Cover Image: Tell the Truth

Tell the Truth

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Member Reviews

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book in exchange for an honest review.
It took a little time to get into the book, Tell the Truth by Amanda Brittany, but then it was a very clever psychological thriller with many unexpected twists and turns, especially at the end.
Some of the characters, such as the young Rachel as a child were not very likeable and then she just seemed to metamorphosise into another child. It wasn’t until near the end of the book you found out why.
Recommended

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This book was ok for me. I read it but didn’t fall in love with it. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC.

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4-5 stars. This book was very intriguing and haunting. I thought it hooked you from page one and made you need to know how it all was going to add up. Done in a way that really felt natural. Many shocks, twists, chills, and thrills!
I will be recommending and using in a challenge in Chapter Chatter Pub!

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This story of a woman whose life is turned upside down by a series of odd friend requests on Facebook definitely keeps the reader guessing until the end. The requests seem like a strange prank until she gets a phone call from someone at her mother's care facility saying that her mother has died. She rushes over only to find out her mother is still alive. She realizes that someone is targeting her but has no idea why. As she digs deeper into her past she finds out that her mother has been keeping a dangerous secret. I would recommend this book to other readers.

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Someone is trying to mess around with Rachel’s already messed up life and she needs to find out why. With her mum suffering early onset dementia and therefore not much help, Rachel delves into her past to find out who she is, was and who she will become.

Fantastic page turner, written from the three perspectives of Rachel, her mum and her tormentor. Even though we switch back and fore between the 80s and present day, the story flows expertly, with so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Just when I thought I might’ve had it all worked out, I discovered I was miles off and that is testament to Amanda Brittany’s storytelling abilities.. unpredictable and thoroughly intriguing.

Many thank to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of,this book, which is the best I’ve read in some time!

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What a page turner! I loved all the twists and turns and how fast paced this book is! Recommended to fans of clever thrillers:-)

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I was very impressed by Her Last Lie (review here) by the same author and so I went into this one ready to enjoy. I will admit I had a few slight niggles but I really enjoyed it overall and will definitely be looking out this author again.

Now. I mention the niggles because we were introduced to them early on- to start with we have the voice of a murderer vaguely telling us about people they had killed. I’m sorry to everyone this annoys, but in general I don’t need this pov. I’m so sorry but I never need a murderer we know nothing about laughing at how/why they did what they did unless it adds something explosive to the story and in this case I found it unnecessary. I’m sorry, it’s probably totally just me and it’s probably just that I’ve read so many books with such an  unknown person  but just letting you know. The second was where we were introduced to Rachel, a mother of a little girl, Grace, getting over a relationship where the father of her child has left. She is a psychotherapist but I needed a lot more from her as a result of this, I wanted analysis, background, and I suppose more technicality but we didn’t get it. The last was the use of nursery rhymes(which I know can be creepy as hell!). Again, just being picky here but it didn’t work for me.

Moving onto everything that did-this book was a bit of a rollercoaster where Rachel gets a phone call on air from someone threatening her and begins to get beyond freaky friend requests! I know, yeeks, right? As you begin to join them together and figure them out you start to get a road map as to who this is leading to and yet you get surprise after surprise, almost huddling with Rachel as you wonder who she can trust. It is a book with many characters, a few povs and the story of a few people that interconnect to lead you to a climatic finish. Very enjoyable and sorry about the mini rant, I just felt it needed to be said! Thanks to HQ Digital for the book in return for an honest review

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Wow what a fantastic book! So many twists and turns, I thought I had worked it out a few times only to have the wind knocked out of me as the story unfolded. Storytelling at its absolute best. I read this very quickly, I just couldn’t put it down. The story over three different voices and timelines and it all comes together in a riveting finale which left me breathless. I can’t wait to read more from Amanda Brittany.

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My first time reading this authors work and I did enjoyed it I must say.
I loved the fast pace of her story in this novel, her characters very dark but completely intriguing.
An edge of the seat thriller you won't be able to put it down.
Amanda created such a tension between the characters that your feeling everyone is a suspect in the story.
Each of her characters all have something to hide....
We meet Rachel the main character who is struggling to cope with her life, the breakdown of her relationship and her mother's illness.
She doesn't seem to have any support network which is so sad.
She's doing the best she can for her daughter Grace all the while feeling that someone out their is watching her every move......
You can almost feel the hairs on the back of your neck standing....
Well worth picking this one up..

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This was an interesting book and I have to say I was very surprised and shocked by the ending. I think the majority had to do with the writing and storytelling, but part of me was shocked because the whole book was slow up until the end. I felt like I was just going through the motions, and then it flipped into an intriguing, suspenseful novel. I wish the whole novel was written like the last few chapters and then I think I would have been more into it. Still worth a read because of the ending.

Thanks to Amanda Brittany and HQ digital for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

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not the most believable of stories but worth a read. I did feel the research was lacking, a few inaccuracies relating to Ireland which took away slightly from the storytelling.

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Lots going on in this book, wasn't a can't put down and hard to keep up with the timeline sometimes. Twists and turns would good, seemed like it went on too long though was ready for it to be over.


Thanks to net galley and the publisher for an early release of this book.

