reviews
Oct 21, 2011
Laura
rated it: 
I wouldn't call this "a novel of suspense". I knew exactly who, what, and why from the first chapter.
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Dec 14, 2008
Jackie
rated it: 
I literally could not put this book down and powered through it in a matter of hours. It's a gripping tale of a young couple who have a yard sale one Sunday that an old high school acquaintance shows up at. This is an innocent start to a nightmare that threatens to
shatter, even end, their lives. Pay attention--there are clues throughout the text.
shatter, even end, their lives. Pay attention--there are clues throughout the text.
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Jan 13, 2009
Diane
rated it: 
Never Tell a Lie, by Hallie Ephron, a "new to me author", is a must read for anyone who enjoys a fast paced thriller. I read half of the book last night (hated to stop for sleep), and then I woke up early today to finish it. I could not wait to see how this one ended.
Ivy and David Rose are a young couple expecting the first baby is just a few weeks. The live in a charming old Victorian home in (fictional) Brush Hills, MA. Amy convinces her husband to have a yard sale to cle More...
Ivy and David Rose are a young couple expecting the first baby is just a few weeks. The live in a charming old Victorian home in (fictional) Brush Hills, MA. Amy convinces her husband to have a yard sale to cle More...
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Feb 24, 2009
Sara
rated it: 
Picture this; a creepy girl from high school shows up at your yard sale but now she’s a weird pregnant woman. She obviously wants something, and is making you a little uncomfortable. You’re saved by your gallant husband who offers to show her the house. You breathe a sigh of relief until she turns up missing, and yet with dozens of witnesses, no one can confirm they saw her exit your house. The clues start to pile up, and they threaten to ruin your life.
And so goes Hallie Ephr More...
And so goes Hallie Ephr More...
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Feb 15, 2009
Colleen
rated it:
This book was very fast-paced. Like the cover read, it was "unputdownable". The ending was a little abrupt for my liking, but overall I really enjoyed the book.
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Jan 21, 2009
Harlan Coben, move over, there's a new girl in town.
I got an ARC of Never Tell A Lie in the mail today from Hallie and started this book at the gym. Ate nuts and yogurt for dinner so I didn't have to stop and cook and finished it in one sitting when I got home. I really needed to know what happened. A true page turner. The prose was lovely with many turns of phrase that gave me author envy. I can't say much about the plot without spoiling things, but a pregnant protagonist certainly tu More...
I got an ARC of Never Tell A Lie in the mail today from Hallie and started this book at the gym. Ate nuts and yogurt for dinner so I didn't have to stop and cook and finished it in one sitting when I got home. I really needed to know what happened. A true page turner. The prose was lovely with many turns of phrase that gave me author envy. I can't say much about the plot without spoiling things, but a pregnant protagonist certainly tu More...
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Feb 27, 2009
Hope
rated it:
Oh, my goodness, this is a nail-biter! I started to read this in a chain bookstore, couldn't afford to buy it that night and so put it on hold for myself at my local public library. I can't remember the last time I have anticipated a book so eagerly.
And then, when it finally came in for me, I devoured it.
Ivy and her husband, David, are having a yard sale of all of the stuff that the previous owner of their old, Victorian house left behind. A woman shows up who says More...
And then, when it finally came in for me, I devoured it.
Ivy and her husband, David, are having a yard sale of all of the stuff that the previous owner of their old, Victorian house left behind. A woman shows up who says More...
Jan 06, 2009
Colleen
rated it:
This is a hard review for me to write. On the one hand, I stayed up into the wee hours reading this book; on the other hand, I guessed the big secret (no, no spoiler here) pretty early on which defeated the "mystery" part of the book. Never Tell a Lie is a quick read, though I thought it got off to a bit of a slow start. Ivy is well-drawn and definitely elicited an emotional reaction; David, Tony, and Melinda were all much more hazy and therefore harder to connect with as a reader.
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Jan 08, 2012
Christie
rated it:
I guess I have been spoiled by Thomas H. Cook, who never fails to amaze me with his layered and intelligent mysteries. Hallie Ephron’s debut novel Never Tell A Lie, while not horrible, wasn’t all that the praise had promised.
