A fantastically crafted thriller that had me guessing until the very last pages. I loved the new character of Flora, so expertly described as a victim, with all the details of a PTSD sufferer perfectly down to the last detail. Evie is done very well also, but Flora, with her adrenaline overload, will always be my favorite.

Another great story in this series. The characters we love are all present. I'm really enjoying the reveal of Flora's character. The story line is well developed, although the 'whodoneit' was fairly obvious after getting in a few chapters, but the connection between the two cases was interesting to see develop.

This is a fantastic addition to the Detective D.D. Warren series. I really enjoyed trying to put the clues together and puzzle out what exactly happened. Great characters and an intriguing storyline made this one I wouldn't have wanted to miss!

A homicide that D.D. Warren is called in on not only ties back to another shooting she worked years ago, but also to the kidnapping and imprisonment of Flora Dane. D.D. will have to use all of her skills to figure this one out.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Never Tell is the tenth book in author Lisa Gardner’s Detective D.D. Warren series and the third time Warren’s path has crossed with that of victim-turned-avenger turned Confidential Informant, Flora Dane. Sergeant Detective D.D. Warren is once again on the case. D.D. and Flora must investigate the murder of a man married into a wealthy and secretive family who DD has intimate knowledge of from 16 years ago. The third primary character, and yes, this story does revolve around all three women, is Evelyn Carter.

Evie Carter returns home to find her husband, Conrad, dead in his home office. He has been shot three times, but Evie takes his gun and shoots his computer twelve times. Why would she shoot the computer? What secrets are contained on his computer? Who was Conrad, and why was he murdered in cold blood? As the police arrive, they see Evie, who is obviously pregnant and still holding the gun. D.D. recognizes Evie from a case sixteen years ago, when Evie was 16 and accidentally shot her father, a Harvard professor.

Two shootings involving the same person can't be coincidental as far as Warren is concerned. Things become even more complicated when Flora Dane recognizes the dead man and believes he has ties to her deceased former rapist/kidnapper Jacob Ness who held her for 472 days. For the first time, Flora chooses to revisit her past to try and remember what she knows about Conrad. She is also determined to discover the truth behinds Conrad's murder and how it may be tied into crimes by Jacob Ness.

For DD, puzzles & mysteries have always intrigued her and this one is a doozy. Even though she is a Supervisor now, and her former teammates now have a new members, she really does have the itch in the blood to be involved in every asset of the investigation, as well as learning more about Flora's past, and why 16 years later, Evie is once again darkening her doorstep with a tale that will make you curious as to who would go to such lengths to allow Evie to be the focus of two separate murder investigations.

Never Tell will thrill readers of thrillers, crime fiction, and police procedurals, but it also will entice fans of domestic suspense. The final scenes are disturbing, clever, heart-stopping, and brilliant. All typical of books written by Lisa Gardner which makes her one of my top 5 authors of all time. This story reads as a standalone and the mystery plot is great. The narrative is unusual with Flora and Evie giving first person accounts of the unfolding events while D.D.’s take is told in the third person. That, by the way, is pretty standard.

I had no idea this book was part of a series, so it seems you can read them without having to go in order of publication perhaps? So this was my first introduction to these characters. I liked the book, it had me hooked from the first chapter wondering why the wife would shoot her husbands computer and be accused to murdering him. This was a quick read for me because I wanted to know what happened!

Lisa Gardner books always grab me from the first paragraph and keep me reading late into the night. Her latest is no exception. Involving characters from her two mosts popular series, Detective D.D. Warren and FBI agent Kimberly Quincy was brilliant and made this a special treat. The characters are fully developed and the plot moves along at a breakneck pace. Highly Recommended

As a person who typically likes to read series books in order, I somehow ended up starting this series in book 8. I have loved each book since and this is no exception. While I think these books could potentially be read as standalones, I think the way Gardner builds each character book by book is in indicator that starting at the beginning to get the full feel of them may be the way to go. However, I find myself FULLY invested in D.D. and now Flora just after three books.

