What a great story! The writing is so good that I had to recheck a couple of times to see if it was a biography rather than fiction.

This books takes you through the glamour of old Hollywood as if you were there at the time. It is wonderful and fantastic while being tragic, unjust and wrong. The author takes the reader into what is probably very similar to the factual occurrences in the 1930s and 1940s world of movies. The title character, Edie, is ingrained in that world while still being just enough outside it that she can see the truth in what is happening around her. She reports about the people and situations in a gossip column that can be manipulated based upon who who are and whether you are in the writer’s good graces. It will make the reader reminiscent about Kitty Kelly. I loved it and wanted to read more when I closed the final pages.


I received an ARC from Doubleday Books through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

I grew up reading my mom's Photoplay and Silver Screen magazines, watching old movies with her so this book just hit me in the right spot. It harkens back to the days when movie studios "owned" their actors. They were all under contract to work for only one studio, cranking out movie after movie for them. In this novel, they are working for FWM studios and as Edie O'Dare comes to the end of her contract, she becomes a gossip columnist. It isn't odd because she was giving stories to a gossip columnist all along. She considers them all friends but that won't stop a story. (or might stop one)

The book is filled with love and hate, friendship and secrets. We forget how different things were back then and yet all the same. I laughed and cried, a lot like watching a movie from the 40s.

Lindsay did a wonderful job on her debut and I look forward to so much more.

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for a copy for review.

1 🌟

Unfortunately, this book could not hold my interest. The writing style seemed a bit all over the place with the story seeming to come to a holding pattern.

I had high hopes for this read as the description reminded me of the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but it didn’t hold a candle to that book.

I will have to say I would not recommend this read.

Set in the 1940s, Do Tell is a story about old Hollywood. Edie O’Dare is an actress, wrapping up her contract at FWM Studios. For a long time, she has not so slyly fed information to a gossip columnist. When Edie receives news of a major accusation about an A-list actor from an up and coming actress, she gets the story in print, setting off a chain of events impacting many of her industry contacts.

Edie decides to pursue being a columnist herself as her next career move, given her existing connections. Though she has more control on the page than she did on camera, this job isn’t always easy as some contacts have become cooler toward her and she has to write about some stars she’d rather not.

I felt undecided about Edie — I appreciated her hustle but I didn’t always feel for her when she received more distant receptions. I also felt she became too invested in a few things, but that could just be me. The story became slow in the middle but it picked up again. I wanted to see what happened to the main cast of characters (pun intended).

I enjoyed the old Hollywood setting, where everyone was trying to make it big. There was gossip, lots of secrets, and unfortunately a look away culture of silence. The studios seemed to have the upper hand and I suspect, a lot of that still remains today, hence the recent industry strikes. Despite being a fictional story set several decades ago, there’s a lot that still needs to be improved in the film industry today — 3.5 stars

Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch was such a fantastically good read. I loved how well-written and immersive the storyline felt. I enjoyed every page of this book and thought it was a well researched book with well developed characters. I cannot wait to read more from Lyndsay Lynch.

Debut novelist Lindsay Lynch takes readers to the early days of Hollywood glitz and glamour in Do Tell, a story that highlights the many ways fame has always shaped the famous--and their fans--long before the age of social media.

Edie O'Dare is scrappy: the eldest daughter of a poor family living in New York, she's worked to put food on the table for herself and her family, supported her younger siblings through their educations, and taken every step possible to grasp at a better life for herself. As a teenager, she finagles her way into a Hollywood studio tour and never looks back, securing a contract with the prestigious FWM Studios. She acts in bit parts for the duration of her seven-year stay and, to supplement her income, sells insider tales of industry parties and fêtes to the Hollywood columnists.

When the final months of her acting contract coincide with a startling account of the assault of a young actress by a much older, more famous actor, Edie's attempts to help the girl rail against the elite and powerful of Hollywood end up launching Edie into a new career--this time as a gossip columnist herself, carving out a life for herself that frequently comes at the expense of those she reports on. "People like us," a colleague advises her, "ought to be smart enough to make a profit off of it if we can."

Lynch brings the golden age of Hollywood to life with vivid detail on every page of Do Tell: glittering galas and awards nights, rambunctious house parties, whispered-about on-set affairs, and back-alley shenanigans at bar-closing times. As Lynch reflects these details through Edie's perspective, though, Do Tell becomes more than a recounting of an idealized time in the film industry, probing into questions of fame and notoriety, patriarchal structures and sexism, and the power of story to create--or ruin--a life in one fell swoop. "The paradox of becoming 'the most feared woman in Hollywood' was not lost on me," notes Edie. "I was terrified all the time. Even the most innocuous of observations on my part could cause the end of someone's career." Lynch perfectly captures that paradox in her stunning debut, as Edie's exploitation of Hollywood's secrets forces her (and readers along with her) to ask the price we pay for a life worth living. --Kerry McHugh, freelance writer

Shelf Talker: Do Tell is a vivid novel of the early days of Hollywood glitz and glamour, and tells the story of one woman making her way in a world dominated by fame, power, secrets--and men.

