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Tell Her Story
From the author of Buried Deep and The House on the Water comes a shocking thriller about a young podcaster who’s investigating a cold case in her hometown and determined to uncover the truth at any cost.
Paige Barrett was living her dream as a journalist in New York City, racking up bylines as a staff writer at The Razor, a cutting-edge online magazine. But when she’s suddenly fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, she finds herself back home in the quaint seaside town of Shoreham, Florida, waiting tables and living in her sister’s guesthouse.
Restless and itching for something meaningful to occupy her time, she decides to launch a true-crime podcast about the death of Jessica Cady, a beloved teacher who died mysteriously 20 years earlier. The case went cold with no leads and no suspects, but the more Paige digs into the woman’s death, the closer she comes to a killer. In a small town like Shoreham, it’s impossible to keep a secret forever.
Tell Her Story is performed by Dakota Fanning and features the voices of LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell.
Paige Barrett was living her dream as a journalist in New York City, racking up bylines as a staff writer at The Razor, a cutting-edge online magazine. But when she’s suddenly fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, she finds herself back home in the quaint seaside town of Shoreham, Florida, waiting tables and living in her sister’s guesthouse.
Restless and itching for something meaningful to occupy her time, she decides to launch a true-crime podcast about the death of Jessica Cady, a beloved teacher who died mysteriously 20 years earlier. The case went cold with no leads and no suspects, but the more Paige digs into the woman’s death, the closer she comes to a killer. In a small town like Shoreham, it’s impossible to keep a secret forever.
Tell Her Story is performed by Dakota Fanning and features the voices of LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell.
3 pages, Audible Audio
First published May 5, 2022
126 people are currently reading
1431 people want to read
About the author
Margot Hunt
9 books1,304 followersMargot Hunt is the author of LOVELY GIRLS, THE LAST AFFAIR, FOR BETTER AND WORSE, and BEST FRIENDS FOREVER. She has also written the Audible Original novellas TELL HER STORY, THE HOUSE ON THE WATER and BURIED DEEP. Her next book, THE GUESTS, will be released in January 2024.
Learn more about Margot and her forthcoming books at
margothunt.com.
Learn more about Margot and her forthcoming books at
margothunt.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,188 reviews
May 24, 2022
3.5 stars: I’m a huge fan of the audible original stories. First, they’re free. Second, they have done a fantastic job of producing some fabulous short stories. “Tell Her Story” Is a 3 hour listen about a disgraced journalist who attempts to revive her career by creating a true crime podcast.
The journalist, Paige Barrett, is waitressing at a restaurant managed by her brother-in-law. A 20 year-old cold case mystery is brought to Paige’s attention as a case that was never solved involving the death of a beloved high-school teacher. The husband was always a main suspect, but he had a solid alibi.
The great Dakota Fanning narrates the voice of Paige, and she is fantastic. Other narrators include LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell. Half the story is in a podcast format. The other half is Paige researching her story.
This is a solid 3 stars reaching for 4 stars. I was amused and enjoyed every minute!
The journalist, Paige Barrett, is waitressing at a restaurant managed by her brother-in-law. A 20 year-old cold case mystery is brought to Paige’s attention as a case that was never solved involving the death of a beloved high-school teacher. The husband was always a main suspect, but he had a solid alibi.
The great Dakota Fanning narrates the voice of Paige, and she is fantastic. Other narrators include LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell. Half the story is in a podcast format. The other half is Paige researching her story.
This is a solid 3 stars reaching for 4 stars. I was amused and enjoyed every minute!
December 14, 2022
I haven’t listened much to podcasts, but after reading this book I want to. Decent twist, and the book was engaging.
June 7, 2023
Tell Her Story is an audible original (free if you have audible) about a disgraced journalist, Paige who starts a podcast to solve a cold case in her small home town. Although initially reluctant, with the encouragement of her sister, Paige gets sucked into the mystery. Will she got find out who murdered a popular high school teacher twenty years previously?!
This was a great listen, at only 2 hours and 52 minutes 🙌 There was a full cast, including Dakota Fanning, who was really good. The other narrators were LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell, who also performed well 👏
I enjoyed the format, where part of the story was Paige interviewing suspects, talking to witnesses and doing her research, and part was her podcast. It was the engaging and entertaining! I liked Paige as a character too.
