Cosy crime set in SCARBOROUGH
Novel set in rural WALES in the mid 1980s
11th September 2026
Tell Tale by Claire Parkin, novel set in rural Wales in the mid 1980s.
“Young busybody turns detective in rural Wales”
Claire Parkin’s Tell Tale is a witty, somewhat off-the-wall but wildly fun coming-of-age novel that beautifully captures the curiosity, imagination and occasional recklessness of childhood. Set in rural Wales in the mid-80s, young Debbie-Marie Tunstall and her observations written in her Kajagoogoo (note the ‘80s band reference!) notebook lie at the heart of this novel. Despite Debbie’s life inexperience and at times, silly actions, you can’t help but engage with her, particularly as her curiosity is so genuine.
She is a bright, inquisitive young girl whose habit of poking her nose into other people’s business repeatedly lands her in trouble. In some ways wise beyond her years, she is the butt of her peers’ jokes as they believe she makes up all her stories, yet she is immensely popular with the older generation, and finds a great ally in the village stalwart, Barbara, from Hollyhock Cottage.
Neither is malicious or deliberately troublesome; in fact, Debbie in particular is fascinated by people and their stories. Living in a village where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business, she cannot resist asking questions, listening at doors, following clues and trying to make sense of things that adults would rather keep hidden. Her inquisitive nature often gets her into scrapes because she fails to recognise where curiosity ends and intrusion begins.
But it’s this curiosity and her friendship with Barbara which ultimately uncovers long-buried secrets lurking beneath the surface of village life.
Village life is portrayed as both comforting and claustrophobic, always in competition with its neighbouring hamlet. On the surface, the village appears to be a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Yet, as Debbie-Marie gradually discovers, the opposite is also true: people carefully guard their histories, protect old loyalties and preserve silences that have endured for years. The novel cleverly explores the tension between what is publicly known and what remains hidden behind closed doors.
The novel’s central theme revolves around truth and the responsibility that comes with discovering it. Debbie-Marie learns that uncovering secrets is not as simple as exposing right and wrong. The revelations she uncovers force her to confront difficult questions about loyalty, trust and the reasons people keep secrets in the first place. Some hidden truths are kept out of shame, others out of protection, and still others because reopening old wounds serves no one. As a result, Tell Tale becomes more than a mystery; it is a thoughtful exploration of the complexities of human relationships.
The author brings the village vividly to life, populating it with characters who feel instantly recognisable: neighbours who know more than they let on, families shaped by old loyalties, and residents whose pasts are never quite as straightforward as they appear. As Debbie-Marie’s curiosity leads her from one discovery to the next, the story gathers momentum, with each revelation shedding new light on the people around her.
There is a fine line between curiosity and meddling, which Parkin explores beautifully. Warm, humorous and full of heart, Tell Tale is an affectionate portrait of village life and a reminder that sometimes the person asking the awkward questions is the one most likely to uncover what everyone else would rather leave buried.
Val for the TripFiction Team
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