I struggled with this one a little. I didn’t really connect with the characters and the story even though the description looked right up my alley. It could be that I had trouble keeping the three sisters straight. Anna, Avery and Alisha.

I should mention the book is well written and the characters are deeply constructed. The book was fraught with tension and was action packed.

Secrets, family and friendships frame this suspenseful book.

An ex-cop looks for her missing sister. They don’t know about the family secrets people want to keep hidden.

Try Not to Breathe is told using multiple points of view. Avery and Anna are interesting characters. The story is well paced and intriguing.

A fast-paced and intense thriller full of family secrets. Readers who enjoyed David Bell’s other books are sure to enjoy this one too.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love David Bell’s books but unfortunately this one was a bit of a miss for me. It took a long time to get going, almost halfway through. Once it did I was into it until it took another odd turn that was not additive and I thought the ending was just ok. I don’t want to deter anyone though as I am definitely in the minority here with my thoughts on this one.

Thank you to Berkley for the digital copy to review.

This one was a miss for me. The storyline was drawn out and dragged on when it would have benefitted from condensing for suspense. The characters felt tropey and I had a hard time connecting with them. The writing itself was skillful and easy to read.

Thank you to @netgalley @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @prhaudio for a free download of the audiobook. And thank you to @berittalksbooks and @dg_reads for including me on this buddy read.

Anna’s learns that her life isn’t what she thought. She takes off seeking answers without telling anyone in her family. Avery is an ex-cop, and the last thing she wants to do is go looking for her sister that has disappeared. The sisters are no longer close and their family is kind of dysfunctional. This book explores family relationships, PTSD, family secrets.

I feel like this story went on and on and until about half way through the book, I kept getting the three sisters (Anna, Avery, and Alisha) confused. I think that made the book a bit disjointed to me.

There are many 4 & 5 star reviews for this book, so I think it’s worth checking out.

3 stars

David Bell, whose own family dynamics are much more peaceful than the mysteries he writes which often are centered around fractured familial relationships and deep secrets coming to light after being buried for a long time, does it again in his latest, “Try Not to Breathe.”
Avery Rogers, a former Kentucky State Police officer who is now working as a security guard in a small college town where her duties including breaking up fights amongst drunken fraternity boys, is emotionally on the run. She left her job and relationship after a traumatic incident while working for the state police and she is still reeling from what happened.
So maybe the call from her father about her half-sister, Anna Rogers, didn’t come at a good time. Her father, a former policeman whose disappointment in Avery’s career crash is always at the forefront in their relationship, has called to say Anna is missing and most likely in danger. He wants Avery to help find her but Avery believes Anna is just off with friends and that everything is fine. In this, Avery’s professional judgement is clouded by her own perceptions of Anna. Yes, taking a break from her family would be in character but Anna is being pursued by a stranger and is actually in danger. It will be up to Avery to help find and save Anna but both women also have to grapple with their own negative perceptions and feelings about each other. Anna has her own set of complaints—her father is overly-controlling and Avery barely tolerates her.
I chatted with Bell who was in Warsaw, Indiana at his wife’s book signing. She is young adult author M. Hendrix. The two live in Bowling Green, Kentucky where Bell, a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author, is a professor of English at Western Kentucky University and co-founder the school’s MFA program. He says he has step-siblings and though they all get along very well, that was part of the inspiration for his book.
“I started thinking about what it would be like if we didn’t and one of them was in danger,” says Bell, noting that many families, even happy ones, have long-held secrets which is part of the mix when he develops his plots. He also gets the ideas for his eleven novels—and counting--from numerous places such as news stories academia, and musings on the personalities of people he knows and then riffs off of them to create his compelling and fast moving mysteries. His books have been translated into multiple languages and include “The Finalists” and “She’s Gone.” He is at work on his next mystery.
Learn more at davidbellnovels.com.

An ex-cop, a missing sister and lots of family secrets


I enjoyed this tense tale of family secrets. Told from multiple POVs I enjoyed how the story unfolded as one sister sought the truth and the other would do anything to find her sister. There was a lot going on here between the members of this family. While the plot was deeply involved, I felt the pacing slowed down at times. It was definitely more family drama than thriller but I enjoyed the moments of action. Another solid David Bell book, just not my favorite by him.

