If I Tell: A Mystery Thriller About a Girl and a Serial Killer

by J.W. Lynne

*This book has undergone a title change. The original title was Where Darkness Hides. The new title is If I Tell.*

Perfect for fans of A GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO MURDER who want to discover something new!

My name is Jenna.
I'm sixteen years old.
And I think my dad is a serial killer.

On a muggy summer afternoon in Upstate New York, sixteen-year-old Jenna Cooper is swimming in a lake when a murdered girl is found nearby, pulled from that very same lake. The next day, the body of another girl is discovered a couple of miles away. Soon, more bodies are found. All are girls in their teens or early twenties, and they were all killed in the same distinctive manner.

As police race to solve these horrible crimes, Jenna finds clues that make her wonder if her father might be the killer. Although she is terrified to believe her dad could be a murderer, she is determined to find out the truth, no matter what it is.

But her quest for the truth is about to land her in a makeshift prison, at the mercy of a serial killer. Will she find a way to escape or will she be the next to die?

If you like murder mysteries with page-turning suspense, jaw-dropping twists and turns, intriguing family relationships, a dash of clean romance, and an ending that brings everything together, you'll love this riveting standalone thriller that will keep you guessing until the final pages!

What readers are saying about IF I TELL:

"Amazing! Hooked from beginning and read it in one sitting. Did not see the ending coming. Great writing. In depth characters. Would 10000% recommend." - Anabel, Goodreads ★★★★★

"Interesting plot twists and turns. Keeps you intrigued the whole time. I recommend this book for anybody who likes suspenseful books with a LOT of mystery." - Hayleigh, Goodreads ★★★★★

"Amazing book. I could not put it down. The reveal shocked me but made sense. Satisfying ending. One of the best books I've read in a while." - Sara, Amazon ★★★★★

Perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus, The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, or Girl Stolen by April Henry. Highly recommended for teens ages 13 and up, young adults, and adults who like fast-paced crime fiction with a teenage amateur sleuth.

All of J.W. Lynne's novels are available in Kindle Unlimited.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 25, 2022

About the author

J.W. Lynne writes suspenseful page-turners with twists, turns, and surprises. Her novels include ...

THE UNKNOWN: Eight kids learn the shocking reason why they were kidnapped.
(suspense, mystery, thriller, action, adventure, dystopian, clean romance)
Recommended for adults, teens, and tweens ages 12 years old and up.

ABOVE THE SKY: In a broken world, teens are sent off to war knowing they will never return.
(suspense, childhood-best-friends-to-lovers closed-door forbidden romance, dystopian, action, adventure, mystery, thriller, futuristic military sci-fi)
Recommended for adults and teens ages 13 years old and up.

THE DARKNESS OUTSIDE: A teen’s simulated trip to the moon takes a shocking turn.
(suspense, action, adventure, clean romance, futuristic science fiction, space travel, mystery, thriller, dystopian)
Recommended for adults, teens, and tweens ages 12 years old and up.

IF I TELL: A teen wonders if her father is a serial killer.
(murder mystery, crime thriller, suspense, family drama, clean romance)
Recommended for adults and teens ages 13 years old and up.

WHAT HE DIDN'T TELL ME: A traumatized girl meets a boy with a horrible secret.
(heartbreaking love story with clean romance, tearjerker, travel adventure, mystery, suspense)
Recommended for adults and teens ages 13 years old and up.

KID DOCS: An experimental program teaches kids to be doctors.
(fun and educational medical fiction, clean romance)
Recommended for teens and tweens ages 12 years old and up.

WILD ANIMAL SCHOOL: A teen spends a romantic summer learning to train and care for tigers, lions, leopards, grizzly bears, and elephants.
(animal adventure, clean romance)
Recommended for adults, teens, and tweens ages 12 years old and up.

LOST IN TOKYO: A girl travels to Japan to follow her missing mother’s bucket list.
(travel adventure, mystery, clean best-friends-to-lovers romance, tearjerker)
Recommended for adults and teens ages 13 years old and up.

All of J.W. Lynne's books are available on Kindle Unlimited.

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Reviews

[Anabel likes to read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Hooked from beginning and read it in one sitting. It’s quite short so the pace is fast which I felt was perfect for this book. Did not see the ending coming. Great writing, in depth characters you’ll either love or hate. Would 10000% recommend.

[Lary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kleiner read für zwischendurch. Kann man auf jeden Fall an einem Tag lesen. War schon recht spannend. Das Ende kam allerdings sehr schnell und den Plottwist fand ich nicht so plausibel.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars All The Way!

