A title is important, a cover is crucial, but a prologue can literally make, or break your book’s chances of success. Many writers, we have seen, broke their books with a subpar prologue, and fortunately for you, dear reader, this is not the case with Dying to Tell by Val Collins, she NAILED IT, and here’s why: you can’t stop asking yourself questions. What is he doing? Why is he doing it? What did he see? How can he see it?! How can he…? Why is he so… indifferent with the vision ? What is going on? And just like that, you are invested and sold to the book, bang!
And the first official pages of the book are… unnerving, in a good way. There’s a man that you will hate right away, yet we still have to read the reason why. Yes, you will want to rip his eyes out, and if you think I’m exaggerating, grab a copy, hahahaha.
The reader can clearly see and feel how well manipulated we are through the words of the author that form the perceptions of the characters, their motives, inner thoughts and the where they are put. We are forced to feel, in many instances, as we cannot be indifferent to the amount of outrage, at times, in the scenes. Impressive!
No time to dilly-dally here, because this is a full blown mystery, and things go about fairly straightforward from the points of the characters, which speeds up the book and makes it engaging and interesting.
We have, a missing husband, a fresh marriage, a vacation in Italy and a stalker of the wife with a fake ID. Yeap, an easy mystery to solve, right? Hahahahaha, oh and wait until you find out about his family’s background, questions will bubble up and up the pages and will leave you scratching your head. This is a plot that was very well constructed, we have to admit that, and mystery book lovers will have a challenge ahead of them to figure this own out.
Although the book is very direct, there are some pauses for humour and high-end drama on the story when family characters are put together under one table or go dress-shopping, hahahahaha.
Ok, there is a jiggle in this book. Someone may have murdered Matt, but who? His wife? His neighbours? His parents? Someone with no relationship? Oh my, and then when you add the rumours, damn, it’s enough to keep you guessing, although… The was a sure strong hit at the beginning of the book, that may or may not be related to all of this, but in order to confirm any if it, you’ll have to read the entire book. Interesting…
Once again, this mystery is full of drama, but not unnecessary drama per se. We are talking about little secrets that can have impactful consequences, enough for someone to be murdered down the line, and this involves neighbours, families and distant friends even, so there are many lines to trace at once and any of them can lead to the killer that is closer than you think, and you will never suspect who is, nor the real reason behind it, besides money, of course.
Dying to tell is one of those thrillers/mysteries that you can be experienced in reading books, and think: “Oh, I will figure this out soon”, and let me admit this to you, I thought that myself, and yes, I was so wrong. There is no way that you will be able to figure who killed Matt, nor what until the very last pages. You can try, draw charts and grab the gipsy ball, but nope, no way, this was wrapped in tight fist and the least person you expect, will be the one. Seriously. This thriller was very well written.
Well paced, full of drama, humour, facts and great characters, Dying to tell is a book that will have you engaged all the way through, from beginning to end, and clueless all the way. This something you can’t miss if you love great thrillers and mysteries.
Cons:
None
Pros
- Excellent plot. Unpredictable, mysterious, engaging
- Excellent narrative
- Diverse characters
- Social problems discussed in the plot perfectly
- Several angles explored on the different situations that made the characters rich, believable, human, flawed and lovable/hateful
- Emotional depth to everything
- Very nice wrap and plot twist
Scribble's Worth 
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