Please Tell Me
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 on 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!
I know some reviewers who are familiar with this author’s prior work complained that it didn’t feel like the same author wrote it, but since this is my first book by him, I wasn’t burdened by comparisons, so it worked well for me. I’d read him again!
★★★ ½ (rounded to 4)
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and author Mike Omer for this DRC to honestly review. It’s due for publication December 1, 2023.
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 on 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!
I know some reviewers who are familiar with this author’s prior work complained that it didn’t feel like the same author wrote it, but since this is my first book by him, I wasn’t burdened by comparisons, so it worked well for me. I’d read him again!
★★★ ½ (rounded to 4)
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and author Mike Omer for this DRC to honestly review. It’s due for publication December 1, 2023.
Comments
Post a Comment