the campsite. The case becomes more bizarre when they locate the murder scene and realize that the woman was accompanying three teenagers and they are missing. As Reni assists Daniel, their relationship deepens as they work to find the teens before it is too late. I enjoy Reni’s complicated character and Daniel’s way of keeping her involved, but this story was a little confusing for me and not quite as enjoyable as the first book. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨!
After reading the first book in this series, Find Me, and loving it, I was so excited when I got this copy and it was as amazing as I expected it to be. I loved both Reni’s and Daniel characters so getting to read about them again was another great experience.
I can’t wait for another book to come out, I a fan of the Inland Empire series.
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for this copy.
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.
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Amazing work from one of the best mystery writer of this time.
The story begins with one of the most scary situation that we can be in this day and age. Alone in the dessert without technology or communication.
This is haunting and unsettling, but difficult to put down till the end.
As always Anne Frasier leaves me sitting on the edge of my seat swiping page to page needing to see where these brilliantly written characters take me next. This sequel, rose to the occasion and I just loved following Reni and Daniel thru the dessert in search of missing girls and a killer. While this book wrapped up this crime it also laid to rest little leftovers from the first book Find Me. I’m not ready to say good bye to this desert set storyline, but I’m always excited for AF’s next read.
TELL ME is the second in the Inland Empire series (the first being FIND ME). Both books are excellent. Frasier does a great job of creating believable characters and a taut plot line, but her real talent lies in creating a sense of place. Her description of the desert and the Pacific Crest Trail made me feel as though I was there. I can hardly wait until Frasier's next installment in this series.
Last summer I picked up find me and I absolutely adored it! This true crime mystery sucked me in just like the first one did. We follow Reni as her and Daniel work together to solve the murder of a hiker and finding the 3 missing girls that she was with. A few of the twists were predictable but it did not stop me from reading and loving it! We also got a lot of answers from the first book which was so satisfying. If you love a quick afternoon mystery, this one full of secrets and twists is just the one for you!