I am guessing from beginning to end. And while I may not have been in jaw dropping shock when all was revealed, I was like I KNEW IT... but I actually didn't... but I did kinda shake my head like maybe I should've known?! Ha! I don't know what it is about Gardner, but her writing is so easy to read. I love the banter and push back between the characters, the fleshing out of their characters some more and the revisit to a person from an old case for D.D.

A series I highly recommend and will definitely be continuing to read. I don't know what else Gardner has in store for Flora and D.D. (and Phil) but I am here for all of it.

Summary from Goodreads:

"A man is dead, shot three times in his home office. But his computer has been shot twelve times, and when the cops arrive, his pregnant wife is holding the gun.

D. D. Warren arrives on the scene and recognizes the woman—Evie Carter—from a case many years back. Evie's father was killed in a shooting that was ruled an accident. But for D.D., two coincidental murders is too many.

Flora Dane sees the murder of Conrad Carter on the TV news and immediately knows his face. She remembers a night when she was still a victim—a hostage—and her captor knew this man. Overcome with guilt that she never tracked him down, Flora is now determined to learn the truth of Conrad's murder.

But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. As layer by layer they peel away the half-truths and outright lies, they wonder: How many secrets can one family have?"

My Thoughts:

This is my first five star read of 2019!!! I am so completely hooked on this series at this point and I'm only three books in. It's funny because I'm totally not reading them in order - and I've started compulsively buying them whenever I find copies of the earlier books because I definitely want to read the entire series at this point. But back to this book which again features Flora Dane whom I have just grown to love. In Never Tell, the book is told from three different viewpoints all focusing on the recent shooting and murder of Evie Carter's husband. One viewpoint is D.D.'s as she is investigating this murder, one from Evie's viewpoint as she deals with the aftermath of her husband's death, and finally from Flora's point of view as she recognized Evie's husband as being an acquaintance of her former captor Jacob Ness. All of these three storylines are so compelling and made this book one that I couldn't set down. Gardner does such a beautiful job of creating tense and suspenseful atmospheres in each of her books. This book kept me guessing and turning the pages the entire time! There is so much going on that you would think that it is almost too much - I didn't even mention yet that Evie "accidentally" killed her father when she was younger. Instead all of these different things just tie together beautifully to ratchet up the suspense even more! I feel like I'm just rambling here at this point so here is what you need to know: this book is JUST as amazing as every book that I've read in this series so far. If you haven't read this series yet, you can certainly start here or you could do like I did and begin with Find Her (or maybe start at the very beginning of the series like most people do). I loved this book so much and one of the reasons is because of Flora's character. I'm loving the chance to see her continue to work on living her life after everything that she has been through. There is just so much going on in this book that I absolutely loved. I loved that I was kept guessing the entire time on what actually happened. I won't say more than that but I just cannot recommend this series enough at this point!!

Overall this was easily a five star read for me and my first one of the new year! I feel like all I'm doing is gushing at this point but really it was that good! This book was just as compelling and thrilling as the other two books that I've read in this series. The mysteries are always suspenseful but it is the characters that keep me coming back for more. I really am looking forward to finally starting back with the first book in this series sometime in the near future! If you enjoy tense, edge of your seat - will not - cannot - stop reading books then this series is for you! I can highly recommend this one to thriller and mystery lovers alike! Lisa Gardner has sky rocketed on to my favorite authors list! I will eagerly be anticipating the next book in this series and reading everything that she writes! Highly recommended!

Bottom Line: As tense and thrilling as I had hoped it would be - an easy five star read!

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book thanks to the publisher - thoughts on this book and series are my own!

Excellent addition to this fantastic series. Although these books contain enough recapping and backstory that they can be thoroughly enjoyed as standalones, I highly recommend that readers start at the beginning, especially with Flora (Find Her, then Look for Me, then Never Tell are the three Flora Dane books).
This mystery comes together piece by piece, in trademark Gardner police procedural fashion, and allows the reader to experience the crimes and investigation right along with the police. There are no shortage of suspects in Never Tell, but by the time you get to the satisfying conclusion, everything falls into place and makes perfect sense.
I also loved that this book features Kimberly Quincy, who is a crossover from some of the other books.
If you aren't a Lisa Gardner fan, why not? She should be at the top of every mystery lover's "must buy" list.

