Title: TELL ME SOMETHING TRUE
Author: MICHAEL ROBOTHAM
ISBN: 9781408722640
Publisher: Little Brown
Pages: 421
Source: Jonathan Ball Publishers
I look along the road and notice how many people are standing outside their houses or watching from doorways and windows. Staring. Studying.
‘Do you think this town will ever forgive me?’ I ask.
‘Not in a million years.’
Small towns are quick to anger and slow to forgive, so Arlo Hackett doesn’t expect mercy when he emerges from a twelve-year prison sentence and makes his way back to Yulara. The last time Arlo was home, his brother Luke was charged with a terrible crime, and Arlo was found guilty by association.
His return to the goldrush town is like cracking open a time capsule full of hatred and violence, along with memories of the people he loved – the ones he couldn’t save.
Yulara wants Arlo gone, or worse, but every insult and humiliation pushes him to confront what really happened all those years ago.
Official Summary
27 October 2026
I was absolutely thrilled to receive a review copy of this book from Jonathan Ball Publishers. I always enjoy Michael Robotham’s books, and this one certainly did not disappoint! What a brilliant story. I loved it, and Arlo was an incredible character who completely stole my heart.
Set in a small town where everyone seems to have an opinion, this is a story about what happens when a young girl is found dead and the community turns against one of its own. The police are determined to convict the man they believe is responsible, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear just how dangerous it can be when people decide they know the truth before all the facts have come to light. At its heart, this is also a story about family, first love, belonging and finding your place in the world.
Initially, I struggled with Arlo’s fascination with Saxon. She was far too young, and I felt he should have kept his distance. Saxon was a pretty, teenaged girl who clearly lacked proper guidance, and everything about her suggested trouble waiting to happen. I was worried about where this relationship might lead and what it could mean for Arlo.
However, as the story progressed, my feelings towards Arlo changed. He never crossed that line with Saxon, and it became clear that his intentions were simply to help her. There was a genuine kindness to him that I came to appreciate, and I found myself firmly in his corner.
Luke was such a sweet, innocent character, and he absolutely did not deserve what happened to him. It was heartbreaking to see how badly things went wrong and how the very people who should have been looking for the truth seemed determined to make the evidence fit their version of events. If the police had treated Luke fairly and properly investigated the circumstances, I believe the truth could have come out much sooner. And Arlo spending twelve years in prison? He did not deserve that! I found myself getting increasingly frustrated at the injustice of it all.
This was such a moving and thought-provoking read. It shows how quickly someone can be judged and found guilty in the eyes of others, even before the truth is known. Opinions are formed, assumptions become accepted as facts, and once people have made up their minds, changing them can be almost impossible.
The residents of Yulara had decided that Arlo was guilty, and I honestly wondered whether even the truth would have been enough to change their minds. They had created their own version of events and seemed perfectly happy to believe it. Watching this unfold was both heartbreaking and infuriating, especially knowing what Arlo had to lose because of their assumptions.
One of the things I loved most was that Arlo eventually found Clem and was given a second chance at life. After everything he had endured, it was wonderful to see the possibility of happiness and a fresh start. These characters were fantastic, and I became so invested in their lives that I found myself feeling deeply for them as the story unfolded.
While Tell Me Something True is a little different from the previous Michael Robotham books I have read, it has definitely become one of my favourites. It is an emotional, compelling story that stayed with me long after I finished reading. Robotham once again demonstrates his ability to create memorable characters and explore the darker side of human nature, while reminding us how much damage can be done when people choose to judge rather than seek the truth.
I cannot recommend this one highly enough. A brilliant, moving and thoroughly engaging read that deserves every one of its five stars!
Also By Michael Robotham
WHEN SHE WAS GOOD
Criminal psychologist Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac return in this new thriller from author Michael Robotham. Who is Evie, the girl with no past, running from? She was discovered hiding in a secret room in the aftermath of a terrible crime. Her ability to tell when someone is lying helped Cyrus crack an impenetrable case in Good Girl, Bad Girl. Now, the closer Cyrus gets to uncovering answers about Evie’s dark history, the more he exposes Evie to danger, giving her no choice but to run. Ultimately, both will have to decide if some secrets are better left buried and some monsters should never be named…
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Two-times Gold Dagger winner (2015 and 2020), twice Edgar best novel finalist (2016 and 2020) and winner of the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (2021), Michael Robotham was born in Australia in November 1960 and grew up in small country towns that had more dogs than people and more flies than dogs. He escaped became a cadet journalist on an afternoon newspaper in Sydney.
For the next fourteen years, he worked for newspapers and magazines in Australia, Europe, Africa and America. As a senior feature writer for the UK’s Mail on Sunday, he was among the first people to view the letters and diaries of Czar Nicholas II and his wife Empress Alexandra, unearthed in the Moscow State Archives in 1991. He also gained access to Stalin’s Hitler files, which had been missing for nearly fifty years until a cleaner stumbled upon a cardboard box that had been misplaced and misfiled.
In 1993 he quit journalism to become a ghostwriter, collaborating with politicians, pop stars, psychologists, adventurers and showbusiness personalities to write their autobiographies. Twelve of these non-fiction titles have been bestsellers with combined sales of more than 2 million copies.
His first novel ‘THE SUSPECT’, a psychological thriller, was chosen by the world’s largest consortium of book clubs as only the fifth “International Book of the Month”, making it the top recommendation to 28 million book club members in fifteen countries.
Since then, Michael’s psychological thrillers have been translated into twenty-five languages and his Joe O’Loughlin series is currently in development for TV by World Productions. A six-part TV series based upon his standalone novel THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS was aired on BBC1 in 2020, and a second series begins filming in 2021.
Michael lives in Sydney with his wife and a diminishing number of dependent daughters.
A big thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for this review copy. I am sad that I raced through this one so quickly. This is one of those books that when you finish it you want to spend more time with the characters. I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR, it is nothing less than a five-star read. Until Next time…. Happy Reading
