To the outside world, the Goodlights are the perfect family - wealthy, successful, talented, and happy. Julia is a lawyer, and Paul is a stay at home father and music tutor to their daughter Chrissie, a gifted violinist. But when Chrissie goes missing after a prestigious competition and questions start to be asked, it turns out the Goodlights aren't so perfect after all,..

This is another well-plotted and beautifully paced domestic thriller from Philippa East, whereby each character's flaws, motivations and secrets are revealed gradually throughout the book, eventually making the reader understand that the ground they thought they were standing on was never there at all. What this author does so well - and what makes these books stand out for me in a sea of similarly themed thrillers - is develop the characters so beautifully and so realistically that they feel like solid people; people you actually know.

Like peeling the layers from an onion until we are finally presented with a final, central truth - I enjoyed every moment of this (and won't say any more than that so as to preserve the twists and turns).

Already looking forward to Philippa East's next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for granting me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

Wow! What a book. It had me gripped from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down. I loved it.
A brilliantly written gripping psychological thriller. The story is told from two points of view, Paul and Julia’s in past and present. It makes the book very enticing to read. It’s easy to follow.
I liked the writing style, loved the twists and the characters are written really well. Definitely recommend.
Thanks to #NetGallery #HQ #PhilippaEast for an arc of #IllNeverTell in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll Never Tell is a gripping psychological thriller from Philippa East which peers into the lives of a seemingly perfect family, the Goodlights, but that perception of them is far from the truth. Following the disappearance of Paul and Julia’s daughter, Chrissie, their lives are put under the microscope, and this is what makes this book such an addictive page-turner.

I wanted to find out what had happened to Chrissie, especially as it seems that she is on the verge of stardom, following an incredible music performance. You would think she would be excited about the future, but there is something dark going on behind the scenes. Philippa East creates an incredibly tense atmosphere as her parents and the police search for the truth. Has Chrissie come to harm? Philippa East ups the tension even more as she begins to reveal more about what is going on in their lives.

There were several people who I thought could be behind Chrissie’s disappearance as the novel delves deeper into what is going on. There were some scenes, as Philippa East goes back in time that sent shivers down my spine, especially one scene when we see the family, Paul, Chrissie and Julia, with Julia’s parents. I don’t think I ever quite warmed to Julia. I did find it interesting, though, as Philippa East delved into her backstory further, particularly, as I mentioned, with revelations about her family. Philippa tells the story from both Julia and Paul’s perspective and I thought she developed both of their characters really well. I could see the determination in both of them, but particularly in Paul, to help their daughter succeed.

Philippa East’s writing really pulls you into the story and the characters and she uses tension so well in her book which kept me turning the pages. There were some shocking reveals as the truth about Chrissie’s disappearance comes to light and this makes for such a tense finale as the book reaches its conclusion.
I really enjoyed I’ll Never Tell. I loved Philippa’s debut novel when I read it a couple of years ago, and now I need to catch up on her second book.

Wow! A fab read. It just keeps you wanting to read on. I really enjoyed this book. Would definitely recommend you pick this up.

In "I'll Never Tell", Philippa East focuses on the secrets that can lurk beneath perfection.

At the start of the novel Chrissie, an accomplished violinist, goes missing after the most important performance of her career to date. Her parents, Julia and Paul, are frantic, but believe she has returned home and that everything will be okay. When they find this isn't the case, both Julia and Paul must reappraise events.

East's narrative structure is relatively complicated. For much of the first half of the book East alternates between Julia's perspective in the present, and Paul's perspective up to 8weeks before. Then in the second half of the book this pretty much reverses. As a result, events that have led the family to this point gradually unfold.

Of East's books I think this is the best. I've previously found them hard to get in to, and that was not the case with this one. However, over time things did start to feel a bit unlikely and I had to suspend belief and just enjoy the story. Nonetheless it is well written, with a solid ending.

This book was long, and confusing and I genuinely had no idea what was going on until the end! The end explained the majority of the book but I'm still not sure....I think I must have missed something. It was quick and easy to read and I did want to keep reading to see what happened, but I was let down by the ending if I'm honest. I didn't like the characters, Julia was stuck up and entitled, Paul was a wet blanket and the dishonesty between them made me sad and angry. Chrissie was a but of a brat and Julia's parents were just weird. On the whole, not the best thriller I've read which is a shame.

Another scintillating, tense thriller offering by the brilliant Philippa East.

I especially liked the use of slow pace in this one; drawing out the conclusion, aiding the uncomfortableness one might feel in this situation. The novel posed a series of questions to the reader, predominantly being: what would you do? How would you react?

As always, some clever twists and turns along the way- I’m sure this one will do very well upon publication in January, 2023!

