Apologies for the delay in this post, suffering with migraines due to chronic illnesses. Huge thanks to both Alison Barrow and Anne Cater for your patience regarding the post, and of course for the tour invite itself. It’s a pleasure to be reviewing ‘Who Did You Tell?’ by Lesley Kara.
It’s been 192 days, seven hours and fifteen minutes since her last drink. Now Astrid is trying to turn her life around.
Having reluctantly moved back in with her mother, in a quiet seaside town away from the temptations and painful memories of her life before, Astrid is focusing on her recovery. She’s going to meetings. Confessing her misdeeds. Making amends to those she’s wronged.
But someone knows exactly what Astrid is running from. And they won’t stop until she learns that some mistakes can’t be corrected.
Some mistakes, you have to pay for . . .
What does TWG think?
Having grown up around an alcoholic and seen how alcohol can not only affect the person consuming it, but also those around them, the concept of Lesley Kara’s new book was one I had seen first hand. Despite that, following Astrid’s journey was unique in it’s own right, and the spotlight into the detrimental effects of alcoholism was one that needed to be shone. I thought that the author handled the subject sensitively, yet also maintained the authenticity of the topic with the development of Astrid’s personality and the way in which the overall storyline was crafted.
Whilst ‘Who did you tell?’ can be considered quite a slow burner, the attention to detail and powerful suspense made the slow pace seem quite irrelevant. They say that good things come to those who wait, and I believe that that phrase is very apt where this book is concerned. Astrid isn’t the type of character who you could surmise in a few words, nor is she one who you could ‘work out’ pretty much straight away. I found her complexity very intriguing, and the fact that her exterior peeled away to reveal her inner relatability, was quite endearing.
I thought that the execution of the novel was very well thought out, especially as the storyline still held onto the depth from Astrid’s life until the very end. Even though there were elements of this book which brought back memories and reignited hidden emotions, I still throughly enjoyed the craftsmanship of the novel in its entirety. A bloody powerful and thought provoking read.
The Writing Garnet 