Absolutely. Love. When one of my auto-buy authors released a debut in a new category, I was already sold. This adult mystery/suspense reads like a Frederik Bachman with multiple layers, rich texture, and a strong sense of place. This author is always masterful at a small town setting, and this book holds up to expectations for sure! Deep southern relationships and story, massive stakes, and characters you'll hold onto for the long haul. Did I mention there are animals? Superlove & 10/10 recommend!

This story was so good. There is a lot of mystery and drama around the murders that took place in the past, but where this story shines is in the characters and the way they are all intertwined in some fashion or another. It reminded me a lot of A Man Called Ove, how the author carefully weaves these characters lives and stories in a way that feels intimate. While it starts out slow and can be confusing at times as it jumps around multiple POV's, it is so worth it as everything starts to come together is this beautiful, messy tapestry of mystery and lives in a small town in northern Kentucky by the Ohio river.

Tell my Something Good by Court Stevens is a mysterious thriller told by an omniscient narrator, with multiple storylines that all weave together. The book is essentially about ripple effect from decisions made or lies told. There are many characters, and it was hard to keep them straight at times. Nonetheless I enjoyed the book.

Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks for an advanced copy through NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Tell Me Something Good (audio)
Author: Court Stevens         
Genre: Mystery/thriller   
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This is a story of the rich and the very poor. This is a story of an illegal auction with dire consequences. This is a story of murders past and present. This is a story of intertwined relationships and the silent ripples they leave behind, where love becomes a guiding force, revealing the lengths one will go to protect those they cherish.

Over twenty years ago, a young hunting guide in rural Kentucky was driving his boat in the early morning mist when his peaceful cruise was cut short by a scene so disturbing, he packed up and moved away. Nine women died early that morning, but it was linked to a similar crime in Texas, so the locals quickly wrote it off as having nothing to do with them.

Now, all these years later, when everyone has nearly forgotten about that grisly part of their past, one man's accidental death will bring everything back up to the surface. The locals who knew better can no longer claim it had nothing to do with them, and one woman, desperate to do whatever it takes to save her mother's life, will learn that nearly everyone in her life has been lying to her.

The narrator on this did a good job, but I didn’t really like the voice of the story. So many secrets. So many missed opportunities to speak up and avert all kinds of nonsense. But no, the characters refuse to talk to each other. About anything. This didn’t work for me on a lot of levels, and I didn’t really connect with any of the characters—except maybe the donkey. I think this book just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Court Stevens is from Kentucky. Tell Me Something Good is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harper Muse Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 6/5).

This book kept you on the edge of your seat. Beautifully written and narrated, you’ll want to listen to this all day long!!

This audiobook was an unexpectedly emotional experience. The narration was excellent and really brought the characters to life. The story is heartfelt, with themes of identity, forgiveness, and finding strength in unexpected places. It’s the kind of story that quietly sticks with you.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced listening copy and the chance to review it.

My expectations were set high when I saw this debut compared to Fredrik Backman's books. I’m happy to say that the similarities in style worked out pretty well, and this story landed with plenty of heart.

The beginning was a little rough, as I struggled to keep track of all the characters and the fairly complicated details of the plot. But it smoothed out toward the middle, and I was then able to track the characters, even on audio.

This ended up working well as an audiobook, especially with the main narrator being Marin Ireland. That also helped secure the connection to Backman’s books.

I appreciated the unique setting as well as the overall theme and individual topics covered in the story. They are highly relevant and meaningful to today’s challenges and tragedies.

I am grateful for an advanced audio copy of this book from NetGalley, and I look forward to reading what the author comes out with next.

3.5 out of 5 stars. I was given an ARC of the audio version of the book for an honest review. I enjoyed the narrator’s telling of the story.
Anna and her mother Star, live in a small town in Illinois. When Anna loses her job due to cutbacks, she gets a job at a lodge across the river to help pay Star’s medical bills. Anna was told all her life to stay away from the lodge, but never provided any reasons why.
Anna runs into Jack, her former boyfriend, who happens to work there. Over the course of 3 days Anna learns the reason why her mom doesn’t want her working there. Death, murder, illegal gun auctions all wrapped together to make this a solid thriller. I recommend this book and enjoyed it.

3⭐
An entertaining medium/fast-paced, small town thriller/mystery(ies) over a dual timeline. Really enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A highlight of family multi generational trauma and its effects if not addressed. Realistic circumstances of small town living. I enjoyed Anna, Foster & Jack. Beyond that, there were too many characters for me, and some you knew from the beginning what their arc would be. Thank you for this audio arc NetGalley.I

MY JAW IS ON THE FLOOR!!!
A small quiet Kentucky town has a large hunting event every year and what happens during this time isn't always legal. Years ago nine women were murdered on the river and the killer was never caught. In Tell Me Something Good you follow Anna- a woman who always wanted to leave the small town but, when her mother falls ill she has to take care of her. After losing her job at the school she is forced to look for employment across the river at the lodge. the place her mother has always told her to stay away from. but she has no choice and once she gets a job there all the secrets start to unravel. Everything and everyone are not who they seem. Can Anna find out the truth of what happened that night and how she is connected?

