Tell Me Something True
the astounding book club mystery from the No.1 bestseller
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4.7 • 38 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'Michael Robotham has at last turned his gift for psychologically complex crime novels on his own homeplace, and the result is a riveting, and chilling, look into the dark niches of Australian small-town life' GERALDINE BROOKS
The astonishing, emotional epic from Michael Robotham: a mystery, a coming-of-age tale and a love story wrapped into one, set against the simmering tensions of a small Australian town.
I look along the road and notice how many people are standing outside their houses or watching from doorways and windows. Staring. Studying.
'Do you think this town will ever forgive me?' I ask.
'Not in a million years.'
Small towns are quick to anger and slow to forgive, but Arlo Hackett doesn't expect mercy when he emerges from a twelve-year prison sentence and makes his way back to Yulara, a waypoint on Australia's Great Southern Road. The last time Arlo was home, his brother Luke was charged with a terrible crime and Arlo was found guilty by association. His return to the former goldrush town is like cracking open a time capsule full of hatred and violence, along with memories of the people he loved - the ones he couldn't save.
Yulara wants Arlo gone, or worse, but every insult and humiliation pushes him to confront what really happened all those years ago.
The truth will shock you, surprise you, and break your heart.
'This novel and its characters will stay with me forever. I ached, cried, and laughed and it felt like I bled right along with them. No one will ever forge a flawless novel, but with Tell Me Something True, Robotham has gotten as close to it as I've ever seen' DAVID BALDACCI
'A profoundly rich and heartbreaking novel about the singular endurance of love in all its forms, even through unthinkable and compounding tragedies. Michael Robotham demonstrates uncommon insight into the suffering and survival of a family devastated by murder and its myriad aftermaths. Here is a master storyteller reminding us that hope is more powerful than grief' JEANINE CUMMINS, author of American Dirt
'A compelling, devastating story about family and the long shadows of the past. Tell Me Something True is unforgettable' KARIN SLAUGHTER
'My book of the year. This compelling, intriguing and entertaining masterpiece examines the conscience of a whole town and should win every award going. Genius' LIZ NUGENT
'Emotional, startling and beautifully crafted; it brings small town Australia into your living room' VAL MCDERMID
'Most writers would be proud to produce, in their entire career, a book half as good as Tell Me Something True. No one can touch him when it comes to infusing crime with character and heart' LINWOOD BARCLAY
'One of the best books I've read all year - beautifully written, moving and propels you to a devastating ending' AJAY CHOWDHURY
'A masterpiece. Not only my favourite Australian crime novel, but one of my favourite all-time books' J. P. POMARE
'This is the book Michael Robotham was born to write' MICHAEL CONNELLY
'A masterpiece of tension, poignancy and heartache' DAILY MAIL
'All of Michael Robotham's immense talent is on full display in this true masterclass of storytelling' GOOD READING
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Michael Robotham began writing Tell Me Something True when he was 22 years old. More than four decades and 19 published novels later, he’s finally ready to let us read it. Set in the fictional Australian town of Yulara, based on the place Robotham grew up, this story feels less straightforward thriller and more like a coming-of-age story shot through with love, mystery and tragedy. Of course, there are all the usual elements we enjoy in the man’s work, beginning with the premise: Arlo Hackett returns to Yulara after 12 years in prison, knowing he’s not welcome. Years earlier, his brother Luke was accused of a terrible crime and Arlo was condemned by association. Coming home forces him to confront the hatred still waiting for him and what really happened all those years ago. Forty years later, we finally get to see where one of Australia’s biggest crime-writing careers began.
Customer Reviews
Unforgettable
There are only a few books that remain vivid in my memory, this will be one of them. I laughed out loud, and I silently cried. A cast of characters that I loved and wished I could know; a roller coaster of emotions, and a brilliantly written piece that I will remember always.
Great read find out what is true
Spell biding book it answers more questions than are asked and the answers will be will be in your mind for a long time
Well-written
3.5 stars
The author is an Australian journalist turned ghostwriter turned award-winning and best-selling genre novelist. Tell Me Something True, the 20th title published in his own name, was actually the first novel he wrote. He put it away for 40 years before re-working it. Unlike his previous fiction — three separate series set in the UK — this one is a standalone novel set in a fictionalised version of the Australian country town where he grew up.
Protagonist Arlo is 38 when he is released on bail after serving 12 years of a 15 year sentence for accessory after the fact to the rape and murder of a teenage girl. The alleged perp was his intellectually impaired half-brother Luke, who killed himself, or did he? Our boy Arlo receives a hostile reception in his old hometown when he returns to see his Mum, who is now in nursing care. While fixing up her place for sale, our boy uncovers information that raises questions, digs further, metaphorically speaking, opens figurative cans of worms, yada, yada, the end.
Slow-burn third-person narrative from the protagonist’s POV in two timelines: 2001 with frequent flashbacks to 1989. Twisty plot, if somewhat predictably so, well-developed empathetic main characters, caricatured bad guys, e.g. crooked politician, cops etc.
Outback Aussie crime/noir like this has been done to death, if you’ll excuse the pun, over the last 10-20 years IMO. Most Aussies live in cities, and cities don’t require as much willing suspension of belief as small towns do when it comes to plot convolutions and nefarious characters.