Twists and turns ... this one kept me guessing right up to the end. Fast-paced - LOVED it - a true psychological thriller.

Thank you #netgalley and #thomasandmercer for the eARC.

Thank you Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer for an eARC of Please Tell Me by Mike Omer. I really enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would! Not sure why, but the missing child trope often doesn't meet the mark for me and can sometimes be overdone, but this one was really unique.

What's it about?
8-year old Kathy turns up on the side of the road a year after she was abducted from her front yard. Everyone wants to know what happened, but Kathy won't speak a word to anyone. Robin Hart is a child therapist and uses play therapy to help Kathy process what happened to her. Sounds cute, right? Wrong.

Kathy's sessions end with another toy dying - and she seems to be playacting real unsolved murders.

Again, really unique premise that I so enjoyed! Loved the psychology aspect of the book and the author does a great job of not only unraveling the plot but giving us more backstory to Robin's family and love life - Hi, I am invested and now need a pt. 2, thanks!

When a local girl who has been missing for more than a year randomly turns back up on the side of a road, the town is relieved to have her back seemingly unharmed.... except she won't speak, so they have no idea what happened to her. Working with a child psychologist, the little girl silently acts out the horrors she's seen with dolls. As the psychologist tries to help the little girl, she quickly learns the little girl might not be the only one her mysterious captor has harmed.

I loved and hated this book for the exact same reason. I absolutely loved the whole play therapy angle. It's very unique and definitely helped to make this book stand out from the hundreds of other crime fiction novels out there. 10/10 for the idea. On the flip side, the way the concept of play therapy plays out (no pun intended) makes for a very tedious read. Since the girl won't speak, the psychologist describes everything the girl does aloud: "The doll is walking. The doll is going away. The doll is hitting the other doll." At first I thought it was very interesting, but after the fourth or fifth time it got kind of tedious.

Overall a decent book, just a very slow burn.

Unrelated to the story, the NetGalley description of this author is gold. "He is father to an angel, a pixie and a gremlin. He has a voracious hound that wags his tail quite menacingly at anyone who dares to approach his home." I laughed so hard. Absolutely perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this book, it’s the first novel I have read by this author.

Kathy is a young girl that goes missing and suddenly reappears over a year later. She is so traumatized by what happened to her that she does not speak. Psychologist Robin Hart is very familiar with the case and has a personal connection to Kathy, so it doesn’t come as a surprise when Claire, Kathy’s mother and Robin’ past high school peer, asks her to work with Kathy. Robins counseling approach with children is letting them reenact their traumas in her office playroom so they can cope with what happened to them. However, when Kathy starts reenacting horrific murders with the dolls from Robin’s playroom dollhouse, it confirms that Kathy has really been put through the wringer.

As the story goes on you start to see the perspectives from Kathy, Robin, Kathy’s family and her captor. Is Kathy really safe and does Robin have the tools to help her overcome this traumatic experience?

I really liked the fast paced style of this book along with all the different connections between characters. I really thought I had the ending figured out and then the twist just came out of nowhere. I was up late making sure I finished the book. Definitely a great read, would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers!

This is an honest review in exchange for an ARC from NetGalley and the publishing house.

A young girl has been missing for a year and suddenly reappears. She is found walking, with wounds and no answers to where she came from. She is non verbal and thus begins the challenge of deciphering her past year.

This incident has caused a major rift between her parents. Both parent differently and want the best for their daughter but both approaches are different. The girl is being seen by a therapist that helps kids deal with trauma. What is unknown to most is that she comes to the story with her own baggage that requires her to deal with during this time.

As more time is spent in play therapy the story slowly starts to unravel. The therapist is joined by a detective that has noticed done irregularities in another case he is trying to find answers to. Once they work together things make more sense and an answer comes to light.

This is a heartbreaking story but one that I could not stop reading. The atrocities the girl witnessed are graphic but necessary to understand what she went through.

This is a well written book and left me thinking about it for a while. I would highly recommend it to my friends.

This is a physiological suspense thriller with a cover I actually really like, it’s like a dollhouse which reminds me of children and children are scary. Speaking of children, the book revolves around one, Kathy an 8 year old who disappeared from her home and then suddenly 15 months later she returns but is unable to communicate on what she witnessed. She sees a child psychiatrist for help who gives her toys to enact the ordeal and it becomes very apparent the brutal violence she went through so enter our detective who investigates some crazy shit that’s going on. I know all the thriller buffs will be hyped about this. Well worth the read, entertaining as hell.

This was my first Mike Omer book, and I’m adding his entire police procedural backlist to my TBR.

What a book! I was hooked from the very first page when we meet poor little Kathy. By 50%, I committed to staying up as late as I needed to in order to finish the book. And by 70%, I was shaking with anxiety and horror about what was going down in the story.

I could have done without the romance storyline—it seemed superfluous.

I didn’t love any of the characters except for Kathy, Amy, and Jimmie. I hated Robin’s mom. I thought Robin needed to see a therapist and cut off her mom. And WHY are Evan and Pete such terrible humans? Ugh men :::rolls eyes:::

Highly recommend this one.

