top of page
Writer's pictureKirsty Whitlock

Tell Me How This Ends by Jo Leevers. Review


Book Description


'[T]his promising, poignant debut concludes with that vital ingredient: a well-crafted twist' THE OBSERVER


Can Henrietta find out what happened to Annie’s sister—before it’s too late?


Haunted by the past, Henrietta throws herself into a new job transcribing other people’s life stories, vowing to stick to the facts and keep emotions at arm’s length. But when she meets the eccentric and terminally ill Annie, she finds herself inextricably drawn in. And when Annie reveals that her sister drowned in unexplained circumstances in 1974, Henrietta’s methodical mind can’t help following the story’s loose ends…


Unlike Henrietta, Annie is brimming with confidence—but even she has limits when it comes to opening up. Ever since that terrible night when her sister left a pile of clothes beside the canal and vanished, Annie has been afraid to look too closely into the murky depths of her memories. When her attempts to glide over the past come up against Henrietta’s determination to fill in the gaps, both women find themselves confronting truths they’d thought were buried forever—especially when Henrietta’s digging unearths a surprising emotional connection between them.


Could unlocking Annie’s story help Henrietta rewrite the most devastating passages in her own life? And, in return, can she offer Annie a final twist in the tale, before it’s too late?




BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'Tell Me How This Ends' by Jo Leevers.  


Read and reviewed for Jo Leevers, Burry Port Book Club and Lake Union Publishing


Publication date 1st May 2023. 


This novel consists of 45 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


This book is Jo's debut novel!


OMG!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS BOOK, AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING,ADDICTIVE, CAPTIVATING AND MYSTERIOUS AND PAGE TURNING EXPLOSIVE MUST READ!!!


This book is extremely well written with vivid and evocative descriptions that really put you in the storyline, feeling the hair on your arms raise and putting you on the edge of your seat!!! The storyline is just as stunning as the cover!!!  


The first thing I have got to say is an absolutely HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to the amazing author Jo!! I was absolutely mind blown when I had finished this epic page turner and I went to add the rest of her books to my Amazon wish list only to discover that THIS is her DEBUT novel!! I mean just WOW fair play!!! If THIS is what you can create for your very first book then I just cannot wait to see what on Earth you will come out with next!! I absolutely loved this addictive, compelling, mysterious and fascinating page turner!!! I honestly loved absolutely everything about it from the characters to the settings. It was just one heck of an amazing read!!! This book begins to telling Henrietta's story. Henrietta is a strange character with many quirks and very stilted conversation skills.  However, I absolutely loved how she is so matter of fact about things and does not understand pointless conversation. I had the impression that she may have autism with how she took everything so literally. Henrietta gets a job working in The Rosendale drop-In Centre as an interviewer and transcriber for The Life Stories Project. The Life Stories Project is an absolutely wonderful idea and it did make me wonder if there is something like that in place at the moment and if not then Jo should definitely start it. the Life Stories Project is a way to tell your life story to your family so they can have something that tells your story after you pass away. The Rosendale drop in centre is for those with cancer and Henrietta's first Life Story customer is Annie. Annie starts telling her life story but when she gets to the part where her sister Kath drowned Henrietta is determined to find out what happened to her. Throughout the book Henrietta and Annie form an absolutely amazing multi generational friendship which is completely unexpected by them both. The reader gets to go back in to Annie's past to 1974 where what truly happened to Kath is slowly revealed and it was nothing like what I expected!! I loved the multi generational friendship that is formed, the fact that we get to see what is going on from multiple perspectives and that we travel into both Kath and Henrietta's pasts. They both have heart-breaking histories for similar reasons. Their parent were all awful people, they were both made to feel guilty for something that they were innocent of and they both lead isolated lives. It is a rollercoaster ride of emotions from happiness to anger, joy to heartbreak and so, so much more. Jo deals with several difficult topics which include domestic abuse, blackmail, rape, childhood trauma, drowning, cancer and the horrendous treatment of children by their parents. Jo does an absolutely amazing job of weaving these subjects into an absolutely amazing storyline and the fact that she has experience and researched these areas absolutely shine through the pages. It is a pet hate of mine when an author does little or no research on their chosen topics and their books are then littered with unnecessary mistakes which spoil the storyline but Jo really has avoided doing this and considering it is her debut novel I want to say a HUGE well done!! Filled with suspense, mystery, family, friendship, heartbreak and so much more this book is an absolutely addictive and epic read!! I absolutely love, love, LOVED the unique storyline!! I have read so many books that it is getting harder and harder for me to find a truly unique plot but Jo absolutely smashes it out of the park with this one!! The storyline is absolutely action packed. I completely devoured it in a few hours and loved absolutely every second of it!! There was no way I could put this book down until I had finished it. I picked it up and even though I kept telling myself just one more chapter I just could not put it down as every time I went to something happened which meant I had to read just one more again until I ended up reading it in one sitting having been glued to my book for a few hours!! Jo's evocative writing skills and descriptions really brought the storyline to life and I just cannot wait to get hooked into his next book!!! This book will suck you in and keep you gripped in the pages until your thrown out at the end with a racing heart!! A truly unforgettable one in a million page turner!!!! 


