REVIEW: Don't Ever Tell by Lucy Dawson (ARC)

Don't Ever Tell by Lucy Dawson

Genre: Domestic thriller

Read: 19th June 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(release date: 25th June 2019)

★★ 2.5 stars

DON'T EVER TELL is my second Lucy Dawson book and I must say it was a disappointment after reading THE DAUGHTER, which I loved! I am not sure where to begin with this book because it was just so average, without much excitement at all.

The story is about Charlotte and Mia, told from both their perspectives in alternating chapters throughout. A domestic drama of sorts, the pace is somewhat slow for over half of the book - which in my opinion, is just far too slow. How can you have your readers on the edge of their seats if you are putting them to sleep? I normally devour books within 2 days...this one took me 4...and even that was a struggle.

Charlotte and Tris appear to have the perfect marriage but looks can be deceiving. A writer of domestic thrillers and having to manage the house, the kids and trying to find time to write is taking a toll on Charlotte while Tris commutes to London to do "real work", as he so kindly puts it. Charlotte is struggling to find the time to write as the kids and Tris demand more from her as she rushes to meet deadlines and hold on to her marriage.

When Charlotte first met Mia, it was at a book signing in Edinburgh, and she was startled to see how much she looked like her younger self...twenty years ago. They exchanged a few words, she signed her book and that was that. Until a year later.

Mia is an aspiring actress trying to make her mark in the world. She has struggled with relationships since her fiance and best friend ran off together. She sees a therapist who unfortunately takes ill and refers her to one of her colleagues. Her name is Florence, and she is Charlotte's sister. But Mia doesn't know that, as she pours her heart out to Florence, telling her about her new boyfriend Seth and showing her a photo of them together.

It is at a family celebration, Charlotte is confronted with some shocking news which then sets in motion a course of events that snowballs out of control that even Charlotte cannot control.

So when Charlotte seeks out Mia with a proposition that will change both their lives forever she has no doubt the young woman will accept. It will give the young actress the career boost she needs and Charlotte herself stands to benefit as well.

The proposition? Mia just needs to pass off a book Charlotte has written as her own...and she stands to make a tidy sum as a debut.

The question is - why did Charlotte choose Mia? Is it because of the resemblance? Or is there a different darker reason? Just what is Charlotte hiding?

One thing is for sure, when Charlotte sought out Mia, neither woman could know just how far Charlotte's plan would spiral.

DON'T EVER TELL is not what it appears. It's not at all really like the description says. Mia doesn't have to "pretend" to be Charlotte as we are lead to believe - that would entail her stepping into Charlotte's shoes as wife and mother and everything else, and that just wouldn't work. Her "pretense", such as it is, is just her passing off a novel Charlotte has written as her own for publication. That is not pretending to be Charlotte because it has Mia's name on the cover. So I think that was quite misleading.

While premise for this book sounded like an intriguing idea, I just don't think it hit the mark. It was not edge-of-your-seat. It was not exciting. And it was definitely not fast paced. (Not that a book has to be fast paced to be exciting). I've read many slow burn starts, but this one just took too long to explode...and even then, it didn't. The reveals, when they came, were not mind blowing or shocking. In fact, despite never actually saying so, I made one of the links very early on which was only confirmed when a character's full name was disclosed. Then it made sense. The other was quite clever, I admit.

However, the execution of reveals were a little convoluted I felt, and didn't flow. The reader would be left wondering at the end of Mia's chapter, only to pick up in Charlotte's next in a completely different place and you're left wondering "What...?" Even when it did pick up where the previous chapter left off, it felt as if it was just thrown in as a "by the way". It made for confusing reading that didn't flow as neatly as it could have.

The climax, which began in the Prologue, that took us through to the ultimate ending wasn't really edge-of-your-seat stuff. And in the end, the reader is left with questions as to what actually happened on "that night". There was no surprise, no shock, no real twist - just a lot of unanswered questions.

While I do love dual narrative stories and that between Charlotte and Mia, I did find the way it was delivered was both convoluted and confusing at times.

Honestly, I felt DON'T EVER TELL could have been executed a lot better than it was, particularly as Dawson's previous books have been of a far greater calibre.

While I personally wasn't thrilled with this book, don't let my own opinions deter you from checking it out. It may surprise you - you may enjoy it as others have.

I would like to thank #LucyDawson, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #DontEverTell in exchange for an honest review.