However, I did figure out the murderer, as there weren't that many suspects really!
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this listen and hope there might be a sequel? I will also be checking out more by Margot Hunt
🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️
This was a great listen, at only 2 hours and 52 minutes 🙌 There was a full cast, including Dakota Fanning, who was really good. The other narrators were LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell, who also performed well 👏
I enjoyed the format, where part of the story was Paige interviewing suspects, talking to witnesses and doing her research, and part was her podcast. It was the engaging and entertaining! I liked Paige as a character too.
However, I did figure out the murderer, as there weren't that many suspects really!
Nevertheless, I enjoyed this listen and hope there might be a sequel? I will also be checking out more by Margot Hunt
🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️
October 5, 2024
Quick podcast true crime fiction listen. 👍
July 14, 2022
I listened to this because I had a long time in the car and because it is an Audible original, which means it is free for me with my subscription. I guess maybe, too, I noticed Dakota Fanning was the reader, not that I am a particular fan, but I noticed the name and have seen her in a few films. I also seem to be reading a lot of mysteries and had just finished one by John Banville/Benjamin Black. I guess maybe I wanted to see how someone I had never heard of--though who has published a lot of books--was at writing a mystery.
I thought it was "nice," okay, a paint-by-numbers three hour novella featuring Paige, who was once fired as a reporter for unscrupulous practices, now a cocktail (well, beer, the place is called Tailgate)waitress working for her brother-in-law Matt. We like Paige's sis Alex, who has allowed her to stay in the house while she gets back on her feet, but we don't like Matt. Matt is a jerk. Alex suggests Paige try to do a cold case podcast about a local woman, a teacher, and you know, everything works out perfectly. Completely out of the blue, the murdered woman's brother Ben shows up to help with the podcast, and though she has not experience or background in podcasting, her show becomes widely successful as she quickly solves the case! Isn't that amazing?!
Early on we strongly suspect the woman's inattentive husband, who ignores their kids and is never around, and doesn't want to be on the podcast--suspect!! So the jerk, Matt, is consistently a jerk, and the nice guy, Ben, good things happen with him. The dialogue is flat and predictable and the plotting is canned. Oh, maybe you can argue that the perp is a little bit of a surprise, okay.... and the ending is a tiny bit of a surprise, but honestly, it all seems like a computer could have written it. Props to the author, she's published a lot, I wish her well, but this feels canned. Dakota read it well, so that helped a bit, I guess.
I thought it was "nice," okay, a paint-by-numbers three hour novella featuring Paige, who was once fired as a reporter for unscrupulous practices, now a cocktail (well, beer, the place is called Tailgate)waitress working for her brother-in-law Matt. We like Paige's sis Alex, who has allowed her to stay in the house while she gets back on her feet, but we don't like Matt. Matt is a jerk. Alex suggests Paige try to do a cold case podcast about a local woman, a teacher, and you know, everything works out perfectly. Completely out of the blue, the murdered woman's brother Ben shows up to help with the podcast, and though she has not experience or background in podcasting, her show becomes widely successful as she quickly solves the case! Isn't that amazing?!
Early on we strongly suspect the woman's inattentive husband, who ignores their kids and is never around, and doesn't want to be on the podcast--suspect!! So the jerk, Matt, is consistently a jerk, and the nice guy, Ben, good things happen with him. The dialogue is flat and predictable and the plotting is canned. Oh, maybe you can argue that the perp is a little bit of a surprise, okay.... and the ending is a tiny bit of a surprise, but honestly, it all seems like a computer could have written it. Props to the author, she's published a lot, I wish her well, but this feels canned. Dakota read it well, so that helped a bit, I guess.
August 22, 2024
This is a fictional story about a girl who starts a true crime podcast in order to try to solve the cold case of a teacher who was murdered.