I struggled to get into and hold interest in this book. The story seemed very slow and I had a hard time discerning the main plot (I thought it was re: the trial, but that played a small role). I also didn’t feel connected to the characters and did not enjoy how easily Edie sold out her ‘friends’ secrets to be relevant in the papers.

While not for me, I think that other readers would enjoy this book and featured it on my Instagram without a star rating.

It meanders some, but it's a fascinating story based on the awful studio system from the Golden Age of Hollywood and how it played with the lives of those under their power.
Edie O'Dare is the perfect person to know what's what in the studios because she's on the last legs of her contract to FWM Studios and knows all the big players but was never important enough to be paid much attention to. So when she loses her job at the studio, she stops being a source for the biggest gossip in town and starts her own gossip column. Her big break is an anonymous note about one of the biggest male stars taking advantage of an underage ingenue at a party. She's sympathetic to the girl while knowing fully that the studio will not let the trial be fair.
The book is written as Edie telling the readers about that time and all the things she did, knew, and kept secret over her years starting out and during the war. It's populated with fascinating characters with big personalities and a solid knowledge of the era. It's fun and gossipy on one side, and very serious as to consequences and secrets on the other. A fascinating read.
Happy thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the excellent read!

Lynch has written a novel that focuses on the glitz, glamour of early Hollywood. The lifestyles of the rich and famous find their exploits in the gossip rags of the town. Do Tell find actress Edie O'Dare watching and listening to her peers to write a column under an alias. Fake marriages, hidden pregnancies, men behaving badly are just few of juicy bits featured in the paper.

This is Hollywood, so Edie learns more than is publishable about her fellow actors and actresses. The premise of this story is what TMZ is NOW! This book drops the reader in the Hollywood hills for a party like no other.

Thank you Doubleday for the complimentary copy of this novel.

I LOVED the book DO TELL, and think it is a perfect read for a book club discussion.
Spending several hours in Old Hollywood was fun in the hands of such a skilled writer. Like good writing of all stripes, the issues raised are of a time and timeless.
What is the truth? What do we share about ourselves? Who is believed? What do we stand for? What do we stand up for? What do we do for our jobs? What do we do for our society? When do we turn a blind eye?
The author is such a skilled writer that she’s able to use a light and frothy veneer to discuss such complex issues of power and fairness.
I read the book cover to cover almost without taking a breath…except to do a few internet research dives on related topics.

Written like the recollections of a tell-all author, at minimum 4.5 stars!
Have you ever read a book that you knew was unique and special, but it still took a minute to get into it? That was how I began reading “Do Tell.” The imagery of a bygone era still lingers in the gossipy stories we hear about today on TV or entertainment magazines. This book is full of those moments that Edie O’Dare née Edith O’Shaughnessy lives in the pages of this book. I wonder if I was an entertainment buff, could I recognize any of her characters from that period of Hollywood?
This book was lots of things: entertaining, intriguing, poignant, informative, and a lot bittersweet. If you like historical fiction of an era that produced many great Stars of that Golden Age, you will want to read this fascinating book. I volunteered to review an ARC of it through NetGalley.

All the glamour and glitz I was hoping for in a Golden Age of Hollywood novel. Characters were compelling and well-drawn, and I enjoyed the voice!

3.5. I enjoyed the premise and the cast of characters (probably more than the main character, honestly); this has been fun to read alongside Oscar Wars. I wish the writing had been less disjointed, though, and I also wanted to know more about Edie; the last part of the book feels rushed. Also, at the risk of someone rolling their eyes at me for this comparison, some aspects of the plot feel too similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Do Tell is one of those books in which I like the idea of it more than the actual execution. It got off to a promising start but the story was stretched too thin and eventually I lost interest. Disappointing because I do think a book about The Old Hollywood studio system was a great idea with loads of potential.

The entertainment industry has always been a mess. Back in the 1930s and 40s when the story takes place, the movie studios were in complete control. Scandals involving actors and actresses were often covered up by the bigwigs. When a young starlet comes forward with allegations of assault from a leading actor, it causes quite the stir.

