Don't Ever Tell

by Brandon Massey

Dark Secrets…

With a new identity, a new city to live in, and a wonderful new husband, Rachel Moore believes she’s finally free of the demons in her past. But nothing could be farther from the truth. For the deadly secrets she thought were long-buried are now on the brink of being exposed…

Have A Way…

Someone has a vendetta against Rachel. Someone whom she betrayed a long time ago. Someone who is determined to make her pay—no matter the cost …

Of Coming Back With A Vengeance …

Now Rachel knows it’s just a matter of time before her dangerous past meets up with her present—and destroys everything she’s worked so hard for. Because if there’s one thing that can be counted on—her enemy never forgets or forgives and will do whatever it takes to see Rachel suffer…

Genres: Thriller, Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

372 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Here’s a little about me, Brandon Massey. (“Massey” is not pronounced “macy,” by the way. Think of “mass” instead.)

I was born June 9, 1973, in Waukegan, Illinois. I grew up in Zion, a suburb north of Chicago.

I originally self-published Thunderland, my first novel, in 1999. After managing to sell a few thousand copies on my own, Kensington Publishing Corp. in New York offered me a two-book contract, and published a new, revised edition of Thunderland in December 2002.

Since then, I’ve published up to three books a year, ranging from thriller novels such as The Other Brother, to short story collections such as Twisted Tales, and anthologies such as Dark Dreams.

My newest suspense thriller, Covenant, was published in November 2010.

I’ve got plenty more stories in the works that I’ll publish in the coming years.

I live with my family near Atlanta, GA.

Reviews

[Lois · Rating 1 out of 5]

Misogyny and toxic masculinity writes a book. Yikes

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of best books I've ever read by Brandon Massey. If you want a fast-pace, non-stop action, drama on top of drama read, then this is a must read for you. I highly recommend this book to my GR friends.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed my first Brandon Massey read a very anxious to dive into some more of his catalogue. Rachel is running from her past and abusive ex Dexter. She started over in a new city with a new identity, but when Dexter escapes from prison, she knows that her life and the lives of everyone she love is in danger.

Well written story with a MMC that delivers all the unhinged, delusional and narcissistic behaviors of a man that abuses his power. Dexter will probably live rent free in my head as he was a straight menace throughout this entire book. Joshua was my favorite character. Between Dexter‘s insanity and Rachel’s poor decision-making, Joshua brought a good balance.

Overall a very good read that I recommend for fans of suspense thrillers. I listened to this audiobook in one day as it was highly addictive, and I simply could not stop.

[BrownBookNerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one from Massey. I enjoyed this read it’s was a wild ride of hide and seek. I just wonder why Rachel didn’t tell her husband anything about her past. As soon as she found out that Dexter had escaped she should have told Joshua. Not telling him put them both in danger and cause a lot of people to get hurt.

[Taneka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like Rachel. I know she is a victim of domestic abuse, but I felt she was extremely selfish in her actions. She did not tell her family and friends about her ex husband, leaving them vulnerable and at his mercy. Don't get me wrong, Thad and Aunt Betty should have known better and been far more alert, but her people in Atlanta, were left hanging. They didn't have a snowball chance in hell. Her business partner should not have had to endure his brutality, she didn't know anything. And we don't even know if the former neighbor is alive after she met up with Dexter.

I thought the ending was weird. She went from being afraid of Dexter, to anxiously waiting for him at the bungalow to fight back. Then she and Joshua were ready for war, but, had she told him from the beginning, they could have taken him down together in Atlanta. But I guess it needed to unfold this way. Besides, had they stayed in Atlanta, he never would have stood up to that manipulative, bully of a mother.

I felt like a great deal was missing from Dexter's end. For example, how did he know which house was hers? Did he harm any of the ferry workers to get the information? Joshua parked the car on the dock, so he couldn't track him directly to the house.