Two Murders Linked by a Horrific Crime

Evie Carter arrives home to find her husband, Conrad, in his office with three bullets in him. He’s been working at his computer. Evie takes one look, grabs the gun and unloads it into the computer. When the police enter the house, she’s the perfect suspect.

Detective D.D. Warren arrives at the murder scene and recognizes Evie. Sixteen years ago she accidentally shot and killed her father with a shotgun. Two murders are too much for D.D. She decides Evie is probably guilty.

Flora Dane, the survivor of a horrific crime, and D.D.’s CI, confidential informant, arrives at the scene near hysteria. She recognizes Conrad from her time with her abductor. This adds a layer of complication to the case that D.D. is not sure what to do with.

This is my favorite D.D. Warren mystery to date. The plot is filled with twists, but the information comes naturally as though it was being discovered in a real investigation. The story is told from three view points, D.D., Evie, and Flora. The author has made the characters so distinct it’s easy to follow the story even though moving between different persons.

All three women are tough and smart. I particularly liked Flora’s development in the book. She loses some of her standoff toughness and becomes much more of a real person. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy thrillers. It’s hard to put down.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

D.D. is called into a murder investigation, when they find out the suspect, Evie Carter was investigated sixteen years earlier for the shooting death of her father, ultimately ruled as accidental. D.D. was on the case back then, but now that Evie is suspected in the shooting death of her husband, Conrad Carter, D.D. wonders if they were wrong about the first case. Was the death of Evie’s father really an accident?

Flora Dane becomes a key figure in the investigation when she realizes she met the murder victim, Evie’s husband, years before when he met up with her kidnapper, Jacob Ness, the man who held her for 472 days. Flora is very much a survivor, six years after her release, and we’ve got to see her in action with the last couple of books, as sort of a vigilante and self-appointed victims advocate. Flora’s come a long way since her ordeal but seeing Conrad’s picture brings a lot back. Flora has kept some of those memories locked away tight, refusing to hash and rehash the details over with the FBI, but now she questions if that’s deprived other possible victims of their justice. Flora is ready to revisit the past, but the FBI isn’t as generous sharing what they know of Jacob with her, so she finds another source: Keith Edgar, a true-crime buff who’s been requesting to interview Flora since she got away from Jacob. He’s a wealth of information and an expert in searching for more. But Flora’s also a bit skeptical about Keith, because what sort of man would devote so much of his free time to this kind of hobby? A groupie, a wannabe serial killer? Flora’s prepared for any possibility!

Since Flora’s been introduced, I’ve felt for her! Yes, she’s taken her life back, somewhat, but the story after a victim is “saved” makes it very apparent that the nightmare isn’t over just because they survived and got away. With the introduction of Keith, I’m so excited for possibilities and the coming stories! In acknowledgments Ms. Gardner states “there’s more to come” with Flora and I couldn’t be happier at the prospect! Her journey has been equal parts disturbing, moving and captivating!

Evie, our current murder suspect, gets a first-person point of view in this story, a POV I was happy to have since it connected her past with the present in a way that couldn’t have been otherwise. Flora also gets a first-person POV. It was tough being in Flora’s head at first with all the past coming to the surface again, but there was a more hopeful Flora coming through and I loved it! D.D. gets her usual third person POV, which sounds a little odd, but it works.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Lisa Gardner’s stories! They’re a mixture of crime procedural, mystery, and thriller, heavy on character motivations and twists. Even when I’ve been torn up about the outcome (just a couple of her books) it’s always been a memorable experience, one that I think about long after I finish the last page.

I know when a reader sees that this is the 10th book in a series they automatically shy away, but you don’t have to read all nine books before Never Tell to enjoy this installment. This could be read as a standalone, but I’d recommend starting where Flora Dane is introduced in Find Her (book 8), to really enjoy Never Tell.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the 10th book in the Detective D.D. Warren series and I am such a huge fan of not only this series, but of Lisa Gardner's books in general. They are such addicting thrillers that just pull you in, and when you put a tough detective together with a victim-turned-vigilante it just makes for a great team!