The story is short but solid with great narrators. ♥️
Duration: 2 hours and 52 minutes. Available through Audible. 🎧
The story is short but solid with great narrators. ♥️
Duration: 2 hours and 52 minutes. Available through Audible. 🎧
October 21, 2023
Story 3.75 stars**
Audio 5 stars**
Narrators
Dakota Fanning
LJ Ganser
Vikas Adams
Emily Bauer
Ann Osmond
Fred Berman
Jonathan Davis
Laura Darell
Audio 5 stars**
Narrators
Dakota Fanning
LJ Ganser
Vikas Adams
Emily Bauer
Ann Osmond
Fred Berman
Jonathan Davis
Laura Darell
May 15, 2022
4¾⭐
NARRATION = 😍 (Amazing)
NARRATED BY🎙️Dakota Fanning, LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, & Laura Darrell
Ɱ◎◎ĐႽ…
•» A short-story Audible Original
•» True crime podcast element
•» Smalltown unsolved murder of a teacher
My biggest disappointment with this was that I wanted more, a little more suspense, maybe a few more red herrings…it’s what happens with a short story, at least for me. That being said it was performed superbly by the full cast and I listened to it all at once. I would definitely listen to more of this kind of one-shots following the same characters, even if they were all this short…but a full-size novel would be preferable. Of course, it goes without saying that I would want Dakota Fanning and the rest of the full-cast back, too. The narration was a good part of what I loved most about this.
NARRATION = 😍 (Amazing)
NARRATED BY🎙️Dakota Fanning, LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, & Laura Darrell
Ɱ◎◎ĐႽ…
•» A short-story Audible Original
•» True crime podcast element
•» Smalltown unsolved murder of a teacher
My biggest disappointment with this was that I wanted more, a little more suspense, maybe a few more red herrings…it’s what happens with a short story, at least for me. That being said it was performed superbly by the full cast and I listened to it all at once. I would definitely listen to more of this kind of one-shots following the same characters, even if they were all this short…but a full-size novel would be preferable. Of course, it goes without saying that I would want Dakota Fanning and the rest of the full-cast back, too. The narration was a good part of what I loved most about this.
April 6, 2023
Unfortunately I predicted the ending pretty early on however I did like the story and I also enjoyed Dakota Fannings narration. It also had a full cast.... some of the time. Other times Dakota did all the voices which was a little strange.
November 2, 2022
This was another quick, entertaining free audible original. I really enjoyed Dakota Fanning's narration and the podcast chapters.
The Story: A disgraced journalist starts a crime based podcast and picks a local cold case as her first story.
The Story: A disgraced journalist starts a crime based podcast and picks a local cold case as her first story.
May 26, 2022
This was a decent short story. I just can’t get past the fact that the sister blames paige for everything when she’s the one who pushed this murder mystery on paige in the first place.
January 7, 2024
3.5 Stars
June 3, 2022
Cold Case Podcast
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (May 5, 2022)
Disgraced journalist Paige Barrett is encouraged by her sister to throw her hat back in the investigative journalism ring and to start a true crime podcast. A 20-year-old local cold case in their hometown becomes the basis of her first series. Teacher Jessica Cady was the victim of a hit and run at the time, and although her husband had been suspected his alibi proved unshakeable. Jessica's now grown kids encourage Paige with the investigation and finally the true motive and killer come to light.
The story was structured very well, with the real world narrative having inserts of the actual podcast episodes as Paige continues her gradual uncovering of the truth. The case was somewhat simplified with the rather unlikely sharing of police files with civilians and by Ebert's Law of the Economy of Characters with an obvious prime suspect being an early standout for this listener via the 'who is the most unpleasant person in this cast?' clue.
The story is primarily narrated by actor Dakota Fanning with most of the rest of the cast making short cameo appearances as interviewees for the podcast.
I've read that Audible Originals authors sign Audible exclusivity contracts for at least a six-month period before they are allowed to issue the work in print or eBook formats, so non-audio Margot Hunt fans will have to wait for a bit.
Trivia and Links
'Margot Hunt' is the thriller/suspense fiction penname of the author who writes romance fiction under her own name of Whitney Gaskell and YA fiction under the penname Piper Banks.
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (May 5, 2022)
Disgraced journalist Paige Barrett is encouraged by her sister to throw her hat back in the investigative journalism ring and to start a true crime podcast. A 20-year-old local cold case in their hometown becomes the basis of her first series. Teacher Jessica Cady was the victim of a hit and run at the time, and although her husband had been suspected his alibi proved unshakeable. Jessica's now grown kids encourage Paige with the investigation and finally the true motive and killer come to light.
