Series: Olivia Cruz # 1
Format: Kindle, 297 pages
Release Date: May 12, 2026
Publisher: Montlake
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Crime writer Olivia Cruz is drawn into the dark secrets of a missing friend in a terrifying novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.
On the three-year anniversary of true crime writer Olivia Cruz’s horrific kidnapping, she’s scheduled to walk her podcaster friend Zoe March through the crime scene, but Zoe fails to show. Olivia knows Zoe would never stand her up—not today.
Zoe’s husband, who claims she never came home the night before, has reported her missing. But marital conflicts make the police suspect she has left him. Olivia thinks otherwise. The police aren’t looking for Zoe, so Olivia begins her own investigation. Retracing her friend’s last steps, she finds Zoe’s phone and a text with one chilling word: Run.
It soon becomes apparent that Zoe has been keeping secrets, and with her true crime podcast, there’s no telling what she has unearthed. To find her, Olivia must dig into her friend’s past. Did Zoe vanish to escape a killer, and is Olivia walking into a deadly trap?
You Can Tell Me is the first installment in author Melinda Leigh's Olivia Cruz series. Key characters: Olivia Cruz, Zoe March, Nicki, and Lincoln Sharp. True-crime writer Olivia Cruz is still recovering—physically and psychologically—from a horrific kidnapping three years earlier. On the anniversary of that trauma, she has agreed to revisit the crime scene with her friend Zoe March, a successful true-crime podcaster, for an interview that Olivia hopes will help her finally move forward.
When Zoe fails to appear, Olivia knows something is terribly wrong. Zoe would never stand her up on this of all days. Zoe’s husband reports her missing, but marital strife leads police to treat it as a possible voluntary disappearance. Olivia refuses to accept that and launches her own investigation. Retracing Zoe’s steps, she finds the podcaster’s phone and a chilling one-word text: “Run.” It quickly becomes clear that Zoe had been keeping major secrets, possibly tied to her podcast work.
As Olivia digs deeper—assisted by her boyfriend, PI Lincoln Sharp, and her niece Nicki—she uncovers connections to a thirty-year-old cold case, hidden family lies, and predators who have operated in plain sight. The story blends a missing-person mystery with Olivia’s personal trauma recovery, themes of friendship, trust, and the dangers of true-crime investigation. Side plots involving Nicki add emotional layers and tie into the central threat. The climax is particularly wild, involving a villain confrontation, a black bear, a flash flood, and a submerged car—exactly the over-the-top excitement many thriller readers crave.
Olivia is a compelling protagonist—resilient yet vulnerable, determined but haunted. Her relationship with Lincoln Sharp (a carryover from Leigh’s Morgan Dane series) feels authentic and supportive without overshadowing the main plot. Nicki brings fresh energy and a younger perspective. Fans of Leigh’s interconnected Scarlet Falls / Morgan Dane world will enjoy cameos without feeling lost if this is their entry point.
The novel smartly explores the ethics and risks of creating true-crime content, the long shadow of trauma, and how secrets fracture families and friendships. It balances edge-of-your-seat action with emotional depth. A few plot threads feel crowded, and Olivia’s character can occasionally swing between timid and overly bold in ways that feel slightly inconsistent. That said, these are common in the genre and don’t derail the overall enjoyment.
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