Clear your schedules before turning a single page as this book is truly unputdownable!!! 


I absolutely loved meeting  and getting to know Henrietta, Annie and of course Dave as individuals as well as together as friends along with the many other fascinating characters throughout the book including Audrey, 'Upstairs Woman' lol, Mia, Cath, Cerys and many others, some not so much! I enjoyed watching Henrietta and Annie meet and bond while getting closer while trying to complete Annie's life book and also solve the mystery of Kath before it's too late for them all. I was completely invested in them all throughout and Jo's fantastic evocative writing skills and descriptions ensured they all came to life in front of my eyes. The fact that this is Jo's debut novel yet she has managed to create these amazing, unique and strong characters is just absolutely amazing!!! They were all absolutely fascinating, intriguing and unforgettable!!!I really enjoyed getting to meet most of them and learning all about their histories and discovering their stories. I would absolutely LOVE to see this book turned into a series with more Life Stories being written!! Hint hint Jo 😉 !!! I genuinely loved getting to know most of the characters and was completely invested throughout!! It just goes to show how fantastic Jo's writing skills are as she completely brought them all to life for me. An absolutely fantastic selection of unique characters that all worked together perfectly to create an absolutely chilling and addictive page turner!!!



This book is one the BEST books I have ever read !!! This book really is a truly unique page turner that I picked up and had devoured within a couple of hours!!! It had absolutely everything you could ask for and more!!! 


Well done Jo on an absolutely addictive and immersive page turner and I would definitely like to welcome you on to my top 5 favourite  author list!!! Congratulations on an absolutely fantastic success and here is to what is guaranteed to be many more 🥂 


Overall an absolutely addictive, page turning and unforgettable read that will keep you turning the pages until you've devoured the book in hours!!


300 pages.


This book is just £2.59 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £6.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!! 


Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook. 


Feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow me on my website or Facebook for more reviews.



@TellMeHowThisEnds @JoLeevers @LakeUnionPublishing @Bookworm1986 @BooksOnTour @BlogTour @BookReview @bookworm86 @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86 @Goodreads @Amazon @AmazonKindle @Bookstagram @BookBlogger @KindleUnlimited

 


  









Author Bio


Jo Leevers comes from London and is the author of the bestselling Tell Me How This Ends. Her next novel, The Last Time I Saw You, is out in 2024. She's also the author of the interiors book Victorian Modern and she writes about interior design for leading magazines and newspapers. She has two grown-up children and lives with her husband and their wayward dog Lottie.



Purchase Links








2 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Zero Kill by M.K Hill . Promo

Book Description A TIMES BEST NEW THRILLER PICK 'Runs at breakneck speed through a dark and dangerous universe populated with characters...

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
Post: Blog2 Post
bottom of page