The story was structured very well, with the real world narrative having inserts of the actual podcast episodes as Paige continues her gradual uncovering of the truth. The case was somewhat simplified with the rather unlikely sharing of police files with civilians and by Ebert's Law of the Economy of Characters with an obvious prime suspect being an early standout for this listener via the 'who is the most unpleasant person in this cast?' clue.
The story is primarily narrated by actor Dakota Fanning with most of the rest of the cast making short cameo appearances as interviewees for the podcast.
I've read that Audible Originals authors sign Audible exclusivity contracts for at least a six-month period before they are allowed to issue the work in print or eBook formats, so non-audio Margot Hunt fans will have to wait for a bit.
Trivia and Links
'Margot Hunt' is the thriller/suspense fiction penname of the author who writes romance fiction under her own name of Whitney Gaskell and YA fiction under the penname Piper Banks.
November 11, 2022
3 hours of my life wasted. No twists and turns, completely boring, and predictable at every moment. I didn’t even like Dakota Fanning as the narrator…everything seemed so whiny and based off the tone of voice used, you could immediately suspect who was bad guy/good guy. Awful story. Even though it was free through Audible, I’d rather pay to listen to a good book.
May 26, 2025
Superbly narrated by Dakota Fanning, this free Audible Original novela has cemented my desire to try to find more to read by this author. It's about a cold case podcast, the case being a 20 year old hit and run of a teacher that took place in a small town. I was riveted the entire 3 hours.
February 8, 2023
Great story, presented like a podcast with multiple narrators.
July 6, 2022
The premise started off well in this novella from Margot Hunt: Paige Barrett, who's just lost her prestigious journalism gig with a trendy NYC magazine, and been dumped by her boyfriend, retreats to small town Florida to wait tables at her brother-in-law's seedy sports bar/restaurant. Hoping to entice Paige back into the more glamorous life she's used to, sister Ashley (oh, the irony!) nags her into launching a true crime podcast. Twenty years ago, a teacher at the local High School - Jessica Cady - was killed in a hit-and-run and the perpetrator never found. Paige decides she will do her best to find Jessica's killer after all these years. Jessica's grown-up children not only give their blessing to the quest but, conveniently, have expertise in producing podcasts and public relations!
So far so good.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The story, as befits a novella, moves along at a rapid pace and Paige learns that Jessica was pregnant at the time of her death. So the murderer was responsible for two deaths not just one. But who did it? I was prepared to suspend disbelief that the local police would be so obliging as to give Paige full access to their notes and reports, including information - such as the pregnancy - that were never released to the public. The paternity is the key clue to discovering who killed Jessica Cady and her baby. And here's where the story went haywire for me.
Upon hearing the tape where the local detective had interviewed her then 18-year old brother-in-law Matt (the High School jock who's not yet married to Ashley, but has dated her for a while), Paige becomes suspicious about his involvement. It's when she finally confronts Matt with the truth - that he had impregnated the 40-year old married teacher who had acted like a besotted teenager and thought they were going to make a life together - that he whips out a gun and threatens to kill Paige if she doesn't let the whole thing drop.
Not only did that seem like some cheesy melodrama to me, but it was the lack of real emotion that I felt "lost the plot." We are told that Paige had been brought up by her older sister, Ashley, after the death of their parents. It is to Ashley - living in their spare cottage - that Paige turns when everything goes sour in NYC. Paige is a lousy waitress but keeps her job at Matt's sports bar/restaurant because she's his sister-in-law. Yet there never seems to be a moment's doubt in Paige's mind to "do the right thing" and expose Matt to the police. She appears to have no qualms about leaving her sister without a husband or her nieces without a father when he goes to jail for the murder of Jessica Cady. I'm not suggesting he didn't deserve to pay the price for his choices 20 years ago, but the author presented this as if it were a cut and dried decision on the part of Paige rather than something she would have had to grapple with earnestly before coming to her decision.
