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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What an amazing book! I could not put it down. The characters were all so interesting, lots of twists and turns. The ending had me in shock. I need to read it again to see if I missed a hint or a clue. Highly recommend! Thanks to Catherine McKenzie and Netgalley for the ARC.
Catherine McKenzie always write a compelling story that keeps you engaged. Part mystery and part family drama. A page turner that keeps you totally engaged.
The MacAllister family has owned Camp Macaw for generations. A number of horrific events over the years have the MacAllister siblings contemplating the sale of this land. The mystery must be solved before the strange terms of their father’s will can be carried out. Secrets which have been buried about what happened to Amanda Holmes begin to unravel.
This book is written from the point of view of each of the siblings and the maintenance man, Sean. While that may seem confusing, Ms. McKenzie makes it work. By understanding the thoughts and actions of each, we are provided with pieces of the puzzle that may not have been shared with others.
The author has written characters that all have good points and flaws. None of the characters are particularly likeable, nor are they inherently evil. Yet, all are interesting and complicated.
The story line twists and has a number of intricate issues that are peeled away slowly. The answer does not become apparent until the very end. It is an easy read and one which the reader will not want to put down.
I recommend this book. Like Catherine McKenzie’s other books, it is a well-written, exciting book that has strong characters and a compelling mystery.
I received an ARC from Lake Union Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.
I’ll Never Tell
By Catherine McKenzie
Wow! In most who dunits, somewhere along the line you figure out who did it. Not so in Catherine McKenzie’s I’ll Never Tell. About halfway through I was convinced I had it figured out. Not so!
This is not the first book I have read by Catherine McKenzie, nor will it be my last. I like her writing style. I like the way she introduces you to all her characters and them keeps them evolving. She makes you want more.
In I’ll Never Tell you meet the MacAllister family who own a summer camp. 20 years ago, a young Amanda Holmes had been murdered. No one was arrested for the crime. Now Mr. and Mrs. MacAllister have died and their children have returned to the camp to hear the reading of the will. The siblings must decide what do with the camp. But…and it is a big “but”, the will stipulates they must first solve Amanda’s murder. While they work on the case, we learn quite a bit about each sibling and one additional person: Sean, the groundskeeper who Mr. MacAlllister brought to the camp all those years ago.
So who had a motive to kill Amanda? You have to read I’ll Never Tell to find out who did it, why they did it, and how this affects everyone involved.
My main comment to Ms. McKenzie is: Keep Writing!
06.05.19
The is an excellent book! I really enjoyed it. I was pulled into the story of the McAllister family and the goings of Camp Macaw. The writing style of this Arthur made this book very engrossing to read Loved the incidents in their memories being shown from different angles by the others involved made you second guess the whole way through. Plenty of twists you felt the emotions in this story I had a hard time putting it down to get my daily chores done!! I’m looking forward to buying her other books to read as well this was my first one by Catherine McKenzie and I’m very happy I decided to read this.
Three simple words. Her family’s motto. I’ll never tell.
This book will leave you speechless. That ending!! WOW! I did not see that coming at all. Never even got close. Catherine McKenzie did one terrific job of capturing the readers and pulling them in to such a dramatic story of love, loss and uncertainty. There was so much going on that you had many ways of thinking about who did what and who was innocent. This family definitely had lots of secrets. Some to protect themselves and others to protect family. They were definitely a mixed up bunch but also loved each other to the end.
This book will take you to a lake in a campground and you will feel like you are right there. I could picture all the places it described. I could feel the water on my skin. Cold and invigorating. The rocks and trees. The cabins and the MacAllister family.
What happened to Amanda was tragic. She was just a young girl looking for something. You will feel her pain in so many ways. Her fears and loss. Her youthful wanting. She was just a young girl who should have had her whole life ahead of her. This whole story is based on what happened to her and you will not see it coming.
Told from each of the siblings and the family friend’s point it will draw you in like you won’t believe.
A tearful ending to a very emotional story.
Thank you to #NetGalley #Lake Union Publisher’s for this ARC.
Another 5 star book. I highly recommend this book!