Thank you to NetGalley and the fabulous publishing team at HQ, for this eARC.

Philippa east has done it again! I love her books and this is no exception!

The story line is full of interesting characters and while you are pointed in one direction to understand the family dynamics, there is always a niggle that there is something missing.

I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but they were all believable and so I was invested in the story.

There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the pages turning and I was riveted right to the end.

Some difficult topics that were well dealt with. Brilliant characters. Another triumph!

Julia is married to Peter and they have a daughter Chrissi who is a great violin player who Peter drives forward at every opportunity not thinking of Chrissi at all,But when she goes missing they find themselves in a hunt for their daughter.It’s an ok read but I thought it dragged a little.A decent thriller and a good 3 star read,

I’ll Never Tell is billed as a gripping suspense thriller: keep your family close and your secrets closer. From the plot line, it has potential to be a gritty domestic thriller full of secrets and lies. However I found the majority of the book somewhat disappointing. The first 75% was for me incredibly slow paced and I found I couldn’t really invest in the characters. The final quarter did pick up pace but overall I found this novel to be an ok read. I would rate it 2.5 stars but have rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

The Goodlights are a family who seem to have it all. Mother Julia is a successful and wealthy lawyer. Husband Paul is a dedicated stay-at-home father. Sixteen-year-old Chrissie is a talented violinist. Chrissie disappears after performing at a prestigious musical competition. The story then alternated between Julia and Paul's points of view, and between 8 weeks before the competition and the present. All is not what it seems. Julia is cold and Paul is creepy and overly-involved in Chrissie's life. What happened to Chrissie? A suspenseful slow burn of a novel.

I devoured the first quarter of this book. It’s about a talented teenage violinist who disappears without explanation directly after taking part in an important music competition and her parents’ hunt to find her. As I say, the first quarter was really engrossing but I felt it lost its way slightly after that and became a bit meandering and also unbelievable. Not a bad read as a whole though for a quick, easy read.

I was looking forward to this novel as the Goodlights sounded fairly interesting and while the plot was, the execution was a little too slow and a bit dull at times.

I think coming off a book hangover this was a little too sedate for me.

An excellent, well-written domestic thriller, with believable characters, that kept me gripped throughout, A slow-burner, but I don't mind that at all, as I became invested in the lives of Julia, Paul and Chrissie and the ending didn't disappoint. Highly recommended!

Chrissie is a talented musician, under a lot of pressure and is a teenager, so when she disappears from performing at a concert one night, her parents Paul and Julia are frantic. From the off you get the sense that there are many secrets at play here, did Chrissie set off the fire alarm to help her escape?
As the story develops, lots of strange behaviour and relations begin to emerge and long buried secrets come to the surface. I got the sense that there was something fake about the person Julia portrays herself to be, something is definitely off about her. Paul is the devoted stay at home father, though slightly over bearing with his daughters music practice and her privacy.

It was enjoyable in part, though it felt very slow paced and it lacked excitement, I couldn't get immersed or involved in the characters lives, but I wanted to find out what became of Chrissie, so that kept me reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC in return for the honest review.

This was a very well written and enjoyable book. It was quite slow at the beginning, but it picked up half way through and it didn't put me off

A really good story, keeps you gripped right to the end. Lots of twist and turns and very well written.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it definitely won’t be the last. I was totally gripped and kept changing my mind as to how the story would end up.

16-year-old Chrissie, an only child, is a brilliant violinist. Her mother, Julia, comes from a wealthy family and has a high-powered job, while her father, Paul, is a ‘stay-at-home dad’ but also Chrissie’s accompanist and greatest supporter.

Chrissie takes part in music competitions and, one night, puts on a fantastic performance for a very important competition. After her performance, she vanishes.

The story is told from different perspectives and different times over the previous eight weeks, but it’s not difficult to follow.

A really clever storyline which I really enjoyed.

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was very well written and the plot was intriguing, but I felt it was slow paced and couldn’t really understand the relationship between the main characters. It all just seemed very odd somehow. The timeline confused me as well, and I began to dislike Paul … and Julie … and Chrissie. I kept reading to find out what happened in the end but I can’t say I would recommend this book. Thanks anyway to NetGalley and the publishers and I’m sure that those who love a psychological thriller will love this. Just wasn’t quite for me.

"I'll Never Tell" is a very suspenseful read that doesn't give much away. It had me hooked from the first chapter and I didn't really know what was going to happen or how the characters will develop. The characters are written very well, as you'll find near the end when it all comes comes together.
The book itself is written in a brilliant way, Julia Present; Paul Past to Present and then Julia Past to Present. It makes the book very enticing to read and easy to follow. The ending is also quite good but not as good as I would have hoped considering how great the whole book was!