While this was missing just a little something to make it pack a bigger punch for me, it was still really entertaining. Like a lot of suspense novels, I didn't love any of the characters at first. As the story progressed, I definitely warmed up to several and even found myself rooting for them. I'd call this more of a murder mystery with some family drama tied in, rather than a psychological suspense. Although, there were plenty of twists I didn't see coming and an ending I did not expect. Great read for days you want a satisfying mystery, with good character development, that will read fast. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for the chance to read this ARC.

The MacAllister family lives at Camp Macaw as youngsters. As the book begins, they are all adults being called back to the camp for the reading of their fathers will as well as a memorial service. It is at this reading that we meet all the siblings and Sean, the young man who came to live with them as a boy. The will is read and the father intimates that he feels that his son, Ryan was responsible for the bad thing that happened to Amanda so long ago. If the rest of the siblings agree, Ryan’s portion of the estate should go to Sean.
The rest of the book alternates between perspectives of the different family members, Sean, and Amanda. We are able to slowly unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda that night and why everyone thinks Ryan is guilty. This was a good book. 3 stars.

Thanks to netgalley for an advanced readers copy! I have loved all of Catherine McKenzie’s books for years, and was excited to read this one. I do feel like the mystery plot took a back seat to the family drama. There were definitely dysfunctional family dynamics throughout this book. I felt like there were well placed twists, though overall, this book felt more contemporary/drama than mystery. I will continue to read this author’s books.

Twenty years ago, Amanda Holmes' body was found in a rowboat at Camp Macaw. Now the McCallister siblings must figure out which of them were responsible. Each of them has lied about what happened that day. But was it out of self preservation or in an attempt to protect a family member? A fun thriller that catches just the right insight into the complex sibling relationships. I found myself glued to teh page trying to guess whodunit (which I didn't, by the way.) The perfect murder mystery for a summer vacation.

First, thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-galley of this book.

Twenty years ago, Amanda Holmes was found bludgeoned to death in a rowboat at Camp Macaw. Nobody was ever charged with her murder.

Now, after the unexpected deaths of their parents, the MacAllister siblings have gathered for the reading of their parents wills. Each of them holds a piece to the mystery of what happened to Amanda. The will says that they can't settle the estate until the mystery has been figured out.

Who could have been responsible for Amanda's death?
#NetGalley #I'llNeverTell

I received a free e-copy of I'll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie from NetGalley for my honest review.

Wow, what a crazy roller coaster of a read this was. I love how this story was told from multiple perspectives.

This is the story of a family and five children. The parents owned and operated a summer camp. Twenty years ago a horrible accident happened to one of the sisters friends, Amanda, but no one ever knew what happened or who was to blame.

The parents have died and one year after the anniversary of their deaths the siblings get together with the attorney at the camp to make the decision to continue the camp or sell it. Their father's will stipulates that they must solve the mystery of Amanda's death before they can proceed.

Did one of these siblings have something to do with the sisters friend, Amanda? A wonderful who done it with lots of twists.

This book hooked me from the beginning! I really enjoyed the characters and found the family dynamic to be relatable. There were a ton of twists and turns. The ending really surprised me, which I have found is rare. I am usually able to guess endings in the thrillers I read. This was a quick read for me - I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A fun summer mystery. Not my favorite book by this author, but an enjoyable read nonetheless...and I didn’t guess the ending. ;)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40201006

This was one of those books in which I stayed up late into the night reading because I could not put it down. I was intrigued by the book right from the start. I thought the characters each got their own introduction and were described in a way that I was able to keep them straight and connect to each one. I liked the story being told for different perspectives and I truly enjoyed the timeline constantly being added to throughout the story. It helped keep all the information straight, which made me think I would be able to figure out the end but was of course completely surprised to find out what really happened that night. Highly recommend!

The MacAllister family can’t escape the memories from twenty years ago when Allison was attacked at Camp Macaw. All that’s left are the memories from how others saw each other. When reunited by the reading of the will the siblings must decide how they will proceed with the land. Which in turn becomes a clever ploy to get the siblings in one place to get reacquainted with each other. It took a family reunion to reveal the family secrets.

Let me introduce you to the characters:
Amanda friends with Margaux
Margaux Amanda’s friend, sibling to Ryan, Liddie, Mary, and Kate
Ryan Margaux’s older brother, the only male sibling
Sean groundskeeper of the camp
Liddie Kate’s twin
Mary the oldest sister
Kate Liddie’s twin sister

Point of view:
Consisted of all five children, Sean and Amanda. It’s a character driven story with each character re-enacting the night of Amanda’s attack. Of course, each leave you with a hidden secret so as to add suspicion regarding other characters.

Overall:
Introductions took far too long. It was unnecessary to give each character a chapter of their own with a long drawn out backstory.
That table chart wasn’t effective in its execution it was incomplete being cut off by the format of the ebook.
Switching from one character to another wasn’t as effective either with the timeline jumping between the past and the present.

I didn’t particularly like the way this story was executed with a character driven story and multiple points of views. This speculation game of pointing fingers of blame and accusation with no valid proof stretched on for a good long portion of the story.
This interrogation felt more like a reunion of getting to know each other after all the years apart.
I’m so disappointed with this story. I love the cover. Not every book is for every reader. This book didn’t wow! Me in the way I needed.

