“Nothing More to Tell” by Karen M. McManus
Description: “Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favourite teacher. The case was never solved, but she’s sure that the three kids who found Mr. Larkin’s body know more than they’re telling, especially her ex-best friend Tripp Talbot. He’s definitely hiding something.
When Brynn gets an internship working on a popular true-crime show, she decides to investigate what really happened that day in the woods. But the further she dives into the past, the more secrets she finds.
Four years ago someone got away with murder. Now it’s time to uncover the truth . . .”
Review: The first chapter of this book hooked me. It starts with Brynn interviewing for an internship at Motive, a true crime show. During her interview Brynn pitches the murder of her high school teacher who was found in the woods by 3 students. I loved the concept of a student investing a murder with the help of a true crime journalist. Unfortunately that concept doesn’t really go past the beginning of the book.
The book is told from 2 perspectives; Brynn, who is returning to the school where her teacher was murdered and Tripp, one of the students who found the teacher. I found Tripp and Brynn’s relationship to be annoying. I know they have a history but it seemed odd how he tried to ignore her to only then become extremely close to her. Also, Brynn is easily able to tell when Tripp is lying. She uses this technique numerous times to get the truth out of him. To me it seemed like an easy way for the author to get to where she wanted to be without Brynn doing more investigative work. The side characters were forgettable and I did confuse them at times.
Overall the book was slow and there were too many unnecessary red herrings. I was surprised by the book’s ending but somehow it was still anticlimactic. The story went in so many different directions that it ended up feeling convoluted. To me the ending didn’t really make sense, there were too many pieces that didn’t add up. I wish the book stuck to the original plot of a teenager working with a true crime show but instead it ended up being a story about teens investigating the murder on their own. I think having the true crime journalist involvement would have added an interesting element.
I’d recommend this book to fans of Karen M. McManus books, YA thrillers and to people who enjoy a lot of plot twists.
*please note that I received an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.