Review: I'll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie

I'll Never Tell

by Catherine McKenzie

Publisher: Lake Union

Pages: 380

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  What happened to Amanda Holmes?

Twenty years ago, she washed up on shore in a rowboat with a gash to the head after an overnight at Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with a crime.

Now, the MacAllister children are all grown up. After their parents die suddenly, they return to Camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate it's sitting on. Ryan, the oldest, wants to sell. Margo, the family's center, hasn't made up her mind. Mary has her own horse farm to run, and believes in leaving well-enough alone. Kate and Liddie—the twins—have opposing views. And Sean Booth, the family groundskeeper, just hopes he still has a home when all is said and done. 

But then the will is read and they learn that it's much more complicated than a simple vote. Until they unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda, they can't move forward. Any one of them could have done it, and all of them are hiding key pieces of the puzzle. Will they work together to solve the mystery, or will their suspicions and secrets finally tear the family apart?

Kritters Thoughts:  A set of five siblings have lost their parents and are returning to the summer camp that their family owned to make some decisions and also maybe find some truth behind an incident that happened 20 years ago.  

20 years ago at a summer camp, a friend of the family - Amanda was found unconscious floating in a canoe and all signs pointed to one of the family members being involved, but which one?  In the will that their parents left the MacAllister kids, they must solve this open question before they can make a decision about the property.  

This was such a twisty turny book that I couldn't feel confident in my thoughts about the clues almost until the end.  I had my eye on one of them and then something would come out and I would change my alliance and then back and forth - I loved it!  When I read these books and get to the end, I want to go back to the beginning and try again to see if I can find the clues and the resolution faster.

I am so glad I read this in summer in the midst of summer camp season.  It also helped that I had been to a camp, so I could picture all of the things.  I could feel how these adults felt years ago and how they covered for each other - I would do almost anything for my sibling and can't imagine how that amplifies when there are more than just two in a family.

I was already a Catherine McKenzie fan before this book and although this feels a little different from the rest of her books, I still liked it just the same.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2019 Challenge: 27 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.