I loved the way this story was told, alternating between three view points - Evie, who was found holding a smoking gun over her dead husband, Detective D.D. Warren, and Flora, who realizes she has seen Evie's husband before, when she was held kidnapped all those years ago by Jacob Ness. Getting into each of these three women's heads really gave a different perspective into what was going on as the story builds and let me tell you, it really keeps you guessing as to where things are going to end up.

Each of these three women are strong, fierce women in their own right. You might not always see it, but trust me when I say when it comes down to it, they can hold their own. These women are tough and willing to get the answers they need to figure out what the heck is going on. There are quite a few twists thrown in here and there that might just leave your head spinning, but it also keeps you flipping the pages to see where it ultimately all ends up.

Each of these characters are fully developed and I loved that while I thought I knew where things were going, I couldn't have been further from the truth. This is one of those cases where things are definitely not what they appear to be. This book is dark and intense and is filled with lies upon lies. And the part about the dark web was utterly fascinating...disturbing, but fascinating nonetheless.

With each installment in this series, I find myself more and more invested in these characters and I find the character development to be top notch. This is definitely a case where the books can be read as stand-alones, though I do feel that you would be missing out on so much if you haven't read the previous books. They really do build on what has happened before - especially this book.

I cannot wait to see what happens next...I think Detective D.D. Warren and Flora Dane make a great team and I love that we have started to see some cracks in the armor that Flora has held around herself. I can't wait to see that developed further in the next book(s).

It starts with a man found shot to death in his home. When the cops arrive, they find his wife holding the gun that killed him. In a bizarre twist of fate, Warren knows the wife. She accidentally killed her father 16 years earlier ... shooting him with his rifle.

Flora Dane sees the murder reported on the news and immediately knows who he is ..or was. She remembers the night she met him ... she was still a hostage taken by a human monster and held for over a year. Her captor knew this man. And now Flora wants to learn more....

BOOK BLURB: But D.D. and Flora are about to discover that in this case the truth is a devilishly elusive thing. As layer by layer they peel away the half-truths and outright lies, they wonder: How many secrets can one family have?

For fans of this author, you are in for a treat with NEVER TELL. This brings together three of her best loved characters ... D. D. Warren, Flora Dane, and Kimberly Quincy.

As always expected from this author, this is a well-written complex crime thriller with twists and turns that keep the reader riveted to each and every page. It's action-packed with an explosive ending. Each of this author's books just gets better than the last. I always salivate when I see she has a new book out.

Many thanks to the author / PENGUIN GROUP Dutton / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

What a fantastic, all consuming book!

If you are skeptical about reading Never Tell because it's the tenth book in the series don't worry at all. I read it and didn't realize until about 50% in that it was a part of series and that was only because the characters seemed familiar with each other and it referenced past cases.

Never Tell was an intense mystery that kept me engaged throughout and unable to figure out the killer until all of the characters realized ti as well. I thought I pegged the killer from the beginning, but ho boy was I wrong.

There are so many facets to this book and with it being told from three different points of view really helped with the intrigue and kept things blind to as the same time. I've never read a book with chapters ending with hooks like Never Tell, it was like every chapter had a miniature cliffhanger, but then you switched points of view and you are left breathless.

My heart was literally racing throughout this entire story and I was kept on the edge of my seat. If you enjoy mystery series, this a must read series!

This was my first DD Warren novel. I’ve found that it was just fine starting here (although I’ll definitely read the others now). Very exciting and a great series character.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton Books, and Lisa Gardner for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

My rating is actually 3.5 stars, but since there aren't half stars I always round up.

