Just in time for the paperback release on August 6th (with a fabulous new cover design):

Never Tell

by Lisa Gardner

About the Book

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?

My Thoughts

Title: Never Tell (Detective D.D. Warren #10)
Author: Lisa Gardner
Pages: 414
Genre: Mystery
Source: Free ARC from Dutton

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from Dutton. I pride myself on writing fair and honest reviews.

Thoughts: I feel I must begin with a caveat – I finished this in February (I know, I know), and have been remiss in reviewing it, which is quite a travesty actually, as I both enjoyed this book immensely and have loved what I’ve read of this series so far.

Lisa Gardner knows how to twist and turn a story, to get you so entrenched that only exhaustion can break you away. And I truly, truly love Detective D.D. Warren. However, since I’m rather a late starter in this series (I started on book #9, and read the novella that came in between this and the last), I’m almost as infatuated with Flora’s story, and I love the interplay of these two characters.

This book in particular brings Flora to the forefront, as her past becomes a pivotal part of the current investigation, providing clues that change things dramatically for others who are involved. This link sheds a lot more light on what happened to Flora during her kidnapping, and these realizations really deepened my connection to her character.

As for the crime/mystery around all which all of this happens, I connected to Evie immediately. As everything unraveled and the truth was revealed, I felt absolutely terrible for her and her situation. I’ll admit, I suspected one part of the story once Flora’s past came into play, but every once in awhile, I’d question myself. It was an ingeniously written plot and I loved every minute of it!

If you haven’t read this book yet, you absolutely should! The paperback (with a haunting new cover!) will be available for purchase on August 6th.