THE TELL TALE by Clare Ashton
- Publisher: Self-Published, September 18th, 2021
- Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 378 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
The Tell Tale is a historical fiction with many awesome queer reps, and it is the quality mystery we need!
The year is 1971 and Beth Griffiths (~38) has returned to the village of Foel with her daughter Nia at the same time people start getting anonymous notes that reveal secrets of their past. Lady Sophie Melling (~38), who recently inherited a manor from her late father Lord Melling, is also back in the village. And the villagers are pointing fingers, desperate to find out who is the tell tale as more and more details about what happened in Foel twenty years ago begins to unveil.
Now, where to begin.
It is almost impossible to talk about any of the characters, their relationships and identities without spoiling something about the story. I can only say that reading The Tell Tale was quite an emotional ride, and the storyline definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.
While it is set in Wales in the 1970s, the story reflects so much of the world today. The many themes of injustice (including queerphobia, misogyny, homelessness, class segregation in social settings, mistreatment of the working class, racism, etc.), of toxic masculinity, of queer representations are spread throughout the scenes. None felt like checking diversity and inclusion boxes but were deeply woven into the storyline. Through the characters’ interactions with each other, we learn about the village of Foel, the characters themselves, and the overall world.
There is a lot of misogyny. And by “a lot” I mean it is literally what the story is based on and set in. Many of the characters are completely repulsive, twisting the truths and people’s words to serve themselves. At many occasions, I could feel my blood boiling and I just wanted to scream. I felt helpless as a reader seeing the scenes unfurl, but I trust that the story is going somewhere and it would not end on a painful note. And the ending was so satisfying!
At first, I had trouble remembering who’s who. But as the story progressed, we get to know all of the characters—the lovely ones and the despicable ones—and deeply feel all their dynamics, their motivations and drives and loves and fears. At no point did the story lull. Throughout the almost-400-page book, the village of Foel came to life and I felt all sorts of emotions—anger, repulsiveness, sadness, softness, and happiness.
And the writing, the warmth of Ashton’s words, the little descriptions in the story, and the flow of the sentences. Ashton writes so well I felt everything taking place around me—the details of a space, the thoughts and feelings of the character; I can see them happening.
I love the queerness of the story, both in the sense of weirdness and the queer characters. I especially appreciate the ace rep and genderqueer rep, and seeing them makes my gay heart so happy! Also, I love that Welsh is incorporated into the dialogues. It infuses so much life to the story and setting.
While a sense of sadness and foreboding permeates through the book, The Tell Tale is a very satisfying mystery that ends on a wholesome note. Queer folks have always existed, and thank you, Ashton, for writing this story for us.
content warnings: misogyny/sexism, discrimination/hate against LGBTQ+ people, hate crime, domestic abuse, gun, hunting, blood, bones, alcohol (recreational & abuse), death, loss of loved one, homelessness, mental illness, trauma, non-consensual drug use, drug withdrawal, injury, violent attack, outing of queer people, cheating (minor character), racism
Buddy read with Gabriella! Check out her review on Goodreads!
I received a digital review copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
2 Comments
Pingback:
Pingback: