Tell Me What You Did: A New Thriller

Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson

Author Interview + My Thoughts on the Book + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!Don’t miss any author interviews! Click the link here.Tell Me What You Did

MOST ANTICIPATED THRILLERS OF 2025 – SheReads

“A brilliant thriller…I didn’t just read this book, I devoured it in an adrenaline fueled frenzy!”
—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling suspense author

She gets people to confess their crimes for a living. He knows she’s hiding a terrible secret. It’s time for the truth to come out…

Poe Webb, host of a popular true crime podcast, invites people to anonymously confess crimes they’ve committed to her audience. She can’t guarantee the police won’t come after her “guests,” but her show grants simultaneous anonymity and instant fame—a potent combination that’s proven difficult to resist. After an episode recording, Poe usually erases both criminal and crime from her mind.

But when a strange and oddly familiar man appears on her show, Poe is forced to take a second look. Not only because he claims to be her mother’s murderer from years ago, but because Poe knows something no one else does. Her mother’s murderer is dead.

Poe killed him.

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Dead Girl in 2A and The New Neighbor comes a chilling new thriller that forces the question: are murderers always the bad guys?

To purchase a copy of Tell Me What You Did, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and BookshopMy Thoughts on Tell Me What You Did

Carter Wilson knows how to write suspense. This book kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. It’s filled with twists and turns, but not at the expense of character development. We see how each person grapples with loss, danger, and obsession, and what lengths they will go to for revenge, even if it could cost them everything.

The novel has a fascinating structure. With multiple time lines, and transcripts of podcasts, Wilson allows us to experience the story through different lenses, adding to the pace and mystery. We watch events unfold forward and backward, and even get to watch them on video through the use of QR codes (read down for more on that in our interview).

Protagonist Poe Webb won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but even readers who don’t like her will find her compelling. Her relationships with her father and her dog soften her, which adds to her complexity, because she is also one of the toughest, most kick-ass characters that I’ve come across in a long time—she reminds me of Chelsea Cain’s character Kick.

Fast-paced and dynamic in its use of language, Tell Me What You Did is perfect for anyone who loves a good thriller and likes to go dark, dark, dark.

One of my favorite books so far in 2025.

Author Interview with Carter WilsonTell Me What You Did centers on podcaster Poe Webb. What would you like readers to know about her?

She’s tough. Flawed. VERY angry. Poe is a 30-year-old true-crime podcaster with a traumatic past, and her way to deal with trauma is to run face-first into it. Her therapy is revenge, her comfort is her boyfriend, Kip, and her dog, Bailey, and the relationship she must save at all costs is with her father. And, boy, does she like to drink.

 

Tell Me What You Did includes QR codes, which readers can access to view videos. Tell us about the process of coming up with that concept and how you chose what to include:

First, here’s some context:

The protagonist, Poe Webb, hosts a successful true-crime podcast. She interviews everyday callers who have something to confess, and while she records the online conversations, she always deletes the recordings a week later to preserve the guests’ anonymity. But, unknown to her callers, Poe always records video of her side of the conversation on her iPhone.

I decided I wanted to see what those recordings might look like, so I hired the wonderful actor Rebekah Kennedy to play the role of Poe and recreate those recorded scenes. She did an amazing job, and I get goosebumps every time I watch these short scenes. The three videos are linked by QR codes in the book, so all the reader has to do is scan the code with their phone to watch. Even my acknowledgements are done by video.

Inserting multimedia into novels is just like writing the novel itself: I do it for me. I tell the story I want to tell, and if that story is best serviced with some multimedia, I’ll add it in. If I’ve learned anything from over two decades of writing, it’s that if I’m not finding joy in the process, it’s not worth doing at all.

 

Tell Me What You Did uses more than one timeline, which adds to the suspense. What was your process for writing it that way?

 I love multiple timelines because it adds so much more depth to the story. And I hate exposition, so if I need to tell the reader what happened, say, four years ago, I’d rather go back and SHOW them rather than just have one character awkwardly discuss it with another.

In addition to have flashbacks in this book, I also intersperse a podcast transcript throughout the chapters.

Because I don’t outline, I write everything in order that it appears in the book, even if there are multiple time-jumps. So it can be a bit tricky, but that’s what editing’s for.

 

What are you working on now?

I just finished another standalone thriller that we’ll be submitting to the publisher soon, and I co-wrote a YA thriller that we’re trying to figure out what to do with.

 

Words of Wisdom for new writers:

Trust the story. Don’t take classes that insist there’s only one way to take a novel but rather read everything and anything about the writing process and then let your organic process lead the way. Your story is in you, trust that it’s great, and find the way to tell it that’s true to who you are as a storyteller.

 

Great Advice!Author Pet Corner!

 

Guff!Scully!

Guff is a 10-year-old Bengal, who in a previous life, was some kind of sun god that insisted on daily human sacrifices.

Scully is a 2-year-old Golden Retriever who’s as dumb as rocks but good at snuggling.

Adorable!

 

 

 

Tell Me What You Did Author Carter Wilson

Carter Wilson is the Publishers Weekly and USA Today bestselling author of ten award-winning psychological thrillers.

His works have earned starred reviews from all major trade publications, have been optioned for television and film, and his 2025 release Tell Me What You Did was selected by Barnes & Noble as a national monthly pick.

Carter is also the host of the Making It Up podcast and founder of the Unbound Writer company, which provides coaching services, writing retreats, and online classes.

He lives in Erie, Colorado.

To learn more about Carter, click on any of the following links: Website, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTokElena Hartwell | Elena Taylor

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