Never Tell is a great collection of short stories to pass those little bits of time we have here and there throughout the day, like waiting at the doctor's office, in the car pickup line at school, a slow day at work, relaxing before bed, etc.

What impressed me about all of these stories was how they each built interesting characters in a short story.

I've read some of these authors before; Liv Constantine, for instance, is a favorite of mine. Their story, Everywhere You Look, did not disappoint. I always enjoy their twists and turns.

Loreth Anne White was a new-to-me author, and I enjoyed the atmosphere in The Ghost Writer. I'll definitely seek out more of her work.

Jackrabbit Skin and Scorpions are both set in the west, which is not something I would have thought to seek out, but I enjoyed them both and I'm glad I read them. I liked that the main character in Jackrabbit Skin was a tattoo artist. It added a very interesting dimension to the story.

The Other Side of the Road had some good twists and turns. The main characters are lesbians, so I'd recommend that story to people who enjoy LGBT characters.

The Bad Friend was told in second person POV, which didn't really work for me.

Overall, it's a good collection that delves into the darkness and deception of human nature.

Everywhere You Look - Liv Constantine (2.5 Stars)

Everywhere You Look had interesting moments but there were also boring moments. It was an ok read for me. I didn't really care for the main character but I wanted to see where it was going so I kept reading. I wasn't a fan of this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Originals stories for an eARC of this collection.

Overall I don't feel like this collections was all that cohesive. I think Everywhere You Look, The Ghost Writer, The Other Side of the Road and Jackrabbit Skin easily makes since together, but not Scorpion and The Bad Friend, Both of those stick out as outliers was too much in the collection.

Everywhere You Look - 4 stars
This was pretty entertaining, and captivating. I was not necessarily expecting this book to go where it did, but I was pleasantly surprised by the indepthness of it.

The Ghost Writer- 4 stars
I adored and enjoyed this book. I did not see any of twist and turns of this book. I enjoyed all of the characters, and thought it was both captivating and a compulsive read.

The Other Side of the Road - 3 stars
The ending of this threw me off so much, like SO MUCH. I was all on board with this book for the majority of the book, but the last couple of pages threw me off so much. The twist would have sat so much better with me if the MC wouldn't have just been like 100% okay with it. Her just being SO on board with it really threw me out of the story, and I found myself liking it a whole lot less because of it

Scorpions- 2 stars
I honesty don't really understand the point of this book, and I'm not saying that in a bad way. I do and have enjoyed books where there isnt really a point to the book besides good writings and good characters. but this book felt so odd and out of place with in this collection.

Jackrabbit Skin- 4 stars
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It felt very genuine to me. I like the twist and enjoyed the characters especially the main two characters. This felt like a thriller unlike some of the others in this collections. I think it was well written, I always enjoy it when the grief feels real and genuine in a book and it very much did in this

The Bad Friend- 1 star
This was definitely not a me book. I very much did not enjoy it. I don't love 2nd perspective, especially in a case where the mc makes me feel so icky. Please check trigger warnings if you read this. This book was not at all what I expected it to be.

EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK was an engaging read, but given the subject matter, it was a little much for a short read. I wish it had been longer.

THE BAD FRIEND was my least favorite of the collection because of the odd second person narration that was much too reminiscent of YOU. I felt like Joe Goldberg was talking to me the entire time.

JACKRABBIT SKIN was a little puzzling and odd and never really drew me in.

SCORPIONS was a clever, twisty read that I enjoyed.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD was my second favorite of the bunch. While it made a great short, it definitely has the potential for a full-length novel.

THE GHOST WRITER was my favorite! I loved the Gothic vibes and the twist in the story. Excellent read.

This entire series was so well done. Rolled through all of the audiobooks in a day while out of town. Loved the Caroline Kepnes, Rachel Howzell Hall and Liv Constantine pieces!

Read them in a couple of hours on my walking pad, and i couldn’t ask for anything better!
There’re two, in particular, that really stuck with me, but i’m very pleased with all of them.

Singular reviews will be available on my goodreads later this week.
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was a collection of short stories by authors I knew and new authors to me. I enjoyed the stories, twists and turns.