The strength of this novel is the accurate portrayal of the movie making business during this time period. Unfortunately the cast of characters didn't work well for me and part of the reason for that is the writing bounced from one thing to another. It was a disjointed reading experience. Oddly enough the writing style might translate better onscreen if this book was developed into a movie or miniseries. As is there just wasn't enough for me to truly feel invested in the characters.

A bit of a miss but I appreciate the author incorporating serious subjects into the storyline.

Do Tell snagged me with its title. I don’t know what that says about me…that I’m a secret gossip who loves the dirt on Hollywood? Nah. That couldn’t be it. BUT, if you do like a dishy, voicy Hollywood drama, Do Tell is for you. Fun, fun, fun!

I bought into this rich fictional world author Lindsay Lynch infused into the glamourous, star-studded reality of the golden age of Hollywood. I even googled FWM Studios to see if it was real, even though I’d never heard of it. Spoiler alert: It’s not; but that’s just how vivid it was to me!

I adored the protagonist, Edie O’Dare, who’s a character actor limping toward the finishing line of her contract with an eye on a career change. Turns out she’s got a real talent for sniffing out the news—whether it’s true or slightly embellished—about all the A-list stars. She finds an audience who enthusiastically chants, “Do tell, Edie!”

Lynch does a masterful job of portraying a woman who is ambitious, broken, feisty, morally dubious, talented, saucy, and intelligent. You see all of her flaws and yet you root for her.

With the current writer’s/actor’s strike going, Do Tell is the perfect place to snag a satisfying dollop of entertainment without having to turn on the TV. I can’t wait to read what Lynch comes up with next.

A young actress finds her true calling as a Hollywood gossip columnist in the 1930's and 40's. The book is filled with lots of intrigue - hidden pregnancies, a rape trial, infidelities. However the writing was just okay for me - perhaps because of the large cast of characters. But for those who love the golden age of Hollywood, this book should be a joy to read.

A debut Hollywood tell-all set in the golden age? I’m all ears!
Lindsay Lynch has written a novel focusing on life underneath all the glitter, fortune + fame of Hollywood’s most talented🥂💄🎬.. and of those pulling the strings🧵✂️. If you want to hear all about the lifestyle of the rich and famous during the classic 40’s look no further. Fake marriages, hidden pregnancies and sexual assault are a few hidden secrets revealed 😮🫢😳 in this book along with a studio controlled trial👨🏼‍⚖️. DO TELL follows actress - turned - gossip columnist Edie O’Dare🕵🏻‍♀️📑✍🏼 on her quest to make a name for herself by watching and listening to those around her👂🏻📸📰. Does she get more than she bargained for? You know it.. after all IT IS 🌟HOLLYWOOD🌟 I loved the premise of the story, a bit repetitive in parts but overall is a great debut. I would definitely read LL’s next release. 3.5 stars — Pub. 7/11/23

Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for kindly approving an arc. All opinions are my own.

Not exactly what I like for historical fiction - more fiction than history. Not a huge fan of gossip - so this just wasn't the book for me.

Beneath the glitz and glamour of Old Hollywood lies a lot of secrets and scandal, and this is a really interesting and enjoyable story through all of that. I loved the gossip columnist angle of this, the way it explored the exploitative nature of studio contracts, the ways we treated celebrity in the golden age, and the ways society has changed. This is an excellent debut from an author with a ton of promise.

I was pretty excited to get approved for this ARC, but even more excited when I found out that my favorite buddy read partner, also got approved for it! We've spent the last week reading this and chatting about it and it has been so much fun!

I'm going to start with what I didn't love about this book - the formatting was off. The chapters are LONG, so much so that at first, I actually thought that my ARC just decided not to include chapter headings. Nope, the chapters are just super long 🙃 they're exciting and hold your attention, but if a reader likes to read x chapters at a time, it's necessary to set aside a good chunk of time to sit down and read without ending mid-chapter. The other formatting issue that was a bit more frustrating was that there are no date headings, which I find to be so helpful in historical fiction novels so I can keep track of how much time has passed. The pacing does vary for this, and it would've been helpful to be more aware of dates while reading.

That said --- this book was so much fun! The narrator is chatty like the gossip columnist that she is, and she introduces the reader to so many dynamic characters who felt so real while reading. Although the studio and the main characters are all fictional, this was a great little glimpse of Old Hollywood - Lynch masterfully showcases the glamour and the tragedy of this era of film history. I appreciated how thoroughly she researched. Her efforts really shine through in her work.

This was a wonderful book and I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to read and review it. I particularly recommend it as a book club selection - my friend and I had so much fun chatting about it, and there really is a good deal of material to discuss.