Deeply buried secrets make for a disturbing family reunion in bestselling author Catherine McKenzie’s tantalizing novel of psychological suspense, named one of the Hottest Books of Summer by Goodreads.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 … 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?
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Secrets are the coin of suspense, and Catherine McKenzie spends them better than anyone. I’ll Never Tell builds incredible tension in a braid of a family’s past with its present, and what five siblings, set against each other by their father’s last will and testament, will do to secure their future. Twisty and brilliant!
The suspense is riveting on each page of this novel as each one of the MacCallister children come home to the reading of their parents will and find them struggling and plotting to know who will be the one to preserve the family owned land and camp. They learn they have to first solve the mystery of who murdered their dear old friend Amanda whose body was found in a rowboat washed ashore. Each one, Ryan, Kate, Liddie, Margo and Mary could be suspect and have their own shocking secrets they have held onto for years. Jealousy and greed play back and forth and suspicions rise as events bring them closer to the truth of what happened one night. Was it Ryan the oldest who wants to sell and make money, or was it the groundskeeper who has been there all along? Or was it one of the twins who had tales to tell… I was constantly going back and forth and just when I thought I had it figured out the shocking ending came and I was so surprised I think I gasped. This book will keep you up till the late hours, it is truly another amazing book by Catherine Mackenzie, it just might be her best yet. I loved it!
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I don’t know how she did it, but Catherine McKenzie managed to take 7 different viewpoints and make them all clear and unique in the engrossing novel I’ll Never Tell.
What it’s about: The MacAllister children are all grown up and back at Camp Macaw after the sudden death of their parents in a train accident. Now the 5 of them – Ryan the oldest, the twins Kate and Liddie, Mary, and Margaux – all need to hear their parent’s will being read and decide what to do with the camp. Out of all of them, Ryan is the one that most wants to sell, while the other 4 would rather hold on to their parent’s legacy. The groundskeeper Sean who has been at the camp since he was little, just doesn’t want to have to leave. But when the will is read, they find out they are going to have to do more than make a quick decision. In order to decide what to do with the camp, they must first figure out who committed a long-ago crime when they were younger. Margaux’s friend Amanda washed up in a rowboat at the camp with a blow to the head, but no one was ever charged with a crime. The siblings are all hiding secrets from that time, and any of them could have done it. . .
I have to say that I have really enjoyed every McKenzie book that I have read so far. She really knows how to craft a story, and she is adept at giving characters unique voices, even a bunch of them, while not confusing the reader. There is a grand total of 7 viewpoints in this book so you would think it would be confusing, but they all felt very clear to me and I was able to picture each character individually.
I love the route that McKenzie takes with exploring family dynamics in I’ll Never Tell. I found it really interesting to read about a family of 5 siblings, especially when they all have things to hide from each other. She really brought their stories to life in this book as well as the setting at the camp. I think this would make an excellent beach read with the camp setting, plus the mystery and family dynamics make for very beach-appropriate reading.
Song/s the book brought to mind: Let You Down by NF
Final Thought: If you are looking for a fast read, I’ll Never Tell is going to be a good one. Even though it has over 350 pages I was able to read it in about 4 hours and 15 minutes. It has taken me much longer to read shorter books so I think that is a testament to how great the flow is in this book. The 7 perspectives made everything go quicker as well, and there was a fun table that I hope makes it into the finished copy. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and as always, I am looking forward to reading many more books from McKenzie!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Told from multiple points of view, I’ll Never Tell is the story of family secrets, lies and betrayal, of the past getting mixed up into the present, of denial and deception. It’s been a very long time since I stayed up well past my bedtime to read a book, but McKenzie captivated me with every page. And while I didn’t figure out every twist in the tale — and certainly not the ending (as I often do) — the clues were fair, square, and totally there. A must-read for anyone who loves to unravel a mystery with a bit of suspense.
Multi-layered family drama. Everyone has at least one secret but when families reunite, how many are spilled? And who’s responsible for the tragic end of a friend. For anyone who loved camp when they were growing up, this is a behind-the-scenes of one family who are inextricably linked to this place. They are required to expose the secret of who hurt Amanda and why over the course of a weekend. There are many secrets and lots of drama.