And even when Matt is hauled off to jail and Ashley - defending her husband and appalled at her sister, refuses to have anything to do with Paige - the younger sister's attitude seems to be: Oh, well - at least Ben (Jessica Cady's grown-up son) and I look as if we're in a relationship; all's well that ends well. It's that kind of note that the story ends on and doesn't sit well with me.
Perhaps I was expecting too much from this novella. Perhaps if this had been a full-length book, Margot Hunt could have explored the emotional roller-coaster a sister would go through knowing that her brother-in-law had killed to save his own skin and the impact that 20-year old decision was going to have on the people she loved.
As it was, I wasn't impressed, preferring characters with more depth to them when confronting life-changing situations such as this one.
So far so good.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The story, as befits a novella, moves along at a rapid pace and Paige learns that Jessica was pregnant at the time of her death. So the murderer was responsible for two deaths not just one. But who did it? I was prepared to suspend disbelief that the local police would be so obliging as to give Paige full access to their notes and reports, including information - such as the pregnancy - that were never released to the public. The paternity is the key clue to discovering who killed Jessica Cady and her baby. And here's where the story went haywire for me.
Upon hearing the tape where the local detective had interviewed her then 18-year old brother-in-law Matt (the High School jock who's not yet married to Ashley, but has dated her for a while), Paige becomes suspicious about his involvement. It's when she finally confronts Matt with the truth - that he had impregnated the 40-year old married teacher who had acted like a besotted teenager and thought they were going to make a life together - that he whips out a gun and threatens to kill Paige if she doesn't let the whole thing drop.
Not only did that seem like some cheesy melodrama to me, but it was the lack of real emotion that I felt "lost the plot." We are told that Paige had been brought up by her older sister, Ashley, after the death of their parents. It is to Ashley - living in their spare cottage - that Paige turns when everything goes sour in NYC. Paige is a lousy waitress but keeps her job at Matt's sports bar/restaurant because she's his sister-in-law. Yet there never seems to be a moment's doubt in Paige's mind to "do the right thing" and expose Matt to the police. She appears to have no qualms about leaving her sister without a husband or her nieces without a father when he goes to jail for the murder of Jessica Cady. I'm not suggesting he didn't deserve to pay the price for his choices 20 years ago, but the author presented this as if it were a cut and dried decision on the part of Paige rather than something she would have had to grapple with earnestly before coming to her decision.
And even when Matt is hauled off to jail and Ashley - defending her husband and appalled at her sister, refuses to have anything to do with Paige - the younger sister's attitude seems to be: Oh, well - at least Ben (Jessica Cady's grown-up son) and I look as if we're in a relationship; all's well that ends well. It's that kind of note that the story ends on and doesn't sit well with me.
Perhaps I was expecting too much from this novella. Perhaps if this had been a full-length book, Margot Hunt could have explored the emotional roller-coaster a sister would go through knowing that her brother-in-law had killed to save his own skin and the impact that 20-year old decision was going to have on the people she loved.
As it was, I wasn't impressed, preferring characters with more depth to them when confronting life-changing situations such as this one.
December 15, 2022
I read this a few months ago and enjoyed. Young woman moves into pool/guesthouse at her sister's place after screwing things up at her job (don't remember what, but, somehow connected with media and not checking the veracity of her sources). Now she is waiting tables at her brother-in-law's resto/bar and "enjoying" the hospitality of her sister while getting to enjoy the niece/nephew, if I remember correctly. Sister convinces her to get back on the horse and suggests that she produce a podcast on an unsolved cold case murder of one of their High School teachers. Boy, did she open a can of worms!!! Podcast succeeds beyond expectations and takes on an unfortunate, surprising turn for both of the sisters. As you can see this audio novella left a lasting impression on me (I got to the end, didn't I?) 😂
January 28, 2025
*https://www.instagram.com/mrsb_book_r...
🎙Tell Her Story by Margot Hunt is an Audible original released in May 2022. With a running time of just under three hours, this is a fast and compelling psychological thriller with a true crime podcast element. This is my first experience of Margot Hunt’s writing and I enjoyed it that much that I turned to her other audiobooks available on the Audible app.
🎙Disgraced journalist Paige Barrett leads Tell Her Story. Compelled to investigate a cold case that occurred in her home town, Paige begins to develop her own podcast around the shocking and mysterious death of a local teacher. As Paige delves further into this case, she uncovers locked truths and harrowing secrets that will lead her right to the killer. What secrets will her home town reveal?
🎙I turned to this short Audible original over the post Christmas period and it was exactly what I needed to get me though this busy time of the year. Tell Her Story soon reeled me in with the author’s ability to quickly provide the reader with a high level of suspense, suspicion and mystery thanks to this cold case focus. With some unexpected twists, a heavy and tense atmosphere along with a strong narrative for much a succinct read, I was impressed.
🎙This audiobook was narrated by Hollywood star Dakota Fanning, but it also boasts a wider cast featuring the performance of features the voices of LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell. This wide cast of narrators really brought the characters to life. Fanning's voice in particular was well-suited to the tense and introspective atmosphere of this story. Tell Her Story felt much like an authentic theatrical experience.
🎙Tell Her Story is a fast-paced and gripping thriller with fantastic narration, a strong plot and a fantastic true crime podcast thread. If you are a fan of suspense, psychological drama, cold case or true crime this is a must-read (or listen!).
🎙Tell Her Story by Margot Hunt is an Audible original released in May 2022. With a running time of just under three hours, this is a fast and compelling psychological thriller with a true crime podcast element. This is my first experience of Margot Hunt’s writing and I enjoyed it that much that I turned to her other audiobooks available on the Audible app.
🎙Disgraced journalist Paige Barrett leads Tell Her Story. Compelled to investigate a cold case that occurred in her home town, Paige begins to develop her own podcast around the shocking and mysterious death of a local teacher. As Paige delves further into this case, she uncovers locked truths and harrowing secrets that will lead her right to the killer. What secrets will her home town reveal?
🎙I turned to this short Audible original over the post Christmas period and it was exactly what I needed to get me though this busy time of the year. Tell Her Story soon reeled me in with the author’s ability to quickly provide the reader with a high level of suspense, suspicion and mystery thanks to this cold case focus. With some unexpected twists, a heavy and tense atmosphere along with a strong narrative for much a succinct read, I was impressed.
🎙This audiobook was narrated by Hollywood star Dakota Fanning, but it also boasts a wider cast featuring the performance of features the voices of LJ Ganser, Vikas Adam, Emily Bauer, Ann Osmond, Fred Berman, Jonathan Davis, and Laura Darrell. This wide cast of narrators really brought the characters to life. Fanning's voice in particular was well-suited to the tense and introspective atmosphere of this story. Tell Her Story felt much like an authentic theatrical experience.
🎙Tell Her Story is a fast-paced and gripping thriller with fantastic narration, a strong plot and a fantastic true crime podcast thread. If you are a fan of suspense, psychological drama, cold case or true crime this is a must-read (or listen!).
June 11, 2024
Tell Her Story' had a strong plot that leveraged the True Crime podcast trend to frame the story. Dakota Fanning did a good job as the main narrator and the supporting cast brought the podcast segments alive.
Despite all of that, I never got fully engaged with this novella. To me, it seemed to plod along, spooning out exposition to move the plot along in a fairly mechanical way. The characters all had the potential to be interesting but I didn't really get to know any of them particularly well. The story didn't bore me but it didn't make me care either about the people and what happened to them or about solving the puzzle about who the killer was.
From the other reviews that I've seen, mine is a minority opinion but I found this novella to be bland. It was more like an early storyboard than a completed story. I wanted something to make me care but there was no threat, no risk, just mild curiosity.
Despite all of that, I never got fully engaged with this novella. To me, it seemed to plod along, spooning out exposition to move the plot along in a fairly mechanical way. The characters all had the potential to be interesting but I didn't really get to know any of them particularly well. The story didn't bore me but it didn't make me care either about the people and what happened to them or about solving the puzzle about who the killer was.
From the other reviews that I've seen, mine is a minority opinion but I found this novella to be bland. It was more like an early storyboard than a completed story. I wanted something to make me care but there was no threat, no risk, just mild curiosity.
July 8, 2022
Predictable novella but overall enjoyable. Absolutely LOVE that this was read by Dakota Fanning 💗💗
January 10, 2026
I was going with three stars but then the last two-three chapters became quite strong and interesting!