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I read the synopsis for this book and I just knew that I had to read it as soon as possible. It sounded like just the sort of read I would enjoy. I eagerly started to read and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it but more about that in a bit.
I can’t say that I warmed to Rachel much during the story. That said I did feel for her when she becomes seriously freaked out by some strange happenings. Rachel is a psychotherapist who works from home. She is a single mother, who dotes on her child. Rachel is very protective of her daughter and she is very careful as to what she allows the daughter to do. Sometimes I did think that perhaps she was too protective of her. Rachel has the added problem that her mother, who resides in a care home, is suffering with dementia. Sometimes she is quite lucid and can remember things from years back and at other times she is in her own little world. Some of the scary happenings have links to the past and Rachel has to work out how and why the past is impacting on the present so to speak.
Oh my word, I was literally hooked on this book from the moment I read the synopsis and so I eagerly started to read. Goodness me, it was one hell of a story. I have to admit that to start with the story is a bit of a slow burn but much like a snowball going down a hill, the story gathers momentum and culminates in a tense conclusion. The author uses such powerful and vivid descriptions that I felt as though I was going through each and every emotion that the different characters were going through. I really did feel as though I was on an emotional rollercoaster ride with all the contrasting feelings.
For me, ‘Tell The Truth’ is superbly written. The author’s writing style is such that you cannot fail to be drawn into the story and much like a fisherman reeling in a catch, the author reels you in and keeps you interested until the moment you finish reading. The story is basically written in two different timelines- one being that of Rachel and the other timeline focuses on Laura’s story. (Laura is the mother of Rachel). I became so entranced by the story that I simply couldn’t put the book down. My Kindle might as well have been glued to my hand because it went everywhere with me. I had to keep reading to see what fate had in store for Rachel and Laura. I became so involved with the book that I started to interact with it as if the story was real.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Tell The Truth’ and I would definitely recommend it to other readers. I can’t wait to read what Amanda Brittany comes up with next. Here’s hoping that we don’t have too long to wait. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

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Wow! Tell the Truth is the first of Amanda Brittany's novels that I've had the pleasure to read, but it will certainly not be the last. This one ticks all of the boxes for me as a fast paced and clever thriller with loads of twists that you will never see coming. Warning: Once you start turning pages, you won't be able to stop.

This novel had me in its grasp from the very first page. Our primary narrator is Rachel, a psychotherapist with a young daughter, whose partner has recently left her, and whose mother is suffering from early onset dementia. The story opens with Rachel taking part in a television show as an expert on childhood memories, a topic that recurs and resonates throughout the novel. During a phone in segment of the show, Rachel takes a call from a man who has no question to ask, but repeats an ominous sounding take on a child's nursery rhyme. Following this unsettling call, Rachel receives numerous Facebook friend requests from people who are unknown to her, but whose timelines share a commonality of photos from Sligo, where Rachel grew up, and ominous nursery rhymes alluding to death.

The novel is told in dual timelines, the first being Rachel's perspective in the present, and the second being told from her mother Laura's perspective between 1987 and 1990. Interspersed between these two timelines are the musings of the unknown stalker, which appear following each of Rachel's Facebook friend requests. Who is this ominous stalker presence, how do these storylines connect, and just how reliable are Rachel's childhood memories in helping her to slot all of the pieces into place? Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for this wonderful ARC.

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The synopsis drew me in. I felt this would be a great read. The book started off slow. I feel that the plot was ok. The story was not what I expected.

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I am quite fussy when it comes to thrillers but this one suprised me. I don't want to give any spoilers as I think with this genre it's best to go in blind as the twists and turns will keep you hooked.
I enjoyed the fast pace of this book and read it within 24 hours as I needed to know what happens the twist was very clever .
I would read more from this author in the future! Thank you for letting me read this.

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This was my first book from Amanda Brittany and I am so excited that I was able to read one!!! She definitely knows how to write a suspenseful and intriguing novel... I cannot wait to read more from her. I read this novel in two days!

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This story is a very clever one. Not only are the characters fully drawn and vivid, the plot itself is deliciously page-turning. It’s a story taking part across two timelines with two linked characters, which is a structure I always enjoy, but this book stepped it up to another level of intrigue. There is plenty of tension/suspense and best of all, lots of surprises. Lots of moments that made me gasp in never-saw-it-coming-ness (yes, that’s a word.) Rachel and Laura are riveting to watch and both pulled plenty on my empathy-strings. Read if you enjoy sitting on that spot right on the edge of your sofa/seat/bed and if you are especially partial to a generous helping of red herring.

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You’re going to have to stay on your toes with this book. Not only does the author take the reader in and out of multiple time-frames and decades during the story, there is also a few huge twists towards the end of the tale. Just when you think you have it all figured out Brittany rips the rug right out from under you.

Aside from being in the midst of a bitter break-up, having to deal with an obnoxious ex with no regard for her feelings, and the fact her mother can no longer remember her own daughter, Rachel is living a good life. At least she is until she starts being stalked online, followed in the streets and tormented at work. Suddenly her simple life is full of strange messages, threatening poems and odd events.

It makes her paranoid to the point of looking unstable, which isn’t a good look when your ex is trying to make a whole new life for their daughter without Rachel. She realises everything is somehow linked to her mother and the past she doesn’t quite remember. When Rachel goes looking for answers she discovers more than she bargained for and plenty she can’t explain.

It’s a fast-paced ride through a quagmire of self-doubt, paranoia, suspicion and repressed memories. Nobody is who they appear to be and the person you most suspect is probably the least guilty in this disturbing psychological thriller.

I think Brittany is starting to make a mark in the genre, perhaps because she isn’t afraid to let the emotional chaos and disturbed mind of her characters rule the outcome of her plots. It doesn’t have to be a happy fluffy ending when you can just as easily leave your reader looking over their shoulders. I guess that is what gives her stories an edge – the fact you don’t trust the outcome even when it has been presented to you on a golden platter.

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Rachel starts receiving eerie friend requests that start to trigger flashbacks. This sets her on a mission to discovery more from her past. I enjoyed the book, but I felt like it had too many subcharacters to keep up with in a 300 page book. It definitely kept my interest though.

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