We’ll Never Tell by Wendy Heard

Quirky friend group consisting of Casey, Zoe, Jacob, and Eddie, (the latter two who are secretly dating) are anonymously behind “We’ll Never Tell”, a YouTube channel that may or may not break into private property for content. As they’re nearing the end of their senior year, they decide to create a finale covering the Silver Lake Murder House, home to the infamous murder-suicide of Andrew and Rosalinda Valentini. However, when the alarm is mysteriously tripped, everyone is rushing to get out except for one. They left Jacob behind, impaled with a knife and slowly dying on the floor. Could one of their own have tried to kill him? Or does it have something to do with the secrets of the mansion? Casey has never been one to solve mysteries, but she might have to with this one, or else her tightly-knit friendship may not last.

We’ll Never Tell was exciting, high-stakes, and kept me guessing until the big reveal; a great read overall. An interesting thing I noticed was how there were two plot twists, and if you figured out the attacker’s motive, you could figure out who they were. Not only that, but the foreshadowing in the story was one of the best I’ve ever read since the plot twist was surprising but made more sense when you looked back. If you pay close enough attention, there are plenty of clues scattered throughout the book that point straight to the attacker, and you’ll be able to piece them together and solve the mystery. However, an issue I had with the story was how it felt like the author was trying to build up tension between Casey, Eddie, and Zoe, but it didn’t amount to anything. Casey finding a bunch of clues that pointed to her friends were just obvious red herrings, and if I didn’t know that there was supposed to be tension between the friend group, I would’ve thought that she was just being paranoid. A final thing I want to add is how there were multiple different perspectives throughout and in between chapters. There’s the main plot of Casey trying to solve the mystery, the side storyline of Jacob before the attack, newspaper articles dated shortly after the Valentini murder-suicide, and letters addressed to Rosalinda. While the letters did provide important clues as foreshadowing, Jacob and the newspaper articles weren’t needed, and just made the story more confusing. The different storylines just ended up making the entire book hard to keep track of. Overall, while it is a bit of a hefty novel, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a mystery, especially in one sitting.

The newspaper articles in the book were quite interesting, as they added an extra layer of secrets on top of the ongoing murder mystery. They felt like a look into the past, and while they weren’t necessary, it helped make the book feel unforgettable. It really made me wonder if the ghosts of Andrew and Rosalinda were coming back to haunt the mansion.

Reviewed by Mu Zhen Y., Twin Hickory Area Library