Full of ingenious twists, Never Tell fails to deliver a shocking, realistic, and jaw-dropping finale, but it succeeds in serving up suspense at a frantic pace…
When Sgt. Detective D. D. Warren breaks into the home of pregnant math teacher Evelyn Carter, she finds her standing over her husband Conrad’s dead body with a freshly fired gun in her hand. Evelyn immediately becomes the main suspect because of her earlier involvement in the accidental shooting and murder of her father, Earl Hopkins. It was D. D. Warren who had investigated the murder of Hopkins sixteen years ago. As for as Warren is concerned, the case is open and shut; she thinks it’s too much of a coincidence that another man in Evelyn’s life has been shot dead. Flora Dane, kidnapping survivor-turned-vigilante and D.D.’s unofficial informant, gets involved in the case after the news of Conard’s murder becomes public. According to Fiona, Conrad was Jacob Ness’s (Fiona’s kidnapper) associate. As Warren digs deeper into Conrad’s life, she realizes the things are much more complicated than it seems. The narrative becomes disturbing as Flora Dane revisits her troubled past. Cleverly plotted twists move the story forward at a fast pace. The suspense intensifies as readers unravel secrets that link the two murders together. Despite the excellent plotting, Gardner fails to deliver a satisfying resolution at the end, something the faithful Gardner followers usually expect from her. Nevertheless, with the typical Gardner characters, engaging narrative, and tight plotting, Never Tell will appeal to fans of fast-paced formula thrillers.
