I really enjoyed this well written but slightly disturbing novel. At many times I was close to tears and at others willing for the main protagonist to do the right thing. It’s a very human story with a twist at the end. Do read it!

This book was an excellent thriller. It was full of secrets , twists. It was very well written and kept me guessing. I couldn't put it down and that's a good indication of how good the books was.

An enjoyable page turner undercut with the serious theme of being a recovering alcoholic and the missing pieces of your history. However I did find it slightly predictable with the good looking man coming to her rescue in the end, and a bit bizarre with people pretending to be alcoholics.
However, having really enjoyed "the rumour" I'm looking forward to Ms Kara's next book.
Thank you to netgalley and Random house for an advance copy of this book.

A well written, thought provoking book looking at the impact of alcoholism not just on the individual but also those around. The twist at the end is good.
Enjoy is not perhaps the word to be used when describing "Who Did You Tell" but certainly a book worth reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the ARC of this book.

We meet Astrid, a recovering alcoholic ... sober now for 192 days, seven hours and fifteen minutes.
Then we meet the cute hunk, Josh ... who still needs to recover from the sudden and tragic death of his mother.
Then there are all the supporting characters and a true-to-life small-British-town feel. A great mix.

I found this to be a fun read, which didn't go too deep and kept things fairly light despite the content matter. The experiences for both the alcoholic main character and for her supporting characters were realistic, and I felt for the MC and her mother most especially. While I did guess who the culprit was way early, I still enjoyed the getting there part.

The plot has some good twists in there, and following Astrid while she teeters on the edge of the sober-wagon makes for an intriguing and mildly suspenseful read. I found myself rooting for her, and I could easily understand her struggles. I felt that her character arc was well portrayed from weak and a little pathetic to growing stronger and more determined to solve her own problems and get on with her life.

I give this book a strong 4 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it.


***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

Some secrets cannot be hidden.

Astrid is a 32-year-old alcoholic. She is determined to remain sober and has moved back home to a sleepy little seaside town to live with her mother and attend the local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. However, she is devastated by her past and is desperately trying to create a better life for herself.

She has had a toxic relationship with Simon, both of them alcoholics. Simon finally managed to leave Astrid and become sober but a chance meeting with her had made him drink again. Shortly after full of remorse Simon had committed suicide. Another incident that haunts Astrid is a vague recollection of her and Simon attacking a woman with a small child in order to steal some money for alcohol. Astrid was so drunk that she fears that the woman was severely injured and may even have died but she cannot be sure.

Things begin to improve for Astrid when she meets Josh, a good-looking man who is obviously attracted to her. His father, Richard, is renovating his house and employs Astrid to create a painting in the house. This awakens Astrid’s passion for painting and also adds to her self-esteem as she is finally earning some of her own money instead of sponging off her mother.

The problems begin to build again for her as she is terrified of going near a pub but is also unable to tell Josh that she is an alcoholic and has to make excuses about why she does not want a drink. She is on the last chance saloon with her mother but is constantly fighting off the need to have just one small drink. She makes a friend at her meetings, Helen, who offers her a shoulder to cry on and understands what she is going through. However, when Astrid sees Helen buying bottles of wine in the local shop her illusions are once again shattered. Then she starts receiving messages through the post and even left in the house threatening her and saying that soon everyone will know what she has done.

It is not possible to reveal too much more of the story without giving away the ending, but it was compelling reading and threw up a few shocks.

However, the main feeling that I brought away from this book is how hard it must be to be an alcoholic, the need for a drink just never seems to go away and Astrid is fighting her craving every moment of every day. The writer describes the way drink becomes the all-consuming part of Astrid’s life and even when, on the surface, things are going well, a new boyfriend, a job, the support of her mother and her friend, she is still one small step away from relapsing. I found this book very thought-provoking combined with an interesting story and an ending that may or may not be the ending. You will need to read the book to see what I mean.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

I LOVED this. So tense, this read was as addictive as the alcohol addiction threatening to completely ruin the main character, Astrid's life.
I am not a drinker at all and yet throughout the book I felt desperate for the agony Astrid was going through trying to stay dry and resist the temptation of drink. I felt her mother's pain at seeing her daughter destroy herself and her life chances for yet another glass of wine, a shot of vodka, or a can of beer.
The descriptions of AA meetings and the constant effort required to ignore that insistent call to drink are extremely powerful. I was on the edge of my seat, desperate for Astrid to win through, to not give in and lose herself in alcoholic oblivion. There were so many times in the story when Astrid, hurting, worried, fearful and plain guilty was tempted and I found myself crying out 'Don't do it!' Yes, I was that emotionally invested in Astrid's life as if she was a real friend!
Astrid certainly has a lot of challenges facing her. She is living with her mother, her last chance to get her life back in order after a spell in rehab and she is fighting painful memories of Simon, her one true love who died because of the demon drink.
Astrid meets Josh and through him she glimpses a lifestyle that could be hers, employment, love and the chance to indulge her passion for painting. However there are two women who both go to the AA meetings who might have different plans for Astrid. One is Rosie, volunteer in the Oxfam shop and keen to mentor Astrid. The other is Helen, who Astrid does befriend, but Helen keeps having lapses and drinking a bottle of wine or two or three which only adds to Astrid's temptations to blur the shame of her past by joining her and getting drunk.
Astrid starts to receive some disturbing threats and as we witness Astrid's battle to overcome her addiction, we see the past threatening to reveal some very dark and guilty secrets which could send Astrid spiralling out of control and end up homeless, penniless and vulnerable.
There are some lovely twists in this novel which make it so exciting to read. People and situations are not all they at first appear to be and when I thought I had reached the 'Aha! I knew it!' moment the tables were turned.
Highly recommend this read to others.

