Never Tell a Lie

I knew all the reviews of this mystery were great so I had to read this one for myself. First of all it wasn't that suspenseful and fast paced as most good thrillers are and the characters were not that well developed. The story seems to be more about a women going through pregnancy and waiting to give birth to a healthy child rather than the main point of trying to find out what happens to a missing character and if this character was murdered or not. Honestly, I doubt I will read another book by this author even though the story is quite readable its just not that entertaining.

NEVER TELL A LIE is a terrific mystery, beginning with the seamless writing. Nothing's worse than getting yanked out of a great story by glimpses of the author laboring over her words. Ephron is a skilled writer and that allows her suspenseful story to whip us along. As a psychological fan, I appreciated the inclusion of complex characters and complicated true-to-life dilemmas. An excellent read.

This is one of those rare books that's difficult to put down because you feel so compelled to keep reading to discover what happens next. "Never Tell a Lie" is filled with masterfully created plot twists and turns, and the fast-paced writing provides the reader with a thrilling, and unforgettable, ride. Don't miss it!

Never Tell a Lie is a very fine read from a really good author. The measure of any good mystery novel is whether you are still thinking about it and talking about it several days after you put it down. This book hits that benchmark.

It's easy to be cynical these days about the glowing reviews one sees on the back covers of books, so I wasn't prepared to find myself raving about this mystery with the same intensity as those who wrote the blurbs for "Never Tell A Lie." It's true, it's absolutely gripping, and you won't want to put it down. I finished reading it last night and would have stayed up until midnight or beyond if necessary to see how the story was resolved. I was only a little way into the story before I identified with Ivy, the protagonist, and slowly felt all of the accumulating doubts that she did, as the most basic elements of her life came into question. Ephron's prose is skillful, her charactertization excellent, and man, can she tell a story. I'll definitely tell my friends about this one.

David and Ivy Rose seem to have it all - a lovely Victorian home, a strong marriage, great jobs, and a baby on the way. They have a yard sale to get rid of extra things they had found in the home when they purchased it. One of the customers at the sale is a woman who they don't recognize at first but then they hadn't seen her since high school. Melinda has changed dramatically. She tells David that she used to play in the house as a child when her mother worked as a housekeeper there. David offers to show her the house. David and Ivy are stunned when they find out that Melinda has disappeared and hasn't been seen since she was in their house. Their world seems to start crumbling around them as the police suspect they were somehow involved in Melinda's disappearance. Hallie Ephron, an award-winning reviewer for the Boston Globe, has a winner in her debut novel. This book is truly impossible to put down once started and will have the reader sitting on the edge of their seat as it leads to an exciting conclusion. I will be anxiously awaiting Ms. Ephron's next novel.