Ivy and her handsome husband, David, are hosting a yard sale at their Victorian home. Ivy is hugely pregnant and she’s nesting like crazy, trying to rid the house of years of accumulated junk – most of which belonged to the previous owner. She is approached by a w More...
Ivy and her handsome husband, David, are hosting a yard sale at their Victorian home. Ivy is hugely pregnant and she’s nesting like crazy, trying to rid the house of years of accumulated junk – most of which belonged to the previous owner. She is approached by a w More...
Apr 07, 2011
Marilou
rated it:
A Selection of Barnes & Noble Recommends
Like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, this realistic novel begins in an everyday suburban situation and rapidly escalates into fast-breaking terror and uncharted suspense.
A yard sale at an old Victorian house, hosted by a young couple, the wife eight months pregnant with their first child. Among the eager bargain hunters is a barely recognized former classmate of these happily married high school sweethearts. This aggressive, ne More...
Like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, this realistic novel begins in an everyday suburban situation and rapidly escalates into fast-breaking terror and uncharted suspense.
A yard sale at an old Victorian house, hosted by a young couple, the wife eight months pregnant with their first child. Among the eager bargain hunters is a barely recognized former classmate of these happily married high school sweethearts. This aggressive, ne More...
Mar 19, 2011
Alysha
rated it:
Okay, there are a few things I could say about this book. I have two perspectives I could look at it with. I could look at it as a writer, or just as a reader.
First thing I will tell you? DO NOT read this book if you are pregnant.
Looking at this from a writer's perspective, yes, I thought it was greatly written. I sometimes felt like there were descriptions and paragraphs that were totally unnecessary, and really just in the book to fill space, but I still thought the writin More...
First thing I will tell you? DO NOT read this book if you are pregnant.
Looking at this from a writer's perspective, yes, I thought it was greatly written. I sometimes felt like there were descriptions and paragraphs that were totally unnecessary, and really just in the book to fill space, but I still thought the writin More...
Jun 09, 2010
Denise
rated it:
4.0 out of 5 stars Suspense thriller for the squeamish, July 17, 2009
This review is from: Never Tell a Lie: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)
This is not the typical suspense thriller on the market today -- in fact, I enjoyed it even more because it didn't contain grisly details of torture and murder! Sure there's murder -- but -- is there?
This is a really fast read that grabs you and keeps you glued to the pages through the night. Easy to finish in one sitting, it' More...
This review is from: Never Tell a Lie: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)
This is not the typical suspense thriller on the market today -- in fact, I enjoyed it even more because it didn't contain grisly details of torture and murder! Sure there's murder -- but -- is there?
This is a really fast read that grabs you and keeps you glued to the pages through the night. Easy to finish in one sitting, it' More...
Mar 10, 2010
Kat
rated it:
http://tinyurl.com/cs3gho
This is the first mystery by a woman famous for having written the bible on how to write mysteries (Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel)? Huh, I guess practicing what you preach is a lot harder than it sounds.
I've never seen so many telegraphed clues in one book; I think I spotted at least 6. Anyone who's read at least a dozen mysteries will be able to spot them all as well, I guarantee it. This means that by page 25 I knew the outcome of the b More...
This is the first mystery by a woman famous for having written the bible on how to write mysteries (Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel)? Huh, I guess practicing what you preach is a lot harder than it sounds.
I've never seen so many telegraphed clues in one book; I think I spotted at least 6. Anyone who's read at least a dozen mysteries will be able to spot them all as well, I guarantee it. This means that by page 25 I knew the outcome of the b More...
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Feb 11, 2010
Louise
rated it:
Never Tell A Lie was a totally gripping, bone-chilling and spellbinding read!
Ivy and David have purchased an old Victorian house with an attic full of things left behind by the previous owners. They decide a garage sale will help them get rid of a lot of the things they don't want and what's left David would haul to the dump. During the garage sale a woman named Melinda shows up and introduces herself to Ivy and David, reminding them that they had attended high school together.
More...
Ivy and David have purchased an old Victorian house with an attic full of things left behind by the previous owners. They decide a garage sale will help them get rid of a lot of the things they don't want and what's left David would haul to the dump. During the garage sale a woman named Melinda shows up and introduces herself to Ivy and David, reminding them that they had attended high school together.
