“True crime can leave a false trail… 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…”
What is the book about?
Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favourite teacher, Mr. William Larkin. The case was cleanly solved, with a random drifter thought to be to blame for the murder, though actually the murder was never truly solved. When Brynn is heading back to her home town, she is not sure if she is ready to face her classmates again, but she is determined to stay apart from everyone and suffer through the next few months until she can leave again. When an opportunity presents itself, Brynn decides to go for a once in a lifetime internship, and in order to appear more interesting to the true crime TV show, Brynn brings up the unsolved murder at her interview. She believes that the 3 kids from her year group that discovered the body know more than they are telling, so she decides to investigate further. But some secrets are better left alone, and, even though she goes into school determined to keep her internship secret and stay away from everyone else, she ends up in a tangled web of lies and it turns out the murder is a lot more complicated than she initially thought...
What were your initial thoughts on the book?
As soon as I discovered that Karen M. McManus was writing another book, I immediately searched for it on Amazon and pre-ordered it. I had been waiting for this book for so long when it finally arrived and, as soon as I got it, I was already bursting with excitement at the thought of reading it. I have always loved Karen M. McManus' books but as soon as I laid eyes on Nothing More To Tell I realised, and I don't really know how I knew this, that this book was going to be better than any other book I have read by her so far. As soon as I read the blurb and got into the book, I was completely sure that Nothing More To Tell was going to be an incredible read that I was never going to forget. Then, after reading only the first chapter of the book, I had already been completely absorbed into the mystery and soon I was looking up completely confused at the fact that I was in my room at home and not solving a murder. The whole time I was reading I was wishing to reach the end and find out the truth, but also I was hoping the book would never end and I could just keep reading more about the mystery. This was one of my favourite books (which you can probably tell from the lengthy review below).
Who was your favourite character and why?
This truly was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made because for some reason this is one of the books that had 2 main characters that weren’t annoying. The main character is usually some whiny person that constantly thinks themselves the best and that they are the most important in the whole book (although this is all true). . Brynn was an extremely likeable main character, always striving for perfection in every story she wrote and she wouldn’t give up until she was able to figure out the truth, no matter what happened. At the end, although I was glad that she continued and never stopped replaying the facts of the story, I did think it was a little hypocritical of her to blame herself for everything and then continue doing the same thing that got her into the mess in the first place. But she wasn’t annoying at all, and did things logically and strategically. Tripp, however, was different. At the beginning of the book, I thought that he was going to be like any other high school hot jerk and the fact that he was a scholarship kid and was still considered elite really confirmed that for me at the start – a rich boy wannabe. But when I got to know his story a little more, I started to like him a bit more. I truly felt sorry for the burden he had had to carry for years, especially at such a young age. He had to cope with so much and, hearing his story fully, I realised just how brave and strong he had to be to pull off everything he had, and in the end I really ended up liking him (it also didn’t help that he was good looking!). Interestingly both Tripp and Brynn were most likable characters the author ever created and it was also perfect that the romance in the book was between them. Despite the incredibly well written main characters, I think that my favourite character was probably Brynn’s little sister, Ellie, who I think was the one who actually solved the mystery and without her they wouldn’t have been able to do it. It was kind of embarrassing for Brynn and Tripp that they would probably not have figured it out without her trap, at least not for a lot longer. Ellie was such a great character, fun and charismatic (the friendlier, more social and more exciting sister) and I would love more of her in the future, so I really hope that the sequel stars her (like how the sequel of One of Us is Lying stars Bronwyn’s sister) or her own mystery to solve.
What was your favourite part of the book and why?
The whole book was absolutely incredible and I really enjoyed every single part, so this decision is really difficult for me. It was actually so difficult that this is the first time that I actually cannot choose a favourite part; however one thing that I can tell you for sure is that it is definitely not the ending! But thankfully, now that I have nothing more to tell (pun intended) about my favourite part, there is more room for my overall impression of the book (which I have lots to say about).
What was your overall impression of the book?
Overall, Nothing More To Tell was a marvellous read and I truly adored everything about it (except one tiny detail that stopped it from being a true 10/10). One thing that made this an absolutely incredible book is the fact that the story was told from the perspectives of two likable characters, and this made it better than Karen M. McManus’ previous works. I was so grateful for this because it wasn’t at all confusing to have multiple points of view and, as I liked both characters and they both led very interesting sides of the story, I didn’t (not even once) wish for it to switch back to either of the characters. Another thing that I will never ever stop thinking about is the fact that all of the books covers are the exact same style and this is the main reason why Karen M. McManus’ books are my absolute favourite. They just look so beautiful and organised on my bookshelf and I am a little bit (a lot!) of a perfectionist with a bit of OCD and these books satisfy me so much with how clean and perfect they are. I just cannot get over the smooth, identical perfection! One thing that I also cannot get over, which is not a good thing, is how abrupt the ending was. I was so shocked at the fact that the book ended so quickly summarising everything so quickly and just moving on. I was just so confused and it was almost like Karen M. McManus had a word limit or something and she was just trying hr hardest to fit everything in. This book had so much potential and the plot was incredible, but I think she should have changed the epilogue completely and just made a second book. But, when it came to the real epilogue I was in shock at the fact that, rather than the killer showing up, I turned the page to see that it was the epilogue, where everything should sweetly end with the characters in their lovely lives 5 years later. I was so confused and seriously believed I had skipped pages. It didn’t make any sense and I didn’t understand how we could just end up with such a rough and horrible explanation of who the killer was. Also, the biggest shock to me was the fact that Brynn was just willing to let all of this go and leave the killer to walk free when she had put in so much more before and nothing and no one had been able to stop her. However, I still suspect a follow-up to this book, even though we know who the killer was (at least I think so??) because of the shocking epilogue twist that occurred right at the last second, and I do think this could be very good if well planned and written, but we’ll just have to wait and see. But, if a sequel isn’t written I will be very angry as there are many things left unsolved and some plot holes. One last thing I would like to mention is the fact that the plot was just so incredible and you can really tell that the author put a lot of work into it, so much work that she included references to all the previous mystery cases, which I really loved and cannot stop thinking about. All of Karen M. McManus’ books are absolutely incredible and I really loved them all, but Nothing More To Tell is definitely my favourite because it had everything – amazing character development, an incredibly well written academia mystery and a dual narrated story; it completely blew my mind! This book is definitely in my top 10!!
Would you recommend this book?
I absolutely adored Nothing More To Tell and would 100000% recommend it to anyone. Particularly, I think that you will most enjoy the book if you are over 13 and enjoy murder mysteries, crime novels, thrillers and a bit of romance. It is an amazing book and I think everyone who reads it will love it.
Summarise the book in one sentence. (Verdict)
A shocking and thrilling mystery with a sprinkling of romance.
Reviewed by Jimena Gutierrez Reviriego
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