Thanks to the author, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review* It truly is the definition of unputdownable. I'd have read it in one sitting had I not been working. And when the twist happened, I gasped, put my hands to my face and gave a bark of laughter. My fiance was concerned and confused lol. I never completely meshed with this story. So much of it was over-the-top unrealistic. I think we all want to feel that we could walk in the shoes of the characters we read about even if only for a moment. (Or a chapter). But it just wasn’t possible here. Finally, Tricia and Ethan are ready to buy their first home together. They’ve found a remote house with an extensive but disturbing history. The previous owner mysteriously vanished and is presumed to have been murdered. But fate intervenes with a massive snowstorm that strands them during the showing. They have no cell service, and with their realtor conveniently a no show, the couple realize they need to just settle in until a rescue can be made. Who knows…maybe that gives them extra time to learn more about the house and its previous owner.

Never Lie: An addictive psychological thriller Kindle Edition Never Lie: An addictive psychological thriller Kindle Edition

Narration notes ~ fine job, but wish I could've sped it up some more without it skipping. Her voice was a little slow and I really wish there were 2 different narrators or some distinction between characters. I'm wondering if I would've enjoyed it a tad more if I read it rather than listened.At first Freida makes sure we know the house is very dusty, much dust, dust everywhere. And this dustiness grosses Tricia out because it totally clashes with Ethan's BMW (it's not a car, it's a BMW), her Manolo Blahnik boots and Ralph Lauren wool coat. But then she's okay with sleeping in her undies and bra in a bed that has been empty for THREE years?? And puts on a dead woman's RED FUZZY ROBE AND SLIPPERS?????? The real mystery is how the house was selectively dusty. Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are snowed in during their viewing at the creepy, dusty, secluded mcmansion once owned by Dr. Adrienne Hale, who mysteriously disappeared without a trace four years ago. When Tricia finds her secret tapes of her sessions, she starts listening to get to the bottom of the doctor's disappearance. Tricia discovers tapes of sessions with "EJ", a psychopath and wine connoisseur with a "familiar" voice. Her husband is called Ethan, is a wine connoisseur, has a temper sometimes, has no known friends or family and, she notes, she doesn't know him very well at all 🙄 They end up at an old, gigantic manor, waiting for their realtor. But due to a blizzard she never shows. The the of them take shelter in the house.it turns out to be the house of missing Dr Adrienne Hall, bestselling author of “Anatomy of Fear”. Tricia already has a bad feeling about the house, something happened here. Then she stumbles across a secret room, filled of recordings of Adrienne’s sessions with her patients. That’s when the mystery unravels.

Never Lie by Freida McFadden | Waterstones Never Lie by Freida McFadden | Waterstones

Don’t let him manipulate you,” Ethan says. “He isn’t a good person. He killed [spoiler]. He killed one of the people closest to him. What kind of person does that?” Also, the author does this weird thing where a character will say something via dialogue, then the narrator will make an extremely obvious observation about it in their inner monologue. For example: The way the author hammered us over the head with a red herring to the point that I felt a little insulted? Anytime someone goes house shopping and set their eyes on the people-may-or-may-not-have-died-here-but-you-can-get-it-for-a-low-low-price-of-uhmm-say-your-eternal-soul it's a plot hole for sure. I’ve read (listened to) one other book by this author The Inmate and enjoyed it. Perhaps the next will play out better (for me).

Freida got me Googling… I always thought it was a myth they told teenagers that antibiotics and birth control pills don’t mix well together. The results I got were: “To date, the only antibiotic proven to impact birth control pills is rifampin. This drug is used to treat tuberculosis and other bacterial infections. If you take this medication while using birth control pills, it decreases the hormone levels in your birth control pills” so did Tricia have tuberculosis?! 😳🤔😅 Told in the now by Trisha and in the before by Adrienne with some transcripts thrown in for fun. This approach was a good call to build up the suspense. I finished this last night and there's a reason I try not to read thrillers late at night- they give me nightmares. I couldn't stop reading last night though, so I have myself to blame for the messed-up, crazy nightmare I had. Never Lie by Freida McFadden was told from different points of view. Tricia represented the “now” and Dr. Adrienne Hale represented the “ before”. There were many inconsistencies throughout the book. It left me scratching my head and wondering. The ending was quite unexpected and yet based on the rest of the book, it fit. My feelings about this book were in the middle. It was not my favorite but I did not hate it entirely. Some parts just bothered me a lot. I look forward to reading her next book. And of course it ended on such a plot twist, I simultaneously started screaming and banging my head CUZ HOW HAVEN'T I NOTICED THAT BEFORE?

Never Lie by Freida McFadden - Goodreads Editions of Never Lie by Freida McFadden - Goodreads

This book's saving grace is that these two dysfunctional human beings ended up together, saving the world from their chaos. Well done, they deserve each other.Overall. I don't really get why a lot of people are raving about this. It felt rushed to me. Yes, there were a couple of complex characters but they weren't likeble at all. A lot of twists were easy to figure out because the author threw a lot of obvious foreshadowing. Never Lie" is a captivating story that centers on the lives of Tricia and Ethan, a couple deeply immersed in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, as they embark on the exciting journey of finding their ideal home. Their plans take an unexpected turn when they find themselves stranded in the midst of a relentless snowstorm, compelling them to seek refuge in the seemingly deserted home of Adrienne Hale, a psychologist who mysteriously vanished without a trace. Unfortunately, some thriller writer have become so invested in surprising their audience — so many twist!, woahhh the twist!, wait for the twist!— they try outmaneuver their audience that they messed up the story they had been building. This is exactly what happened here. Even worse is the story completely ignored earlier events and details to fit the twist into its narrative! That's just mean and disrespectful. Lastly, tell me how Tricia can get away with murdering nearly ten people that are all intimately known to her. So her grammy and fiance and besties all die and no one bats an eye? Even Detective Pikachu could make the connections. Cmon now.