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79th out of 2,174 books
—
5,100 voters
Never Knowing
by
Chevy Stevens (Goodreads Author)
The second novel by Chevy Stevens, author of bestseller STILL MISSING.
At thirty-three Sara Gallagher is finally happy. Her antique furniture restoration business is taking off and she’s engaged to a wonderful man. But there’s one big question that still haunts her — who are her birth parents? Sara is finally ready to find out.
Sara’s birth mother rejects her—again. Then sh...more
At thirty-three Sara Gallagher is finally happy. Her antique furniture restoration business is taking off and she’s engaged to a wonderful man. But there’s one big question that still haunts her — who are her birth parents? Sara is finally ready to find out.
Sara’s birth mother rejects her—again. Then sh...more
Hardcover, 410 pages
Published
July 5th 2011
by St Martins Press
(first published January 1st 2011)
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Nov 13, 2012
Anna
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-thriller,
read-in-2012
The idea to this book is great; what a shame the writing couldn't live up to it.
Adopted Sara is searching for her birth parents, but when she finds her mother, she’s rejected in horror. Puzzled and hurt, Sara searches on and discovers the awful truth: her father is the Campside Killer, a man who’d been raping and strangling girls every summer for 30 years, and Sara’s mother is the one that got away. Worse is to come when he contacts Sara, telling her that talking to her several times a day is t...more
Adopted Sara is searching for her birth parents, but when she finds her mother, she’s rejected in horror. Puzzled and hurt, Sara searches on and discovers the awful truth: her father is the Campside Killer, a man who’d been raping and strangling girls every summer for 30 years, and Sara’s mother is the one that got away. Worse is to come when he contacts Sara, telling her that talking to her several times a day is t...more
2.5 stars/Fiction; Suspense
First-read win from GR! Thank you!
I know that I am going to be in the minority here, but I did not care for this book.
What can I say? It never takes me longer than a few days to finish a book and after reading Still Missing in one day, I was sooo anxious for Chevy Stevens' new book. But this one? it took me over a week to read and that is only because I forced myself to finish out of gratitude for the first-read win.
None of the characters are likeable and the story unb...more
First-read win from GR! Thank you!
I know that I am going to be in the minority here, but I did not care for this book.
What can I say? It never takes me longer than a few days to finish a book and after reading Still Missing in one day, I was sooo anxious for Chevy Stevens' new book. But this one? it took me over a week to read and that is only because I forced myself to finish out of gratitude for the first-read win.
None of the characters are likeable and the story unb...more
21 likes · like · see review
Chevy Stevens doesn't mess around. Like a racehorse out of the gate, her books take off like mad wildfire, simmering and sizzling along the way. And, faithfully, NEVER KNOWING never lets up until its knock-over, finish-line ending. Intense, yet simple, uncomplicated, perfectly enthralling.
Like her previous best-selling psychotic thriller, STILL MISSING, her new story, NEVER KNOWING, is a book of therapy sessions, this time gracing us with the voice of passionate, and a tad neurotic, 33-year-old...more
Like her previous best-selling psychotic thriller, STILL MISSING, her new story, NEVER KNOWING, is a book of therapy sessions, this time gracing us with the voice of passionate, and a tad neurotic, 33-year-old...more
15 likes · like · see review
Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens was given to me free from www.goodreads.com . This is a novel about a woman who decides to find her biological parents. Sara, mom of 6 year old Ally, was adopted at birth by a childless couple, who then as it ironicaly works, has two children naturally after the adoption. Sara was singled out by her adopted father as the "adopted" one. As an adult, Sara hires a private investigator to find her birth parents. Her mother is found and is known to be the only surviving...more
This is the second novel I have read by Chevy Stevens,and it grabbed me right from the begining just as her other book "Still Missing" did. All her life Sara Gallagher has wondered about her birth parents.Being given up for adoption has always haunted her,little did she know that seeking out her birth mother she is to unravel some devastating truths that will change her life and affect all those around her.After finding out the circumstances of her conception, Sara's story unfolds and plays out...more
5 likes · like · see review
Unbelievable! How can so much happen to one person, and keep happening, and keep happening.......