Everywhere You Look: Jade lost her father 10 years ago and it's something that she never fully recovered from. She has always felt like his death was her fault. Every year on her birthday, she takes a trip to New York, just like she always did with her father. Through the window, she could have sworn that she saw her father. How is that possible? Jade is determined to find out if that was really her father and what he's been doing for the last 1o years.

The Other Side of the Road: Lauren and Kelsey have been looking for the perfect home, they've had their sights on a specific house but it's not on sale. After a while of searching, their perfect house goes on the market! Once they move in, they realize there is something off about the older man that lives across the street. He always seems to pop out whenever they are outside of the house, just watching them. Lauren and Kelsey are beginning to think he's dangerous.

The Ghost Writer: This short story gave me Lizzie Borden and Riley Sager vibes. It was so good. Grace Logan is a ghost writer for true crime, but she hasn't written anything since her husband passed away. Famous author Claudia Blackwell, hired Grace Logan to write her memoir. Claudia was once accused of a murder, that has followed her all through her career. Claudia lives on a private island and Grace feels trapped but she has to know what Claudia has to say.

Scorpions: Life has not gone Frankie's way. She doesn't have anyone in her corner. Frankie spends her days being the caretaker for a grumpy old man, but hey it pays. When her charge dies she is left with his biggest secret, well what she thinks is his biggest secret. Uncovering it does not go as planned.

Jackrabbit Skin: Swan needs a break, one of her friends offer up their house that is located in a remote town California. A close knit town that is not welcoming to newcomers. Swan knows that she isn't welcome, but what she doesn't realize is how far the residents will go to keep her from staying.

The Bad Friend: Ellen and Tanya are best friends, but there's always been something unspoken between them. The two friends move on with their lives, Ellen checks in on Tanya's social media. Ellen is married to Troy and has a daughter while Tanya is out living an exciting life. Ellen isn't happy, has never been happy so she leaves her marriage and tries to start over. She begins to date Tanya's ex boyfriend, but soon discovers that something doesn't feel right.

As is typical with a collection of stories there were ones I liked more than others. The story by Caroline Kepnes was my favorite.

This was a nice little collection of short stories written by six best selling authors of suspense. I was only really familiar with Liv Constantine and Loreth Anne White so I was excited to get a small introduction to the other four authors. My favorites were The Bad Friend by Caroline Kepnes and The Other Side of the Road by Andrea Bartz. The other stories were also enjoyable but these two really stood out for me. I'm so happy to have discovered these new to me authors!

This collection can easily be read in one sitting or you are like me, you'll savor each story separately. Happy Reading!

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. Although the theme for each story is the same we definitely got a wide variety of awesome tales of secrets, lies, and deceit. I was able to read a few author's that I know and love and discover some new authors as well. 4 stars.

This short story collection is unique and entertaining. Although I have my favorites, none of the books were disappointing.

EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK by Liv Constantine
This story may not be entirely believable, but it's told with the eloquence that the authors are known for. It pulled me in immediately and kept me hooked until the final reveal unfolded. I'm so excited to read their upcoming book. They never disappoint.

GHOST WRITER by Loreth Anne White
This short story is about a famous but reclusive author who is ready to share the tragic events of her past through a ghostwriter. She contacts a woman delighted by this offer of a lifetime, but the remote island she is taken to has an unsettling aura.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD by Andrea Bartz
This story revolves around a pregnant couple thrilled when their dream home comes on the market. However, after moving in, one of them discovers hidden notes from the previous owner, who died in the house. A death in the house, creepy neighbors, and the eerie notes raise concerns. This might not be the right place to raise their family.

SCORPIONS by Rachel Howzell Hall
This story revolves around a young woman who, despite having a bright future ahead of her, makes bad choices that lead to her becoming the caretaker of a grumpy old man who is hateful and ungrateful for her help. However, after his death, he leaves her with an unexpected gift that has the potential to transform her life.

JACKRABBIT SKIN by Ivy Pochoda
This story is about a tattoo artist who decides to settle in a remote and underdeveloped community in California. Despite her attempts to keep to herself, she is met with unfriendly neighbors who continue to warn her about the dangers of the area.

