Please Dont Tell

by Elizabeth Adler

Beautiful, fifty-eight-year old Fenny Dexter lives a quiet life on the idyllic coast of California, near Big Sur. She adores her twenty-something granddaughters, JC and Vivi, having raised them since they were children. Vivi is an ER doctor and JC is finding her way as an artist. One night, a blood-covered man knocks on Fenny’s door, claiming to have had a car accident. He says he is headed to San Francisco to help the police solve the murder of his fiancé. Fenny knows he needs a doctor but the storm prevents him from leaving. Despite the strange circumstances there is an immediate attraction between them. After an intense night with Fenny, the stranger is gone the next morning. Fenny is further disturbed when Vivi phones to tell her that a woman was brought to her ER with her throat slashed. The woman’s life hangs in the balance, clearly the next victim of a serial killer who leaves notes saying “Please Don’t Tell” taped to womens’ mouths. Vivi also tells her that Fenny’s mysterious stranger came to have his wounds stitched, asking for Vivi specifically. Who is this man, really? What does he want with Fenny and her girls? And will they live long enough to uncover the truth? Told with Elizabeth Adler’s knack for terrific female characters and breathtaking twists, Please Don't Tell will keep you guessing, right up to the end.

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

Unknown Binding

First published July 9, 2013

About the author

Born in Yorkshire, North England, Elizabeth Adler met her husband Richard (an American) while both were working in London. They have lived in England, Ireland, France, Brazil, and the United States and have traveled extensively. They have one daughter and live in Palm Springs, California. Her first novel, Private Desires (also titled Leonie), launched an enormously successful writing career, she also wrote as Ariana Scott. She has now written over twenty internationally acclaimed bestsellers.

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could remember who recommended this book to me, I might be inclined to punch that person in the face. This book was so bad that it has driven a pacifist like me to the point of violence.

Please Don't Tell began promisingly--at least for the first 30 or 40 pages. The quality then began to degenerate--slowly at first but then ever more quickly such that, by the end, it had gone from a run-of-the-mill thriller after 40 pages to a monument to triteness and terribleness. I've read some horrid novels in my time, but this is one of the worst. Offhand, the only novel that I can think of that exceeds Please Don't Tell in craptacularness is Fifty Shades of Grey.

What, you may ask, are the problems with this novel?

To begin, Please Don't Tell is written at a 5th-grade level. This novel is ostensibly for adults due to the subject matter, the language, and a few sexual scenes, but it reads like a YA novel in terms of its prose. It's also 5th-gradish in that a 5th-grader could have written this novel. If you told me it was written by an 11-year-old, I wouldn't be at all surprised.

It's not just that the writing itself is amateurish and boorish; it's also that some of the authors pet terms and phrases are completely ludicrous. One of the worst verbal tics is the author's references to the female characters' sexual feelings as occurring "downstairs." I kid you not. She uses this term multiple times. The author also refers, on multiple occasions, to the "mythology" of King Arthur and Merlin, the wizard, but the Arthurian tales are not mythology: they are legends. The author is completely clueless (as a 5th-grader might be) about what mythology really is.

Additionally, the characters are incredibly superficial, lacking totally in anything resembling the personalities of actual people. It's as if the author spent a few weeks watching some really bad, mystery-thriller B-movies with terrible acting and drew her characters therefrom. We have the strong, hulking, silent, heroic police detective, Brad Merlin. We have the serious, bookish Vivian (Vivi, for short) who loves her life as a doctor but is just getting over being dumped by her French fiance when she falls for the brave detective. We have Vivian's happy-go-lucky, unemployed younger sister who dreams of being a star but is flat broke and forced to stay with her sister. We have the cunning, brooding psychiatrist, Ralph. I could go on, but I don't want to bore you with the stereotypes of cops and doctors, victims and villains that you've seen in a thousand different movies and television shows.

The dialogue is atrocious. It's as if a fifteen-year-old tried to imagine how adults talk and then used this bit of imagination to construct the incredibly vapid conversations. In the history of mankind, no humans have ever spoken as these sub-moronic characters do.