This is a well written mystery thriller with twists you won't see coming. In depth characters, some you will love, some you will hate. A well thought out plot makes this a particularly great read.

Reader Beware: Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down until you get to the end!

As an ARC reader for this author, I am giving you a fair and honest review.

[Danielle adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a quick read and I can honestly say I didn’t see the twist. I loved the plot and details and the story was very interesting and kept me hooked. I’d read another book if it was a thriller!

[Zoe Doherty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book when I first started reading it. Up until the very end I was hopeful for this book. The ending of this book stinks!! It was so rushed and all over the place. This was super disappointing and just felt like absolute nonsense.

[Julie Ludwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read with lots of turns … was engaged through the entire story.

[Dorothy Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from the beginning. Towards the end I was confused but I understood what happened really quick. I highly recommend this book.

[Lily Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

IVE NEVER MET ANYONE READ THIS I FREAKING LOVE IT THE PLOT TWIST WOAHHH

[Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected and exciting

The twist and turns of if I tell kept me glued to this book, would recommend if you like mystery, murder, and a little bit of love.

[J.W. Lynne]

An excerpt from IF I TELL:

PROLOGUE
My eyes are wide open, but I see nothing but darkness. My heart races and my breaths come fast as I try to understand what just happened. But I am trying to make sense of something incomprehensible. All I know is that this is no accident. Someone has trapped me here. They have locked me in a place where no one can hear me scream.

I am now at the mercy of a serial killer.

TWENTY-SIX DAYS EARLIER ...

CHAPTER ONE
"Have you ever seen a dead person?"

I am swimming in a lake near our campground when Darren, a nineteen-year-old guy from my neighborhood, comes running up and asks me that question. My older sister, Skye, is way out deep in the lake along with our good friends, Noah and John. I'm closer to the shoreline, with the boys' twelve-year-old sister Ruthie. The hot and muggy air made the cool water feel soothing until Darren's words pulled away that pleasure.

"No," I say to Darren. "Have you?"

"Yes," he says, almost triumphantly.

"He's lying," Ruthie says to me.

"I am not," Darren retorts. "If you ask nicely, I'll show you."

He directs that last part to me.

I shake my head. "I don't want to see a dead person."

Ruthie narrows her eyes. "It's a trick. He's trying to make us look stupid."

She's probably right. Darren doesn't seem to know how to interact well with others. He doesn't have any friends. When he's in the mood to be around other people, which he rarely seems to be, he tends to approach Skye and me, since we live next door to him, and John and Noah, since they live just one block away. Darren is a bit older than us. John is eighteen, Skye is seventeen, and Noah and I are sixteen. The four of us have become Darren's targets probably because we don't tell him to go away, the way most people do. Darren's dad died when he was only seven years old, and his mom is a nice lady, so the four of us try to be decent to Darren.

"It's not a trick," Darren says, tilting his chin to the side, his longish sandy-brown hair falling into his eyes.

That's when I notice the police cars. Four of them. I don't think I've ever seen a police car in this park, even though my family and I come here for camping trips all the time. I guess the park rangers handle most of the problems that come up.

"Skye, John, Noah," I call out, then I point to the flashing red lights. "The police are here."

Skye and the boys immediately swim to shore.

"Do you know what's going on?" Noah asks. His shaggy blond hair is dripping wet, and the water drizzles down his muscled chest.

"It must be serious if they called the cops," John says. His blond buzz cut looks almost dry even though he just left the water.

Darren points toward the woods. "There's a dead body over there."

"No way," Skye says, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Darren's face flushes a little. He's always had a crush on Skye. A lot of guys do. She's slim, tall, and really pretty. And her long straight brown hair always looks gorgeous, even right now, when it's sopping wet.

"Come on," Darren says. "I'll show it to you."

I'm not exactly sure why we all follow Darren into the woods. I guess it's curiosity. Darren is probably joking about there being a dead person. He's probably going to laugh at us for being gullible. But I'm not gullible. I don't believe Darren. I just want to know why the police are here.

When we get close, Darren tells us to hush. We tread carefully, trying to keep our footsteps quiet. At Darren's urgings, we slink behind a large rock. Then we scramble up the back of it, so we can get a good vantage point for the lakeshore below.

There are a bunch of policemen and women milling around down there. And in the center of them all is a person lying on the ground. A woman ... or maybe she's a girl. She has long wavy black hair, like mine, and she is wearing a light-green sundress. She's lying on her side. It looks like she's either passed out or sleeping. But, if she was sleeping, wouldn't the police have woke her up? And if she was passed out, wouldn't someone be tending to her closely until an ambulance arrives?

