I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Favourite quotes:
“Whatever you may have read in the tabloid press, those suffering from mental health difficulties are far more likely to be a danger to themselves than others”.
“This is why I don’t have relationships. Even if you’re lucky enough to meet someone you genuinely care about, someone who feels the same and isn’t a complete asshole, as soon as you let your guard down and start to rely on them, bang! Some deus ex machina comes down and blows them up or gives them a tumour or pushes them over a stairwell. It’s not worth it. You can’t miss it if it was never there”.
“A whole industry based on schadenfreude, making their inadequate readers feel smug about their drab little lives and relationships. Celebreties break up because their egos are solid enough not to put up with other people’s bullshit. The rest of us don’t have the balls, because we’re too insecure to be alone”.
What happens when two women with troubled pasts are connected by death of someone they both loved at one point? How far will one go to prove the other did it? And how much the other can take before she finally breaks?
A hotshot Vegas lawyer Mags receives news from London that her brother Abe tried to kill himself and is in a coma. When she flies up to England to see him, she meets his fiancee Jody and a cast of characters who were Abe’s neighbours. As a lawyer, Mags knows that nothing is ever what it seems. As she gets to know Jody and the neighbours, a lot of facts about her brother come to light. And little by little, they begin to make sense. But nobody is prepared to learn the full truth about their family, and to confront their past. Least of all Mags and Jody.
The paths of the two women would have never crossed if not for Abe. Neither of them trusts the other. Can they build a relationship based on lies, delusions and madness? Or will their histories destroy them completely?
“Tattletale” is a multiple PoV story, and no narrator is a reliable one. We don’t know which of the women we should trust – in fact, we don’t know until we’re well into the book who the devastating flashbacks are all about. That, admittedly, made the narrative a little harder to follow, but after a few chapters, everything became much clearer and I was able to enjoy this book for what it is. A decent pscyhological thriller that keeps you guessing until the very last page.
Psychological thrillers aren’t “light”, and “Tattletale” certainly wasn’t. It dealt with very heavy topics like rape, depression and suicide, addiction and bigotry. The book features a couple of graphic descriptions of sexual assault (trigger warning), and some scenes make the reader’s skin crawl. Mental illness was a very important plot point in “Tattletale”, as was victim-blaming, but I thought that the author dealt with the topics quite well. We do see through other characters’ eyes that there is still a big stigma surrounding people with mental illnesses and sexual assault survivors. I am glad that it wasn’t swept under the rug but was addressed and explored. Although I could’ve done without usage of death of a marginalized person as a central plot point.
“Tattletale” is a debut novel, and it’s written in a simple language with very little purple prose. It does show a lot of promise and gives us a glimpse into the author’s writing talent. I’m sure we’ll see several new good thrillers in the future from Sarah J. Naughton. “Tattletale” certainly made train journeys to and from work a lot more interesting!
Recommendations
You might like “Tattletale” if you liked:
“The Good Lawyer” by Thomas Benigno
“Disclaimer” by Renee Knight
“Last Seen Leaving” by Caleb Roehrig
Have you read “Tattletale”? What are your favourite psychological thrillers? Tell me in the comments and don’t forget to check out my Etsy charity shop!
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