Sara Gallagher was adopted. All her life she had wondered about her birth parents, and although she loved her parents, especially her mother, when her 2 sisters, Melanie and Lauren, were born (both naturally to her parents), she felt left out, never being good enough, never as good as her sisters.
So, with her gorgeous daughter, 6 year old Ally, and a wonderful fiance Evan, and the preparations for th...more
Sara Gallagher was adopted. All her life she had wondered about her birth parents, and although she loved her parents, especially her mother, when her 2 sisters, Melanie and Lauren, were born (both naturally to her parents), she felt left out, never being good enough, never as good as her sisters.
So, with her gorgeous daughter, 6 year old Ally, and a wonderful fiance Evan, and the preparations for th...more
6 likes · like · see review
I won a copy of this book on a goodreads.com giveaway.
An easy to read and hard to put down book. "Never Knowing" follows Sara as she goes on a quest to find her birth parents and gets caught up in a thriller of a journey to find the truth. Complete with a terrifying serial killer and a totally unexpected twist, this story has the hallmarks of a good thriller.
This book was scary enough that I had a hard time reading it at night and found myself double-checking that my doors were locked before be...more
An easy to read and hard to put down book. "Never Knowing" follows Sara as she goes on a quest to find her birth parents and gets caught up in a thriller of a journey to find the truth. Complete with a terrifying serial killer and a totally unexpected twist, this story has the hallmarks of a good thriller.
This book was scary enough that I had a hard time reading it at night and found myself double-checking that my doors were locked before be...more
7 likes · like · see review
This book was hard to put down. I read two hundred pages the first day I started reading "Never Knowing." The story never lets up from page one and the ending has a real twist. A twist that I never saw coming. Since I am a big fan of thrillers, I tried to come up wth the plot twists as I went along. Chevy Stevens threw me a big surprise! I love this book.
Sara Gallagher seems to have it all - a thriving business, a loving fiance and a beautiful daughter. However, as the adopted child of a couple with two biological daughters, she has always felt like an outsider. Her quest to find her birth mother sets off a terrifying chain of events and, too late, Sara realizes that there are some things you are better off never knowing.
Never Knowing, by Chevy Stevens, was the first book I won in a Good Reads giveaway and I was a little concerned about how I wa...more
Never Knowing, by Chevy Stevens, was the first book I won in a Good Reads giveaway and I was a little concerned about how I wa...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
It was an amazing story and I really liked it. I picked and decided to read "Never Knowing" because of the words: she is a daughter of the worst serial killer in Canada. I wondered what she would do and how the story was going to end. So, I started reading it and I couldn't stop reading it. I wanted to know what Sara would do since almost everything in this book was unpredictable.
"Never Knowing" wasn't like most of mystery-thriller novels that I used to read because there was no gruesome detail...more
"Never Knowing" wasn't like most of mystery-thriller novels that I used to read because there was no gruesome detail...more
1 like · like · see review
Praise once again for tense plotting by NEVER KNOWING author, Chevy Stevens. After finishing the author's debut novel, STILL MISSING, I was pleased to have the opportunity to read her sophomore attempt.
Staying with visits to the main character's therapist's office as the structure of the book, the author presents a cautionary tale of opening Pandora's Box, only to find the main character, her daughter, and her fiance in the world of a pathological killer and rapist, a reluctant biological mother...more
Staying with visits to the main character's therapist's office as the structure of the book, the author presents a cautionary tale of opening Pandora's Box, only to find the main character, her daughter, and her fiance in the world of a pathological killer and rapist, a reluctant biological mother...more
2 likes · like · see review
I was delighted to get an advanced copy of the book to read. I thought the debut novel by Chevy Stevens was terrific - and no fluke either. Never Knowing is a fast paced, page turner, with a 'and that's not all' ending. She starts with an engaging premise: The main character decides to find her birth mother. Like Pandora's Box, (Once you open the lid – you can’t go back) the rest of the book is an emotional ride - gathering speed as she tries to follow her gut AND listen to what everyone in her...more
Rating clarification - 3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book. It only took me two days to complete. It was engaging with twists and surprises that made it a good mystery. I have a habit of releasing tension by peeking ahead and I wish I hadn't with this one.