I can't see the girl's face. But her hands are behind her back. Around her wrists is a bright-red band of some kind. We're so far away that I can't tell what it is.

"What's around her wrists?" I ask Darren.

"Duct tape," he says.

"What's duck tape?" Ruthie asks.

"Duct tape, stupid," Darren says disdainfully. "With a T at the end."

"Don't call her stupid," Skye says, punctuated with an expletive. Using expletives is a habit that Skye picked up from our dad. She is careful not to use them around Mom or Dad, though. They make Mom upset. And, if Dad hears her use one, he smacks her hard enough to leave a big welt on her cheek. When it's just us, she uses them whenever she feels they are appropriate.

"What is duct tape?" Ruthie asks, emphasizing the T at the end.

"It's really strong tape," Noah says quietly, his gaze fixed on the girl.

"How do you know she's dead?" I ask Darren.

"Believe me. She's dead," he says. "I was closer before, so I could see her better. Come on. We can get a little nearer."

Skye rolls her eyes, but the five of us follow Darren off the rock and down toward the shoreline. We duck behind another large rock and peek out the other side.

What I see knocks the air from my lungs.

I'd wanted Darren to be wrong. I wanted that badly enough that I'd convinced myself that he was wrong. But Darren is right. This girl is dead.

Now that we're closer, I see things I hadn't before. The color of the girl's skin is pale and a little purplish. Her eyes are open, but they are staring out straight ahead ... at nothing. And there are flies buzzing all around her. But there's something else that tells me for absolute certain that this girl is dead ...

There is red duct tape wrapped tightly over both her mouth and her nose.

No one would be able to breathe like that, although they'd surely be desperately trying.

But this girl isn't struggling to breathe.

Her body lies completely still.

[Hayleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

In If I Tell, Jenna Cooper is a 16-year-old girl who lives in Glasston, New York. Her sister, Skye, herself, her mom, and her dad all hold a deep secret between their family that nobody knows about but them. One afternoon during the summer Jenna, Skye, and their two friends were swimming in a lake when a girl was pulled from the same lake nearby. A dead girl. Another girl was murdered the next day in the same way. Pretty soon more murders came all, in the same way. Jenna and Skye have a suspicion that her dad is the murderer. Many clues lead to this suspicion. Near the end of the summer, still searching for the answer, Jenna finds herself in an awful situation that could lead her to be the next victim. If I tell is the story of a girl who lives through a series of murders that occur in her hometown and could end up as the last.
One thing I liked about the book was the suspense that was built throughout the book. You never really knew what was going to end up happening. It doesn’t straight up tell you the murderer or why the murderer was killing the way they did until the end when Jenna finds out who it is. It has some interesting plot twists and does a good job of ensuring you don’t know what happens next. It also adds twists and turns; for example, if you think something is going to happen, it's usually not what you think.
Another thing I liked was the point of view. It was the point of view from a girl, Jenna Cooper, who was experiencing it all first hand. It showed the fear she was constantly in, considering she fit the description of what type of girls the killer murdered. Also what her life looked like from the inside and not from somebody who wasn’t in her family. It shows the reasons her and her sister believe that their dad could potentially be the killer, and why they were careful about how they went about finding these clues.
In conclusion, I found the book very interesting and very climactic. It includes some sad details and is a little depressing at points but not in a bad way. It keeps you intrigued the whole time and doesn’t get boring like some books. It's a decently sized book and easy to read. It follows the storyline very well. I recommend this book for anybody who likes suspenseful books with a little thrill and a LOT of mystery.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book a 3.75 star rating and would probably read this again down the road!

I have to say, I devoured this book, which was fairly easy considering it was under 200 pages in length. The cover and feel of this book alone really drew me in as well. From the start, I was fairly intrigued and I felt the story moved along at a great pace, covering a lot of story in so little pages. I wouldn't have minded if more detail was given, putting the book around 300 pages, but felt the story was to the point and really captivated you and kept you wondering what would happen next. I truly thought the dad was the killer, but like most abusers, got his traits from his dad. I never pegged the grandpa to be the killer but wasn't too shocked. Finding out the main character's sister was the second killer, and had started by liking the feel of killing her dad, really surprised me. I was shocked that she'd even consider hurting Jenna, considering how much she defended her and seemed to love her. Apparently she loved killing that much more? I don't believe that she would have just left her somewhere to be found. The ending I sped through and was SO beyond mad and disappointed at how easily the family wanted to keep everything secret and just be a big happy family. I was so thankful Jenna turned out to be sane minded and didn't kill Skye or have any part in the secret keeping. Really enjoyed this "short story" and would read this one again or others from the same author.

