Five went out camping.

But only four came back.

Friends -

Petra, the overachiever, need to be in charge.
Her stepbrother, Nolan - the Bigfoot-obsessed and resident nerd
Abigail - the outcast who lives in a trailer park.
John - Maylee's boyfriend and suspect.
Maylee - the wannabe social influencer

Each one is burdened to tell their story, their version of events clouded and muddled over how their friend has been murdered. As each story is told, we get an inside look into who Maylee really was. She wanted to be a social influencer believing that she did not need a second option to be opened to her. No, she believed that influencing was the best way to go. So, she gathers up her group and sets them off to camp at Salvation Creek.

But Salvation Creek has stories of missing people, of a bipedal creature that is covered in hair, and bodies being found miles away from where they were originally.

Sprinkle this story with a bit of Agatha Christies's And Then There Were None and The Blair Witch Project (seriously these two would fit this book perfectly) and you have a tale spun with mystery and chills as each teen weaves their story from the integration room.

Who do you believe?

This story takes you on a wild ride that you will not be expecting. The characters tell you the events from their point of view and you need to piece it together on your own. Who is guilty? Was there really a Bigfoot stalking them? Or was one of them determined to end their friend's life?

So many questions and you won't know the answer until the very end. It will be a jaw-dropping moment. This book was great fun to read. I enjoyed the characters. They were well-fleshed out and their personalities really shined during their interviews.

Trust me when I say you will devour this book quickly. You won't be able to put it down and you will try to find clues as to who would be behind it all.


Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me a chance to read this digital copy and allow me the chance to offer my honest opinion on the piece.

☆☆.75

"Tell Me What Really Happened" is a YA mystery novel told through police interviews. Readers follow the perspectives of four teenagers as they try to navigate the disappearance of Maylee. There's Preta, Maylee's best friend, and her brother, Nolan, John, Maylee's boyfriend, and Abigail, the girl who was more of an acquaintance to Maylee. The five set off on a camping trip to the woods of Salvation Creek, an area known for its strange disappearances. They aren't expecting to come back with one less member, though.

"You know what's unfair? We have this whole system to give people who are accused of crimes the means to protect themselves. Yet as soon as someone actually takes advantage of those means--like by getting a lawyer--they immediately look guilty."

I would recommend this book to fans of "Five Survive" by Holly Jackson, as they share similar elements. The format of this book was unique and fun to follow, it made reading much easier and faster as well. While I was intrigued by this novel, I was ultimately let down. This book was fairly predictable and nothing revealed was ever shocking to me; I think I could have guessed what happened without even reading it. The characters were also very unlikeable, and at times, I was frustrated reading because of how boring their personalities were. There are so many books about the popular, pretty girl going missing and having unimaginable secrets. This book had a really unique format, but unfortunately, that is the only remarkable thing about it.

3.5 stars

This was a really neat read! Four teenagers are interrogated after the fifth goes missing during a camping trip in a forest where girls are known to have gone missing. The story is told entirely through first person police interviews which keeps the plot moving while allowing for unique perspectives on one overarching event. The four teenagers were very well written - each have very distinct personalities and points of view. It was interesting to see how their personalities influenced the facts they recalled or which parts of the trip caught their attention. The mystery thickens as the teens recount the 24 hours leading up to their friend’s disappearance and I had fun guessing who the culprit(s) might be.

The ending, however, fell flat for me. I think the author left plenty of breadcrumbs throughout the story for the ending/reveal to make complete sense, I just wish a different choice had been made. I feel it plays into some already dangerous stereotypes that the intended audience may not have the ability to critically analyze. Since this could apply to any of the characters in the book, I don’t see it as a spoiler.

Overall, this was a very cleverly written mystery! I think readers will find the characters relatable and the story bingeworthy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Setting: Pacific Northwest
Rep: queer FMC; Black MMC

I picked this up a while back and finally got round to finishing it as it didn't grip me the first time around. While I like the style of writing it like police interview transcripts, it does make it hard to get to know and differentiate the characters and it makes for some awkward dialogue when things need revealing that wouldn't necessarily be revealed by a teen in an interview. But overall it was a decent mystery.