This recent novel of Catherine McKenzie’s had me turning the pages right up until the end. I wanted to know the truth, who killed Amanda and how exactly did she die? This novel takes you to Camp Macaw in the present day and 20 years prior. As someone who has been to sleepaway camp (and spent summers at a day camp as well – similar atmosphere without the sleeping part) I was able to relate to the camp scenes, which I enjoyed reading about and reminiscing about my past experiences. The McAllister family who runs the camp, have their 5 children come together at present day to figure out their parents estate and have a decision to make regarding the camp future. No one ever knew what happened to Amanda Holmes who was found dead in a rowboat. The truth about this accident (or murder?) is how the family needs to decide if they keep the camp, sell the camp and if they sell, do all 5 children receive to profits from the sale or does one of them get left out due to their involvement in the death of Amanda? The story is pieced together and it kept me flipping the pages curious as to what happened next. Their secrets come to light and the twists and turns in this story were great. I recommend this novel.
I’ve long been a fan of Catherine McKenzie. She has a way of adding twists and turns that keep me guessing until the end! I’ll Never Tell is a fast paced whodunit!
What happened to Amanda Holmes all those years ago? When McAllister siblings return to Camp Macaw after their parent’s death, they are there to hear the reading of the will and unanimously decide what to do with the property. Family dysfunction and secrets are the name of the game as each sibling comes to terms with the past, their secrets, and their relationship with each other. Told in alternating timelines, with the addition of Amanda’s point of view, the siblings have to unravel what happened in the past while coming to terms with family secrets, past and present.
The characters are interesting with their own secrets and quirks, and McKenzie keeps it interesting by alternating between the different points of view. Full of twists that will keep you guessing; this one will have you turning pages trying to figure out what is going to happen. This is a good one to add to your summer (or anytime) reading list.
#LakeUnionPublishers
Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me the privilege of reading an ARC of this book.
I am a big fan of Catherine McKenzie and this book does not disappoint.
I enjoyed the setting at the summer camp and how the siblings were so different. Their parents brought them together under odd circumstances and it gave us a mystery to solve. Each time I thought that I had it figured out, I was wrong!
I don’t know how she keeps coming up with these crazy ideas but I’ll keep reading!
I’ve always said that secrets are the biggest part of most books. This one is no exception. HUGE family secrets. Everyone has one. Strange family dynamics.
I read for entertainment and relaxation. It does not bother me if a storyline does not seem realistic. That’s why it is a “story”. But I had to deduct one star this time because I had a couple of eye rolling moments with this book. Still very entertaining and enjoyable. It kept me guessing as each secret was revealed.
Thank you to Catherine McKenzie and NetGalley for the advance readers copy!
I’ll Never Tell
5 Stars
Oh my words!! This is sooo darn good! One of those books that I couldn’t put down and would love to reread again! This is most definitely one of the best stories in the series!
One- click today!! You will absolutely love it!!
Favorite Quotes:
She leaned toward Liddie. She smelled like her father used to, a mix of coffee and marijuana. “Waking and baking these days?”
“Have you ever thought about what they must’ve been like before all of us? … I think about it. They met. They fell in love. They were regular people once.” “And what? We made them into irregular people?”
They always got the leftovers. The things left in the lost and found. If Liddie wrote a biography of her childhood, it would be called Nothing Was Ever Mine.
That was the bargain of being a twin. You didn’t need to talk about it; you simply knew that sometime in the not too distant future, you’d be living together in some old-age home, dressed alike the way you’d been as children.
He always smelled the same— slightly refrigerated. It was a smell Mary liked because it meant coolness to her. Not in a fashion sense but in the temperature way. He was calm, steady.
Of everyone in their family, the person she’d understood the least had been her mother. When Kate thought of her, she always seemed diaphanous. Like one of those Instagram filters had been applied to her, washing her out, smoothing away the lines. Nothing ever seemed to stick to her, not criticism or her children, not even her husband. She simply floated around, photographing it all, removed.
My Review:
Quite a clever gal, that Catherine McKenzie! This well-crafted mystery was full of simply explained yet brilliantly placed twists and turns that kept me on edge and off-center. The storylines were highly eventful and ingeniously paced with tension and intrigue steadily ratcheting up the scale, and I was sucking it all in like the latest and greatest vacuum on the market. I enjoyed the shrewdly discerning tale as much as the skill and cunning in the telling of it.
