Review: Never Tell by Alafair Burke

Author: Alafair Buke

Publisher: Harper Collins

Audiobook: Brilliance Audio

Date of publication: June 19, 2012

Sixteen-year-old Julia Whitmire appeared to have everything: a famous father, a luxurious Manhattan town house, a coveted spot at the elite Casden prep school. When she is found dead in her bathtub, a handwritten suicide note left on her bed, her parents insist that their daughter would never take her own life.

I really need to start checking to see if a book is part of a series before I decide to read them.  I started Never Tell before I discovered that it was the fourth book in a series about NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher.  While I am usually very anal about reading books in order, I decided to try this one out anyway.  I'm am very glad I did.  I have to admit that the author did a great job of not making me feel like I was missing key information about the characters.  I was given enough background to feel comfortable enough with the characters themselves to just sit back and enjoy the book.


Ellie Hatcher is an NYPD detective who is sent to investigate a supposed suicide.  Her parents insist that she would never kill herself.  Despite her better judgment, Ellie agrees to investigate the teen's death.  This story is pretty convoluted, so I won't give anything away.  At first I was a bit worried that some of the things wouldn't make sense, but the author does a great job of tying them all together.  There are some pretty interesting twists at the end of the book that I loved!  I never saw them coming.


Never Tell is very well written and thought out.  I loved all of the characters. I liked the relationship between Ellie and her partner Rogan.  The relationship between Ellie and her boyfriend Max was comfortable and realistic.  After reading this one, I am going to be stalking my library for they first three in the series.  I want to get to know Ellie Hatcher better as a character and see how those relationships formed. 

The narrator, Eliza Foss, did a wonderful job with the story!  I have heard her before and was pleased to listen again.   I look forward to the next in the series.