4.5 stars
I went into Tell Me Something Good blind, and I am so glad I did. It immediately grabbed me; I couldn't stop reading (listening). I really enjoyed the mystery and these characters even with their flaws.

The story takes place in Kentucky and southern Illinois only separated by the Ohio River spans decades, secrets, and murder. Stevens weaves many characters' stories into one great ending I didn't see coming. This intertwined story about the past and present colliding with a potential future event.

The audiobook was fantastic! I really enjoyed the narrator, Marin Ireland. She made it really easy to follow the different characters and components of the story.

I loved Tell Me Something! I would highly recommend it to people who enjoy mysteries and character driven stories. I can't wait to read more by Court Stevens.

What I loved:
the Beck files
the complicated characters
mystery

Takeaway: People are complicated and want to protect their loved ones.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Muse audiobooks for the alc.

i really enjoyed this one! i've read one other court stevens, which i didn't love, but this one really shone. i loved the writing style and the atmosphere and the themes of family.

Court Stevens' latest novel is a serious and heartfelt pivot towards the adult genre. You'll find Stevens' classic character depth and relationships represented here with heaping serving of 20-year-old murder that's gone long-unsolved, as an undercurrent to present events. I found myself trying to solve the mysteries, both past and present, as I read, making me an active participant in this journey. Characters worth following, a town with a history worth telling, and an annual hunting event folks won't soon forget are the threads that hold this novel together, keeping readers on their toes. Check it out for yourself!

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this book and especially the audiobook narration by my favorite narrator, Marin Ireland. This was a solid slow-burn suspense read with a great setting and premise.

I will say that there are a LOT of characters which could be distracting and made it difficult to truly connect.

In the end, I enjoyed it and found it to be a really good read.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I rarely review with spoilers, but I finished this book a month ago and I cannot process my thoughts on the book with including some spoiler-ish details this time.

It took longer to connect the full story to the introduction than I would have hoped. I was drawn in by this story once it got going…

I loved that the author incorporated the concept of an audio journal throughout the book.

I did struggle a bit to hang onto which characters went with which parts of the story as I was getting started. I wish there had been a few more little verbal cues surrounding each one… sort of like how Foster named a raccoon after her husband Gary… it was easy to recall his name.

I was a little thrown off by the ending because I think too many authors go down this road possibly for the sake of drawing in another demographic. However, I felt like we really had already established some of those connections, earlier in the book when we were learning about Foster and her husband’s arrangement.

For me, even with Jack dead, it took away from the authenticity of the rest of the story for the author to put the two female leads in a lesbian relationship.
Particularly, if we are to believe that Anna had such a great love with Jack that it showed up as “yummy,” as Foster initially indicated—then I find it difficult to imagine. It would have been more believable if the author would have said, they were the best of friends and raised the child, etc. and let a potential relationship be inferred.

Oh this is a good book! Love the narrator! There are so many twists and turns with this story. I really enjoyed every minute of it. Now to find more by the same author and narrator. Highly recommend.

The allusion to Beartown in the blurb hooked me right away. While it didn’t live up to that hype, I was entertained. My main issue is that there was a little too much going on. An interesting premise got lost for me in all the excess. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse audiobooks for the ARC!

I found this to be a very interesting story with a lot of potential, reminding me of Fredrik Backman's storytelling structure, and the atmosphere leaning toward shows like Bloodline or Ozark. It could have been a five star read for me, but it didn't quite get there.

My biggest issue was the large amount of characters without clear descriptions or information to make me understand and remember who was who. I had no clue who was old or young, or what kind of person a character was. All I got was a name and sometimes a bit of backstory, but nothing that told me what they looked like or what their behavior or values were, which made for a confusing reading experience, and it also meant that I didn't really care about any of them.

There are also a lot of plotlines. I think they are all interesting and adding to the story, and they all come together nicely. However, it wasn't always clear which one I was supposed to care the most about, or pay the most attention to. I had expected the murder case to play a bigger part in the story. There was also the odd side story, which usually added some clarifying piece of information, but often in a vague kind of way. With the confustion about all the characters, and the different plotlines, I didn't always get what the piece of information meant for the story. Maybe that's a me problem, but it's in alignment with what I've mentioned already, with things not being explained clearly enough for me as a reader. I don't need or want hand-holding, but I do need enough information to get what's being said.

My final comment is that I think the scene when the choir girls are found should come earlier in the book, to create more tension and suspense from the start, and to validate the premise and make it clear to the reader that they're getting what they're expecting.

Overall, I think this could be such a fantastic book, but it didn't feel quite finished to me.

This is an intricate mystery and history of a small town and what happens when secrets are buried.
The audiobook is well done and the story is anything but predictable. I want to say more but NO SPOILERS!