I have been sitting here thinking about how I describe the book Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil and the first word that came to mind was- Wow! This had to be one of wildest mystery rides I have been on since starting to read mysteries a few years ago.

The book begins with an explosion of a school bus with HS students between England and France. A suspended cop Bish, rushes to the scene because his daughter was on the bus when it happened. Also on the bus was a 17 year old Arabic girl, who also happens to be the daughter of one of the most notorious bombers in history. After being locked in a cupboard, the 17 year old girl has run from the scene and has become the number one suspect in the bombing.

It is up to Bish to figure out what is happening and to figure out why this bus, what is the role of the 17 year old girl, and navigate both race issues and country issues. The other fun aspect to the story is Bish is also the man that helped arrest the girl's mother.

In order to solve everything, he must go back to the girl's mother and the rest of the family. He may find out things about his own daughter in the process.

This is a big book. Not long necessarily, but filled to the brim with issues to tackle wrapped up in this bombing mystery. The great thing is the mystery navigates all of these things well and sticks to a reality based story. There were no turns that seemed unreal and all felt natural.

I loved the way the book addressed race too. Bish must gain the trust of people who don't trust him, don't necessarily tell him the truth, nor do ever turn toward helping him. Bish is almost always the enemy and the outsider simply because of the fact he is a police officer, even though he is connected to them in other ways. The family he needs to rely on will lie right to his face simply due to trust. Navigating who is telling the truth and who wasn't was part of the fun. No one was a caricature.

I really enjoyed this one, but note it is one that cannot be read quickly or is a semi pay attention mode. You have to follow this story as much as you can and get to know each character. It was lots of fun.

I gave this one 4 stars.

I want to thank NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the advanced copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review. I also had the final copy which I purchased myself and jumped between the two. ( )

The book begins a boom literally: a school bus with high school students explodes in a parking lot in France. A suspended British Metropolitan cop Bashir Bish rushes to the scene because his daughter was on the bus. Also on the bus was a 17-year old Arabic girl, Violette Zidane, who turns out to be the daughter of a notorious bomber. When she and a 13-year old boy disappear, they become the primary suspects. Bish is asked by the Home Secretary to find the pair and solve the heinous crime. The book does an admirable job around race, politics, and how terrorism affects people. Bish, his mother, his ex-wife, and his daughter, Violette, and her imprisoned mother are very well developed, each with inherent flaws. However, there are too many characters, especially Violette's family. I was also bored at several points, and think the book could have been tightened up considerably. 3.49 stars.
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Never thought I’d finish a book with terrorists and bombs and dead children smiling like a crazy person, but Marchetta made me do it. ( )

When Bish Ortley recieves the call that a bomb has went off on the bus carrying his daughter, he immediately rushes to the scene to find his daughter is fine even though others have been killed. As the investigators discover the identities of the passengers on board, one passenger in particular throws up a red flag. Violette Zidane is the daughter of a well-known bomber who was responsible for the deaths of a group of people years before.

Even though Bish has recently been suspended from his job as a cop, he begins to investigate the situation surrounding Violette. Was Violette the bomber, or the target? Or was the target someone completely different? Will Bish discover the truth before another bomb goes off?

I really enjoyed this novel. I am interested in other books from this author! I received a copy of this book via GoodReads Giveaways. ( )

A mystery taking place in Britain and France that centers on a bombing of a school bus with a connection to a terrorist attack 13 years prior. I thought the plot was well executed but felt that the long list of characters was sometimes hard to keep track of.