November 20, 2022
Tell Her Story is an audible original book about a young podcaster, who is investigating an unsolved death of a local teacher, Jessica Cady. Paige Barrett is a disgraced journalist, who is working as a waitress at a restaurant managed by her brother-in-law. She wants to revive her journalist career so begins a podcast looking into a twenty year old case. She is encouraged by Jessica's now grown children, who want closure. She finds out that the teacher was having an affair, and was pregnant at the time of her death. She continues to investigate and her podcast is one of the most listened to out there. When she finds one fact that has been hidden all these years, she puts herself in danger. I enjoyed this novella and found it to be just the right length for this story. The mystery was interesting and I enjoyed Paige's and Ben's investigation. The story is told with both a narrative and insertions from the podcast. It was a bit unreal, in the sense that the police were pretty open about the case and the sharing of information, but I just went with it. The narration was excellent. Paige was voiced by Dakota Fanning and there was a whole cast of performers voicing the other characters. A well down audiobook and story that I recommend.
May 13, 2024
Quick novella about a new-to-the-craft of podcasting that uses the platform to discuss a cold case. While there’s been a lot of this trope in recent books, this one was quick and to the point!
April 24, 2023
Enjoyed this short story! My first by this author and plan to check her other works out!!
September 16, 2022
this novella started off as a mediocre crime drama and ended up going down a route that was completely dismissive and hypocritical about sexual abuse.
main character lost her job because she believed a rape victim who got details wrong was telling the truth and published details with those lies anyways because the rapist deserved it. fair enough.
the murderer in this case was a man who was groomed as a high school senior by his 40 year old female teacher into a sexual relationship where she became obsessed with him and purposefully became pregnant to trap him in a relationship with her. the protagonist's response to him saying the teacher was a sexual predator and he was a child?
"you were old enough to get someone pregnant."
yeah. i checked out at that point. obviously he deserved to be held accountable for his crime, but they completely gloss over that the teacher was a groomer and sexual predator.
now, i won't say anything about real life lest it get me in trouble. but i think in fiction it's always fair to kill sexual predators! waste of space!
this would've been less glaring if it wasn't for tirades about misogyny and sexual abuse earlier on from the protagonist about her past, because shes a hashtag feminist, but yeah. holy fuck, it's 2022. we are NOT just going to gloss over the sexual abuse and grooming because the predator was a woman. holy shit.
also, the climax was just cheap as shit. there's a part where he confronts her at the end that i'm convinced is missing a chapter because it's so abrupt. and the protagonist and her love interest who's the son of the predator teacher talk like they care more about their podcast stats than any of the revelations of the case. nobody is bothered by the sexual abuse.
holy fuck.
let me put it into perspective. the following is the exact backstory of the murder but with the genders flipped.
-
a beloved teacher was hit and run twenty years ago in a small town where everyone knows each other. nobody has a single bad thing to say about him, and treat him like a saint who could do no wrong.
as the investigation goes on, it's revealed that he groomed and began a sexual relationship with one of his students during her senior year. he then proceeds to purposefully get her pregnant in order to trap her in a relationship with him. if she doesn't comply, he threatens to expose her for sleeping with a married man, ruining her life. she freaks out and totally distraught, hits and kills him with her car. she obviously hides this for twenty years.
then, her sister in law finds out. when confronted, she explains that when she was young and naive, she saw attention from older men as desirable and it's not the first time older men hit on her or tried to seduce her. she knows she was a fantasy for them because she was a high school cheerleader. she points out the teacher was a sexual predator and she was a child.
her sister in law responds with "you were also old enough to get pregnant."
in the aftermath, nobody treats the teacher any differently.
-
yeah. if you've got half a brain, you can see why that's fucked up.
you can tell stories about imperfect victims and perpetrators. you can tell stories about victims that are outright predators who were killed by victims. you can tell stories about the complexities of abuse and the things it does to people, the things victims will do to get out of situations.
what you don't do is hand wave that fucking trauma because grooming and sexual abuse is still that, even when it's a woman doing that to a teenage boy.
only reason i'm giving like. 1.5 stars is the voice cast did great.
main character lost her job because she believed a rape victim who got details wrong was telling the truth and published details with those lies anyways because the rapist deserved it. fair enough.
the murderer in this case was a man who was groomed as a high school senior by his 40 year old female teacher into a sexual relationship where she became obsessed with him and purposefully became pregnant to trap him in a relationship with her. the protagonist's response to him saying the teacher was a sexual predator and he was a child?
