Never Tell (Ellie Hatcher # 4)

Author: Alafair Burke
Goodreads Rating: 3.84
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 3
Reviewed by: Nicole


I got this book from HarperCollins as part of a TLC Tour. I picked this book because it's been awhile since I had a good cop drama book. I hadn't realize that it as in the middle of series, but that didn't change how I enjoyed the book. 


Goodreads Synopses:


Sixteen-year-old Julia Whitmire appeared to have everything: a famous father, a luxurious Manhattan townhouse, a coveted spot at the elite Casden prep school. When she is found dead in her bathtub, a handwritten suicide note left on her bed, her parents insists that their daughter would never take her own life.

But Julia’s enviable life was more complicated than it seemed. The pressure to excel at Casden was enormous. Abuse of prescription anti-depressants and drugs for attention-deficit hyperactivity ran rampant among students; an unlabeled bottle of pills in Julia’s purse suggests she had succumbed to the trend. And a search of Julia’s computer reveals that in the days leading up to her death, she was engaged in a dangerous game of cyberbullying against an unlikely victim.

NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher is convinced the case is a suicide, but she knows from personal experience that a loving family can be the last to accept the truth. When the Whitmires use their power to force a criminal investigation, Ellie’s resistance causes trouble for her both at work and in her personal life.

As she is pressured to pursue a case she doesn’t believe in, she is pulled into Julia’s inner circle—an eclectic mix of overly precocious teenagers from Manhattan’s most privileged families as well as street kids she met in Greenwich Village. But when the target of Julia’s harassment continues to receive death threats, Ellie is forced to acknowledge that Julia may have learned the hard way that some secrets should never be told.
I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would, but that might be because I was in a rush to finish this, but I still just didn't love this book. I really loved the plot because it was really intricate and had so many levels to it. The first part of the book was about Ellie not believing that the case was a homicide and in that she explores her past experiences with suicide and how that really drives her decision making.


I think part of the reason that I didn't love the book was because for a good few pages, she talks about her father "blowing his brains out." I for one have a huge problem with talking about or even watching movie or shows where someone kills themselves by putting a gun in their mouth. Someone in my family died that way and so watching it or reading about it and having it described in such a detached way is hard for me. I almost put the book down a few times, but I had to be a reading Super Star! and finish it.


I really liked how Burke made me hate the rich parents in this book. From the start of the investigation all they do is interfere when they clearly shouldn't, anyone with a brain knows not to interfere in an investigation and I wish that they had arrested the grieving father because all he did was botch the investigation. Offering a reward when you know your daughter was involved with homeless kids? Dumb, dumb, and dumb.


I felt that the inclusion of her brother was a little pointless since he was in one scene that had no bearing on what else happened in the book, but like I said earlier, this book was part of a series, and I joined in the 4th book, so its possible that he has been more important in the past. I also had the killer pegged after they included a certain detail, but it was interesting to see how the police sorted it all out.


That last thing I have to say about this book, although inconsequential, I loved that we got to see Ellie and her relationship with ADA Max. Although in real life, it would be doubtful that they would get to work together, it was nice to see how their relationship evolved and how Ellie changed from start to finish.


All in all, it was a good book, and one worth checking out if you're into cop books. If you want to start from the beginning of the series you can check out Dead Connection by Alafair Burke.