Thank you to Harper Muse for this gifted ALC!

Was this book written by Fredrik Backman under a pen name? Because wow. It had the same wisdom. The same warmth, depth, way of summing life up in such a simple and profound way.

Tell Me Something Good is a story about murder, but it is a study of a poverty stricken town in Southern Illinois and the community in it. Which is also a Backman trait: community.

Maybe I have Backman on my mind because the narrator of this book is Marin Ireland, and she is the narrator for the Beartown Trilogy. Her voice will forever be cemented as Beartown vs Hed. And that’s a little bit of the vibe this book gave me, too. A poor town and a rich town fighting amongst each other.

It was tragic. But it was cozy. Is that weird? Maybe it’s Marin Ireland’s voice. It’s hard to not fall into her trance. She is hypnotizing.

I loved this one, to be frank. Something about it resonated with me. It clicked. I loved all of the moving parts, and how they all eventually came together as one beautiful machine.

Such a great audiobook. Couldn't stop listening to it. Thank you for my advance reader copy. Can't wait to look up other books from this author.

The power of having friends who read is that you can have entirely different interests and reading styles, but a sliver of Venn diagram overlap at a certain author. When a friend suggested that the writing style was Fredrick Backman’s I knew I would read it. Even though it was mystery/thriller. Even though it scared me from the first chapter (CW: mention of a school shooting, but not actually very prevalent throughout).

The power of storytelling is capturing a reader - making them care about fictional people in a setting they would’ve never thought to invest any concern. In Tell Me Something Good, it’s a cast of characters at a hunting lodge. Nearby, but set apart by a river, state line, and a massive economic divide is a poor, small town where a mother and daughter are being pummeled by life in just about every way. A wide cross section of people interact at the lodge, between the guests and the employees. There is a long ago unsolved mass murder, which has domino effects or violence and secrets toppling into the present day.

Keeping an open mind is worth it - I read outside my comfy genres and also enjoyed a fiction on audio for once! I will try to remember these lessons.

Such a good listen! The narrator made me not want to put this down. This is a new narrator for me and I definitely enjoyed their portrayal of the story. Court Stevens is an amazing author. I absolutely loved Last Girl Breathing, so when I saw she had a new book out, I knew I had to read it! And it did not disappoint.

When I read that this book claimed to be like Beartown, I had both high and low hopes. Beartown is one of my favorite books of all time, and I didn't think anything could come close. Tell Me Something Good truly rivals my love for those books. The narrative, if you are a Fredrik Backman fan, is paced very similarly and follows a similar style. It was very compelling, and I was enraptured up until the very end.

The characters were very hard to get straight at first, I think because it kind of jumps around explaining them a bit. Eventually I caught on, but the family trees still perplex me a bit. That being said, the characters were so nuanced and complex, and it in classic Fredrik Backman fashion it has you both loving and hating just about every character.

This book was truly a delight to read, and I foresee myself revisiting it in the future because it is a captivating and richly told story.

Thank you to Harper Muse Audio Books for the ARC!

Tell Me Something Good is a novel that doesn’t just tell a story it immerses you in a world so rich and layered that you feel like you’re uncovering a long-buried truth alongside the characters. I wasn’t prepared for the sheer depth of this book, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Court Stevens masterfully weaves multiple storylines together, creating an intricate mystery that keeps you chasing the truth even as the narrative unfolds in unexpected ways. The authorial intrusion—something I don’t often encounter was done so thoughtfully that it enhanced the experience rather than pulling me out of it. Every detail, every revelation, and every carefully placed thread wove itself together into an ending that was both devastating and satisfying.

And I have to mention the narration one particular character’s voice had me fully convinced Rick Grimes was giving a monologue to Carl about the dangers of this world. The sheer intensity, the gravelly Southern drawl, the weight of every word? Chef’s kiss. If you know, you know.

This isn’t just a thriller. It’s a meditation on truth, class divides, and the silent ripples of the past that refuse to stay buried. The pacing is relentless, the atmosphere haunting, and the characters unforgettable. It left me in awe of Stevens’s ability to tell a story with such emotional weight and complexity.

This is a must-read if you love literary mysteries that demand your full attention and reward you with a breathtaking conclusion.

All I can say is WOW! This story was wonderful, fabulous all the things. This was my first exposure to a novel by Court Stevens, but you can bet I will be reading the rest of her back list. I can't wait until June 3rd when I can get a physical copy and reread it. Court Stevens takes us to Kentucky and gives us stories intertwined between both tracks. The narrators were great! The story starts out with a murder, so you are immediately hooked. She weaves the story through past and present and multiple characters that you will fall in love with. All the way to the end she kept me guessing with several of the stories and man, I did not see one of those coming. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audible for an advanced copy of this story. I will be thinking about this one for awhile!