Interesting concept with part memoir and part literary true crime. Thanks so much for the review copy, Krouse is a very good storyteller.

What a compelling blend of narrative nonfiction and journalism. I'm a fan of Erika's prose and depth.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where true crime and thrillers are popular.

I grabbed this book because I was intrigued by the true crime story line. Instead I got 3 different (and poorly executed) story lines, and A LOT of self-praise from the author. I wasn't even 25% into the book and already the word 'true' crime seemed like a misnomer due to the author's penchant for over exaggeration and boastfulness regarding her own abilities. Truly a painful read to get through - and not in any of the ways I initially thought it would be.

This was a very interesting book. It is a strange mix of the author’s personal story of abuse as a child and her work as an adult investigating rape culture at the University of Colorado. It id difficult to comprehend how this cover-up took place .

Thanks, NetGalley for and advanced read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @flatironbooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillan.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

Erika Krouse has one of those faces that makes people tell her things. People open up to her about their most intimate secrets. This led her into a career of being a PI. The story she works on in this book is a rape scandal that took place at a university in Colorado. This memoir talks about her personal and professional relationships as she works this case. It is raw and honest in how she feels for the victims and the loss she takes when the case is closed.

I was thankful for the audio version as I’m not sure I would have finished reading the book. Not because of the story, it felt disjointed at times. The case itself was fascinating!

3.5 stars – Rounding to 4 for Goodreads

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #flatironbooks #bookofthemonth #macmillanaudio #ltbreaderteam #tellmeeverything

There were three different parts to this book but I found the one about the main character coming to terms with her own childhood the most interesting. This book wasn't great, but it was good and I did enjoy it.

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.

DNF @ 22%. Interested in the SA investigation, not so interested in the pages and pages of irrelevant information

I got almost halfway though this book and it's a DNF for me. The unlikable characters (all of them, IMO) combined with the subject matter that is reviewed so many times was too much for me. Maybe if it wasn't such a zoomed-in, personal POV then it would have been more approachable.

An arresting blend of memoir and true crime about a landmark sexual assault case. “I became a private investigator because of my face,” Krouse writes. No matter where she goes or who she meets, perfect strangers tell her things they’ve never told anyone else. To her great surprise, this inconvenience turns into a job offer when a local attorney hires her as a PI to investigate cases for his firm. When the attorney takes on a new client who was sexually assaulted by college football recruits, he sets an audacious goal: he wants to prove the school was not only aware of but complicit in the program’s culture of violence. The prospect of securing justice and making the perpetrators pay compels Krouse to take the case, despite her own history of sexual abuse. As the lawsuit—and the story—move forward, her past trauma and its present repercussions nestle up alongside the investigation in the narrative, to great effect, and build to a stirring, stunning, and gently hopeful ending. A painful yet purposeful book, beautifully executed, utterly unputdownable.

The story of "Tell Me Everything" was very very interesting and one I wasn't familiar with. But the pacing was too slow for my taste and I had to force myself to finish it.

So, I can just walk into a bookstore, meet a lawyer and get hired as an investigator having no previous experience, no background check, nothing? Come on.

I wanted to read this story because I love "true crime" and I love memoirs. I love when people fight for justice. I really enjoyed the books Missoula and Know My Name because it is bringing college sexual assault cases (and their ability to be swept under the rug) to the forefront. This didn't do it for me.

Also, Krouse should have kept her story separate. While it is a fascinating and tragic story, it took away from the victim's voices in this book.

Fine, OK.

I think her memoir was fast paced and I loved the connections she made with people. I appreciated her honesty. I think that this is a story that NEEDS to be told. I do feel undecided on how important it is that she changed the names and school. I understand that slander can ruin someone's reputation but it may be essential in holding the future accountable.

This was a well written book about one investigator's involvement in a Title IX lawsuit exposing abuses at a Div 1 school. The author's personal history informs her work. I gave this one 4 stars because some of her details about the history and science involved in the story seemed excessive.

𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆, the memoir of Erika Krause, tells sad stories we’ve heard far too often, stories of women sexually abused. Raped. Within her book are two parallel storylines: her own and those of women sexually assaulted by members of the University of Colorado football team. (Krause never names the college, but it’s widely known and easy to find information.) This side of the book very much reminded me of 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘢 by John Krakauer, another book following women assaulted by college football players who too often feel entitled to women’s bodies. Krause stumbled into her role as a private investigator on this case, and found she was quite good at it; people tended to open up to her. This side of the book read like investigative journalism and both drew me in and made me angry.⁣
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Despite being so good at it, working on the case took a personal toll, constantly stirring up Krause's own history. She had suffered repeated abuse as a child and that abuse was never dealt with or even acknowledge by her family. While this side of the story was awful, it was also a little slower for me. As was her right, Krause guarded closely what had happened to her and what she was willing to share, but that did leave me with questions. Her personal story coupled with the investigation of the UC football program reminded me very much of Channel Miller’s 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦, yet another memoir of sexual abuse on a college campus. When will it stop? If you’re a fan of true crime, or liked either of the other books mentioned, you should pick up a copy of 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
⁣3.75 stars
I listened to this one and the narration by @gabracadabranyc was excellent.⁣
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Thanks to @flatiron_books for an electronic copy of #TellMeEverything.

As a lover of true crime, this book was an intriguing read! I liked how it was a mix of her personal life and her professional life. The theme of the book is very relevant in todays society (sadly), but can be triggering if you have experienced any type of sexual abuse. Overall I am glad I read this book, it opened my eyes to the types of things investigators go through when trying to solve crimes.

This book was a little slow getting into but picked up about halfway through. The most interesting part to me was the civil case and how terrible UCB is.

Thank you Netgalley and Flatiron for a review copy of Tell Me Everything by Erika Krouse!

Krouse weaves two tales, one her history as a sexual assault survivor and the other as a Private Investigator for a college rape case, pretty well actually.

I think what really works for this is Krouse's writing which is at times beautiful and at others extremely accessible. The reading experience was really very fast paced and Krouse's ability to turn all these people into such characters was really impressive.

I think where Krouse kind of lost me is when she discusses the physical area of her surroundings which she just didn't explain in a way that someone not from Colorado would know about.

Tell Me Everything The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse is a fascinating true story about a woman who became a private investigator for a law firm. This book blends together the author’s personal experiences with her professional life and it makes for a very interesting read. Who doesn’t enjoy a memoir and true crime mashup?

Here’s the scoop:

Erika Krouse has one of those faces. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” people say, spilling confessions. In fall 2002, Krouse accepts a new contract job investigating lawsuits as a private investigator. The role seems perfect for her, but she quickly realizes she has no idea what she’s doing. Then a lawyer named Grayson assigns her to investigate a sexual assault, a college student who was attacked by football players and recruits at a party a year earlier. Krouse knows she should turn the assignment down; her own history with sexual violence makes it all too personal. But she takes the job anyway, inspired by Grayson’s conviction that he could help change things forever–and maybe she could, too.

Over the next five years, Krouse learns everything she can about P. I. technique, tracking down witnesses and investigating a culture of sexual assault and harassment ingrained in the university’s football program. But as the investigation grows into a national scandal and a historic civil rights case, she finds herself increasingly consumed. When the case and her life both implode at the same time, she must figure out how to help win the case without losing herself.

Available now!