We'll Never Tell

I really loved this book! Picked it up out of boredom at the library and didn’t expect it to be this good. Lot’s of twists and well thought out plots.

But then, that's how pain works: When you're in enough of it, there's no thinking of anything or anybody else.

Wendy Heard really wrote grief and managing grief well. I could feel and see it. It definitely made me feel more connected to Casey because I understood her more. When I started the book I wasn't really connecting to her (Casey) but as I carried on and she spoke about grief more; I did feel more connected. This is my first Wendy Heard novel so I have no idea if the theme of grief is present in her other books – I certainly hope so as I really enjoyed how it was written in We'll Never Tell.

Sometimes, grief seizes me in a violent grip, and when it does, I almost double over in pain. I pause, breathe, try to release the image of how my life was meant to be. It doesn't matter what was destined; it only matters what actually happened. That's what I tell myself. But in reality, there's no romance in a crime of passion. There's just the ending of a life, small and quiet, and the broken people who get left behind. I like how they approached the story of the supposed ghost house and the true crime/unsolved murders. That in the end they're still people and they deserve respect. They should've received respect but they didn't get that. Instead they got a whole media circus over and over again. Every aspect of their lives were searched through and stories were made up left, right, and centre. Of course, being that the main characters run a YouTube channel there's a lot that can be said about true crime and these topics being shown in media. The world is so obsessed with true crime podcasts and they're the first ones who'll sit and binge watch unsolved murder tv shows – often forgetting that the victims were all people before all of this. Many times in fact, their families are often still alive and are witnessing the world obsessing over what happened to their loved ones. I did want their YouTube channel to have been a bigger plot point. People finding out about it, more reminiscing about other projects they did – even just a simple scene or two responding to comments or looking at analytics. They're apparently a huge channel (a million or more subscribers?) but it felt like after they went into the house the channel was simply forgotten about? Maybe ghosts are real. I don't buy it. Humans are worse than anything we dream up. Casey and the boys (Eddie and Jacob) were my favourite and I disliked Zoe – I didn't feel connected to her like I did to the others. But there's probably others who disliked Eddie and Jacob and whose favourite character was Zoe – that's what's great about reading – that we can like different characters. I hoped that I would see and believe the friendships in the book and I did! Even though I thought Zoe was the weakest one for me (personally) I could still see her friendship with the others. I think that made me like her a bit more, not enough, though. But then, we're all one of a kind. That's the point, really, in the end. None of us are replaceable. When one of us dies, it leaves a hole that can never be filled. Ever.I think this is probably my favourite quote of them all. This can be applied to any character in the book – living or dead. But it also can be applied to the reader – and you can take this quote anywhere it needs to be in your life. In this book it's referring to Casey's mom and how Casey will always be thinking of her (as is with loved ones who are passed away). The quote is also about the Valentini murders – how they were more than what was written about, and that all the headlines and articles never really seemed to get their personalities right. Which they wouldn't because they care more about how big of a story it would make and how to sensationalise it all. Merged review:But then, that's how pain works: When you're in enough of it, there's no thinking of anything or anybody else. Wendy Heard really wrote grief and managing grief well. I could feel and see it. It definitely made me feel more connected to Casey because I understood her more. When I started the book I wasn't really connecting to her (Casey) but as I carried on and she spoke about grief more; I did feel more connected. This is my first Wendy Heard novel so I have no idea if the theme of grief is present in her other books – I certainly hope so as I really enjoyed how it was written in We'll Never Tell. Sometimes, grief seizes me in a violent grip, and when it does, I almost double over in pain. I pause, breathe, try to release the image of how my life was meant to be. It doesn't matter what was destined; it only matters what actually happened. That's what I tell myself. But in reality, there's no romance in a crime of passion. There's just the ending of a life, small and quiet, and the broken people who get left behind. I like how they approached the story of the supposed ghost house and the true crime/unsolved murders. That in the end they're still people and they deserve respect. They should've received respect but they didn't get that. Instead they got a whole media circus over and over again. Every aspect of their lives were searched through and stories were made up left, right, and centre. Of course, being that the main characters run a YouTube channel there's a lot that can be said about true crime and these topics being shown in media. The world is so obsessed with true crime podcasts and they're the first ones who'll sit and binge watch unsolved murder tv shows – often forgetting that the victims were all people before all of this. Many times in fact, their families are often still alive and are witnessing the world obsessing over what happened to their loved ones. I did want their YouTube channel to have been a bigger plot point. People finding out about it, more reminiscing about other projects they did – even just a simple scene or two responding to comments or looking at analytics. They're apparently a huge channel (a million or more subscribers?) but it felt like after they went into the house the channel was simply forgotten about? Maybe ghosts are real. I don't buy it. Humans are worse than anything we dream up. Casey and the boys (Eddie and Jacob) were my favourite and I disliked Zoe – I didn't feel connected to her like I did to the others. But there's probably others who disliked Eddie and Jacob and whose favourite character was Zoe – that's what's great about reading – that we can like different characters. I hoped that I would see and believe the friendships in the book and I did! Even though I thought Zoe was the weakest one for me (personally) I could still see her friendship with the others. I think that made me like her a bit more, not enough, though. But then, we're all one of a kind. That's the point, really, in the end. None of us are replaceable. When one of us dies, it leaves a hole that can never be filled. Ever.I think this is probably my favourite quote of them all. This can be applied to any character in the book – living or dead. But it also can be applied to the reader – and you can take this quote anywhere it needs to be in your life. In this book it's referring to Casey's mom and how Casey will always be thinking of her (as is with loved ones who are passed away). The quote is also about the Valentini murders – how they were more than what was written about, and that all the headlines and articles never really seemed to get their personalities right. Which they wouldn't because they care more about how big of a story it would make and how to sensationalise it all.