By: Freida McFadden
Narrator: Leslie Howard
ISBN: 9781666626063
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: 11/08/2022
Format: Audiobook
My Rating: 4.5 Stars 🎧 (ARC)
Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams.
But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne
Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.
In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.
Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.
And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.
The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.
My Review
Fredia McFadden returns following The Housemaid (a hard act to follow-5 Stars) with her latest—NEVER LIE, a diabolical twisty game of cat-and-mouse psychological thriller with unreliable narrators and a shocking final twist.
Setting the mood in this chilling atmospheric remote winter setting—Tricia and Ethan are newlyweds and take off to view a house and meet the realtor, Judy. However, it is snowing, and they are trapped in a violet winter snowstorm when they reach the vast, impressive manor house estate. There is no chance of escaping.
The house is very creepy, and the realtor does not show. The house once belonged to the famous Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who had vanished four years earlier.
Strange things happen. Lots of dust and lights are on, and some cold cuts were found in the refrigerator. It is unlike the realtor not to have cleaned the place in advance. They later find a squatter has been hiding out in the house.
Tricia is looking for a book to read and grab, The Shining. When she does, a secret panel opens with hundreds of cassette tapes. They are recordings of Dr. Hale's sessions. These are chilling and creepy.
Hiding this from her husband, she listens to the tapes and learns of the terrifying events that lead up to Dr. Hale's disappearance. In addition, there are more disturbing discoveries hidden away in the floorboards. What happened at this house?
Whom to trust? Does the husband a wife know one another and their pasts?
An evil, wicked web of lies and deceit. Filled with unreliable characters, where nothing is as it appears.
Taut and fraught with surprise twists, both creepy and chilling. Multi-layered, with past secrets. Smart, cunning, and wickedly evil.
Wow! This must be the author's signature move to twist and turn the characters around to give you that jaw-dropping final explosion you did not see coming! Impressed with the author's style and look forward to reading more of her backlist and future books.
For fans of authors Jennifer Hillier, Ruth Ware, and Miranda Rijks.
This was my first book by the author, but quickly as soon as I finished purchased the audiobook, The Housemaid. I could not pre-order The Housemaid's Secret (book #2) coming Feb 20, 2023, fast enough!
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, Leslie Howard, gave an outstanding performance.
A special thank you to #DreamscapeMedia and #NetGalley for an e-ALC to read, review and enjoy.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Pub Date: Nov 8, 2022
Praise
"Never Lie is the perfect thrill ride of a novel! I was pulled into the story right from the start and read breathlessly until the shocking conclusion. Disturbing, absorbing, and deliciously sinister—this is a novel readers will devour in one sitting." —Karen McQuestion, bestselling author of The Moonlight Child
About the Author
#1 Amazon and USA Today bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.