Catherine McKenzie has a suspense filled….page turning….dark secrets book with a deeply flawed family of characters that I just had to figure out. If that’s possible! Each character has their quirks and hidden secrets upon hidden secrets that, as siblings and camp workers, they had no clue what each other was hiding. As secrets start being exposed, the doubts and suspicions start escalating. It seems even the deceased father was suspect. “There was always drama when the MacAllisters were around.” The story has the question of “happened to Amanda in 1998”? Who was with her last? Who is responsible? Who isn’t telling the truth and who is? Who saw what?
The story concept of each chapter is from the POV of a different character. I liked, also, that there were chapters from Amanda’s POV in 1998 and the events that led to what happened that night. I would think I had this mystery solved and had my suspicions of who did what…just to have it blown out of the water in the next chapter. I had to keep turning the pages, keep reading, and keep pondering how they kept things hidden from each other like they did. I was totally shocked by the ending!
I enjoyed this book so very much and want to thank Lake Union, Netgalley and Ms. McKenzie for the ARC of this book. Totally a 5 star read for me!
I was always told “What happens at camp, stays at camp”. How true!
This is an incredible suspense, mystery and family story.
It takes place at a camp, where a memorial service and the reading of the will are planned for the two people who owned and loved this beautiful refuge. Their five children all grew up in this environment and will attend.
There will be friends and of course the “lifers” who loved the camp summers and want to rejuvenate the memories of their younger days.
But… This book is OH so much more!
There was a terrible crime twenty years ago, that still needs to be solved.
The twists and turns forced me to read well in to the nights.
Each character is keeping secrets, slowing being revealed as the story unfolds.
I had no idea who was responsible for this mystery until the last chapter.
Anyone who has worked at a camp or has been a camper, will find this is spot on!
My own memories of working, swimming in the cold lake and the scents of the woods, dining room, and art room all came flooding back!
Excellent!
I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie is an interesting, twisty story with a plot that drew me in quickly, as I’ve come to expect from her books.
I was surprised by the ending and at the many secrets that were divulged as I read. This was a good examination of family life, sibling rivalries and the way someone that’s done some pretty terrible things can still manage to hide in plain sight. Just another normal person like the rest of us, except they aren’t.
While the story was very good and I enjoyed the secrets and seeing how and why something happened to Amanda, I will say that most of the characters were hard for me to like or care for. I’m not sure why, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book in the way that unlikable characters usually do. Maybe it was me, who knows?
I’d definitely recommend this story for anyone that enjoys mystery, suspense and/or family drama. It will keep you turning pages long into the night.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for approving my request for an ARC. My thoughts are my own.
Thank you to the author & publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I loved it ! Thought incorrectly twice that I knew who it was, and yet both times I was incorrect ! Original story full of quirky characters. Likable and some not likable. Each character has their own story and their own secrets, but in this book they all come out at once ! I am a huge fan of Catherine McKenzie and her books. If you have not read her yet, you should ! LOVED this book !
Wow! What a great book. This one has twists and turns at every chapter. Just when I thought I knew what I knew, it turns out I knew nothing ! I couldn’t put this book down, reading into the night !
20 years ago, something or someone hurt Amanda !
Each member of the MacAllister family has their own interpretation of what may or may not have happened !
This book is written from each persons point of view and goes back and forth in time, I loved the writing and the personalities of each family member ! A definite must read!
Wow. I had a hard time putting this book down, and now that I’ve finished it, I can’t stop thinking about it.
The setting – an aging summer camp on Labor Day weekend – was absolutely perfect. The sights, the smells, the feelings – all the memories. Even though I’d never been to that camp, I felt it all.
“If you remember one thing from what I say today, one thing about this place, it’s that we learned and grew and tested and failed and succeeded and loved and moved on, touched by what we experienced here in ways we can’t even begin to explain. We have been shaped by it, and that shape is permanent.”
And all those MacAllister family secrets that just kept coming out! Just when I’d think I knew what happened and/or who did it, I’d find out that I was wrong. Because something else would come to light. I did not see that ending coming – though looking back I can see the hints and the clues; I just didn’t know they were so important at the time.
