Do Tell

A Novel

By: Lindsay Lynch

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

A scintillating debut novel that brings the golden age of Hollywood to glittering life, from star-studded opening nights to backlot brawls, on-location Westerns to the Hollywood Canteen. Through character actress turned gossip columnist Edie O'Dare's eyes, Lindsay Lynch draws back the curtain on classic Hollywood’s secrets.

"Glamorous, tawdry, and human. A rich portrait of the lives of early Hollywood's beautiful puppets and those holding their strings.” –Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow • “Do Tell illuminates issues of fame and notoriety as relevant now as they were almost a century ago.” –Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of Horse

As character actress Edie O'Dare finishes the final year of her contract with FWM Studios, the clock is ticking for her to find a new gig after an undistinguished stint in the pictures. She's long supplemented her income moonlighting for Hollywood's reigning gossip columnist, providing her with the salacious details of every party and premiere. When an up-and-coming starlet hands her a letter alleging an assault from an A-list actor at a party with Edie and the rest of the industry’s biggest names in attendance, Edie helps get the story into print and sets off a chain of events that will alter the trajectories of everyone involved.

Now on a new side of the entertainment business, Edie’s second act career grants her more control on the page than she ever commanded in front of the camera. But Edie quickly learns that publishing the secrets of those former colleagues she considers friends has repercussions. And when she finds herself in the middle of the trial of the decade, Edie is forced to make an impossible choice with the potential to ruin more than one life. Full of sharp observation and crackling wit, debut novelist Lindsay Lynch maps the intricate networks of power that manufacture the magic of the movies and interrogates who actually gets to tell women's stories.

©2023 Lindsay Lynch (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A wonderful, provocative novel about the way time changes how we see the world. Edie O'Dare is a failed Hollywood actress who reinvents herself as a gossip columnist in order to keep a roof over her head, only to discover that this is the job she's good at. Like our intrepid narrator, Do Tell manages to be both funny and substantive, breezy and wise. I stepped into the stream of the narrative and didn't look up until I came to the last page.” —Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of The Dutch House

"Gossip columnist Edie O’Dare has enemies and sources, but no friends in a Golden Age Hollywood whose gleam is tarnished by exploitation, cruelty and betrayal. Like a latter-day Cecil B. DeMille, Lindsay Lynch deftly directs her large cast of morally complex characters to illuminate issues of fame and notoriety as relevant now as they were almost a century ago." —Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of Horse

"There is little more alluring than the promise of secrets, and Do Tell is full of them—glamorous, tawdry, and human. Lindsay Lynch has created a rich portrait of the lives of early Hollywood's beautiful puppets and those holding their strings." —Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

Engaging and entertaining

For classic movie buffs, an intriguing and engaging story of 1940s Hollywood that acknowledges modern sensibilities. Highly recommended.

Strong first novel

I was waiting for some comeuppance for one of the characters and was disappointed it never happened but that was probably what would have happened! A few things didn’t ring true for the main character’s wrap up at the end but it was a good read overall. I hope the author keeps writing!

Delightful

This book was delightful with witty conversation and engaging insight into Hollywood's Golden Age.

Good Tale of Old Hollywood

The book is well researched for the Hollywood of the late 30's & 40's when the studios were in control.
The adventures of the gossip columnist and the fictitious stars make for a good read

Stunning Debut Novel

I thoroughly enjoyed this peek inside the golden age of cinema. Before Me Too, there was Do Tell, and I’m glad I listened to the telling of this tale.

Well written!!!

An excellent glimpse into the golden facade of Hollywood and I believe if we look closely a cautionary tale for those of us on the outside.