In the book I’ll Never Tell, the camp story is told from the family’s point of view. Their family’s livelihood depended on the camp and its “lifers,” so it wasn’t just a source of recreation. It was their lifestyle. The timelines switch off between the decades-ago night of a terrible tragedy, and a weekend in the present. The tale is a mystery to solve, but also documents the unraveling of a family.

I’ve never counted how many narrators are too much for me, but 7 tipped the canoe. The constant back-and-forth was dizzying. In the swing of the pendulum, though, the characters became more real to me. Their flaws and humanity stood out. I started to care about them. While I thought the ending would be cut and dry, it surprised me. I’d like to go back and read it again to see what I missed.

At first, it seemed like this would be appropriate as a teen fiction novel, but somewhere around the middle of the book a lot of adult action started happening. This is easily a family drama, maybe a psychological suspense, but not a thriller.

Get your self a cold drink, get in your hammock and settle in with this book. Or grab a beach towel and head on out with this book! Wonderful read!

I'll Never Tell is an exceptional family drama and mystery book all rolled into one. I adore McKenzie's books and this one was exactly what I needed! I enjoyed the ride from start to finish and felt that I really got to know the characters because it's told in alternate perspectives. I can't wait for more books by the author. She's going on my "must read" list!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. So many buried secrets in this family, and I am not just talking about the mystery of Amanda. This story played out so well. Each character was strongly written, and believable in every way. This is just suspense. There is heartbreak and severely broken family dynamic in the mix. Unputdownable!

5 stars

Mr. Swift is the the lawyer. Amanda Holmes was the girl who was killed twenty years earlier at Camp Macaw. There are cameos inserted in the story told from Amanda's point of view. The MacAllister siblings are Ryan who is the eldest and has a very bad temper, Margaux is the eldest daughter and sometimes more of a mother to the other girls, Kate and Liddie are twins and Mary who loves horses and has built her life around them in the home she lives just four miles away from the camp their father owned and where they all spent their youth. Sean Booth is the groundskeeper and has been with the family for many, many years. He is almost like one of the family.

The year following their parents' deaths, they all gather at the camp to hear Mr. Swift read the will. Ryan hopes to convince the girls to sell the property as his business is in trouble after his business partner was convicted of fraud. The girls are pretty much undecided about whether to sell of not, except for Mary who wants to keep the camp in the family.

When “Swifty” as Liddie calls him, reads a letter from their father to the siblings, he drops a bombshell. Almost immediately a fight breaks out. They have until Sunday to make a very important decision.

The siblings go about trying to sort out their individual feelings about their father's letter. They dredge up not quite forgotten memories, and some they wished they had forgotten. They begin to see their relationships with one another and with Sean anew; things about their siblings they thought they knew, but didn't. They discover explosive and unbelievable secrets about each other, about their father and mother.

Then the truth begins to trickle out.

There are plenty of surprises and twists in this story right through to the end. Just when you think that you have it figured out, another turn occurs. I wasn't too sure about the family to begin with, but over time, they grew on me. I didn't care for Ryan's temper and wondered just how he developed such a handicap. I kept trying to decide what the truth was, and who was being the most enigmatic.

The book is extremely well written and plotted. The transitions are smooth and almost unnoticeable. It was a joy to read. I HAD to keep reading!! Ms. McKenzie is a very talented writer who can turn a phrase with precision. This is my first Catherine McKenzie book, and I immediately went to Amazon to look for others of her novels.

I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.

A book of secrets that all center around a family and a dead friend. You find yourself trying to figure it out all the way till the end and then surprise!!

This book is a fast read. I wanted to read it quickly because I wanted to know what had happened. The characters are well developed and described, although it took me a while to infer the relationships among the siblings. The fact that each chapter flopped perspectives kind of took me a bit to get used to. The setup is great but the end kind of fell flat to me, if I'm being honest. I'd recommend this book to fans of domestic drama, because I would NOT classify this one as a thriller, although it may be marketed as such. Good for me, but not great.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for an advanced read in exchange for this review.  

Amanda Holmes was bludgeoned to death at the MacAllister family camp.  The crime remained unsolved. 20 years later, the siblings return following the death of their parents to figure out what to do with the camp.  Their father's will stipulates that they must solve the mystery of Amanda's death before they can proceed.

Well written mystery (not a thriller).  The characters are all complex, and at times, I thought it got a little bit confusing.  The story probably could have had one less sibling into the mix.  It was a little confusing towards the end with keeping them all straight.  Overall, the plot flowed at a good pace.  Don't expect any thrills or twists or turns, it's a solid whodunit? type mystery.

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 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.

I'll Never Tell is full of suspense that doesn’t disappoint. The setting is at Camp Macaw, a summer camp near Montreal owned by the MacAllister family, right away I knew this was going to be a great book when I read that it was a summer camp read. Great detail and scary good with secrets, lies, and betrayal.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #IllNeverTell
Pub Date: 01 Jun 2019

What is it about boarding school and summer camp plots that so fascinate us? The sense of isolation from adult guidance? Young people in a confined setting that creates an alternate social setting from the wider world?

The setting of I'll Never Tell is Camp Macaw, a summer camp near Montreal owned by the MacAllister family, has a long history of generational campers who return year after year and then send their children to enjoy the same experiences.

In the present, after the death of their parents, the MacAllister offspring are gathered to hear the reading of the will. The siblings will have to decide what to do about the camp; selling would be a financial coup, but not every wants to sell. More importantly, there is a twist to the will that no one expected.