More...
Jan 04, 2010
JoAnn/QuAppelle
rated it:
Got an ARC of this last week and stayed up VERY late the last two nights reading it. A great tale of suspense written by one of THOSE Ephron women! Very suspenseful, fast-moving, never-a-dull-moment kind of book.
It was very well-plotted and kept me on the edge of my seat. The good character development, showed them with all of their flaws. This kind of book demonstrates that an author can write a thriller without all the blood and guts that genre usually has
It was very well-plotted and kept me on the edge of my seat. The good character development, showed them with all of their flaws. This kind of book demonstrates that an author can write a thriller without all the blood and guts that genre usually has
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Jan 08, 2009
LARRY
rated it:
As posted in [http://www.amazon.com]:
I found *Never Tell a Lie* a simple suspense thriller. I agree with the other reviewers that it was nothing but formuliac.
David and Ivy have just relocated to a house. They are also expecting their first child, after a few miscarrages, any time now. The previous owner has left behind junk, which the couple have hosted a yard sale.
One of the shoppers is Melinda White, a former classmate of David and Ivy. She wasn't really More...
I found *Never Tell a Lie* a simple suspense thriller. I agree with the other reviewers that it was nothing but formuliac.
David and Ivy have just relocated to a house. They are also expecting their first child, after a few miscarrages, any time now. The previous owner has left behind junk, which the couple have hosted a yard sale.
One of the shoppers is Melinda White, a former classmate of David and Ivy. She wasn't really More...
Jan 09, 2011
Nikki
rated it:
Hallie Ephron's NEVER TELL A LIE went straight to the top of my TBR pile when I scored a copy at one of the local library book sales. I had wanted to read it as soon as I heard about the opening scenario: a young couple is having a yard sale and a woman asks to use the bathroom. She apparently never comes out of the house. I read it in just about one sitting (that dog does get importunate when he wants his
walk). Characters, plot, and setting were all top-notch and I especially appreciated More...
walk). Characters, plot, and setting were all top-notch and I especially appreciated More...
Apr 25, 2009
melissa
rated it:
I liked it. It was a little predictable. Like something I had read, something similar, or seen something in a movie once, it felt familiar. I was able to figure it out from the clues read, but I still enjoyed the ride. The suspense had me well hooked in, and was nearly impossible to put down for the last 100 pages. There were enough characters that I think if you weren’t reading closely enough, there would have been more doubt about how it was going to end. I think it would have been a good
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Oct 12, 2011
Bree
rated it:
I read Hallie Ephron’s most recent novel Come And Find Me a couple of months ago and found it mostly enjoyable, if a bit implausible so when I spotted this earlier book of hers at the local library I picked it up on a whim. I started it last night and finished it this morning in bed and found it quite similar – a fairly interesting if a bit predictable story line.
David and Ivy are having a yard sale after purchasing a huge Victorian house and inheriting a bunch of the old owner’s bel More...
David and Ivy are having a yard sale after purchasing a huge Victorian house and inheriting a bunch of the old owner’s bel More...
Apr 30, 2009
Laren
rated it:
A couple holds a yard sale and a woman they knew in high school attends. The husband ends up giving her a tour of the house, but no one sees her leave. Next thing they know, the woman is reported missing and the couple are the prime suspects. Our protagonist is the wife, Ivy, who is very pregnant as she tries to get to the truth of what happened to the missing woman.
On the minus side, I figured out pretty much the whole thing early on in the book. On the plus side, it was a prett More...
On the minus side, I figured out pretty much the whole thing early on in the book. On the plus side, it was a prett More...
Mar 23, 2009
Lisa
rated it:
I received the book as an advanced reader copy through Library Thing and had requested it because it looked like something I would enjoy.
Ivy and David are fixing up an old Victorian house and Ivy is pregnant with their first child. They have a garage sale to clean out some old junk, when Melinda, a girl who was picked on by everyone shows up at the garage sale. David gives her a tour of the house where she said she played as a child, but she never comes out. I don’t want to say any m More...
