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A review by jnbluvs
Never Lie by Freida McFadden
3.0
TLDR w/out spoilers: The book is good for suspense/mystery beginners who tend to miss plot holes and dialogue/narration inconsistencies. Also okay if you want a quick read for the middle of the night (you are likely to not care about or will miss the massive problems this book has when read in the daytime). If you are the mystery reader who notes every detail in hopes of getting the plot twist before the end, don’t bother reading this. I can almost guarantee you will not get the plot twist because it makes no sense based on the information provided in the first 80% of the book.
SPOILERS:
Reading this book was both tedious and annoying because the plot moves slow and fast in the wrong ways. The information presented from the very beginning of the novel presents many inconsistencies once the reader finds out the “plot twist”.
Examples:
1) From the very beginning, the MC acts as if she’s never been in the psychiatrist’s house, yet she’s the killer? It’s understandable that it’s not presented in her verbal, out-loud dialogue with Ethan, but the majority of the book, which is told from her perspective, shows no sign of her acknowledging that she’s been in the house before mentally even though she’s in fact been in it MULTIPLE TIMES (at least once a week for 2 years) and knows very well who Adrienne Hale is and how she died.
2) There are times when Freida has egged us to believe Ethan could have been the killer yet then entirely dismisses that idea at the end. There are multiple instances where Ethan shows he is familiar with the house although never actually stepping foot inside. He’s able to find where the heating unit is quickly, isn’t afraid of sleeping in the bedrooms (even though MC, who has been in the house, is) and pays no attention to the movements and quirks of the house that the MC brings up time and time again. Adrienne’s client EJ and Ethan are described to have very similar features (blonde hair with highlights, shorter than the average male) and even personality wise are described similarly as EJ has a bad temper, is a wine connoisseur and raises threats and MC mentions how Ethan has lost his temper at his employees before and can get defensive easily). Ethan also jumps at the prospect of buying the house although unafraid that the murderer of the prior owner hasn’t been identified or arrested, making it plausible that he in fact knows who the perpetrator is, leaving him unafraid). Through the transcript of Hale’s tapes, EJ has issues with his parents and has joked about them dying. What’s revealed to us about Ethan’s past? Nothing aside from the fact that HE HAS NO PARENTS AND REFUSES TO OPEN UP ABOUT IT. This plot line would have strung together so much better than the MC being PL from the tapes. I feel entirely robbed.
Three stars feels generous at this point given the absolute hot mess this book was for anyone reading in between the lines (as any self-respected mystery/thriller reader SHOULD do); however it’s suspense did leave me reading til the end which i suppose counts for something.
SPOILERS:
Reading this book was both tedious and annoying because the plot moves slow and fast in the wrong ways. The information presented from the very beginning of the novel presents many inconsistencies once the reader finds out the “plot twist”.
Examples:
1) From the very beginning, the MC acts as if she’s never been in the psychiatrist’s house, yet she’s the killer? It’s understandable that it’s not presented in her verbal, out-loud dialogue with Ethan, but the majority of the book, which is told from her perspective, shows no sign of her acknowledging that she’s been in the house before mentally even though she’s in fact been in it MULTIPLE TIMES (at least once a week for 2 years) and knows very well who Adrienne Hale is and how she died.
2) There are times when Freida has egged us to believe Ethan could have been the killer yet then entirely dismisses that idea at the end. There are multiple instances where Ethan shows he is familiar with the house although never actually stepping foot inside. He’s able to find where the heating unit is quickly, isn’t afraid of sleeping in the bedrooms (even though MC, who has been in the house, is) and pays no attention to the movements and quirks of the house that the MC brings up time and time again. Adrienne’s client EJ and Ethan are described to have very similar features (blonde hair with highlights, shorter than the average male) and even personality wise are described similarly as EJ has a bad temper, is a wine connoisseur and raises threats and MC mentions how Ethan has lost his temper at his employees before and can get defensive easily). Ethan also jumps at the prospect of buying the house although unafraid that the murderer of the prior owner hasn’t been identified or arrested, making it plausible that he in fact knows who the perpetrator is, leaving him unafraid). Through the transcript of Hale’s tapes, EJ has issues with his parents and has joked about them dying. What’s revealed to us about Ethan’s past? Nothing aside from the fact that HE HAS NO PARENTS AND REFUSES TO OPEN UP ABOUT IT. This plot line would have strung together so much better than the MC being PL from the tapes. I feel entirely robbed.
Three stars feels generous at this point given the absolute hot mess this book was for anyone reading in between the lines (as any self-respected mystery/thriller reader SHOULD do); however it’s suspense did leave me reading til the end which i suppose counts for something.