Even worse is the outlandish "mystery" of the who the real killer is. Seriously, the first time we meet the killer, Ralph, we know he is going to be our man. As we continue to read, we hope against hope that the blatantly obvious clues are just meant to throw us off track and that Ralph won't really turn out to be the killer. Our hopes, however, along with any pretense of mystery, are dashed: Ralph, the all too obvious serial killer, does turn out to be a serial killer.

As I read this book, I kept wanting to stop reading and read something good instead. But I told myself over and over: maybe I'm wrong; maybe Ralph isn't the killer; maybe if I just wait out the spectacularly bad prose and flat, lifeless characters, I'll be rewarded by an awesome revelation at the end; maybe the author will have the last laugh when she proves me wrong about Ralph being the killer. Alas, this did not happen.

Having said many nasty things about this novel, I should say something nice about it: it does come to and end.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A serial killer is murdering women in San Francisco and videotaping the horrific acts. The killer's latest victim, though, isn't quite dead. The injured woman, found barely clinging to life, is rushed to the hospital where emergency room physician Dr. Vivian (Vivi) Dexter treats her before surgery - but Vivi's not hopeful the victim will survive.



Meanwhile, Vivi's Aunt Fen, who raised Vivi and her sister JC, has a little adventure of her own. It's a stormy night and a man named Alex crashes into a tree near Fen's house and knocks on her door for assistance. Though Fen is suspicious of Alex at first, she tends to his wounds, gives him dinner, and lets him rest up. Alex is 'a younger man', but Fen is strongly attracted to him (why not, right? ha ha ha).



Alex isn't quite available though, because his girlfriend was a victim of the serial killer - and Alex is determined to find the villain.

Vivi, who's been in a romantic slump since she broke up with her fiancé, is soon being pursued by two men: Detective Brad Merlin, who's heading the hunt for the serial murderer;



and Dr. Ralph Sandowski, a psychiatrist who (unofficially) profiles the killer.



Vivi's life gets even more hectic when her sister JC - a kind of 'wild child' - shows up on her doorstep.



To top it off, Alex seeks treatment at Vivi's hospital and makes it his business to get acquainted with her.

Before long all these people - Vivi, JC, Brad, Ralph, and Alex - are going for drinks and dinner in various combinations. Dr. Ralph even offers JC a job in his side business, an antique store. There are also a couple of dog characters in the story: Aunt Fen's 12-year-old pooch Hector; and Brad's pink poodle, Flyin' Fool - inherited from his former wife.





The story alternates between the main characters and the serial killer, who's decompensating and behaving recklessly. The killer's thoughts reveal his ultimate goal - to kill Vivi. (dum dum dum dum!!)

On the plus side this is a mildly taut psychological thriller. And I like Detective Brad Merlin, who works hard to solve the case and eats a lot of dim sum.....as does his poodle. (When you're chasing a murderer you gotta grab food when you can. LOL).



On the down side:
1. There should be more suspects to rev up the suspense and the main characters should be more endangered.....to keep the readers on the edge of their seats.
2. The tangled romantic overtures among the characters, many of whom seem to flirt with each other, is confusing. At one point it seems like Fen and JC are after the same guy (not cool).
3. For Dr. Ralph to hire JC, who knows nothing about antiques, to sell the merchandise in his store is ridiculous. You have to be an expert to sell antiques.
4. The book doesn't end when the killer is revealed but goes on and on with 'romance stuff.' This part is tiresome and expendable.

I'm not a big fan of romance stories so - for me - this book was just okay. Fans of romantic mysteries, though, might really like this book.