Five people go, camping, one is missing, all four remaining have different stories, what is true? What is a lie? How could four different people see four different things!
Maylee, Petra, Nolan, John and Abigail go camping… The only thing most of them have in common is Maylee.
This book is told from the police investigation, and the questions they all answer… I really liked the format, I liked the characters, I could not put this book down.

This is the first book I have red by this author, and it definitely won’t be my last.

Tell me what really happened is a story is told 100% in a police interview format. Where each chapter is a new question from the police and the four teens give their answers. Mallie is missing from a camping trip with her friends, police are trying to determine where she is and if foul play is involved. The interviewees are Petra, Mallies bff high strung type A personality. John, Mallies boyfriend and sidestepper of questions. Nolan, Petra's brother and crypto's enthusiast. Lastly Abigail the new friend. Overall i really enjoyed the format of this book. I thought it was really unique and fun. It made the chapters and story fly by. For the most part this is pretty fast paced, there were some spots in the middle that dragged on a bit for me.
I liked the majority of the story, except the ending of the book for me fell a bit flat. It didn't quite make a lot of sense and just wasn't as satisfying as I hoped.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

I love books with a murder mystery set in the woods. They can be read at anytime of year, and always be creepy. 5 friends go on a camping trip, and only 4 return. What happened to Maylee, and why? This book was told by the returning 4 in police interviews, which was a cool way to tell the story. I loved watching the pieces come together, and I didn't know what really happened until the final pages. A great thriller for YA, but adults can also read and be sucked into. Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

I absolutely loved this! Not only did I fly through this book (unheard of for me), but it also kept me on the edge of my toes the whole time. I had my suspicions of who it was, but definitely did not expect it to actually be a chain of events. I found it so so intriguing!

I also loved the concept of how far influencers would go for fame (shown through Maylee); so interesting to see and also thought provoking.

The way that Chelsea Sedoti talked about race through the way John had been treated by both police and peers alike, as well as his town was so sad to see yet also a complete eye opener. I was shocked to see how Andy's mum immediately tried to blame John for driving, and then how she gave a half baked apology after when she had already done the damage. Wow! This definitely opened my eyes a bit more!

Overall this book is one of my favourite reads of the year (and I think of all time). It was so well written!

Thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks fire for allowing me to read this arc in return for an honest review.

I’m a big fan of YA mystery/thrillers, which meant going into this I had pretty high expectations.

The format was a little jarring at first, I’ve never read a book written the way that this one is written, but after a few chapters you easily settle into the rhythm and start to piece together the story.

Friends on a camping trip, one of them goes missing…
Is it something or someone in the woods? Or is it one of them?

The whole premise is intriguing, and I HAD to know what had happened so I sped through this, the writing flows well and you don’t realise you’ve read 100+ pages until it’s dark outside and you’re questioning where the time went.

This story presents itself as a bit of a YA whodunnit but it is so much more than that! It has supernatural aspects, it discusses difficulties of friendships in your teens, online radicalisation and how desperate people are to be “relevant” in todays society and the lengths they will go to maintain popularity.

Overall, this was up there with some of the best YA thrillers I’ve read, the story was interesting and kept you buckled up for the ride the whole way through, the writing flowed brilliantly and was super easy to follow, and the format being a little unorthodox really worked to create a brilliant ya novel. If you liked a good girls guide to murder, one of us is lying or five total strangers you’ll love this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of Tell Me What Really Happened in exchange for an honest review!

The book follows five teens who decide on taking a weekend camping trip to Salvation Creek, resulting in one them not making the trip home. The story is told through police interviews with each of the remaining teens, to describe the events that took place leading up to Maylee’s death. Each of these chapters was told through alternating perspectives of these characters. I’ll admit, I felt intrigued by this concept and liked the idea going into the book of having the story told through different eyes. I really wish I had enjoyed it more. I felt as though I was being told the same information repeatedly by different characters, without providing anything new to support the story. I’m not opposed to reading a story told from different perspectives but I think over the course of this book, it became a bit much. The different narrators started blending together and it became confusing to follow.

