Published on June 5th, 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 336
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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Love. Obsession. Jealousy. Murder.
No one knows what happened to pop icon Eric Thorn. His Twitter account? Frozen. His cell phone? Cracked and bloody, buried in the snow.
Agoraphobic fangirl Tessa Hart knows the truth, but she's finally left her #EricThornObsessed days behind. She has no intention of ever touching her Twitter app again. But Snapchat... That's safer, right?
After months of living under the radar, Tessa emerges from hiding, forced to face the deadly consequences of her past. But in the interrogation room, answers only lead to more questions in the pulse-pounding conclusion to the Follow Me Back duology.
Ughhhh. I don't even want to write this review, that's how disappointed I am. I read Follow Me Back last summer and it was great. Engaging and fast-paced the whole way through and it ended on a very high note. And I really wish it all had just ended there, because this? This was a mess from start to finish.
I'll start with the minimal amount of things I liked about Tell Me No Lies before we get into the nitty-gritty. This book, like the one that came before, was absolutely impossible to put down. There's something about Geiger's writing that is so easy to fall into and it keeps you hooked. The style is simple and familiar and quick. The addition of social media platforms kept the story relevant and timely and did make me think a bit about my own internet use. And of course I loved the incorporation of the police interviews. They added tension and even more momentum to the story.
Unfortunately, I think that's all this had going for it.
First, it totally relied on everyone in this book being complete and total idiots. Eric and Tessa had absolutely no brains between the two of them. For instance, there is another pop star in this book who is currently imprisoned. But E and T didn't think it was at all suspicious that this pop star was still able to connect to them via social media and even schedule a rendevous on the other side of the planet from his cell. They walked right into a trap that was absolutely screaming with flashing lights and "danger" signs. From there, things just get worse. They're completely inobservant to anyone but each other. They don't notice when the side characters start acting suspicious and out of character. They don't notice when other people make dumb decisions. The plot wouldn't have worked if they had two brain cells to rub together and in my opion, that is the worst kind of plot. It has nothing driving the story forward except two idiots holding the Idiot Ball. (Thank you to Paige for teaching me that one.)
Also, it felt as though the author tried her hardest to get things factually wrong. The way she treated anxiety medication was downright irresponsible, and didn't account for how the medication is actually used in real life. The med that Tessa was on is not one that can just be taken whenever she wanted; it's a daily dose that only remains in your system for about 24 hours. Oh, and it's a medication that is used for short-term treatment only. The longest most doctors prescribe it is like two months. Then so much of the later plot relied on Tessa not taking her medications. While this book on the surface looks like it's trying to break the stigmas against mental illness, it actually adds to the overall ableism that our society holds.
Tell Me No Lies certainly had plenty of potential, but I have to say I think it told the wrong story. There's a major plot development that happens early on in the book, but it's a huge spoiler so I will be a bit vague here. But there's another character who went through something intense and interesting and I think that character's story should have been told instead of this mess. That story was much more interesting and had the potential to have more of an emotional impact on the reader.
Overall I am so sorely disappointed by this book. I honestly wish it didn't exist because the crazy ending of Follow Me Back was just right. Enough mystery, intrigue, and details to make us fill in the blanks ourselves. All my theories were so much more interesting than what we were given.
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