Who Did You Tell? by Lesley Kara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Astrid is very much in the early days of sobriety.
Forced to move back in with her mother in a quiet, seaside town, she spends each day just trying to make it through without a drink.
Astrid is haunted by a lot of her past behaviors whilst under the influence.
Through her musings, the Reader is made aware of some of these things, including a toxic, though arguably, loving relationship with a man named, Simon.
With Simon gone, Astrid is left with so many regrets. She has begun to attend AA meetings and the process has caused a lot of old memories to come to the surface.
She knows she needs to make amends to a lot of people, but can anyone ever forgive her for the things she has done?
Astrid is trying, she truly is, but each and every day is a battle.
She begins to open up to a couple of women from meetings and even meets a new man and secures a small, temporary job working for his father on an art project.
As we all know, the past rarely stays buried forever though and soon Astrid is receiving mysterious messages and feels that she is being followed.
Her and Simon did have one truly bad night where they did something not just reprehensible, but criminal. Did he tell someone?
Who Did You Tell was such an interesting reading experience for me.
The beginning of the novel is very melancholy. Astrid, as mentioned above, is really struggling and as the Reader, you get a front-row seat to every moment of that.
Initially, I was apprehensive. Was I going to get into it?
Oh baby, did I! It’s such an intricate, beautifully told story of addiction, forgiveness and recovery. I became so attached to Astrid and invested in her.
With this being said, it is a subtle suspense and a slow burn.
I think if you go into this expecting a fast-paced Thriller, you may be disappointed. I would urge every Reader to give it a shot however, the pay off is worth it.
Towards the end, the suspense and action kicks way up. I loved the conclusion. I wouldn’t have wanted it to end any other way.
I definitely plan to go back and read Lesley Kara’s debut, The Rumour and will continue to pick up anything she writes moving forward.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I appreciate the opportunity!