Wow, this book grips you and won't let go! It's a psychological theiller you won't regret picking up!
Astrid has returned to her family home, rather reluctantly, with the aim of sorting herself out and starting her life afresh, she doesn't bank on what's to come! She has a secret that she has been running from forever...but she is in for a shock! Loved every page of this! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved Lesley Kara's previous book -The Rumour so I had high expectations for this one. It was an OK book giving an insight into alcoholism but I must admit to finding it a bit disappointing

An absolute blast! Couldn't put this book down (even though there were so many interruptions!). A true suspense and nail biter to the end. Would definitely recommend this book to interested in a real thriller.

4 Stars from me

This book is in part a fascinating peek into the world of the AA, the meetings, the 'Big Book, the 'twelve steps', and the sheer risk and trust you are forced to have with a room full of strangers. I really enjoyed this part of the story and found it - and Astrid's struggle not to drink - really interesting.

I read Who Did You Tell in a day and found it hard to put the book down as I struggled to work out who was stalking Astrid and why, who she could trust and whether her relationship with Josh was going to work as she tried her best to leave the past behind.

The small town vibe was hilarious, I loved all the nosy neighbours and busybodies.

And, who isn't in love with Josh? What a sweetie.

Synopsis: 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...

Addiction. Obsession. Paranoia. Grief. Guilt. Heavy stuff written brilliantly, kept me gripped throughout.

After reading Lesley Kara's previous novel The Rumour I had quite high Hope's for this one.

The storyline was well thought out and well written, the characters have real depth and full back stories and the way Lesley was able to depict the whole side of Alcoholism and the way it not only affects the alcoholic but the whole wider scale of people around them was fantastic!

BUT I don't think I have ever read a book that's made me feel as low as this one did.

I felt it was rather slow and predictable and I didnt actually gel with any of the characters so its definitely more of a "it's me not you" rating. As above, there are plenty of positives, it just didnt click with me.

2.5*

Huge thanks to netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

Astrid is a recovering alcoholic. She moves back into her mums house to try and get herself sorted out. She also attends daily AA meetings. She is also tormented by her past. She's just out of rehab and she doesn't trust people.

There is some really good twists to this story about a recovering alcoholics road to recovery. But someone is out to get revenge. This story was full of potential. Although I felt sorry for Astrid and her daily struggles, I just didnt like her. She came across a bit pathetic. The plot line unfolded at a steady pace but I didn't find it gripping. I found it a bit predictable at times. But there was still something that kept me interested. Overall, this is a decent enough read.

I would like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Plubishers and the author Lesley Kara for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ex-alcholic Astrid is bored in the deserted seaside town her mother lives in. She has begun to make friends but can she trust them? And is she about to fall off the wagon or is something more sinsster happening?

A good solid read.

Absolutely amazing loved this book. I liked it more than the rumour. Interesting and clever story Highly recommended

#Who Did You Tell? #NetGalley #Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press

Astrid a recovering alcoholic recently out of rehab has moved back in with her mother. They live in the small town that Astrid grew up in, the type of town where everyone knows everyone's business. She attends AA meetings and hasn't had a drink in several months. She meets Rosie and Helen at AA. Rosie sober for eight years is on the pushy side, she seems to desperately want to take Astrid under her wing. Astrid not wanting to deal with Rosie's pushy personality becomes friends with Helen.

Astrid has a dark secret that involves her ex boyfriend Simon. Simon committed suicide a few months earlier. Astrid starts to feel like she is being followed, she becomes paranoid., then someone starts leaving her threatening letters and a picture of Simon.

This is a story is full of secrets and twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Really enjoyed her first book and was worried this wasn’t going to be as good. I didn’t need to. It was a great read. Devoured in one day on holiday. Full of twists and a clever ending.
I gave it 4/5 on goodreads.

This was a gripping read, with some great red herrings. The pacing was spot on and I really engaged with the characters.

This book tells the story of Astrid who is forced to move back to small town seaside life with her mother. Astrid is an alcoholic whose chaotic lifestyle has finally caught up with her and is struggling to remain sober. However, she has caused a massive amount of hurt towards her loved ones and someone is out for revenge. She is forced to evaluate her new relationships and friendships when events from her past seem to be haunting her.
This was a very enjoyable read with plenty of twists and turns, some more predictable than others. I was particularly fond of Astrid's mother and really felt for her as she tried to be firm yet supportive towards her daughter.