This suspenseful story was a page turner! Avery leaves her job as an officer and takes on the job of a security guard at a local university. The job isn’t exactly fulfilling. When her dad, an ex-cop himself, phones looking for her help in finding her half sister her world is turned upside and secrets are exposed. This one kept me guessing.
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Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Try Not To Breathe by David Bell is a great thriller that also does full duty to family relationships and the characters within. Full Murder in Common review link below:

https://murderincommon.com/2023/07/09/david-bell-try-not-to-breathe/

I have loved some of David Bell’s previous works, so I was excited to be approved for this ARC. I loved in Louisville for ten years, so I was excited to read about Kentucky and areas I had previously visited. This is a story of sisters and complicated families. When her sister goes missing, an ex cop must find her and learns disturbing secrets her parents have hidden. I feel like this title was misleading, and the book didn’t deliver. The reveal, wasn’t too shocking.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoy all of David Bell's novels. I started gravitating to his books once I found out he is a Professor at WKU. I went to college there for a year in 2002.
Try Not to Breathe is very well-written, suspenseful, twisty, and kept me guessing! I very much enjoyed the horrifying family secrets and the flawed characters. This book is a definite page-turner and will take you on a crazy ride!

Highly recommend!

3.25🌟
It’s been hit or miss for me with David Bell’s books in the past few years. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to file this in the miss column.

Avery is an ex police officer suffering with PTSD. The last thing she wants to do is chase down her younger sister Anna, (I think I have the names right!🤦🏻‍♀️) who went off the radar.
According to their father, a retired police officer, Avery is the most qualified one in the family for the job. (Lucky you, Avery!)
The sisters were never close and Avery doesn’t understand why her father is pushing her to go. Isn’t it totally possible Anna is just looking for some time away from her family! I think we all relate to that! Right!?💁🏻‍♀️

Unfortunately I never really connected with any of the characters in this book. The sisters, basically just rude, made it hard to care for them whatsoever. Also, the three sisters all had names beginning with the letter A (Anna, Avery and Alisha) and I kept mixing them up throughout.

The storyline itself was a bit too drawn out and at over 400 pages was just too much for this reader.

There are many four and five star reviews for this book so if this book has been on your radar be sure to have a peek at those reviews!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing via NetGalley

Another well-written and suspense-filled read from this author. The plot is complex and full of surprises, as well as insights into the challenges and temptations faced by law enforcement. Relationships within the Rogers family are strained – with an overpowering ex-cop father who never seems to agree with his daughters’ decisions. Anna, the youngest, is a bit wild – while her eldest sister, Avery, is remote and absorbed in her own issues. When Anna disappears, Avery reluctantly takes it upon herself to find her and bring her home. The roots of the mystery are buried deep and as the story unfolds, various possible suspects and scenarios emerge – making it nearly impossible to guess the persons responsible, and the underlying motives and history. For the most part, the story was fast-paced and made for an interesting and enjoyable read.

Avery Rogers is a former Kentucky State Police officer, a traumatic experience while on the job caused her to resign from her position , and leave her relationship and family behind. She now works as a college campus security officer to pay for her graduate school. Avery has always felt like she’s living in her fathers Russell Rogers shadow, he’s a retired police captain who was injured in the line of duty. He and her step mother now just stay home hardly ever leave and all she hears from him is how he’s disappointed she left the force. One day Avery’s sister Alisha tells her that their younger sister Anna isn’t answering anyone’s phone calls and refuses to talk their father after an argument, reluctantly Avery agrees to check in on her, when she arrives at Anna’s apartment she stumbles into a crime scene and Anna is gone. Avery agrees to search for her sister and bring her home. Anna has decided she is done with her family , and is tired of all the secrets, she has decided to attend a police brutality protest, but she has no idea the danger that is watching and following her. She also doesn’t know what Avery had found at her apartment. Not answering phone calls or texts she stumbles right into the arms of the one person determined to keep the secrets hidden, Anna will find herself fighting for her life and Avery is determined to save her before it’s to late. David Bell is one of my favorite authors he’s does and amazing job twisting and turning a story! I loved this book it was a wild ride!

I have loved all the books I have read by David Bell and this one is another I've added to the list. This mystery was so engrossing, I managed to zoom through it in such a quick time. With dual POV's, I loved hearing each sister's own perspectives. Highly recommend this action packed novel.

Thank you @berkleypub for the free book and @prhaudio for the audio version as well. My thoughts are my own. #penguinrandomhousepartner
#berkleypartner #berkley #berkleybookstagram

Anna and her sister, Avery, were close as children, but as adults they no longer take the time to talk. In fact, Anna comes from a dysfunctional family. So when her ex-cop father suddenly starts questioning her whereabouts, Anna rebels and takes off to visit a friend.

