readingwithjd 's review for:

Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson

1.5

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I’ve never been happier to be done with a book before. I felt like I was being held hostage to the book’s catchy premise: a woman witnesses her mother’s brutal murder at age 13. She goes on to be the host of a true crime podcast where listeners call in and confess their deepest, darkest secret. Only Poe is keeping one of her own: she tracked down and killed her mother’s murder. Now her latest podcast guest is a man claiming to be her mother’s killer. Has she killed the wrong man? This sounded so intriguing and I kept going with the book because I felt compelled to find out what happened. Unfortunately this book failed to deliver on nearly every front. 

Thrillers don’t tend to be big on character development, but I do expect some substance in order for me to have a main character to root for. Poe was the most one-dimensional character I’ve ever met. All of the characters for that matter—all of them seemed like paper dolls that the author was just moving around and allowing to flutter in the wind. I couldn’t even tell you what any of their motivations were beyond the most basest of animal instincts. Poe was not only boring, she was also obnoxious. The only way she could seem to communicate was with vulgar language. I’m no saint and I can swear like a sailor at times myself but when every interaction with the antagonist is “eat 💩 and ☠️!!” it doesn’t give me a whole lot to like about her. She is a FMC that was clearly written by a man. 

Bottom line: if you don’t care at all about characters and want them super boring and hollow, then this might be for you? Otherwise I wouldn’t waste my time.