This family was well beyond quirky, they were each oddly peculiar and self-absorbed. I didn’t care for any of them by the time I finished the book, yet I was driven to know all about them. I had great empathy for the stalwart employee and held my breath for him and cringed each time evidence pointed his direction. Each character was fascinatingly flawed and I enjoyed unearthing their many secrets. This was only my second time reading her work but I am eager to see what Ms. McKenzie comes up with next, she now has a rather rabid fangirl on her hands.
Catherine McKenzie, Author of “I’ll Never Tell” has written an edgy, suspenseful, intense, mysterious, captivating, and intriguing novel. It certainly makes one think if going to camp is a crime. I felt as I was thrown into the pages of this book to help solve the murder of a former camper, Amanda Holmes, twenty years before. Camp Macaw, owned by the MacAllister family had many things to offer the wealthy campers. The Genres for this Story are Mystery, Suspense, and Fiction. The author describes her dramatic cast of characters as complex, complicated, volatile, and suspect. The helpers have been treated as family as well. The timeline for this story goes back twenty years to the past crime and is also set in the present.
When Mr. and Mrs. MacAllister are accidentally killed, the adult children are called for the reading of the will and a Memorial service. The MacAllister children do have memories of the camp and the activities, but also realize that the location and real estate could be quite profitable if they sell. Although no one person was convicted of the crime, there are doubts that are raised in the will. All of the adult children have to make a unanimous decision on the fate of not only their family but the real estate. Will the camp still remain in the family or be sold? What complicates things are deep family secrets and complicated motivations.
There are clues that are provided as well as twists and turns. Everything is at a stalemate until what happened to Amanda is solved. Solving this crime is going to take lots of work. Looking back at the past, seeing the family dynamics presently, and anticipating the future is a major task. I would highly recommend this thrilling mystery.
Catherine McKenzie never disappoints! Clear your schedule because you will not be able to put this down!
“I’ll Never Tell” is a gripping tale that follows the MacAllister family on a quest to bring closure to an unsolved murder of Amanda Holmes that happened 20 years ago at the MacAllister’ family’s Camp Macaw. The intense level of secrets revealed and the answer to who killed Amanda will have you guessing throughout and completely surprise you.
A mix of exquisite character development and the intricately detailed setting of the camp drops you in the scene surrounded by cool water, tall trees and secrets lurking throughout.
Catherine McKenzie is at her best and I will be anxiously awaiting her next book. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
Another winner from Catherine McKenzie!
Catherine McKenzie’s latest psychological thriller I’ll Never Tell is perhaps her best so far. The plot filled with family secrets kept me in suspense until the very end.
for the most recent thriller by Catherine McKenzie.
Five siblings are summoned back to the camp that their recently deceased parents ran for a reading of their will. In order for the fate of the camp and their inheritance to be determined, the siblings must revisit a horrible crime that happened years earlier. The siblings are forced to look at each other, along with other key members of the camp staff, to put an end to the unresolved event in the camp’s past.
I received an advanced reader copy via NetGalley and I’ve also purchased a copy for my home library.
What Book Are You Reading? I’ll never tell. (Ok, so that was a fun joke. The first couple… thousand… times I used it when people were asking me what I was reading.) But seriously, this is an awesome book. McKenzie does an excellent job here of keeping the reader guessing until the final reveal within the last 10% of the book, and even includes an unexpected bonus surprise closer to 2/3 in. Great job of keeping the tale moving through multiple characters’ perspectives, and fantastic story overall.
The author hit the name of this book right on the head, and it played so well with the plot.
You won’t get very comfortable here and you will be guessing right to the end what really happened to Amanda on that Island. I am often able to figure out the end of my reads way ahead, but not this one. Nope! I thought several times I had it all figured out, and maybe you will, but the author really had me fooled with her little dropped clues.
If you like a mystery with a lot of drama, this one should satisfy.
Be aware surprises abound and you won’t see them coming!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Lake Union, and was not required to give a positive review.