David Bell
When her mother is murdered, a woman is propelled into a twisted world of danger and double lives in this gripping psychological thriller from the bestselling author of Somebody's Daughter and Cemetery Girl.
Leslie Hampton always cared for her troubled son Ronnie’s special needs and assumed that her daughter Elizabeth would take him in when the time came. When Leslie dies unexpectedly, Elizabeth is consumed by grief. Then police discover that Leslie was strangled, and they immediately suspect that one of Ronnie’s outbursts took a tragic turn. Elizabeth can’t believe that her brother is capable of murder, but who else could have had a motive to kill their quiet, retired mother?
More questions arise when a stranger is named in Leslie’s will: a woman also named Elizabeth. As the family’s secrets unravel, a man from Leslie’s past who claims to have all the answers shows up, but those answers might put Elizabeth and those she loves the most in mortal danger.
Maggie61 on Goodreads wrote:NEVER COME BACK by David Bell is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I literally couldn’t put it down. The suspense is masterfully done, and the characters are so easy to fall in love with. But I quickly learned that not all of them could be trusted. When Elizabeth’s mother dies, she is devastated, and she finds herself responsible for taking care of her brother who has Down’s syndrome. While she struggles to keep up with her Master’s program at school, take care of her brother, and cope with the loss of her mother, she learns that the police suspect foul play in her mother’s death, and it wasn’t a robbery. What could a sixty-something woman who keeps to herself possibly have been involved in that would have gotten her killed? Could her sweet brother have done this in a fit of rage? Or was it the new person who suddenly shows up and destroys everything Elizabeth had thought to be true? By the end of the story, I felt Elizabeth’s shock and betrayal as strongly as I could only imagine she felt herself. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a great thriller and who doesn’t mind having uneasy thoughts like, “How do I know this isn’t true for me too?” Because the truth is, you may never really know…
David bell is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I had seen months ago that this one was coming out and I waited impatiently for it to hit the shelves.
His mysteries, this one included are so hard to put down, I found I wanted to just call in sick and read it from cover to cover. Alas that didn't happen, but I wanted to read it every chance I could.
Elizabeth's mother Leslie's whole life was dedicated to Elizabeth's brother Ronnie who had syndrome, often to the neglect of Elizabeth. As far as Elizabeth knew, her uncle Paul was to be guardian of Ronnie if anything happened to her. When Leslie asks Elizabeth to take care of her brother, they fight and before they can mend fences, Elizabeth's mother is murdered. When the will is read, Elizabeth is named guardian and her estate is divided into three equal parts; Elizabeth, Ronnie and someone else named Elizabeth, someone no one knows. More and more family secrets are slowly revealed while Ronnie confesses to the murder and Elizabeth receives a call saying Ronnie tried to kill himself. I don't want to give too much away. There are some surprises, some things not so surprising and in this authors style, things are not always what they seem, there are little twists.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes those books you just want to devour to the end.
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