Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Review - Never Tell

Title:   Never Tell
Author:  Lisa Gardner
Series:  Detective D.D. Warren #10
Genre:   Mystery/Thrillers
Publisher:  Dutton
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   414
Date of Publication:  August 6, 2019 
My Rating:  4.5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

#1 New York Times bestseller Lisa Gardner returns with an unpredictable thriller that puts fan favorites D. D. Warren and Flora Dane on a shocking new case that begins with a vicious murder and gets darker from there. 

A man is dead, shot three times in his home office. But his computer has been shot twelve times, and when the cops arrive, his pregnant wife is holding the gun.

D.D. Warren arrives on the scene and recognizes the woman--Evie Carter--from a case many years back. Evie's father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident. But for D.D., two coincidental murders is too many.

Flora Dane sees the murder of Conrad Carter on the TV news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim--a hostage--and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth of Conrad's murder.

But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. As layer by layer they peel away the half-truths and outright lies, they wonder: How many secrets can one family have?

*PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN UPDATED COVER FOR THE PAPERBACK RELEASE. This title was previously released on February 19, 2019.*


MY THOUGHTS:

D.D. Warren and Flora Dane join forces when a man's death ties them together. Evie Carter has just found her husband dead and sees a gun lying there. She  computer several times. This begs the question: Why?

Detective D.D. Warren recognizes Evie immediately when she arrives on scene. Several years previously, when Evie was a teenager, she was exonerated in the shooting death of her father. Is the death of Evie's husband another accident? D.D. is hard put to believe in coincidences. She not only begins an intense investigation into the death of Evie's husband, but she reopens the case of Evie's father.

When Flora Dane sees the news of the murder of Conrad Carter she is shaken to the core. Flora survived a horrid year in the clutches of an insanely abusive kidnapper. On one rare night, the kidnapper took her to a bar, and that is when she first saw Conrad Carter. Determined to make the connection with Conrad Carter and her former captor, Flora decides to investigate his murder. Working with D.D. once again is about to open up an incredible can of worms.

This story had me in knots! It was incredibly multi-layered. For starters, there is Evie and what happened to her husband. Conrad was a man with secrets. Also, there is much more to what happened to Evie's father all those years ago. Furthermore, Flora has never gotten over her past, and that certainly comes as no surprise. What is a surprise, what is shocking, however, is the connection between the man that took Flora and Evie's husband Conrad. Deciphering that connection will take quite a bit of work and reveal some painfully disturbing facts.

Although this is the tenth book in a series, but only my first time meeting D.D., I found the story quite easy to follow. Quite naturally, all attention was placed on the crimes both past and present, so becoming invested in the story presented no difficulty. Admittedly, I would have loved to see how D.D. and Flora met and I hope to one day backtrack and read the previous titles in the series.

I was captivated by Never Tell. This was a fast-paced book with more than one story. Everything blended together seamlessly and thus this was quite an engaging read.

Many thanks to Dutton Books and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa Gardner, a #1 New York Times bestselling thriller novelist, began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has transformed her interest in police procedure and criminal minds into a streak of internationally acclaimed novels, published across 30 countries. She’s also had four books become TV movies (At the Midnight Hour; The Perfect Husband; The Survivors Club; Hide) and has made personal appearances on TruTV and CNN.

Lisa’s books have received awards from across the globe. Her novel, The Neighbor, won Best Hardcover Novel from the International Thriller Writers, while also receiving the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle in France. She was also recognized with the Daphne du Maurier Award in 2000 for The Other Daughter. Finally, Lisa received the Silver Bullet Award from the International Thriller Writers in 2017 for her work on behalf of at-risk children and the Humane Society.

For a bit of fun, Lisa invites her readers to enter the annual “Kill a Friend, Maim a Buddy” Sweepstakes at LisaGardner.com. Every year, one Lucky Stiff is selected to meet a grand end in Lisa’s latest novel. Past winners have nominated spouses, best friends and even themselves.

Lisa lives in New Hampshire where she spends her time with an assortment of canine companions. When not writing, she loves to hike, garden, snowshoe and play cribbage.

9 comments:

  1. This is the second positive review I've read of this one today. It must be good!
    Gemma @ Gemma's Book Nook

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  2. Great review. This book is my kind of read. I will have to check it out.

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  3. Lovely review, Robin - you captured it much better than I did!

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  4. Looks really interesting, I just wish I loved mysteries!

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  5. Great review Robin, now I really want to check this author and her books out because I have a good feeling that I would really enjoy reading her books. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.

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  6. I love Lisa's books. I haven't got to this one yet. It looks amazing though.

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  7. I've only read book 1 of the series. I need to catch up! Great review!

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