This book was Awesome!!! The author does a fabulous job of leading the reader in one direction allowing them to think that they have it figured out but in actuality it is far from the outcome.
Of course it is hard to imagine or think about an 8 year old being kidnapped. But seeing it on the other side after she is recovered is a little easier. I also like seeing the process from the psychologist of trying to help her come to terms with what happened.
The story merging with Robin Harts own issues in her personal life add to the novel and leads the reader to one conclustion....but it is the correct one.

This was my first book by Mike Omer, and it won’t be the last. Very satisfying mystery/suspense story that wrapped up well, and I couldn’t figure it out!!

Right... I definitely didn't expect this to happen. I've been meaning to try Mike Omer's work for a while now, and there was just something about the premise of Please Tell Me that made it impossible to resist. I mean, I can never say no to a serial killer angle... Add Kathy's trauma and therapy being a key in it all, and I thought that I was up for a fascinating read. Sadly, I ended up being considerably underwhelmed with it all... And I kind of wish I had made the decision to DNF instead. I'll try to explain briefly why.

I still can't believe I had this reaction to Please Tell Me to be honest. I was absolutely fascinated by the premise itself, and in theory it ticked all the boxes of what usually would make a successful read for me. Sadly, the complete opposite turned out to be true. The first obstacle was the writing style and tone itself, which I could somehow never completely warm up to. The premise was intriguing enough to overcome this and keep reading, but I was soon struggling with the fact just how surprisingly dull and repetitive the plot itself was. Not something you would expect from this story, and it unsettled me.

One of the main things I struggled with had to do with the main characters though. I didn't like any of them, and especially Robin could get extremely frustrating. I just don't get how she can be a therapist when she has so many mental problems and mummy issues herself... She just wasn't credible to me, and then I'm not even talking about those cringeworthy therapy sessions where she verbally explains every little thing the child is doing. Creepy much? The constant references to her mummy issues and the way she let's her mother walk all over her got so frustrating that I almost threw my kindle at the wall. She just seemed so immature and again: I just don't see that someone who can't even stand up to her mother would be able to be a successful child therapist.

I can't say that I was a fan of the constant reminder of COVID in Please Tell Me either. I get that the pandemic is something that should be incorporated to make books with a recent setting more realistic... But there is mentioning it and there is constantly referring to it and almost making it political. The constant mentions of social media also got old real fast... And then I'm not even talking about the romance subplot suddenly popping up. Why o why did the romance have to be added at all?! It only distracted from the main plot even more.

I confess that I started skimreading long before the halfway mark, and I'm still not sure why I even continued reading. I guess part of me was still curious to see who was behind it all... And sadly, the reveals didn't even make up for the struggles for me. Different suspects are constantly thrown at you without too much development or details, and while the first reveal was solid enough (albeit cliche), the last 'twist' just didn't do it for me. I just couldn't look past the fact that it only seemed to be introduced for the shock-factor, and there was no explanation offered for what motivated the person. It just seemed rather lackluster for what I suppose was ment as an 'explosive' ending.

As you can guess, Please Tell Me and me most definitely didn't get along. I do seem to be in the minority though, as most reviews have been glowing so far... So the chances are you will have a better time reading this story. I'm just adding my two cents in case there are more people out there having violent thoughts about kindles and walls while reading this book.

This was an amazing book, full of twists and turns. It showed the reappearance of a girl after fifteen months. She held the secrets to finding not just her abductor but the one who tortured and killed many people. The only problem is that, she has stopped talking! Now, it's upto her therapist, Robin Hart to help her and in the process find her abductor.

This book was definitely a great read. From the cover to the end, everything reflected its thrilling elements. This is one of the best thrillers that I ever read.

When Kathy Stone went missing, no one expected to ever see her alive again. But after a year of trauma, Kathy is found walking along the side of the road, bleeding and mute. She is unable to tell her parents or the police where she has been and what happened to her. In desperation, Kathy's parents bring her to Robin Hart, a child psychologist. Unable to gain information from Kathy, she will introduce play therapy between this 8yr old girl and herself. But Kathy's actions are not play. The more Robin interacts with Kathy, the more she is certain that Kathy knows more than she can tell. Robin will partner with the police to find Kathy's abductor and keep her safe.

This was a good thriller. I'm a Mike Omer fan and read his titles as often as I can. In PLEASE TELL ME, Omer carries several story lines through the major plot line that will keep readers guessing. The ending? Well, let's say you'll not guess this one.

Please Tell Me is a story full of suspense and fear for the life of a lttle girl. The beggining pages that the book opens with are sad and dreadful as Kathy describes walking along a dirt road with bloody feet and starving.
She has been traumatized from some sort of experience that has left her mute. The people in her town are so happy that she has returned but frustrated that she has yet to name her abductor.

While Kathy is in therapy she begins acting out horrendous murders ones that have already taken place and ones they assume are from her imagination. At least until the ones that haven't happened start to occur.
There is a race against the clock as Kathys abductor is still lurking around the corner watching and waiting for the chance to take Kathy again.

