Never Lie - Freida McFadden

« After all, my mother always said that the only way two people can keep a secret is if one of them is dead. »

I picked up Never Lie by Freida McFadden looking for a quick, fast-paced thriller to keep me busy while waiting for another book I’d ordered on Vinted. I was ready to overlook bad writing if the story delivered suspense. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

The writing itself was clumsy not necessarily in word choice (which was still often weak) but in execution. Entire sentences were repeated multiple times, almost as if the author assumed the reader needed constant reminders. Instead of building tension, it felt condescending and sloppy.

And as for the “thriller” aspect: there was none??? The book relied on cheap tricks and misleading narration rather than any sort of plotting. In the end, it didn’t feel like a thriller at all, but more like a scam. The reader isn’t rewarded for details he noted or the pages he just went through but genuinely is just deceived by the narration.

In the end, it didn’t make sense. I felt I’d wasted my time. I had enjoyed The Housemaid and heard this one was even better, but for me, it was far from it.

I considered giving it two stars simply because I finished it and genuinely wanted to know “what happened???”. But the truth is, I only kept reading in the hope that it would all make sense in the end… and it never did.”