Tell Me Something True
On sale
29th September 2026
Price: £22
Genre
‘Tell Me Something True is unforgettable’ KARIN SLAUGHTER
‘My book of the year. A compelling, intriguing and entertaining masterpiece’ LIZ NUGENT
‘An epic elegy of love, family, morality and justice that deserves to be showered with awards’ CHRIS BROOKMYRE
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, but Arlo Hackett doesn’t expect mercy when he emerges from a twelve-year prison sentence and makes his way back to Yulara, a waypoint on Australia’s Great Southern Road. 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.
The truth will shock you, surprise you, and break your heart.
‘This novel and its characters will stay with me forever’ DAVID BALDACCI
‘Emotional, startling, beautifully crafted’ VAL MCDERMID
‘Most writers would be proud to produce a book half as good as Tell Me Something True‘ LINWOOD BARCLAY
‘One of the best books I’ve read all year’ AJAY CHOWDHURY
‘My book of the year. A compelling, intriguing and entertaining masterpiece’ LIZ NUGENT
‘An epic elegy of love, family, morality and justice that deserves to be showered with awards’ CHRIS BROOKMYRE
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, but Arlo Hackett doesn’t expect mercy when he emerges from a twelve-year prison sentence and makes his way back to Yulara, a waypoint on Australia’s Great Southern Road. 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.
The truth will shock you, surprise you, and break your heart.
‘This novel and its characters will stay with me forever’ DAVID BALDACCI
‘Emotional, startling, beautifully crafted’ VAL MCDERMID
‘Most writers would be proud to produce a book half as good as Tell Me Something True‘ LINWOOD BARCLAY
‘One of the best books I’ve read all year’ AJAY CHOWDHURY
Reviews
An absolute master of the craft
Will have you turning the pages compulsively
Heart-stopping
PRAISE FOR MICHAEL ROBOTHAM
Unforgettable characters
One of the best books I've read all year - beautifully written, moving and propels you to a devastating ending. I loved Michael's description of small town Australia and the great characters he created - it really is a gem
Robotham is among the world's top thriller writers
This is Michael Robotham's masterpiece. From the first chapter, you know you are in the hands of a storyteller at the peak of his powers. It is tender, heartbreaking, beguiling, enraging, exhilarating and triumphant, sometimes all on the same page. An epic elegy of love, family, morality and justice that deserves to be showered with awards
An absolute master
Tension and tenderness - Michael Robotham is that rare thing, a writer who does both brilliantly
Tell Me Something True is my book of the year. This compelling, intriguing and entertaining masterpiece examines the conscience of a whole town, and should win every award going. Genius
A compelling, devastating story about family and the long shadows of the past. Tell Me Something True is unforgettable
Razor-sharp and emotionally charged
What a terrific writer
Clever, intriguing and compelling
One of crime's greatest practitioners
Most writers would be proud to produce, in their entire career, a book half as good as Tell Me Something True. I felt the same sense of excitement reading this book as I did when I picked up Michael's first novel, The Suspect. No one can touch him when it comes to infusing crime with character and heart
Emotional, startling and beautifully crafted; it brings small town Australia into your living room
The real deal
This novel and its characters will stay with me forever. I ached, cried, and laughed and it felt like I bled right along with them. No one will ever forge a flawless novel, but with Tell Me Something True, Robotham has gotten as close to it as I've ever seen