At a rally to protest police brutality, Anna runs into her sister Avery. Avery, also an ex-cop (with her own troubled past) has been told to find Anna and bring her back home. Avery follows Anna to a strange compound where a family lives off the grid as they employ (and terrorize) illegal immigrants to harvest marijuana. Soon, both women are on a run for their lives!

MY THOUGHTS:
There is a lot of emotion and family drama in this one! It explores relationships, resentment, aging parents, post-traumatic stress, family secrets, and (a little) forgiveness. All of the main characters are well-developed and flawed. I did not particularly like any of them, but their story kept me engaged and turning the pages.

I would classify this book as a family suspense drama. Read this if you enjoy family drama!

Thank you to @berkleypub @netgalley @letstalkbookspromo for the #gifted copy of the book! I enjoyed this #buddyread

Try Not to Breathe by David Bell

Genre: Thriller
Publisher: @berkleypub
Pub Date: June 27, 2023

This book was hard to put down. It was twisty and suspenseful.

Avery Rogers is an ex-cop who grew up with a father who was a cop. Her family has been full of drama over the years with her dad remarrying and having another kid, Anna. Because of that Avery isn't super close to her parents, but she is close with her older sister, Alisha. When Anna goes missing, Avery is the one to try to find her. There are bones in the closet that no one seems to want dug up, but Avery is determined to figure it out no matter the risk.

This is the first book by David Bell I have read and I can't wait to read more!

I devoured this one in a matter of 72 hours, then I had to take about a week off just to gather my thoughts as I had a little bit of a book hangover. Even though it felt really long at over 400 pages, I just couldn’t put it down or get it out of my head. It was so suspenseful and well-written, I felt like a very vivid movie was being played in my head which rarely happens for me when I read. The character development was great and the dual POVs were nicely done. The story was creative and enjoyable and I would identify it as suspense/mystery with police procedural tones.

The title and the cover though… I still don’t think I fully really understand why the title is what it is and how it connects to the plot. I have guesses that have to do with Avery’s fear of swimming. But I feel like maybe I missed something? I like it when titles are more clearly tied to the book. As for the cover, it’s chilling and intriguing and one of the things that immediately drew me to this book in the first place but the cave/woods doesn’t come until so close to the ending and has such a small role, I’m not sure it really fits. I spent almost the whole book wondering when we’d get to the cave the cover depicts.

This was my first book by David Bell but I look forward to reading more from him in the future!

Thank you so much to Berkley, David, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this title!

Summary: Anna Rogers feels a bit lost. After a couple of weeks of skipping classes, she is on the way to failing out of college. She nurses a number of resentments against her family – her father for being an overbearing retired police captain who micromanages her life, her older sister Avery for ignoring and abandoning her, and her mother Jane for allowing her father to always have the upper hand. The only sister she gets along with is Alisha, who frequently steps in to act as a parent to make up for the deficiencies of her actual parents. In an act of rebellion, Anna takes off for the weekend to visit her friend and attend a protest rally against police brutality. Her family, unable to reach her, believes she is missing and sends Avery after her with orders to bring her back home. But there are dark secrets in the Rogers family and old sins cast long shadows. Avery and Anna are unwittingly walking into deeper and deeper danger.

Thoughts: Like any David Bell novel, I was pulled into this one quickly by the interesting characters and lively pace. There were many concurrent themes in the novel – the complexities of second marriages and families; over-policing and police brutality; illegal immigrant labour and mistreatment; and sibling rivalry. Throughout the novel there was an undercurrent of toxic alpha-male energy in many of the characters, as seen in the retired Captain Rogers, the male police officers at the protest, and many of the men at the Coombs farm, a contrast to the kindness and generosity of characters like Charlie and Hank.

Needless to say, there was a lot happening in this novel and therefore a lot to process. However, the ending felt rather incomplete to me, as there were many loose ends for the reader to question and ponder. It occurred to me that this might have been Bell’s intention. I also found it interesting that when the novel began, all the focus was on Anna Rogers, whereas the remainder of the novel was focused on Avery Rogers. It felt as though I had started one novel and finished a different one, if that makes any sense at all. All that being said, I did enjoy the book, so thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House.

While classified as a thriller, this book did not capture my attention. I didn’t much like most of the characters. I did like Avery and her friend Charlie. Avery had an inner strength I did not detect in her other family members with whom I had no emotional connection with. And the names of the sisters – Avery, Anna, Alisha – were too similar to keep them straight.

All three of the daughters had their own issues. Their father is a disabled police officer, so you know there is bitterness there. I really disliked him. The story revolves around the youngest sister Anna who avoids her family as much as possible. Lots of family drama.

I thought much of the story was predictable and was, overall, just too long.