Just, so good! Thanks to Catherine McKenzie, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC. I loved it! And I’m seriously thinking about starting all over again at the beginning and reading this one again…
This book immediately starts with a mystery and wanting you to know what happened. I like how the author has you questioning the whole family during the book. Who did it, and why?
This was a good whodunit that had you convinced you knew the culprit. However, all of a sudden, there is a great twist so that your thought was not necessarily accurate. I love reading a book that has me trying to figure out who is guilty as I flip through the pages. All of the family secrets were a pleasure to discover. And I LOVE books with short chapters! It makes the reading so quick.
As many people have suggested, this is an Agatha Christie style book. And that is the ultimate of compliments. The camp setting, the secrets, the lies, the family dynamics…they combine to make this an enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Good writing, good story. Keeps you guessing.
Once I picked this one up, I literally couldn’t put it down. I read it in a few days. It was like a trip down memory lane at times, because I have many of my own fond memories of summer camp and the different things that we did there.
After their parents are killed in a train wreck, the MacAllister siblings reunite at the family summer camp, along with the family lawyer and two of the long-time camp employees, to hear what their parents decided to do in the will. Up until this point there was a clause that said the family couldn’t sell the camp or the land it sits on. But, the clause ended with their father’s life, and that means its up to the kids to figure out if they’re going to keep the camp going, do something else with the property, or get rid of the place all together.
Their father has a surprise in store for them, however. Two decades before the book opens, Amanda Holmes was murdered at camp. They never figured out who was responsible, despite years of investigations, and the elder MacAllister wants the group to figure out who killed Amanda that night.
This book is so well-written. I could close my eyes and imagine what the camp looked like, what the air smelled like, and could hear the sound of campers laughing and screaming. I loved how McKenzie wove Amanda’s story in using flashbacks and gave readers a visual to keep track of where each key person was throughout the night that Amanda died. I was always waiting eagerly to get to the next part where I’d get another sliver of Amanda’s story. Even though she wasn’t prominently featured in the story, I found her easy to relate to and really felt for her as a character. The excitement of young love and the anticipation of a first kiss are something that most of us can relate to in some way.
The MacAllister family is messed up and that was a heartbreaking thing about the book. Each person has gone his or her own way, never making too much of an effort to keep in touch with each other or their parents. And to be honest, some of the siblings are icky people, but that spoke to me of how talented of a writer McKenzie is.
I felt like I was a detective alongside the siblings. And I was constantly left second-guessing and trying to figure out what had happened. I must have come up with at least five or six different theories along the way and, in the end, none of them were correct. I was blindsided when I finally found out who took Amanda’s life all those years ago. Nothing was predictable and that only made this an even more enjoyable read for me.
The suspense was good, the plot well thought-out and crafted, and the characters developed. McKenzie revealed things at the perfect pace and did a great job of giving readers a suspenseful and heartbreaking story about family, love, and bonds that hold people together.
Five stars to this story!
The MacAllister family is surrounded by secrets. Each member of the family holds a key to unlocking the mystery of the tragic accident that happened 20 years before at their families summer camp. The sudden death of both of their parents finds them all reunited at their family camp for the will reading and the chance to solve the mystery that has loomed over all of them for the past 20 years. The truth will take you by surprise as each secret comes to light. A wonderful mystery!
3.5s.
Okay read. I had everyone in the book guilty at one time or another. But, this is one messed up family.
I liked none of the characters, not even a little.
I’ll Never Tell is the first Catherine McKenzie Book for me. It will not be the last. It is a perfect summer read. Especially for anyone who has been to a summer camp as a child, it brought back fond memories for me. This is a perfect “who did it” novel. The parent’s will have set up certain conditions for who is to inherit the camp. This is where the mystery and intrigue starts. So many secrets. Enjoy unraveling what happened. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Author Catherine McKenzie knocks it out of the park with this novel! This one takes place at a campground for kids and teens, and a crime that took place there years ago. It played on all of my fears about what can go wrong while camping! McKenzie’s cast of characters are delicious like campfire smores! You will not be disappointed!