I didn't like the main character, Sara. She was the quintessential drama queen. There were times when I wanted to yell at the book, "Get a grip!" Much of the tension in the story was caused by her freaking out. I have to wonder if her psychiatric diag...more
I enjoyed this book. It only took me two days to complete. It was engaging with twists and surprises that made it a good mystery. I have a habit of releasing tension by peeking ahead and I wish I hadn't with this one.
I didn't like the main character, Sara. She was the quintessential drama queen. There were times when I wanted to yell at the book, "Get a grip!" Much of the tension in the story was caused by her freaking out. I have to wonder if her psychiatric diag...more
1 like · like · see review
I really don't know where the author who was so good with tension in "Still Missing" went, because this book drags like no thriller I've ever read. I would think that the plot would offer more than a novella's worth of content, but really, the interesting stuff in this book could have covered maybe a hundred pages if it were only written once.
Example. This conversation is in every serial killer novel:
Rational person: Don't do what the serial killer wants you to do!
Protagonist: But I *have* to o...more
Example. This conversation is in every serial killer novel:
Rational person: Don't do what the serial killer wants you to do!
Protagonist: But I *have* to o...more
[Review in Portuguese]
É Melhor Não Saber, de Chevy Stevens
Arqueiro - 317 páginas
Às vezes, a ignorância pode ser uma benção.
Título: É Melhor Não Saber
Título Original: Never Knowing
Autora: Chevy Stevens
Tradutor: Maria Clara de Biase
Editora: Arqueiro
ISBN: 978-85-8041-121-8
Ano da Edição: 2013
Ano Original de Lançamento: 2011
Nº de Páginas: 317
Comprar Online: Saraiva
Sinopse:
Sara Gallagher cresceu em uma família adotiva. A mãe sempre foi muito carinhosa, mas ela sentia que depois do nascimento de suas d...more
É Melhor Não Saber, de Chevy Stevens
Arqueiro - 317 páginas
Às vezes, a ignorância pode ser uma benção.
Título: É Melhor Não Saber
Título Original: Never Knowing
Autora: Chevy Stevens
Tradutor: Maria Clara de Biase
Editora: Arqueiro
ISBN: 978-85-8041-121-8
Ano da Edição: 2013
Ano Original de Lançamento: 2011
Nº de Páginas: 317
Comprar Online: Saraiva
Sinopse:
Sara Gallagher cresceu em uma família adotiva. A mãe sempre foi muito carinhosa, mas ela sentia que depois do nascimento de suas d...more
This is the first time in a while that I wish I could give negative stars. Because I had enjoyed the previous book? Because of the staggeringly high rating? Because it is just so God awful?
Yes.
Stevens has, with this lousy waste of paper, capitalized on The Laziest Ways to Write a Novel. They are:
1. Use a contrived, unrealistic, and wholly ridiculous tactic, such as Sessions with (an Oddly Silent) Therapist.
I think she did this last time, and it annoyed me then too, but I was forgiving of it, I...more
Yes.
Stevens has, with this lousy waste of paper, capitalized on The Laziest Ways to Write a Novel. They are:
1. Use a contrived, unrealistic, and wholly ridiculous tactic, such as Sessions with (an Oddly Silent) Therapist.
I think she did this last time, and it annoyed me then too, but I was forgiving of it, I...more
5 likes · like · see review
Not one of my favorite books, as a little slow and the main character would drive even me nuts! Also did not care for the ending. Basically, a psychological thriller about one woman’s search into her past and the deadly truth she uncovers.
Gallagher has wondered about her birth parents as she was adopted by family who was not always nice to her (father and siblings). When she is about to get married, so sets out to find her real birth mother and father. However, some questions are better left un...more
Gallagher has wondered about her birth parents as she was adopted by family who was not always nice to her (father and siblings). When she is about to get married, so sets out to find her real birth mother and father. However, some questions are better left un...more
This is the second book by Stevens. Her first, Still Missing, was a finalist for the OLA Evergreen Award.