I also felt that most of the characters were unlikeable. I wasn’t too big a fan of Maylee, and found her to be a bully and manipulative to those she was close to. Abigail was the only character I somewhat felt a connection to as she seemed like a genuinely nice person, apart from assisting Maylee in her plan to fake her own disappearance. Nolan’s obsession with Bigfoot was where I felt myself losing interest in the story as a whole, although it does play a key role towards the end of the book. I felt impartial about the other two characters in this story, as they provided a way for the story to play out, without me caring too much for them.

I will say that this was a very quick read and I did find myself flying through the pages to see what would happen next. Overall, I just wish there was more to love and I felt as though the story fell flat as everything was wrapping up.

Compelling, but ultimately not my cup of tea. I couldn’t connect with the characters and I didn’t like the present tense in the beginning so I found it hard to dive in.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t usually like multiple points of view; I’ve read too many books by authors who confuse the readers, but in this case, once I actually got into the storyline, it became easier to follow.

Five highschoolers go into the woods to go camping, four come out. The book is written from four perspectives, the four students who didn’t go missing. They’re being interviewed by the police, so each chapter starts with a question by the police, then the answers from all four characters.

What I liked most about the book was the development of the characters through the interviews. Learning how each kid viewed the others was fascinating. I think the wrap-up left a little to be desired, I almost feel as though we needed a sentence that said, “So-and-so did it.” I feel as though it wasn’t fully resolved..

This book was good. I enjoyed the plot and characters as well as the storyline! A solid 4 star read.

This one was fast paced and had an interesting approach to story telling. I found it interesting and unique how the whole story was the interrogations of the friends. At the same time, I also felt this caused details to be missing that could have made the story more engaging. I also found the whole Bigfoot storyline and obsession to be odd and focused on too much.

The summary of this book hooked me right away, and I was so interested in the format - a story totally told through interview transcripts with teens after a member of their group was found murdered. The way the interviews were interwoven allows the readers to piece things together before information is revealed. I think the execution here is so brilliant. The characters, however, is where the story is lacking a bit. We don't really get a sense for motivations - but on the other hand, we're missing the perspective of the dead person and we're only getting the information they say out loud. It's definitely interesting!!

Im going to start by saying - I love the concept for this one, the idea of a story told completely through police interviews? Unique and quirky.

I enjoyed it. There were parts that were certainly a little bit out there, and I think you have to keep an open mind with them, well, unless you believe, then I guess it makes sense to you.

The twists and turns were fun, I didn't guess where it was going until they spelled it out - and that's always a delight.

Solid 3.5 stars and worth a read if you like a modern mystery with an original format!

What an absolute snack of a YA thriller. I freaking love the unreliable narrator trope in certain settings and this was one of them. I love a good interrogation and I’m willing to relax the accuracy in a YA novel.

I really liked everyone and was rooting for each for different reasons and I thought the characters were each well developed and easy to get on board with.

Just pure highschool drama with a dose of murder (maybe?) 🤫

This was fun for the most part. The plot was interesting, distinctive characters, I liked the mystery, and the format helped get through the book quicker.

I want to thank Chelsea Sedoti and Sourcefire books for an ARC of this book.

We enter a unique storytelling world in "Tell Me What Really Happened.' You have four high schoolers: Petra and Nolan (step-siblings), John, and Abigail. They are all speaking in first-person police interviews about the disappearance of their common friend (well, not really Nolan, but the other three for sure) Maylee.

I thought this was fast paced, the multi-povs happen within each chapter, which makes the dialogue snappy and quick. However, this also leaves some bits and pieces of the book to our imagination, which some readers can enjoy, but I personally like everything to be wrapped up explicitly in my standalone thriller/mystery books.

Each one of our four high schoolers has a unique perspective on Maylee and each bring a different history. You never know what they truly believe and what's a lie. I was kept on my toes the entire time and would highly recommend this book if you're looking to get out of a thriller slump. With the unique formatting, fast paced storytelling, and the four completely different personalities we me, it was an enjoyable read.

I hate when books are told in interviews format. It just a format that doesn’t work for me. I think it is because it is hard for me to keep up with what is happening. And unfortunately for me, this book was written like that. I would have liked this book so much better if it wasn’t written like that. But I had to stop reading because I just couldn’t stand it.