If You tell Anyone, You're Next

by Jack Heath

An exclusive group chat. A deadly challenge. How far would you go to join? Jayden Jones is missing. Everyone thinks he ran away. His best friend, Zoe Ross, knows they're wrong.

Zoe's search leads her to the Seventeen a secret group chat, used by anonymous teens to blackmail the powerless. To join, you have to put on a mask and record yourself completing a challenge. The challenges are always illegal. Sometimes dangerous. Maybe deadly. Who are the Seventeen? What have they done to Jayden? And what will they do to silence Zoe?

A rollercoaster of suspense and twists from the author of the Liars series.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2023

About the author

Jack Heath wrote his debut novel, The Lab, in secondary school and sent it to a publisher at age seventeen. He's now the award-winning author of forty novels for adults and children, including the international bestsellers Hangman, The Wife Swap and 300 Minutes of Danger. His books have been translated into ten languages, optioned for TV and adapted for film. He lives on Ngunnawal/Ngambri country in Canberra, Australia, with his wife, their children, several chickens, a few fish and a possum named Oreo.

Reviews

[jv poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I was going to love this YA, suspenseful mystery. With plenty of twists and turns and a pretty snappy dialogue, I'm certain "my" students will dig this.

[oatmealbowl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay this book was a little fun. A little goofy, a little scary, but kinda great. Very australian enola holmes. But my god I was so STRESSED for the last maybe 70 pages, and was genuinely scared at one point which I wasn’t expecting from a YA

[Jenn Sellmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wise person once told me that a book deserves a 5 star review if, after you've finished it, you can't stop thinking about it and you recommend it to others. Well, I've only just put it down but I'll definitely be recommending it to others seeing as I work in a school library and this will be going on the shelf tomorrow!
I am a big fan of AGGGTM and Jack Heath has channelled that well. Add in the Aussie setting and it's jumping up as a firm favourite for me.
I'm not going to tell you anything about the actual book because you can read the blurb and other reviews for yourself. Any extra information would just spoil it. Just read it!

[Amity Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok this is like AGGGTM level good!!!!

[Leeyah Noureddine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot twist. 🤯🤯

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content warnings: disappearance of a friend, fire, death, violence, blood, murder, blackmail

I absolutely FLEW through this. Something about the use of social media messages and the way that the story was told had me compulsively turning the pages. It definitely wasn't as creepy as I anticipated based on what I've read of Heath's work in the past, but it was extremely compelling and I was hooked from start to finish. Zoe was a solid protagonist and I really enjoyed seeing the ways in which she tackled the mystery and the hunt for her best friend.

Definitely read a little younger than I expected, but that's not a bad thing - there's a real gap in the market for 13-15 year old readers!

[Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I would have rather kept my bowling buddy rather than those shoes" Made me cry.

Really great book! Mr Heath sure knows how to build suspense, and keep it going until I've finished the entire story. Easily on par with Kill Your Husbands. Amazing!

LOVED the protagonist! Would read more books of her solving journalism crimes and such!! Such a witty inner dialogue, with an easy to follow deduction train of thought.

I managed to guess the Mystery Twist. This is not a criticism of the book, I'm just proud of myself :) even though I read mostly mystery, I hardly ever see the twists coming. So this is more of a congratulations, that you managed to lay out such a consistent mystery!

[Grace Anthonisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!! BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ! (and I have read a lot of books).


YOU MUST READ THIS!!!!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hm I don’t know how to feel about this one. I found the writing to be pretty bad, and the ending a bit predictable. But I was hooked and couldn’t put it down so idk 🤷‍♀️

[Lucy Millington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this book! Such a great read and so many twists and turns I could not put it down. Only thing I didn’t like was that it was in third person. I just feel like I’m reading one of my old stories from grade 6. However I definitely couldn’t write as good as this dude did.

Also I love Christian he is sooo cute and I want him to be a real person.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice quick read i read over 2 days just before going to bed, I actually did enjoy this alot reminded me of a certain movie its the same concept so cant say in case someone has seen it. Loving the aussie theme too great touch on the areas. only thing for me the ending felt a bit flat.

[chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.49

i did guess what the resolution would be, but not too long before it happened, so i still felt smart for getting it, not angry at the author for thinking i was too stupid to get it, like some other mystery books.

jack heath just has this thing about him. this book was classic jack, yet still something very new and fresh.

all in all, i found this fun, intriguing, and inspiring (story wise and from a reading/writing perspective, not making a criminal snap group chat perspective).

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you choose to read any YA thriller this year, make it this one! If You Tell Anyone, You’re Next is full of twists and turns that are sure to get your stress levels up and heart racing. Heath has created 313 pages of thrilling adventure, mystery and teenage angst that is unputdownable! As so many other reviews have already said, this is a 5 star read that hits the YA thriller brief perfectly!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but it didn’t excite me as other books have done, there were some really good twists in the book though. I would recommend this book to those who are trying to get into reading and are looking for a short but good thriller/murder mystery book :)

[Meg Harley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Good book a lot happened. would of been 5 stars if the pacing at the end was the slightest bit slower. Christian is my new book boyfriend. Jayden needs help and lots of it.

[Cherilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great teen read! Very hard to put down with all the twists and turns, will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end!

[Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Representation: Minor Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Physical assault and injury, fire, murder, arson and death of a child and a car crash in the past mentioned, near-death experiences, blackmailing, blood depiction, home invasion, axe violence
Score: Six points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

One year ago, I read Jack Heath's first instalment in the Liars series, The Truth App. One year later, it was time to read Jack Heath's latest fictional composition: If You Tell Anyone, You're Next. I found the latter to be a massive step up from the former and never stopped reading it. However, I have some gripes with it.

It starts with the first person I see, Zoe, whose last name remains undisclosed, studying at her school when another student, Jayden, goes missing. The first half of If You Tell Anyone, You're Next was slow paced--one of only a few gripes I have with it. Nothing much happened there. The second half though swiftly picks up the pace as Zoe stumbles upon a group chat on the predominantly used social media platform, ySup, known as the 17. Members must participate in illegal and potentially dangerous dares. For what? Nothing is what it seems anymore as the narrator becomes unreliable since Zoe told me someone murdered Jayden. But he's alive. Also, the 17 isn't a group, rather one real account and a myriad of sockpuppets. The concluding pages are especially enthralling, even with no cliffhanger, as the antagonist turns out to be Jayden and not the person Zoe suspected. At least he gets arrested in the end and the 17 ceases to exist.

[Yun-Ah Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolute page turner and kept me hooked to the very end!!!

[Anakin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of Good girl’s guide to murder you’re in for a treat!!!

Spoilers!

Just as suspenseful as the GGGTM series as the twists had you on the edge of your chair and by the end my jaw was on the ground.

The foreshadowing of Jaydens desire for attention was well done as it was the pinnacle of his downfall. The twists were very well interwoven even connecting the dots to how Axel was in trouble with the police.

Loved the story Zoe’s mum shared as it perfectly illustrates a mothers instinct in why she never liked Jayden; leaving us with a well said quote “So someone who says the right thing to everybody is probably saying what people want to hear rather than what is in his heart. And if someone never says what’s in his heart maybe he doesn’t have one.” (BOOM) Mic drop!

Can’t forget about the sincerity between Zoe and Christian and their dynamic as they learn to love each other by the end. You were rooting for these two and it was a fitting ending.

Zoe breaking the threshold through slapping Aria or daring to speak bad of her grandma was great character development. Additionally her inner thoughts of her surroundings was spot on.

Humour 4/5
Suspense 5/5
Twists 5/5

[Dubby.J · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read!!!!

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page turner. Friendships tested and not knowing who you can trust really highlights school life. Wanting to join a popular group chat to fit in, and doing anything to achieve this spot. Towards the end I felt I had an idea and what was going to happen, which I'm proud to say I was right but either way it was a really interesting read and one I could not put down

[Tarleea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually loved this book so much!
My first book of this authors, but now I want to read all their work.
The plot twist was a goodie!

[Phoebe Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it and I can't wait to read more from the author. I liked the idea of the 17 and it reminded me of another series that I enjoyed.

[Brooke Stubbs]

Loved this book

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous young adult suspense novel. Loved it, will be recommending it to the kids at my school.

[Savannah Tanone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the cover and was like, 'this is my kind of book'. I was right! It was great, mystery and horror with a plot twist!

[Aqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what a way to end it. 4.75 stars

[Cherie Corbett-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced, nerve racking and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved reading this book, this is the first I’ve read by this author, after reading the back I was immediately intrigued by this book. I decided to give it a go and I’m glad I did, this book was fantastic, a very well written and detailed mystery, full of danger and secrets, a very good thriller. I loved the surprising twists and turns throughout the book it kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. I loved the characters. I highly recommend reading this book if you look a good mystery.