This was an atmospheric mystery that gets you to try to find out what happened years earlier to Amanda? Until the siblings can answer that question, they can’t get to their parents’ estate. Told through different points of view, the book works up to the crescendo of the ending. I thought the pacing was solid, and the multiple points of view worked. The writing was a little stilted in the early chapters but gets better throughout. There were some twists, but I was able to figure out the ending. That doesn’t bother me, though. I don’t need unbelievable twists and turns but prefer a solidly written mystery that makes the most of its setting. I think the setting could have been a little better utilized but overall was great.

Thank you Netgalley for my free advanced copy!

The suspenseful mystery, I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie, is very hard to put down. It’s the story of a family, one brother with four sisters, whose family owned an operate a summer camp. Twenty years ago a horrible accident happens to one of the sisters friends, no one really knows what happened or how or who was involved. It continues to seem apparent that the one brother, Ryan, may know more than he says. Their parents have since died and on the one year anniversary of their deaths the siblings gather with the attorney at the camp so make the decision to continue the camp or sell it off; the dispute asks the question, , did one of these siblings have anything to do with the sisters friend, Amanda. This story grapples with sibling rivalry along with long ago accusations and new truths that come their way. Loved it! Thank you #NetGalley #LakeUnion #IllNeverTell #CatherineMcKenzie

“I’ll Never Tell” is the MacAllister family’s rule. Should some things be told? At what cost does telling the truth matter? And the consequences, do they mean anything?

Twenty years ago, something awful and tragic happened at Camp Macaw and ever since then, the truth has been dying to come out. Who did it and why?

I truly thought i knew who “dunnit” but, I really didn’t have a clue. The plot and storyline were good, I had a little trouble getting into it but, once I got to a certain point it was smooth sailing afterwards.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Ms Catherine McKenzie. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc!

McKenzie does a wonderful job of placing us front and center in the MacAllister family drama. They may be adults, but the siblings fight and bicker the same way they did as kids. Gathering at their parents’ summer camp after the unexpected deaths of their parents, they expect to hear the will and make a decision about what to do with the camp. But it’s not that simple. Twenty years before, Amanda, a young counselor was found after an overnight camp outing in a canoe, with a large gash in her forehead. No one was ever charged with the crime. But now, the father has left instructions for the siblings to determine what happened before a decision on the property can be made. I can’t imagine a father that would put such a quandary to his kids, but I loved it as a plot device.

Despite there being five siblings, I had no trouble keeping them straight. We hear from each of the siblings, along with Sean and Amanda. Each voice brings not only a different perspective but also a different batch of secrets. And half the time, they’re keeping facts to themselves thinking they’re protecting someone else. I loved how much the past colored who they still were and how they saw themselves. “That was the problem with camp. Everywhere and everything was memories. Whether they were your own or other people’s. You couldn’t escape them. The person you were, the person you used to be, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was how others saw you.”

The writing is so clear and vivid I could picture everything. It was like watching a movie play out in my head. The chart of where everyone was at each hour worked well and helped keep the reader focused.

With this book, McKenzie returns to the thrills she gave me in Fractured. There’s a definite creepiness factor to this book. There’s also an ending I didn’t see coming. This one gave me chills.

My thanks to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

3 for neutral. Tried a few times, and could not get into this book, but am a moody reader. Will update later if I’m able to get into it and read it completely.
Will let the members of Chapter Chatter Pub know about it’s release!

I'll Never Tell is an engrossing psychological thriller by Catherine McKenzie. She continues to develop her writing skill with each successive book.

4.25 stars.

20 years ago, a girl named Amanda washed ashore, murdered, at the MacAllister family's camp. Her death was never solved. After the MacAllister parents' deaths, their children all arrive back to the camp in order to go through the will - and ultimately, to revisit that summer and try to discover who really killed her, and why?

This book has a lot of what I love in a good mystery/thriller - family secrets, mysterious and unexplained events (though that is what makes a mystery at all!), twists and turns, and morally confusing characters.

I did figure out the twist partway through, but I do still think it was a good twist to have, and I appreciated the way that McKenzie crafted her story around it. The characters were well fleshed out

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the chance to read this book!

I love a good summer camp story. Add in a whodunit flare and I am all in! I'll Never Tell takes place over one weekend while 5 siblings reunite at their family-run summer camp to go over their parents will and prepare for a memorial service for their deceased parents. The siblings have been largely estranged for 20 years, since they all woke up one morning of camp to find Margaux's best friend, Amanda, violently beaten and floating in a canoe in the middle of the lake. What ever happened to Amanda? Who did it? It had to be one of the siblings. or was it the groundskeeper, Sean? The siblings are such interesting characters and this story explores sibling rivalries and family dynamics. I found I'll Never Tell to be an intriguing read but thought it was a bit slow at times since it is a fairly long read for a suspense novel!

I flew through this book in about 2 days! A family owns a camp but when the father dies, who inherits? The siblings return to camp, and history and secrets come out into the open . I was on the edge of my seat to find out what happened, and could not put the book down!! Fast paced and very good!

This author is a favorite of mine. Her ability to craft a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat is one of the reasons I keep coming back. This book was such a great read, it had lots of twists and turns without being outlandish, and I kept finding myself saying, just one more page. Have already told friends about it.