This novel uses the same device as her first, sessions at a therapist. I don't think it works as well for this one. There was one instance where I felt the contents of the session seemed like they came after the session. I can't say I liked the reader for this either. To me, the way she read it gave the main character, Sara Gallagher, a tone (put-upon, whiny) that I didn't like, and I don't t...more
This novel uses the same device as her first, sessions at a therapist. I don't think it works as well for this one. There was one instance where I felt the contents of the session seemed like they came after the session. I can't say I liked the reader for this either. To me, the way she read it gave the main character, Sara Gallagher, a tone (put-upon, whiny) that I didn't like, and I don't t...more
Sara ist Mutter einer sechsjährigen Tochter und steckt mitten in den Planungen ihrer Hochzeit. Kurzerhand beschließt sie, noch einmal nach ihrer leiblichen Mutter zu suchen. Es dauert nicht lange, bis sie erfährt, dass sie das Blut eines Serienkillers in sich trägt. Das ganze Unheil beginnt, als plötzlich Daten von ihr im Zusammenhang mit ihrer leiblichen Mutter im Internet auftauchen, die besagen, dass sie die Tochter des einzig überlebenden Opfers des Campsite Killers ist. Denn ihr Vater nimmt...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Chevy Stevens has written a nice exciting psychological thriller in Never Knowing. It is just the kind of book that will keep you reading unable to put it down, all the while knowing it is not great literature, but rather a good read.
Sara Gallagher tells her story while visiting her psychiatrist, named only Nadine. We never hear the psychiatrist voice, but only Sara's who is obsessive and volatile and difficult. She is though going through a difficult time Sara is thirty something, engaged to be...more
Sara Gallagher tells her story while visiting her psychiatrist, named only Nadine. We never hear the psychiatrist voice, but only Sara's who is obsessive and volatile and difficult. She is though going through a difficult time Sara is thirty something, engaged to be...more
Never Knowing is written from the perspective of Sara Gallagher in sessions with her psychiatrist. Sara was adopted when she was born by a warm, loving but sickly woman and her hard-ass husband who clearly prefers his biological daughters over Sara. Sara’s parents adopted her under when they found out they were unable to have children biologically. They later found they were wrong – twice.
Now 35, with a young daughter of her own and a fiance, Sara decides to look into who her biological parents...more
Now 35, with a young daughter of her own and a fiance, Sara decides to look into who her biological parents...more
Έχοντας διαβάσει την "Εξαφάνιση" της Chevy Stevens, δεν θα μπορούσα σε καμία περίπτωση να αντισταθώ στο δεύτερο βιβλίο της συγγραφέως με τίτλο, "Το Στίγμα", το οποίο, από το εξώφυλλο κι όλας, σε προετοιμάζει για μια ιστορία γεμάτη σασπένς και ανατροπές, με αγωνία και δράση. Και πραγματικά, το περιεχόμενο, όχι μόνο δεν προδίδει τις προσδοκίες αλλά αντίθετα, τις εκτοξεύει όσο πιο ψηλά γίνεται. Δεν είναι λοιπόν διόλου τυχαίο ότι η Stevens, για το βιβλίο της αυτό, βραβεύτηκε από το Goodreads για το...more
Canadian writer Chevy Stevens combines a one-way dialogue with the protagonist's therapist and actual events for a fresh, fast-paced read.
Sara Gallagher, adopted as a child, has always struggled with her 'place' within her family: loved by her mother, she spent her life trying for the same unconditional acceptance from her emotionally abusive father, vying with her siblings for his love. Her roots were of no consequence to her until she had her own daughter, at which point, the search for her bi...more
Sara Gallagher, adopted as a child, has always struggled with her 'place' within her family: loved by her mother, she spent her life trying for the same unconditional acceptance from her emotionally abusive father, vying with her siblings for his love. Her roots were of no consequence to her until she had her own daughter, at which point, the search for her bi...more
Copy received through the Goodreads First Reads program.
I'd never heard of Chevy Stevens; I entered the giveaway for this book because the storyline sounded absolutely enticing. I mean, woman finds out her birth father's a serial killer? So many good things you could do with that.
Sadly, the book didn't live up to the excitement.