Zoe’s best friend Jayden has gone missing days go by and frustrated with the police having no leads is determined to find out what happened she and Jayden have a true crime podcast and she’s an aspiring investigative journalist. In her search the number 17 comes up, at school she has a crush on Christian but after he pushed his friend will over doesn’t do bad guys became cold towards him. Zoe feels guilty because she and Jayden had fight a week before he went missing and hadn’t spoken to him all over a girl named Aria. Zoe’s science class is interrupted by policewoman Senior Constable Shankani Wake. Whom questions her believing Jayden has run away or that Zoe herself is a suspect. On the way home Zoe bumps into a guy wearing a lion mask but the police don’t believe her. She rejects Christian when he asks her to be his dance partner. In the bathroom Zoe overhears two girls talking about an app called the green room, and Jayden’s name mentioned along with someone named pinkie. Near the river finds another 17 graffiti. Zoe goes to Jayden’s house to look at his tablet but it’s suspiciously clean and notes the Ysup app they use to message has been deleted. She keeps getting weird texts by the 17. Her mother has never liked Jayden tells Zoe to move on, seeking support from her friend Niamh who reveals a few weeks back he’d asked about the ysup group called 17. It’s an exclusive secret group full of the cool people who have to complete a challenge to get accepted by the group. Zoe figures Christian is popular would know about the group agrees to be his partner and questions him about 17 but he freezes up, she notices Sara a pink haired girl and confronts her privately who admits she’s scared of the group and wants out she was threatened into accepting an invitation to the green room there is also another group called the 17 which has a lot personal information on everyone it’s blackmail the members use if you have useful secrets you get invited to the green room until you get a challenge something illegal that must be recorded and posted to be accepted into the 17. The challenges at first were small things but Gradually got more extreme Sara was told to burn the school library down she refused. That’s why she was afraid of Zoe following her. Ninth grad student Eli Hobbs his challenge was to stay in haunted house but ended up in a coma, Zoe sneaks in to see him learns it was a car accident but a cut in particular seems suspicious she confides in Niamh and they steal Christian’s phone to hack it aria goes through Zoe’s bag but niamh has the phone. Through Christian’s phone they access the green room and see posted videos of challenges including fake hot own death, stay in a haunted house all night and Jayden getting stabbed by someone in a witch mask calling the self Xstream the girls fight about what to do Christian is in the clear because he did his challenge when Jayden went missing someone in a silver car tries to run down Zoe causing Christian phone to get broken. Goes to the police but the 17 group have altered the video to frame Zoe. Talks to Kyle because he went to another school with Jayden find out some shocking things Jayden was expelled because he was trying too hard to fit in even brought alcohol to school he got into a bad fight with another student named Nico. Zoe gets ahold of a burner phone belonging to the group 17 which sends out a challenge to locate who has the phone so Zoe barely avoids masked guys and runs into Christian who comes clean about the group and the video of Jayden’s death he completed his challenge but didn’t get into the 17 group received a note saying if you tell anyone your next he’s horrified about what happened to Jayden he wanted to join to get information on a girl he has a crush on to see if she was dating her best friend because his mate will the one he pushed over said she was. He left the group but was threatened to keep silent she calls him a coward before leaving. Zoe believes someone is using the group as a cover and that Jayden’s death was personal goes to the grammar school to visit Nico who tells her that he didn’t kill him, that he did a challenge but received a text saying if you tell anyone your next making her believe it’s someone at her school. He only told his cousin Aria. Zoe talks to her brother and learns the night of the liquor robbery he was meant to meet up with Jayden the one who brought alcohol to his school what other secrets was didn’t she know about Jayden. Zoe finds the silver car that tried to run her down a masked money attacks her but she defends herself still has the burner phone and finds the blonde wig, the group posts that Zoe has the burner phone and to capture her, her parents call the police are looking for her to question evades everyone heading to Niamh house they apologise to each other and access the burner phone the group 17 is fake it’s one person running the whole thing Aria, Zoe visits aria and confronts her with this only wanting one thing Xstream identity but she laughs at Zoe, the cops turn up tracking Zoe’s phone like she planned now they will get information on Aria. She heads to the old Adkinson house where Jayden was killed and is attacked by a guy in a witch mask that reveals himself as Jayden he faked his death as the challenge Eli was in the building doing his challenge when Jayden stabbed him and placed him in the car to look like an accident been in hiding for days waiting for the invite into the group tells him that the group is fake a prank by Aria who knew he was Xstream and what happened with Eli she threatened everyone to keep quiet not wanting herself to be connected by the police, he tries to kill her because she discovered the truth, the house catches on fire and Christian turns up knocked out with Jayden, the three escape the burning house and Jayden is arrested. Senior constable Wake clears her on all charges since they have evidence on Aria’s blackmailing and Jayden on the assault on her and Eli, Christian saw the house go up in flames went to save her. Eli wakes up from his coma Christian admits his feelings for Zoe and she reciprocates his feelings they start dancing together again.

[Emily Rainsford · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

I picked this up because I enjoyed the author's recent adult thriller release so much I was writing a blog about it for work, which led me to realise we had this book on our shelves, which led me to yoink and read it.

This was another fabulously unputdownable read. A very "one more chapterish" book (I'm imagining the chapters like Pringles - once you pop, you can't stop!). I think if I were the kind of person with the time and focus to read in one sitting, this is definitely a read in one sitting kinda book.

I think this book toes the line perfectly of being full of action, twists and turns, without quiiiiiite tipping over into ridiculousness. Like, sure it's kinda improbable but it's such a fun and well told ride of a story that you just roll with it and have a good time.

I may have yelled "I KNEW IT!" somewhere towards the end but it was in that satisfying way of a hunch paying off rather than predictability. I was kept guessing about a lot of the elements throughout the story and the plot kept me on my toes.

This author is *very* good at planting lil breadcrumbs in small details, the importance of which comes to light later in the story. Which, as someone with an eye for detail that can either be an asset or annoy the crap out of everyone around me, depending on the context, I find extremely satisfying.

There was even a lil wee romance that was frankly adorable.

Do not at all regret ignoring my pressing pile of obligation reads to squeeze this book in, I thoroughly enjoyed it.