Ivy and David are fixing up an old Victorian house and Ivy is pregnant with their first child. They have a garage sale to clean out some old junk, when Melinda, a girl who was picked on by everyone shows up at the garage sale. David gives her a tour of the house where she said she played as a child, but she never comes out. I don’t want to say any m More...
Jan 23, 2010
Jeanna
rated it:
Super predictable. The biggest mystery about this mystery novel was why a female author who has children (and presumably, therefore, gave birth to them) would get enough details about pregnancy wrong that I thought she probably didn't have any kids. But then I looked it up on Goodreads and found out that she did. Anyway, weird.
(Details that annoyed me the most: Our pregnant lady character takes a "scalding hot" shower. Which is a pregnancy no-no. Also, she and her husband h More...
(Details that annoyed me the most: Our pregnant lady character takes a "scalding hot" shower. Which is a pregnancy no-no. Also, she and her husband h More...
Mar 11, 2009
Amy
rated it:
it was pretty obvious whodunit but Ephron did a good job not making you 100% sure until fairly close to the end (those who say you knew from chapter one are lying through your bald teeth, you knew but not 100%, its just coincidence that you were right...you and your bald teeth). I could of used a little more deception. also the "big plan" hinged on one thing and that kind of irks me. still a quick and entertaining read. kind of like reading a tv show... I'm like "I could have been
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Jan 31, 2011
Rhonda
rated it:
I enjoyed this book for the most part. I thought the beginning was a little slow but I read it carefully because I was certain the details were clues that I'd need to remember later on as the plot wrapped up. I was right. I was pretty sure who-done-it, though no one would be able to guess exactly why. The author, however, did give lots of good clues.
I just took two workshops with this writer at a Writer's Conference. She's a good teacher, very generous with her time, and I look f More...
I just took two workshops with this writer at a Writer's Conference. She's a good teacher, very generous with her time, and I look f More...
Jun 07, 2009
Jessica
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Mar 22, 2009
The author and I worked together at Digital and we both left around the same time. I'm still editing technical documentation; she's writing mysteries. Hallie gave a reading of this book at my library and I was hooked: the story takes place in the Boston area -- a woman perusing a yard sale is invited to enter the owner's house and she never returns (at least not alive). I liked Hallie's description of how she came up with the plot and how she she used various aspects of her own life to keep th
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Jan 08, 2009
Tina DC
rated it:
When a couple decides to have a yard sale to clear some old junk out of their Victorian home, their lives take an unexpected turn straight to hell. An aqaintance from their high school days shows up at their rummage sale, then disappears, making the very pregnant Ivy and her husband David prime murder suspects.
Is David telling his wife everything he knows? What happened to the woman who disappeared? Will Ivy carry this baby to term after having a miscarrage? You'll have to read More...
Is David telling his wife everything he knows? What happened to the woman who disappeared? Will Ivy carry this baby to term after having a miscarrage? You'll have to read More...
Jun 22, 2011
K.B.L.
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jul 29, 2011
Lucinda
rated it:
Never Tell a Lie (William Morrow 2009) is the story of Ivy Rose, who is inspired by the final month of her pregnancy to clear out everything left behind by the previous owners of their Victorian house in Brush Hills, Massachusetts. Ivy, whose previous pregnancy ended in a late-term miscarriage, is consumed with worries about delivering a healthy baby. As Ivy and her husband David are busy at their yard sale, a very pregnant woman identifies herself as Melinda White, a former high school classmat
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Aug 13, 2010
Jay
rated it:
“Never Tell A Lie”
A Novel of Suspense
by Hallie Ephron
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Whenever the cover of a book says, “…of Suspense” I can’t help myself—I grab it. This one grabbed me back!
The thing with this type of read-it-forget-your-life-until-the-last-page kind of novel is that once you do turn that final page—the entire story tends to fade from memory rather quickl More...
A Novel of Suspense
by Hallie Ephron
Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
Whenever the cover of a book says, “…of Suspense” I can’t help myself—I grab it. This one grabbed me back!
The thing with this type of read-it-forget-your-life-until-the-last-page kind of novel is that once you do turn that final page—the entire story tends to fade from memory rather quickl More...
