ONE more for #bravethebacklist and #fallintomybacklist and probablythe last review for the year as well!
Thanks to Random House for sending this free copy earlier this year in exchange for my honest review
TELL ME EVERYTHING – Cambria Brockman (Released July 16th, 2019)
Book Description:
A murder at an elite New England college tears apart a group of friends – and one of them is playing a dangerous game – in this electrifying debut in the tradition of In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Couple Next Door.
In her first weeks at Hawthorne College, Malin is swept up into a tight-knit circle that will stick together through all four years. There’s Gemma, an insecure theater major from London; John, a tall, handsome, and wealthy New Englander; Max, John’s cousin and a shy pre-med major; Khaled, a wise-cracking prince from Abu Dhabi; and Ruby, a beautiful art history major. But Malin isn’t quite like the rest of her friends. She’s an expert at hiding her troubling past. She acts as if she is concerned with the preoccupations of those around her – boys, partying – all while using her extraordinary insight to detect their deepest vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
By Senior Day, on the cusp of graduation, Malin’s secrets – and those of her friends – are revealed. While she scrambles to maintain her artfully curated image, her missteps set in motion a devastating chain of events that ends in a murder. And as their fragile relationships hang in the balance and close alliances start shifting, Malin will test the limits of what she’s capable of to stop the truth from coming out.
In a mesmerising novel that peels back the innumerable layers of a seductive protagonist, debut author Cambria Brockman brings to life an entrancing setting through a story of friendship, heartbreak, and betrayal.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars
This was a solid debut from Cambria Brockman and I had heard great things from a lot of other reviewers (so I’m not sure why it got sidelined this summer – but I’m glad I finally picked it up). Plenty of mystery, secrets, betrayals, and friendships are put to the test in TELL ME EVERYTHING. A tight-knit group of friends can still harbor dark secrets and desires from each other, right?
Malin, Gemma, John, Max, Khaled, and Ruby have been close throughout their time at Hawthorne College and it’s finally Senior Day. Their worst nightmares have come to life when all of their secrets are revealed and they must scramble to try and save their public images and facades. When things end in murder, Malin must face her past and all of her carefully lain lies to keep things hidden.
We see everything through Malin’s perspective and the book goes between Malin’s past, their freshman year when they all meet, and in the present day during their senior year. I really enjoyed this set up because we get background peppered in so that it helps create the full picture. I would say this could fall into more of the character study category but that didn’t take away from the mystery surrounding the murder or the pacing.
I will definitely be looking for more from Brockman in the future and would highly recommend this mystery novel. That ending? Holy crap, I loved it, but there won’t be any hints or spoilers here.
Jessicamap Reviews 