[Shantel lazrovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed interesting fast page turning
Likes or characters !
Love the setting with friends on the lake camping gives your chilling vibes as a dead body is seen by the teens
The pack up with their families and go home
As we learn more about the girls Jane and sky and ther dad the activities make you keep your eyes glued to the dad such a horriable father , as that unfolds the girls are best friends with John and Noah
Soon a few and local girls start to go missing and found dead all with the same duct tape wrapping
As the family leave go to the grandparents to get away something crazy happends and what unfolds is insane would never have guessed it!! The plot flip mind blown forsure
all I’ll add is the ones I thought was guilty was NOT !!!!!
Read it in 1 sitting 2 hours
4.5 star totally recommend
…. The dads missing now , where is he ? And how if he is dead if their still killings poping up???

[Isabella_0082 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very conflicted about what to rate this book. On the one hand, the first part of this story created a sense of dread, in my opinion. On the other hand, the ending felt too far-fetched. Now, I'm not against happy endings but for some reason that I can't put my finger on, the way this book ended felt like it belonged in a different book. Nevertheless, I did want to find out who the killer was, and I did consider multiple possibilities, including the final reveal. So, I rate this book 3 stars. Another thing I'd like to point out: the climax wasn't very climactic. Atleast it didn't feel like that to me.
Again, I didn't think it was bad at all and I can think of a few people I know who'd love this book immensely, but personally, I found it sort of...average.

[xvmrvx · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.75] it’s very fast paced because its a short book, and i love a fast paced thriller, although i feel like it should be longer; everything moved TOO fast, some decisions that needed time to consider, for example, were made in one paragraph, and i lowk didnt like that. it didnt build up a lot of suspense, but the plot twist??? i never wouldve guessed it. so good i recommend you listen to crystal castles during the last 40 pages, oh and about the ending, i dont really like the big time jump, i feel like in the epilogue there are some things that should’ve been told in detail, yk? overall a fun read! i recommend it!

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,7/5
What a plot twist!
Ao longo da leitura, observamos a Jenna na sua desconfiança a tentar juntar as peças e encontrar provas de que o seu progenitor abusivo é um serial killer, a surpresa que nos espera no final throws us in for a loop.
Não estava mesmo nada à espera, gostei!
Só gostava que tivéssemos visto mais algum development na relação da Jenna com o Noah, pelo menos termos podido ver em primeira mão o diálogo do momento em que ela se abre sobre a história da sua família para com ele, algo que acho importante e que foi apenas mencionado de passagem que aconteceu.

[torah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read on my kindle that I liked but the writing felt sort of underdeveloped and juvenile. The first half bored me as well, it was so slowly paced that it infuriated me (especially the parts when they were at her aunt's house). I never connected to any of the characters and in general, it felt like it would appeal to more pre-teens than teens. The plot twists were unexpected though and the book had an interesting concept. 2.5 stars.

[Cait Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpected Ending

This is a fast-paced, easy read.
I spent the entire book assuming I knew the ending, even when there was a twist, I thought I had it all figured out. It was a shock to be proven wrong.
The ending felt rushed; I do wish it was slowed down, and there were more details/specifics shared. I wanted to know more about the character's journey.

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was too short so everything felt rushed. I enjoyed reading it so read in one day but felt that the plot twist was silly and didn’t make sense.

[Salma Morando · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot definitely kept you intrigued and guessing. I loved the idea of it all. It had twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. However, the twists are turns towards the end moved quickly that it caused some confusion for me. Parts of it didn’t make sense. Or believe-able I should say. I feel it could have been more detailed and suspenseful.

[Daveia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This reads like a bad middle school book report. Do not recommend.

[Monica Hansel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

twist upon twist

Excellent read - very similar formula to recent books I have read from a different author but with same ability to surprise the reader

[𝐸𝓁𝒾𝓏𝒶𝒷𝑒𝓉𝒽₊˚✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wtf did I just read

[Riley Lawler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book If I Tell takes place in upstate New York where Jenna and her family live. What was thought of as a happy family took a turn for the worse when there started to be murders happening. It first started when Jenna and her family were at a campground and didn't stop until the case was solved. A feature I would like to mention is that this is a very quick read especially because there are so many things happening it draws your attention very quickly. Another thing I would like to add is even though it's a very short book it hits all the details and is very easily comprehendible. I would rate this book 4 stars only because I wish it would've kept going! I would definitely recommend this book especially if you enjoy a quick read with a lot of twists and turns and mystery.