Never Lie by Freida McFadden

A key aspect to being even a halfway decent writer is a healthy diet of reading. Reading books you enjoy that you can’t seem to put down are a good measure of what is exciting, entertaining, and engrossing. I found all three of those things in Freida McFadden’s novel Never Lie.

This is my first novel I’ve ever read by McFadden, recommended to me by a friend while out at a bar on Friday night. I ordered the book, it arrived Saturday, and spent all day Sunday reading it cover to cover. I couldn’t put it down. I love short chapters in novels. They provide more opportunities for a clean break, if needed, and the story seems to move much faster. McFadden’s novel had short chapters that really moved the story, kept the reader engaged, and coming in at just under three-hundred pages, made good use of each and every sentence.

This story is a thriller and it certainly felt like one. The development of the characters was done well as each little detail added more to their personality and their arcs. Though the protagonists weren’t exactly people I could relate to in their way of thinking, their mindsets weren’t unfathomable and I could understand their thought processes.

As the plot moved throughout the novel, I was certain I had figured out the ending to the story at Chapter 14. I even noted it on the page that this was the moment I’d figured it all out! Boy, was I wrong. I couldn’t have seen the ending coming no matter how I looked at it. All my guesses were incredibly off. The way the characters were set up from the beginning of the story made it so hard to see anything else, but once the twists came, they were perfectly set to be viewed through a different lens. It threw me through a loop, let me tell ya. As I looked back on the way the story unfolded, almost everything made sense, and left you satisfied. As I said, it was a fast-paced book, and after all the build up, the suspense, the hair-raising details, the twist comes and rocks you.

I must admit, the premise of certain aspects of the story seem, well, highly improbable. The chance encounters of some of the characters kind of rubbed me the wrong way, but sort of like when you go to the movies, you’re willing to suspend reality for a time to allow yourself to enjoy the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I was certainly invested and I couldn’t put the book down. I knocked the whole thing out within 24 hours. If you enjoy thriller/suspense novels (who doesn’t?), I would definitely recommend Freida McFadden’s Never Lie.

Thanks to Matt for the recommendation!