A couple of newlyweds, Tricia and Ethan, are looking for their dream house. One to live in, to raise future kids in, one to call home. During their visit to a remote manor out in Westchester, a violent winter storm traps them inside, with no cell service and therefore no means of going back home until the blizzard subsides. They find themselves trapped at the estate of Doctor Adrienne Hale, a well-renowned psychiatrist declared missing years earlier. In search of something to do to pass the time, as well as to take her mind off strange sounds and events happening inside the house, Tricia comes across a secret room filled with cassette tapes. Those tapes contain audio recordings of Dr. Hale’s sessions with her patients, conducted in the office at her house. As Tricia starts to listen to some of them, the picture of Dr. Hale’s life prior to her disappearance becomes clearer as shocking details start to emerge.

‘Never Lie’ was the first novel I’ve read written by New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden, and I must say I enjoyed it. This is the first book in a while too that cleverly played on the human nature of assumption. I thought so early on that I had it all figured out, thinking it follows the most played-out, cliché aspects of this genre, only to get slapped on the wrist. The plot twist turned this story on its head and elevated it to highs not met at the beginning and in the middle. The ending, even if a bit farfetched, made up for a lot of its flaws.

The biggest issue for me was, by far, the one I come across often, and that is the inability to relate or connect with the main characters. In most of the recent novels I read they just seem to be going that one step too far that makes me take a step back. Tricia and Ethan are fairly well established already by the time we get introduced to them. They’ve been in a relationship for a little time and are already married, we don’t get much visibility on how things started. We also don’t see any of their natural day-to-day interactions or family members. I felt I didn’t know enough about them both but additionally, there was nothing interesting to hang on to. I felt the same as when I, and many others I’m sure, screamed at the horror movie for people not to ‘go in there’. Some of the choices the two made did not land right, they were not displaying realistic behaviour. I was more on board with Dr. Hale’s chapters, her character had far more personality to play around and engage with, and the contrast was staggering.

Overall I think ‘Never Lie’ is a mixed bag. The first part feels redundant and I’m not convinced a lot of people will be happy to keep up with it before the big plot twist hits. On the other hand, I wasn’t as bothered by it all simply because the book is short, not even reaching the 300-page mark, therefore not a big time loss. I was intrigued by how Freida seemed to think so will give her work another try. With a little bit more of cohesive storytelling and engaging characters, and who knows, the next book might just be a masterpiece.