Never Lie by Freida McFadden is a psychological thriller that is very addictive. I listened to this book via Spotify as I wanted a something to listen to while I worked, and I could not stop listening. I even listened in the car on the commute home and was praying for slow traffic for once! The audiobook is narrated by Leslie Howard, and I love how she brought across each character.
The story follows relatively newlyweds Ethan and Tricia as they look for their dream home. They are on their way to a showing with their realtor when they get caught in a bad snowstorm, resulting in them having to abandon their car and find refuge in the very house they are going to view. The house has been vacant for years, but as they approach there is a light on upstairs.
They find a key and let themselves in and see that the house is fully furnished but is covered in thick layers of dust confirming that no one has lived there in years. Luckily the electricity is still working albeit a bit dim and the big house is freezing so there is a huge a fireplace that they try to get working. Tricia is a bit freaked out about the house and the light upstairs so they go explore wondering if their realtor is waiting in the house but they soon discover there’s no one upstairs and all the bedrooms feature a layer of dust over the furnishings like the downstairs, confirming no one has been living in the house.
We discover that the house belongs to Dr Adrienne Hales, a psychiatrist who treats many patients out of her home office and is the author of a few books relating to some of her clients stories. Her most recent book was her most popular book, more so because she went missing not long after it was released. So instantly we’re wondering what happened to her? Is she dead or alive? Is she secretly hiding out in her own home because of a deranged client?
We soon discover the Dr had been recording all of her patients sessions even without their consent as it was within the confines of the law in New York, however, one night Tricia decides to listen to the tapes as she can’t sleep in the creepy house and she is 100% sure her and Ethan are not alone due to some additional footprints in the dust and a half drank glass of water and a stocked fridge with food that was still fresh.
As Tricia listens to the tapes and we learn about three of Adrienne’s clients recordings, we are inclined to believe the narcissistic EJ and Ethan could be the same person or related and there’s a female patient who is elder and believes she is going to be killed by someone in her life, is that because of her paranoid delusions or is she really in danger? Then there’s the younger female patient who experienced a traumatic experience and is the sole survivor of a murderer who claimed the lives of her friends and fiancé and part of the book that Adrienne wrote focused on her story.
The events of the book take place over the course of one weekend and we soon learn that the characters we thought we knew, we didn’t know at all and when they come face to face with the intruder in the home and make a discovery in one of the hidden compartments of the home, the whole mystery begins to unravel and once the truth is revealed it does make sense but is very shocking in a good way. I like how we go back and see aspects of Adrienne’s story before her disappearance and then back in present day seeing Tricia and Ethan try and work out if this home could be their ideal family home – Ethan is all in for this home but Tricia is not so sure.
My favourite line of the book is definitely “only two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead” and it’s mentioned a couple of times but the final mention seems to be more ominous than the rest and it fits the character perfectly.
I had to take notes as I listened to the book and I love that because this book really got my brain engaged and in Chapter 2 I was confidently telling people what was going to happen in the book – so when I was proven wrong when the twist came? I have never been happier to be wrong and shocked in my life. I had inclinations of who was who and their links to each other, but nothing prepared me for the truth and I absolutely loved it.
This was my first experience of a full-length Freida McFadden thriller, having read The Gift over the holidays on KU and I received The Housemaid & The Housemaid’s Secret as my Secret Santa gifts and can’t wait to dive in.
If you enjoy a good psychological thriller that keeps you guessing even once the twist is revealed then this book is for you and you can find it below:
https://amzn.to/3u1zZs2 - Never Lie - Freida McFadden (Kindle Edition)
https://amzn.to/48Ty9Z6 - Never Lie - Freida McFadden (Audiobook)
https://amzn.to/3U14MQE - Never Lie - Freida McFadden (Paperback
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