THE BAD FRIEND by Caroline Kepnes
Why do some people want what they don't have? Only to get it and realize they no longer want it. Things always look shinier when someone else has them, or they're taboo.

This was a great selection by some of my favorite authors with some. new (to me) thrown in. The entire collection revolves around secrets and the toll they take on us and those around us.

The first story, Everywhere You Look by Liv Constantine, starts off really strong. I already love reading their books, so I was ready to love it. A woman revisits a restaurant every year for her birthday. She eats alone remembering the last meal she had with her father before he died. Only this time she looks out of the window and sees the dead staring right back at her. Jade hasn’t been able to get over it. She feels responsible for his death and lets it take her to some terrible places. Revitalized by the mystery in front of her, Jade gets a new zeal for life as she searches for the truth. I was a little let down by the ending but until then, I was with her.

The next short story was The Ghost Writer. I think this was my first time reading Loretta Anne White. This is where I really got into it. I loved the whole gothic feel of it. A woman was acquired of murdering her boyfriend, the girl he was cheating with, and her boyfriend’s little brother on a technicality, really. She becomes a recluse with a self-imposed island prison, writing books and cashing in on her notoriety, She could never remember what happened that day. Suddenly, the memories have returned. Sure, this has been done before. It was still done well here. Now, too disabled to even write for herself, she hires a ghost writer to finally tell the story of what happened that day. The story was a little predictable but I don’t care. It was just great to read.

The Other Side of the Road was by another favorite, Andrea Bartz. A couple buys their dream house. Of course it has a history. Something happened to the previous owner. The people across the street are just a little too weird for comfort. This one was a slow burn and I absolutely loved the ending Bartz chose for this one.

Scorpions takes us to the California desert. I don’t think I’ve read Rachel Howzell Hall before. Going in blind. Now, I am a life long southern California born who loves the mountains. I absolutely hate the desert so that anything set there has to win me over. I know the setting and it just makes me think of being uncomfortably hot. It was perfect for a story of treasure hunters who do not trust each other to have to go and find a buried fortune. It goes exactly how anything happening in the desert should go.

Keeping us in the desert, just in the other direction, is Jackrabbit Skin by Ivy Pochada. Desert towns are small and weird. all small towns are weird but that level of weirdness comes from desolation, lack of water and foliage, and too much sun and heat. Makes you a special kind of weird. So when you move there and try to become part of the town, you will be met with some resistance. The slow build and darkness of the over right setting make this one disorienting in the best way.

Lastly, was Caroline Kepnes of You fame. I have an up and down relationship with this author and have an allergic reaction to writing in the second person. This time she has written The Bad Friend. And it is about a bad friend, so good there. It quickly works through a woman who decides to end her marriage to go after something she cannot define. Then she’s stuck in it and has to make one of the worst decisions ever. Yeah, this is a similar decision as in The Other Side of the Road but I didn’t like reading the end. I’d say it was the least favorite of the bunch. I know that a lot of people love this author. This story wasn’t for me but it will be for someone. Maybe you.

This was well worth the day I spent reading it.

Short story collections serve as a good introduction to some writers but they can also be detrimental. I originally chose to review this one because I love Liv Constantine but I was actually disappointed by that story. I was pleased to find two new authors to follow, Loreth Anne White and Andrea Bartz, but the other stories were not for me.

Everywhere You Look
I am a huge Liv Constantine fan but I am not a fan of short stories/novellas and this is a prime example why: it can taint how a new reader to an author approaches the rest of their works. This is not a good example of their writings: it’s too short for character development and the jumps between different time periods creates a jumbled mess. It also doesn’t have the wow factor I associated with the rest of their works. This was not at all what I expected and I was sadly disappointed. I am, however, looking forward to “The Next Mrs. Parrish” and whatever comes next.

The Ghost Writer
A well-written gothic novella – this one managed to have just enough character development and creepy vibes to keep me hooked. I loved the premise and the reveal was not what I was expecting.

The Other Side of the Road
I enjoyed this story. I must admit that when it started out, as with most thrillers, I had no idea where it was going but I happily read on, knowing something good was going to happen and I was not disappointed. Andrea Baratz wove what, at first, feels like an innocent tale of a couple moving into a new neighborhood and slowly getting to know their quirky neighbors but that ending changes everything!