Like:
- The main characters in this series (Detective D.D. Warren and Flora) - strong, intelligent female roles
- Longish book but a quick engaging read
- The reveal of the killer … just wait for it!
- The pacing of the writing

Love:
- The past and the present cases coming together makes for a very great mystery
- Finding out what the recent murder victim really was hiding #Interesting

Dislike:
- The mother of the victim - so over the top and somewhat unbelievable

Wish that:
- The last 1/4 of the book kept my attention better - for all the action I thought I would be more engaged

Recommend to fans of:
her other books in the series, police procedurals, mysteries written by women

Foodie Vibes:
green smoothie with all your macros that your overbearing mother made for you

Overall, another solid mystery from the author in her D.D. Warren series. Not my favorite book of hers. But I did enjoy the return of Flora in a new role.

This story again features D.D. Warren and Flora Dane – a character that I adore and have followed through three stories. In addition to D.D. and Flora, there’s a new character added, Evie. I’m wondering if she might become a repeat character as well. There’s a lot left to explore with her!

This book is a heart-pounding mix of shootings, dark internet, arson, and good old detective work. There are connections back to Flora’s time as a hostage and we begin to unravel more of that time through new crimes and a murder. There’s someone new that Flora interacts with and I have my fingers crossed that there might be a relationship in her future. This girl needs some happiness!

If you are a fan of Lisa Gardner, put this on your list, you won't be disappointed! If you’ve never read Lisa Gardner and are intrigued by reading about Flora, start with “Find Her” to fully enjoy the story arc.

*my Goodreads review will be updated close to publication date

A great whodunit, murder mystery with D.D. Warren and her confidential informant, Flora Dane. Easy to read, ,I can’t wait for the next one in this series

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of Never Tell by Lisa Gardner. I'll admit-I've never read anything by Gardner, so I was thrown off when I realized that this book is part of a series. Luckily, you don't really have to read the other books in order to read this one, but maybe it would have made this a more enjoyable read for me. While I liked the book overall, I did find a lot of it utterly unbelievable. Most of this book was a bunch of ordinary people running around and inserting themselves into murder investigations and other situations of that magnitude. It was just a little "too much" for me, so this definitely isn't my favorite read of the year.

So, this was a solid on the fence book for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. Never Tell by Lisa Gardner is the tenth book in a series and I guess it could standalone. But I personally felt, you needed to have read the other books before delving into this; which I didn’t.

This novel is about three women, who are all strong-willed, smart and also who won’t stop until they find out the truth. Evie is one of the characters I had difficulty reading into. She spent most of her life living in the shadow of her genius father. When she was sixteen-years-old she “accidentally” shot and killed her father. Now, many years later, she is standing next to another body, but this time it is her husband Connor. Shot three times in the back, and while holding the gun; Evie claims she didn’t kill him. One has to wonder, how many times can she get away with murder?

Investigating Connor’s death is detective D.D. Warren. She was also on the original case of Evie’s when she killed her father. Warren thinks it isn’t much of a coincidence that another man in Evie’s life has been shot dead. As Warren dig’s deeper into the background of both Connor and Evie, things are far more complicated than they seem. With the assistance of Fiona Dane, the investigation unravels more details outside this book that are hard to keep up with as a standalone book.

Fiona’s character is hard for me to deal with. She was kidnapped and abused when she was in college, now she is an activist and an informant for D.D. Warren. Her back story reveals that she had met Connor before, when she was being held by her kidnapper. This makes her revisit her traumatic experiences from her past. Her story throughout this novel was extremely difficult to read for me, and having not read any of the other books, I was shocked and rather unnerved at what I was reading.

The characters are engaging and realistic, I’d even go so far to say, too realistic. This book almost jumped out at me like an episode of CSI. The author, Lisa Gardner, does a fantastic job tackling themes that are difficult to face, almost hard to read even. Her style is immersive and clear, you know exactly what she is trying to convey.

For me, reading Never Tell as a standalone book was difficult and I had a hard time following the back stories. I told myself at the beginning when I was really captivated by the story of D.D. Warren and Fiona, I’d go get the other books. But I honestly feel the trauma and horrendous details of what Fiona went through, I don’t think I could read something like that. But that’s just me. Like I said at the beginning, I’m truly on the fence with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Lisa Gardner for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.