Good book! Wow! Lots of twists and turns in this one! This book had suspense, intrigue, nd a crazy storyline! And a bit of a who done it! It was a very interesting story! I definitely recommend reading this book! Its well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review…family secrets…intrigue…mystery…love…lies and deceit hurt those loved ones…finding a long lost relative…caring for family members…this author has woven a story that is intriguing and is a good read…the characters come alive on the pages and are memorable after the book is finished.

“Never Tell a Lie” by Gail Schimmel begins with two friends going to their 20th school reunion. Both end up making connections with former classmates - and that’s where things start taking off. The main character is Mary Wilson, who has an enjoyable life - raising her son by herself, doing freelance writing gigs, keeping tabs on her wonderful father, and keeping in touch with her bestie Stacy. But between the reunion and helping her father clean out some shelves, Mary’s life becomes more tangled than she ever expected.

This is a difficult book for me to review because I cannot say that I liked it, but I never disliked it enough to feel like I was close to not finishing it. Mary has a lot of baggage, and while for the most part she’s consistent in her thoughts/actions, some of her actions seemed inconsistent (such as telling someone to not contact her again, and then the next day wondering why she hadn’t been contacted); her son is having difficulties at school, but the reader never learns why; she reunites with a family member and says she’s hesitant about the relationship, but then (seemingly) a chapter later all hesitancy is gone. Also, one of my big pet peeves is unreliable characters - and April (former classmate at the reunion) and Leo (April’s husband) are two of the largest. Even at the end, I’m still not convinced that April’s version of everything is the true version (and, on that note, I saw the ending scene between Leo and Mary coming from a mile away - great foreshadowing from Ms. Schimmel). So, I think it’s a fair summary to say that while this book was interesting and engaging, it wasn’t the book for me, though I did like reading a book set in South Africa (braais!). I do feel compelled to add, though, that a book focusing on Steve, Joshua, and Stacy I might read as I found those characters reliable and entertaining (and consistent!).

After a tumultuous marriage, Mary Wilson is happy in her uncomplicated life, focusing on her twelve-year-old son. She’s always been content with her little family—but then she finds an old postcard that throws her whole past into question…

When an invitation arrives for her high school reunion, Mary jumps at the chance of a distraction from the shock discovery, and meeting her old classmate April feels like a gift. Despite barely remembering April, Mary throws herself into the new friendship and finds her previously quiet social life reinvigorated.

But as the bonds between them are forged, Mary finds herself drawn further and further into April’s life and marriage, increasingly fearing that everything is not as perfect as it seems. Is her own painful past clouding her judgement, or is Mary right to suspect that the people she trusts most are the ones with the most to hide?
Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for giving me an advanced copy.

Mary Wilson is trying to get over a bad marriage by concentrating on raising her son, but when she stumbles across information that makes her doubt her very own identity, she’s badly shaken. A class reunion seems like a good way to take a night off from her worries and she soon chums up with old schoolmate, April. The two become fast friends, even though Mary isn’t sure she really remembers April from school. But is April who she really appears to be? Or has Mary, once again, put her trust in the wrong person? There aren’t a lot of surprises in this domestic thriller, but readers will enjoy the storyline

I absolutely love this book. It’s a perfectly put together story with great characters. I highly recommend it, a really entertaining read.