Scorpions
Short, cautionary tale of taking things that don’t belong to you. While I enjoyed the writing, the story itself was too short, which is probably a good thing because the characters were something unlikable.

Jackrabbit Skin
I had not previously read anything by this author so I had no idea what to expect going in. I would rather not judge their works based on a short story but this was just OK. It got confusing and I had to reread several portions just to see what was going on. I couldn’t connect to the characters and I found this difficult to get through.

The Bad Friend
Not really a thriller. Just a sad story of always wanting what someone else has. I did like the way the story moved through the years quickly so you could see how Ellen’s decisions affected her life and those of others but it was difficult to feel for her because she was so unlikeable (which I think was the point).

Loved this collection of short stories! Ghost writer, and Jackrabbit skin were my favorite! Ivy Pochoda I’m going to have to read more from her because I loved this short story! The bad friend was also really good. My least favorite of the collection was by my girls Liv Constantine and Andrea Bartz. With that being said even those were 3 stars so between the 3 and 5 stars this collection is a solid 4 stars. Quick and fun reads.

Loreth Anne White's stood out as a setting and theme that drew me. It had intrigue and a good twist. If not for this one, I wouldn't have read the others. Liv Constantine's story was a good place to start, but by mid-book, the stories began to blend together as issues with relationships rather than dramatic secret-keeping that keeps suspense going. Good marketing idea to alone stand-alone shorts, but I hope for more gripping tales.

I like the Ghost Writer most

The book in question held promise at the outset, drawing me in with its initial allure. Its narrative captivated me, offering an engaging premise and compelling characters that piqued my interest. As I delved deeper into the story, I found myself immersed in its world, eagerly anticipating each twist and turn. The author's craftsmanship was evident in the meticulous attention to detail and the seamless weaving of plot elements.

However, as the story progressed, a sense of predictability began to set in. What initially intrigued me soon became formulaic, with plot developments and character arcs following a well-trodden path. This predictability diminished the impact of the narrative, robbing it of the element of surprise and leaving me yearning for more inventive storytelling.

Despite this drawback, I must acknowledge the author's skill in crafting a cohesive and well-executed short story. Writing compelling fiction, especially within the constraints of a shorter format, is no easy feat. The ability to create a coherent narrative, develop engaging characters, and maintain reader interest throughout requires a deft touch and a keen understanding of storytelling fundamentals.

While the book may have faltered in its ability to maintain suspense and novelty, it nevertheless stands as a testament to the challenges and triumphs of short story writing. Though my enthusiasm waned as the predictability became apparent, I can appreciate the effort and talent that went into its creation.

I enjoyed this short story collection written by six popular mystery/thriller authors. By far, my favorite stories were Everywhere You Look (Liv Constantine) and The Bad Friend (Caroline Kepnes). I can be picky about thrillers, so this collection helped me to discover some new authors' backlists to put on my TBR!

3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Never Tell is a collection of six short stories by well-known authors Liv Constantine, Loreth Anne White, Andrea Bartz, Rachel Howzell Hall, Ivy Pochoda, and Caroline Kepnes. All different, all suspenseful, all engaging. This is a fun series because each story is a stand-alone. Everywhere you Look by Liv Constantine, features Jade, a young lady who lost her father too soon. This was a hard to predict story that kept me guessing. The Ghost Writer, by Loreth Anne White, tells the story of a reclusive author who is willing to share the secrets of what happened to her years ago. Andrea Bartz's The Other Side of the Road features Lauren and Kelsey, a newly-married young couple purchasing their dream home. I did NOT see that ending coming! Rache Howzell Hall's Scorpions was the most predictable of the six stories, but it was still a fun read. Ivy Pochoda’s Jackrabbit Skin tells the story of Swan, who is looking for a new start in the desert. She meets Kurt, who isn't what he seems. Finally, Caroline Kepnes's The Bad Friend is twisty and fun. All six stories were digestible and fun to read.

Very enjoyable book, I loved the writing stile of each of the authors. The astories are compelling and they keep you breathless.