I am giving it 3¾ stars. It was a suspenseful ride, but there were some odd pieces to this puzzle.

[Sydney Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book despite all the negative reviews. I’m a thriller/horror kind of reader and Massey hit all the right points. A abusive ex-cop named Dexter who escapes from jail, torture, murder, and she finally gets away for good. Loved it!!! The only thing that irritated me about this book was Rachel. Instead of telling the truth about her past she ran and left everyone close to her in danger knowing how evil and dangerous her ex-husband was. She has the blood of at least 4 people on her hands. I kinda feel like he killed the woman that moved into her apartment. Besides that it kept me interested.

[Teresa R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly had some trouble getting through this book. There was more gratuitous violence than you might normally expect from a mystery/suspense novel and the characters were not as believable or likeable as they could have been. Nevertheless, there was enough action and suspense to propel the story forward and in the end, the good guys won.

If violence doesn't bother you and you prefer a lot of action in a novel, you might enjoy this book. For me, it just wasn't quite what I was hoping it would be.

[Abyssinia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Torture and trauma porn.

The women are written as very flat and unbelievable.

And the men somehow have super spidey senses.

[Teresa Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, predictable and anticlimactic.

I also get the feeling this author has negative and offensive views of black women.

Do not recommend.

[Alicia Krage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for a book club. Sad to say I was as disappointed as I expected to be tbh. The summary just didn't intrigue me, but I thought maybe it'd be an unexpectedly good thrill. Nope. It started slow, and then it did grab my attention for quite a while, but I found it to just drag on way too long after a while. 2.5 stars.

[Cailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Sydney Sowinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

i wish there was more POV from Rachel/Joy. also the end felt a little lackluster compared to the brutality in the first 250 pages. would be interested to check out more from Massey

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very very vivid, I did this on audio, and I could feel a tingle in my left ring finger when the character snapped it. The narrator, to me, was amazing...the only problem was that there were about 80 chapters, which is ok it just sucks being reminded that you are on chapter 75, yet it is so suspensful you really only gripe for a millisecond.

[Latasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right..Never Tell

This was my first time reading Mr. Massey’s work and he didn’t disappoint. I loved the mystery and suspense of the story line. It is a page turner and will keep you on edge to the very end. Can’t wait to enjoy his other books.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great action packed book that really kept me interested. Reminded me of the novel by Nicholas Sparks, Safe Harbor.

[Thea Marquetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first book by this author and I enjoyed it. Will definitely be checking out his collection.

[Jada · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Don’t Ever Tell is a domestic thriller centered on secrets, love, and obsession. I give this one a 3 1/2 because it kept me intrigued. This is my 4th book by Massey, and I am starting to understand that he enjoys to write about couples and the secrets/ deception of one (or both) of them coming to light. This story is no different. From the beginning we learn that Rachel is grappling with a major secret about her past life and the haunting a of it. Joshua, her devoted husband has questions, and as the story unveils so does the answer. I enjoyed this mostly because it felt like a movie on paper. Massey has a way of writing that keeps you on edge.

Thrillers always come with some level of suspended disbelief and I know this. I actually appreciate it. With that being said, I must say, RACHEL WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY. She did not have much of a personality, and I found myself not connecting with her. She was a very unlikeable character in my opinion. Her need to withhold info + run away with no explanation put so many people at risk. 💆🏾‍♀️💆🏾‍♀️💆🏾‍♀️ It felt odd for her to be so tough at the end when she showed complete fear. Sometimes self preservation comes with selfishness, but I can’t pretend like it didn’t annoy me. It makes me wonder if Joshua’s mother was partially correct in her assessment of Rachel.

I would suggest this to folks tho enjoy revenge and domestic style thrillers.

[RChelle Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel is ready to put the past behind her and start a new life in Atlanta, where she meets and marries the man of her dreams. Joshua is everything Dexter wasn’t - kind, caring, and considerate too bad he had no idea of the secrets Rachel was keeping.

