Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil in Aussie Readers

Sep 18, 2016 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: thriller, arc, psychological-thriller, own-read, aussie-authors, mystery, read-on-kindle, net-galley, 2016-release

Chief Inspector Bish Ortley’s daughter Bee was on a touring holiday with a busload of British students – the campsite between Calais and Boulogne-surMer was where they were with Spanish students as well as French when Bish had the phone call about a bombing at the site. The immediate heart-stuttering terror he felt took his breath away; his race across the Channel to the campsite with Bee’s grandmother felt like it would never be over.

As Bish was reluctantly drawn into the investigation, he disc ...more

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Sep 14, 2016 Tien rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian-author, own, mystery, australia

There are books and then there are BOOKS! I’m talking about those books that permeate your whole soul and haunt your dreams. Yes, I have bookish dreams. Don’t you?! Melina Marchetta’s latest is one of these. If I could, I would’ve read this book in a single sitting but work and kids… such stumbling blocks! But even if I had to stop reading, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

My first reaction when I found out about this book was jubilation that Melina Marchetta is releasing a new book followed b There are books and then there are BOOKS! I’m talking about those books that permeate your whole soul and haunt your dreams. Yes, I have bookish dreams. Don’t you?! Melina Marchetta’s latest is one of these. If I could, I would’ve read this book in a single sitting but work and kids… such stumbling blocks! But even if I had to stop reading, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

My first reaction when I found out about this book was jubilation that Melina Marchetta is releasing a new book followed by, oh, wait… what’s this?! It’s not YA! **gasps** Nevertheless, it’s a Marchetta’s, it’s must read. Still, I started with a tad of trepidation but no fear, as within the first few paragraphs, she’s got me in the palm of her hands.

This is a story of someone who has had to repress a part of his inheritance and its consequences. It’s a story of the migrants with brilliant opportunities but circumstances and prejudices conspired against them. It’s a story of a world where being different means being wrong. It’s a story of hatred and love and everything in between. It’s a story of the pursuit of truth and its liberation.

If you haven’t read any Marchetta’s and always thought YA isn’t your cup of tea, you must read this book. She created such a realistic fictional world with well developed characters that you cannot but think must be real. Her characters are always different (or diverse, whichever way you want to look at it) and being different always caused a ripple in a world where homogeneous = safety. Whilst the ending isn’t in anyway sad, I kind of felt tired… about the current state of world and why we cannot all live in mutual acceptance and peace! For the mystery/thrillers lover, I do believe you will love the twist at the end, I certainly didn’t pick it.

I really had no idea what to expect in this adult fiction from a worldwide-fame YA author but in my eyes, Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is definitely a success. I am, more than ever, entrenched deeply as a fan because as someone who widely reads across the genres, Melina Marchetta has written books crossing many of my favourites; books which I’ve loved. Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil is a confronting novel of the broken world we have today, the pain of terror attacks, of hate and its consequences.

Postscript: This review is all about what this book makes me feel because it makes me feel so very much, my meter has overflowed. “Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil” isn’t just a title, it’s an exhortation. Let’s keep the conversation going…

My thankful heart goes to Melina Marchetta and Viking (Penguin Books Australia) for copy of book in exchange of honest review ...more

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Mar 06, 2019 Michael Livingston rated it liked it · review of another edition

Fast-paced and entertaining, if a little too neatly tied up at the end.

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Nov 16, 2016 Kat at Book Thingo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian-authors, crime-mystery, vomit-list

Still processing this book. It's not my favourite Marchetta, but it's trademark Marchetta. Like Jellicoe meets the adults from TPS, with some of the devastation in Finnikin. I love the light touches of humour and always the relationships. Marchetta does relationships -- and family -- so well. My only real issue with this book is that it's just so heartbreaking (not the ending so much as the circumstances) and there's not enough romance to balance out the devastation. ...more

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Nov 10, 2016 Janelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-author

Awesome read, another of her books that I wanted to go back & reread straight away.

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Mar 12, 2018 Marg rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, aww2018

4.5/5

i do love Melina Marchetta's books and this was very enjoyable once it got going.

One niggly thing for me was the fact that Charlie's parents were called Reverend and Mrs. If they are Salvation Army as suggested then this is not what their titles would have been. That may have been a deliberate choice but it's not right and it threw me out of the story every time it came up.

#nitpicking

Wasn't sure about the narrator at first but in the end I enjoyed it. ...more

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Jan 04, 2018 Robin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book, though I did think that some of the things that the protagonist, Chief Inspector Bish Ortley did were out of character for a policeman of his stature. But overall the characters were well drawn, the pacing was tight and the plot was absorbing.

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