Review: I'll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie

Title: I'll Never Tell

Author: Catherine McKenzie

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Publishing Date: June 1st, 2019

Read: January 23rd, 2023

Pages: 355

Audio Length: 8 Hours 38 minutes

Genre: Adult mystery thriller

TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

What it's about:

Deeply buried secrets make for a disturbing family reunion in bestselling author Catherine McKenzie’s tantalizing novel of psychological suspense.

What happened to Amanda Holmes?

Twenty years ago, she was found bludgeoned in a rowboat at the MacAllister family’s Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with the crime.

Now, after their parents’ sudden deaths, the MacAllister siblings return to camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate the camp occupies. Ryan needs to sell. Margaux hasn’t made up her mind. Mary believes in leaving well enough alone. Kate and Liddie—the twins—have opposing views. And Sean Booth, the groundskeeper, just hopes he still has a home when all is said and done.

But it’s more complicated than a simple vote. The will stipulates that until they unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda, they can’t settle the estate. Any one of them could have done it, and each one is holding a piece of the puzzle. Will they work together to finally discover the truth, or will their secrets finally tear the family apart?

What I thought:

As soon as I started this book I was enthralled by it. I had to finish it, I had to figure out what happened. It was one of those that just suck you in completely. I kept thinking I had it figured out and then BAM she threw something else at me. And then Oh yeah, I definitely know who did it. Then BAM another thing thrown at me. I thought i had it figured out like 5 times. 

Cover:

The cover is what originally caught my eye. It's so beautiful. The colors are stunning, of course they're some of my favorite colors. And there's something so eerie and oddly calm about it. 

Story:

I feel like it's a good story. It's not a super unique story but it doesn't feel like it's something that's over done either. I feel like the author did a good job on just making it her own, even if it's something we've heard before it was still her own. 

Pace: 

I didn't feel bored at all and it didn't feel like it was rushed. So I'd say it had a good pace.  

Writing: 

The author did a good job in keeping the mystery and making you want to know more.  

 

Characters: 

The characters were okay. There was a few of them and I kept getting them mixed up. Which is probably more of a me problem than a her problem. But because it was hard keeping them straight I had to go back and read parts of it again before the shock hit. But other than that the characters are well written and I don't think I particularly liked or disliked any of them. 

 

World building: 

There wasn't much world building I don't think. I can't remember how descriptive she was in her writing, but I knew where it was supposed to be and could picture the area.  

Ending: 

The ending wrapped it up well. 

Narrator:

Just a regular narrator. Nothing bad. 

Overall:

This was the first book I've read by Catherine and I can't wait to read more. This was definitely a good mystery. 

A little Snippet:

“Kate hadn’t remembered. Maybe she’d never known. She wasn’t a collector of facts about people, this birthday, that anniversary. She cared more about the content of a person.”

― Catherine McKenzie, I'll Never Tell

Possible books of likeness:

Author's info:

Website

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill in History and Law, Catherine practiced law in Montreal for twenty years before retiring to write full time. An avid runner and skier, she's the author of numerous bestsellers including HIDDEN, FRACTURED, THE and the GOOD LIAR. I'LL NEVER TELL was a #1 Amazon Bestseller, a Globe & Mail and Toronto Star Bestseller, shortlisted for the Hugh McLennan Prize for Fiction and has been optioned for a television series by Paramount TV. Her 2022 release, PLEASE JOIN US, has been optioned by Fox Television.