To give away more would spoil the plot.

The intro immediately pulled me into the story, but the storyline could have been developed further- I would have loved to see how one of his partners/friends was involved in the “money heist”.

I always think Massey’s MMC’s are written with low levels of common sense but Joshua was a lot quicker to action and resolve so I enjoyed his character. Rachel should have told him- it was a big deal but not enough for her to still be hiding it from her husband.

This was a good, quick read.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

she married a abusive cop and escaped when he was arrested for something else. she ran away with his money and got married and started a new life and getting preg

but he escaped from prison. her new husband knows nothing of her life prior to him

she runs and doenst tell her husband where she is going. the x-cop tracks her down and destroys the house. the husb comes home, gets in a fight and ends up shooting the cop. but he didnt know the cop was wearing a vest and got away

the husband figures out where the wife is hiding and not knowing there was a tracker on his car leads the cop to her

he attacks both of them , but they kill him. it ends with them and their son on the beach

[Ms Freddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of Drama and Intrigue!

I’ve just recently discovered this author and have already read 4 of his books. This book is one of those books where you want to jump right to the end to see what happens. So much mystery and drama. If you’re squeamish you might not like it because one of the characters is a vicious murderer. The author describes the murders he commits in gruesome detail. This would make a good movie. I love how the author gives us someone to “hate” right from the start. On to the next Brandon Massey mystery. 👍🏾

[Rochelle]

I tried. This is like a Lifetime movie. Woman marries a psychotic cop and leaves and runs away with all his ill gotten money while he's in prison. He gets out of prison and so far has tortured and killed her aunt and friend. She has a new is husband is pregnant. and knows he's coming, so she just leaves. Doesn't tell the husband anything a word and he knows nothing about her past. He tortured her location out of the last victim.

He current husband is a wuss and needs to put his disrespectful ass momma in check. Gee, wonder how this ends.

[TheBookstress · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Brandon Massey. I loved the way Massey kept me on the edge of my seat almost the entire book. I didn’t really care for the ending. I felt like the ending should have been explosive especially after sitting on the edge of my seat for so long. I was breathing heavy towards the finale, I was like OMG it’s about to go all the way down with a big brawl with tables turned over etc but noooooo. lol but with all that said I would definitely still recommend as a good domestic thriller and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

[Marianne Stehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very quick read and it is very well done, but it is predictable and I could have told you the ending by page 70. I was correct too. This book feels like the names have been changed the location perhaps, but the story is the same, it is not original. Now this book it older, so did it come first or the other, I am not sure, I just know that the storyline have been done forever!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turner!

Once again I am impressed. This novel is not what I expected but kept my attention from the very beginning. Massey is so talented in that way. Disclaimer, this novel deals with domestic violence. The main character went through a lot to start her life over.. Part of which she didn't tell anyone about. Love this thriller

[Keesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun thriller! The Villain is completely insane. The other characters are either idiots or people you want to throat punch. It’s a fast paced, fairly predictable story. But it’s a fun ride. It’s like a Lifetime movie mystery on a lazy Saturday. I gasped or yelled so many times during this book.

[Written Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book a few months ago on audible. I enjoyed this story but it was a slow walk for a small fall in my opinion. Massey tends to have a slow walk style that paid off in other titles like the Quiet Ones, but it didnt really pay off for me this time.

[Booked.Shaye BWRT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite one by the author. I enjoyed this one better than the others I read. It was a fast & a wild book. But it was good !!! Rachel’ kinda upset me. Cause sis. Just talk , you coulda helped yo people out.

[Jordin Dixson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! I couldn't put it down. It is so fast paced and interesting. Highly recommend if you like thrillers.

[Kanese · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was full of action and suspense. However, I didn't like that Rachel was keeping secrets from her loved ones. I also seemed that the ending was very rushed.

[Page Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book. Not always predictable and it was written realistically believable. The characters were memorable to me.