"you were old enough to get someone pregnant."
yeah. i checked out at that point. obviously he deserved to be held accountable for his crime, but they completely gloss over that the teacher was a groomer and sexual predator.
now, i won't say anything about real life lest it get me in trouble. but i think in fiction it's always fair to kill sexual predators! waste of space!
this would've been less glaring if it wasn't for tirades about misogyny and sexual abuse earlier on from the protagonist about her past, because shes a hashtag feminist, but yeah. holy fuck, it's 2022. we are NOT just going to gloss over the sexual abuse and grooming because the predator was a woman. holy shit.
also, the climax was just cheap as shit. there's a part where he confronts her at the end that i'm convinced is missing a chapter because it's so abrupt. and the protagonist and her love interest who's the son of the predator teacher talk like they care more about their podcast stats than any of the revelations of the case. nobody is bothered by the sexual abuse.
holy fuck.
let me put it into perspective. the following is the exact backstory of the murder but with the genders flipped.
-
a beloved teacher was hit and run twenty years ago in a small town where everyone knows each other. nobody has a single bad thing to say about him, and treat him like a saint who could do no wrong.
as the investigation goes on, it's revealed that he groomed and began a sexual relationship with one of his students during her senior year. he then proceeds to purposefully get her pregnant in order to trap her in a relationship with him. if she doesn't comply, he threatens to expose her for sleeping with a married man, ruining her life. she freaks out and totally distraught, hits and kills him with her car. she obviously hides this for twenty years.
then, her sister in law finds out. when confronted, she explains that when she was young and naive, she saw attention from older men as desirable and it's not the first time older men hit on her or tried to seduce her. she knows she was a fantasy for them because she was a high school cheerleader. she points out the teacher was a sexual predator and she was a child.
her sister in law responds with "you were also old enough to get pregnant."
in the aftermath, nobody treats the teacher any differently.
-
yeah. if you've got half a brain, you can see why that's fucked up.
you can tell stories about imperfect victims and perpetrators. you can tell stories about victims that are outright predators who were killed by victims. you can tell stories about the complexities of abuse and the things it does to people, the things victims will do to get out of situations.
what you don't do is hand wave that fucking trauma because grooming and sexual abuse is still that, even when it's a woman doing that to a teenage boy.
only reason i'm giving like. 1.5 stars is the voice cast did great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2022
These Audible Originals are fast becoming my favorite kind of palate cleansers between full length novels. Though short, they’re always entertaining and the narration is usually superb.
Paige is a disgraced journalist working as a waitress back in the small town she grew up in. Convinced by her sister, she decides to take a look at a cold case from 20 years ago when one of her teachers was kill in a hit and run, so she’ll start a true crime podcast to try and find out the truth.
Although the podcast element is a bit overdone in nowadays thrillers, here it worked really well, and those inserts narrated by a full cast really added to the story, cast headlined by Dakota Fanning who did a fantastic job as Paige.
Quick listen with an intriguing plot and a great narration that will keep you engaged for a couple of hours.
Paige is a disgraced journalist working as a waitress back in the small town she grew up in. Convinced by her sister, she decides to take a look at a cold case from 20 years ago when one of her teachers was kill in a hit and run, so she’ll start a true crime podcast to try and find out the truth.
Although the podcast element is a bit overdone in nowadays thrillers, here it worked really well, and those inserts narrated by a full cast really added to the story, cast headlined by Dakota Fanning who did a fantastic job as Paige.
Quick listen with an intriguing plot and a great narration that will keep you engaged for a couple of hours.
May 19, 2022
Oh no.
November 20, 2025
I honestly feel like Dakota Fanning maybe wasn’t the right narrator for it. I don’t know why, I just wasn’t connecting with her character. The story was okay though.
September 22, 2022
2.5 Stars
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