I want to thank #Netgalley for the chance to read #PleaseTellMe by MikeOmer in return for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! The whole time you are wondering what happened and you keep getting the feeling that not the whole story is being told and then the plottwist happens and it is so good! Definitely a book that I will recommend to everybody who loves a good thriller!

why did I wait so long before reading this masterpiece?
full of emotions, thrilling scenes, and lots of suspense - the perfect recipe for an amazing thriller novel.
I wasn't able to put the book down, the reason why I'd put it down was having to go to sleep because of uni or having to study for exams, that's how good the book was!

the tone is set well, characters are written in a manner that I was able to see them as real people. also, while the book is around 400 pages you don't feel that it's long and you can enjoy every page of the story.

Please Tell Me starts with a massive emotional gut punch that completed hook me and I ended up staying up most of the night to read this one. While I’m not generally one for issuing trigger warnings, with this story revolving around child that was abducted and held for over a year, I could completely see how upsetting this might be for some readers. Excellent, tense, story, with some fantastic characters, with one of the major ones that doesn’t even talk! If you’re like me, once you start this one you won’t want to put it down. I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Please Tell Me.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R109ISUVSTO6HF/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

4.25⭐

Please Tell Me is a thriller that is both intriguing and compelling. With the COVID-19 pandemic at the forefront and focusing on eight-year-old Kathy. Who goes missing from her front garden. Leaving her parents and the community at large devastated, shocked, and scared. 

But a year later, the community, the local police and Kathy's dad Pete have pretty much accepted that she is dead. Only Claire, her mother, is hopeful that she will return. 

And she does. 

After being found alone and terrified on the side of the road. Kathy returns to her home. But she won't speak of her ordeal, so the police have nothing to go on.

So child therapist Robin, whose clients are local children who have been dealing with the effects of living with a pandemic and losing a friend, is tasked with helping Kathy open up and deal with the trauma she has suffered. As well as hopefully giving the police some leads to go on.

However, what Robin doesn't expect is for Kathy to start acting out violent scenes all within the confines of a Victorian doll's house. Scenes depicting unsolved murders in the area.

And so the hunt begins for a killer who Kathy is clearly connected to. 

But how? 

That's what the police need to find out, hopefully without putting Robin and Kathy in danger.

And with a shocking reveal at the end. An intriguing premise and a lot of twists. This was a very enjoyable read. That was only let down for me by the pacing at the beginning. 

But I appreciated that the focus was on a therapist rather than a police officer, and it was evident that extensive research had been done.

Kathy Stone, a young girl who went missing over a year ago and was presumed by most to be dead, turns up walking barefoot on the side of a dark road with bloodied soles one night. When discovered by a passing motorist, she’s traumatized and mute, unable to tell anyone what happened in words or writing.

That was the opening, and it had my attention immediately!

Kathy’s mother, Claire, reaches out to Robin Hart, a former classmate and psychologist to help her daughter. During weeks of play therapy, Kathy draws alarming pictures and zeroes in on a Victorian dollhouse and assortment of six dolls, including one who she mimes violently harming the other dolls in a variety of disturbing ways. When her play mirrors several recent murders that occurred, Robin reaches out to Detective Nathaniel King.

Are the murders connected? Is there a serial killer on the loose?

Things get even more complicated when one of Kathy’s play scenarios seems to predict a murder that happens AFTER she returned. How did she know? Furthermore, who do the final two dolls … a child and a woman … represent? One thing is clear: Playtime is starting to get very real!

I’ll be honest: I was prepared to dislike this book after the COVID pandemic was first mentioned in chapter 2 (and then repeatedly throughout). The author had a purpose for it that played into the storyline, but it felt a little gimmicky. I also found Robin’s therapy technique of narrating Kathy’s actions back to her a bit bizarre to listen to, even if that is an actual practice. Those minor issues aside, I was surprised by how much I got sucked into this story!

Omer did a nice job creating the red herrings and sense of visceral unease that put my senses in high alert! He interspersed a few short chapters from the viewpoints of those involved in Kathy’s disappearance, while still somehow not giving the whole surprise away. Yes, the events leading up to the ending and the ending itself strayed a little close to Sillyville, as far as believability, but does anyone actually read thrillers for realism? I recommend not taking it too seriously and just have fun with it!

★★★ ½ (rounded to 4)

A decent twisty mystery thriller that was slightly spoiled for me by all the 'pandemic' references. I am not usually bothered by this but this book relied on the pandemic angle a little too much, in my opinion, which made the actual (pretty good) story rather disjointed. Still a decent read apart from that. 3.5 stars

Mike Omer crafts a perfect thriller from the get-go. It's enticing, climactic, and keeps your interest easily. With a whole host of well-defined characters, it's easy to get lost in the world Omer creates. The narration and writing style differ based on the focus of the chapter, which made the characters come to life. It was a great balance of excitement and backstory without over-detailing. I truly could not put this book down, and every twist and turn had me dying to know more.