By: Joshilyn Jackson
ISBN: 978-0062855312
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: 7/30/2019
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars Top Books of 2019
Top Audiobook of 2019 Have you ever done something so bad, so shameful that you would do anything to keep it secret? What if your worst enemy knew . . . and was determined to expose you? Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it—teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy’s sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night. Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it’s naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way—a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.
When they’re alone, Roux tells her that if she doesn’t give her what she asks for, what she deserves, she’s going to make Amy pay for her sins. One way or another.
To protect herself and her family and save the life she’s built, Amy must beat the devil at her own clever game, matching wits with Roux in an escalating war of hidden pasts and unearthed secrets. Amy knows the consequences if she can’t beat Roux. What terrifies her is everything she could lose if she wins.
A diabolically entertaining tale of betrayal, deception, temptation, and love filled with dark twists leavened by Joshilyn Jackson’s trademark humor, Never Have I Ever explores what happens when the transgressions of our past come back with a vengeance.
Review Coming!
Praise
ABA INDIE NEXT Pick | ALA Library Reads Pick| SIBA Okra Pick | One of CrimeReads’ Most Anticipated Crime Books of Summer | Recommended Summer Read by Wall Street Journal, Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Pop Sugar, Deep South Magazine, Book Bub, Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Intown, The Augusta Chronicle, She Reads, and Modern Mrs. Darcy
“Jackson’s novel is chock-full of dramatic reveals and twisty turns... Be warned: It’s a stay-up-all-night kind of book. Compulsively readable.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Best-selling Jackson successfully trades her usual quirky Southern lit for darker psychological suspense in this latest highly recommended novel. Her prowess at writing affecting, character-driven fiction is on full display, and readers will devour the twisty, consuming story.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Nail-biting suspense… Jackson builds on her talent for creating imperfect, capable, and multi-layered characters to write smart suspense, driven by the intelligence and determination of the instigator and her prey… Never Have I Ever marks a new high in Jackson’s career.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Best-selling author Jackson packs in dramatic reveals about the women’s complex histories.”
—TIME
“We’re looking forward to Never Have I Ever bringing Jackson the credit she deserves. Jackson’s latest is a classic interloper tale—a woman named Roux enters the lives of a seemingly perfect family and of course, her disruption reveals all the family’s darkest secrets.”
— CrimeReads
“[A] nail-biter....Winner takes all in this addictive, heart-thumping read.”
— Family Circle
“Jackson is a master of timing, meting out tension and detail impeccably. By the time of the explosive, entirely unexpected climax, I was clinging to the edge of my seat … This book reveals a side of Jackson I’ve never seen before, and it knocked my socks off.”
—Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of At the Water's Edge and Water for Elephants
“A smart, original thriller with real, compelling characters and a chilling reveal. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.”
—Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author of I Let You Go
“If you’re streaming the second season of Big Little Lies, take a screen break to read Never Have I Ever by Atlanta author Joshilyn Jackson. The novel is a deliciously, twisty domestic suspense tale... It’s Jackson’s best yet.”
—The Augusta Chronicle
"Wonderful—suspense and surprises, real characters, and a scary, ominous black beat. This feels like the novel Jackson was born to write."
—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series
About the Author
New York Times Bestselling novelist Joshilyn Jackson is the author of eight novels and a novella: The Almost Sisters, The Opposite of Everyone, Someone Else’s Love Story, gods in Alabama, Between, Georgia, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Backseat Saints, A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, and the novella My Own Miraculous. Her books have been translated into a dozen languages, won SIBA’s novel of the year, three times been a #1 Book Sense Pick, twice won Georgia Author of the Year, and three times been shortlisted for the Townsend prize.
A former actor, Jackson reads the audio versions of her novels; her work in this field has been nominated for the Audie Award, was selected by AudioFile Magazine for their best of the year list, has made the 2012 Audible All-Star list for highest listener ranks/reviews, and garnered three Listen Up Awards from Publisher’s Weekly. In 2012 Jackson began reading the audio versions of books written by other novelists, beginning with Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer.
She serves on the board of Reforming Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to providing theatre infused liberal arts education to women who are under carceral control in Georgia. Through their education-in-prison and reentry programs, Reforming Arts fosters the development of critical and creative thinking skills, encouraging students to build livable lives. Joshilyn volunteers inside Lee Arrendale State Prison, teaching creative writing courses and facilitating a new literary magazine/newsletter that the students are producing. Read More