The main issue is Sara, the woman the story revolves around. She's paranoid, and obsessive--and the latter would be okay, except, most of the insanity in the book and the...more
I'd never heard of Chevy Stevens; I entered the giveaway for this book because the storyline sounded absolutely enticing. I mean, woman finds out her birth father's a serial killer? So many good things you could do with that.
Sadly, the book didn't live up to the excitement.
The main issue is Sara, the woman the story revolves around. She's paranoid, and obsessive--and the latter would be okay, except, most of the insanity in the book and the...more
I found Never Knowing in the new book section of my local library. Having been totally engrossed in Still Missing last month, it didn't take me long to decide to pick up Stevens's sophomore novel.
The synopsis on the dust jacket, like her debut novel, pulls you in immediately. Sara, a woman in her early 30's, decides she wants to know who her birth parents are once Canadian adoption records are open to the public. In receiving her birth certificate and doing a little investigation, she not only f...more
The synopsis on the dust jacket, like her debut novel, pulls you in immediately. Sara, a woman in her early 30's, decides she wants to know who her birth parents are once Canadian adoption records are open to the public. In receiving her birth certificate and doing a little investigation, she not only f...more
Abandoned.
I could not bear to finish this book. I got 2/3rds of the way in and had to give up. All the characters are so pathetic, boring and obnoxious and ruined what might have been an interesting plot (adoptive woman descovers her mother is the only victim of a serial killer to get away. Her father is the serial killer). The main character's daughter is the main reason for giving up though. She is 6 years old and is the most obnoxious, rude and downright unpleasant child I have ever come acro...more
I could not bear to finish this book. I got 2/3rds of the way in and had to give up. All the characters are so pathetic, boring and obnoxious and ruined what might have been an interesting plot (adoptive woman descovers her mother is the only victim of a serial killer to get away. Her father is the serial killer). The main character's daughter is the main reason for giving up though. She is 6 years old and is the most obnoxious, rude and downright unpleasant child I have ever come acro...more
A second novel is a challenge for many writers, especially if the first novel is successful. Chevy Stevens' Still Missing gripped me from the very first page and so I had some high expectations for Never Knowing- expectations that were more than surpassed. In fact, I think I enjoyed Never Knowing even more than her first book!
It followed the same unique format as Still Missing (rather than chapters, the book is told in first-person reflective in sessions with the main characters' psychiatrist)....more
It followed the same unique format as Still Missing (rather than chapters, the book is told in first-person reflective in sessions with the main characters' psychiatrist)....more
This is more of a 3.5. I just finished it and it only took me two days. Every book I read takes me about a week or two to read, but this book and still missing had a weird effect on me that I was literally sucked in and couldn't put it down no matter how hard I tried. Her writing just flows so smoothly, and at the end of her chapters doesn't feel like a break/pause that other authors make it feel like, it just makes you want to go to the next chapter and devour more. I was very interested in the...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loved the book . . . but . . . | 21 | 215 | Nov 29, 2011 12:20pm | |
| Book Giveaways: Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens - unread ARC giveaway - US/CAN through 9/10/2011 | 1 | 8 | Sep 04, 2011 08:13pm |
Chevy Stevens is the New York Times Bestselling author of STILL MISSING and NEVER KNOWING. Chevy grew up on a ranch on Vancouver Island and still lives on the island with her husband and daughter. When she’s not working on her next book, she’s camping and canoeing with her family in the local mountains. Her debut novel, STILL MISSING, won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Nov...more
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“I didn't know what to do with this new reality, the horror of my conception. I wanted to bury it in the backyard, far away from anyone's eyes. My skin crawled with knowledge, with the evil that I'd looked into, that had created me. I took long showers. Nothing helped. The dirt was on the inside. (31)”
—
4 people liked it
“You were down to earth and funny - not at all what I imagined a psychiatrist would be. This office was so bright and pretty that, no matter what I was worried about, as soon as I walked in here felt better. Some days, especially in the beginning, I didn't want to leave. (1)”
—
3 people liked it
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*heads off to Amazon to get the book now*
Aw, bless you for the 'sort of' offer to send the book over, but even...more
updated Nov 15, 2012 02:58am
Nov 15, 2012 12:27pm