Twenty years ago, Amanda, a seventeen-year-old counselor was bludgeoned with a paddle, but no one was ever charged with crime. A contingency in the will has a requirement that involves discovering who was responsible for what happened to Amanda. Who was where when Amanda was bludgeoned? Who would have wanted to hurt her? Secrets that have been kept for twenty years slowly come to light and suspicions run high.

The timeline shifts back and forth between past and present as Ryan, Margo, Mary, Kate, Liddie, and groundskeeper Sean revisit their memories of events to determine what happened to Amanda.

At first, I didn't like any of the characters much, but as I continued to read, each character became more and more understandable, and with the understanding, each one became more likable. Each secret that was kept, often from misunderstandings, shielded the guilty party. The puzzle unravels in a slow, but surprising way. A new clue or revelation, a new suspect.

I'll Never Tell is a skillful narrative that kept me engrossed and switching from one motive and suspect to another.

Read in February; blog review scheduled for May 13.

NetGalley/Lake Union Publishing
Mystery/Suspense. June 1, 2019. Print length: 380 pages.

When their parents pass away, siblings that don’t get along are forced to sort through family drama together. Some drama is old and buried, some is new and fresh, and all of it is more than they have time for with their busy lives. They learn a lot about their parents and themselves as they work to find the truth about a murder.

This book was fantastic. I have read other books about spoiled since that have to come together after a tragedy, and I was always disappointed... Catherine did it right! I love her voice and the way she tells a story, this is my favorite book of hers yet.

Secrets, lies, betrayal, and family loyalty all twisted together to make for a great mystery. Told from multiple points of view, the reader is drawn into the story and immersed in the characters lives. Everyone holds a piece of the puzzle and not everyone is being honest in the retelling. I figured out fairly early who the culprit was, however, it didn't detract from the suspense of the story. The ending was perfect. Highly recommend this one!

I received this book "I'll Never Tell" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.
This was a really good suspenseful book. A book of family secrets and an unsolved crime. What happened to Amanda? someone has to know. The storyline kept you thinking and thinking - who knows what happened to Amanda that night. I really connected with the characters and felt like I was right there with them. Great read - loved it!

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.

First off the bat, I need to comment on how awesome this book cover is!! That’s what initially drew me to I’ll Never Tell, but Catherine McKenzie’s twisty, turny storyline is what kept me hooked! There is a slew of characters (most are siblings) who were all there 20 years ago when a horrible attack took place at their family run summer camp. The assailant was never caught! Piecing that nightmare of evening together proves difficult and completely shocking! Told in multiple perspectives, we ultimately get to the bottom of who was responsible and I literally had to scoop my jaw off the floor! I’ll Never Tell is a captivating mystery/suspense novel that will keep you up way past your bedtime! This is my first Catherine McKenzie novel, I can’t wait to read more from her!

I did enjoy the story but for some reason it was difficult to keep all the characters straight and that made me struggle a little bit with this one.

Agatha Christie goes to Summer Camp........

I'll Never Tell takes us to lazy summers spent in the confines of cabin life run by budding counselors in open-air cabins by the lake. Rules stipulated on signs, schedules and endless activities filling the days, and secret hideouts in the woods. Binoculars optional.

It's July of 1998 near Montreal and Camp Macaw is filled with young adults and kids who seem to come back for the same experience every year. It's owned and operated by Pete and Ingrid MacAllister with their teenage kids serving as counselors. The camp grounds contain a Secret Beach with no easy access and The Island in the distance beckoning for a canoe to its shores. A map of the grounds is provided in the first pages.

As the readers settle in, we come to find that a serious tragedy occured that summer at Camp Macaw involving a young counselor by the name of Amanda. Catherine McKenzie introduces us to the large MacAllister brood: Margaux, Ryan, Mary, Liddie, and Kate. There's also Sean who serves as the groundskeeper after being taken in by the family. Whatever happened that summer spins an arrow pointing at one of these individuals........or maybe not.

Fast forward twenty years and we find the MacAllister bunch arriving at Camp Macaw for a memorial ceremony for their parents who passed away. Suspicion is heavy as the crime was never solved from 1998. The family lawyer arrives who reads a strange letter dictated by Pete MacAllister before his death. The clan must vote to keep or sell the property and one of them will be excluded from inheriting by the vote which must be unanimous.

Agatha Christie dons her counselor's whistle around her neck and the piercing shriek will definitely be heard. McKenzie starts to peel away the cumbersome tree branches and we come to know the backstories on this family tribe. Smoke from the familiar campfires will drift away. McKenzie uses a grid that will be filled in after chapters to locate who was where and when back on the fateful night in 1998. Very clever.......very clever indeed. I'll Never Tell is filled with multi-faceted characters and a trail of twisty events that readers will follow to the very Agatha Christie style ending.

I received a copy of I'll Never Tell through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Lake Union Publishers and to Catherine McKenzie for the opportunity.

This was a great book. The story line kept me motivated to read to the end. I do think the characters could have been better developed but that did not deter me from getting to the end.

So riveting! These siblings have just experienced a loss and are now finding that they must solve a long unsolved murder in order to receive their inheritance. As you can imagine, this is a rather motivating factor. I spent a lot of the book wondering which of them was a killer, and wondering what the back story is of this complicated family.

I loved it! It was a great thriller with a family twist!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience


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 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.