You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I found "Please Don't Tell" engrossing, I also found it incredibly formulaic and it seemed ill-researched. For one thing, (spoiler alert) I knew from the instant the psychiatrist was introduced that he was the murderer - well-dressed, single, and finicky? DUH he's the serial killer! Also, perhaps I am mistaken, but the author provides two different backstories for the killer, it almost seemed like she was writing about two different killers: at one point, he (the murderer) starts musing that by killing these girls he is actually "saving" them from their awful lives, lives like his sister's, who lived with him for 10 chaotic years. She was promiscuous and a drug-user, and was eventually hit by a train. Later he talks about how he always knew he was different, he was cold and enjoyed scaring people, fantasized about slitting their throats. He acted on those fantasies when he was 13, raping and murdering his sister. I thought he only had one sister? And the notes he leaves on the women's mouths - Please don't tell - are never explained. It just didn't seem like the author knew very much about serial killers. I would recommend it to someone who likes uncomplicated mysteries, and I did enjoy it, until I realized it wasn't going to get more in-depth than it did.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read an advance copy. The plot was interesting but I was able to tell whodunit way before the ending. The lead character was an interesting oddball. The Intruder thread was implausible. No single female in this day and age lets a total stranger, carrying a knife, into their house. Adler had some distracting bad habits - she insisted on describing casual details like the outfits her characters wore, multiple times. She also used the term "downstairs" to describe her sexual arousal which I found juvenile and annoying. Her use of cleverer instead of more clever too, while maybe grammatically correct, feels uncomfortable to me. I read this because my daughter asked me to - and I wouldn't read it again.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story was appallingly written. It is a crime/thriller/romance (or whatever the abbreviation for that combination is). The lack of attention to detail was annoying, eg page 15 "the sheer ferocity of [the storm] . . .windows rattled, beams creaked, doors shuddered" then on page 16 "the wind seemed even louder" but then the main character "could even hear herself sipping the wine from the glass". Followed on page 21 "another gust sent the wine glasses crashing" but a few pages later a visitor pours wine into the good glasses on the table. But I really had to give up when a particular character François was introduced on page 60 where we are told he "did not speak English". On page 61 he is "doing graduate economics at Berkeley".

One of the pleasures of reading crime fiction is unravelling the clues so that the final denouement is logical and has, hopefully, a bit of a twist. With such sloppy continuity and ridiculous lapses of common sense, the reader is unable to distinguish the clues from the author's laziness or stupidity.

I read the final chapter and discovered the perpetrator was the character I had guessed within a few sentences of encountering him. Definitely not worth your time.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A yhriller beach read with plausible characters, well written and an unpredictable ending.
Unputdownable.

[August Rex · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is probably the worst book I've read in the last decade. I kept saying to myself: Please Don't Tell me I wasted my time...again,

Frankly, it’s books like this that make me think the publishing industry really has lost sight and everything great and fresh is online. If I was a high schooler and had parents in publishing, Please Don't Tell would be my rough draft. There are too many ridiculous scenarios presented, super circumstantial plot ties, and groan by groan events filling every chapter.

I blame the author and editor equally! Was this written by two teenage girls?
Some super outstanding moments were:
Each character referring to the storm over and over as a “deluge.”
Cell phone numbers are NOT listed ‘in the book’!!!
All male cops do not have big feet.
Norwegians do not typically have DARK blue eyes.
A chef’s knife does NOT make the same type of cut as a scalpel – Drs. & cops would know this!
The killer as a kid is known as psychopath at age 5 and frightens adults ‘with a look?’ Really? Been reading much Dean Koontz have you?
At 11 years old the killer confronts a ‘tall grown man and his wife’ and they are scared of the small kid with balled fists? BS.
Brad’s big feet, AGAIN? Does this have to be mentioned every…single…time…this character is brought back into the story? Okay, author, I get it, you have a Big Feet fetish. Please keep that between yourself and your Google Searches and leave it out of the book so it won’t keep flinging me OUT of the story!

*The only good thing about this book are the 1 & 2 star ratings warning people to seek intelligent writing elsewhere. I personally feel dumber having read this and am sitting here hitting myself in the nuts with this book to make the pain stop, screaming “How does gutter bait like this get published?” I feel cheated by Minotaur (you used to be amazing) publishing and anyone who thought this book was a good read (If you did, you've probably never heard of Jeffery Archer or many other great authors).

In short, if you buy this and read it, your children will be born with six toes and crossed eyes.

[Lorrie McCullers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so disappointed in this book. I was expecting an edge-of-your-seat thriller. Instead, I got a book with an implausible plot, sub-par writing, and a ending you can see coming a mile away.

The writing was laughable. Clothing is described in detail two or three times per outfit (if I read about Fen's lavender sweater with grey sweatpants and black boots one more time, I was going to scream). A grown woman refers to being turned on "downstairs" while kissing a man; who seriously says that? The characters were stock -- the smart sister, the screw-up sister, the hot and caring cop, the mysterious stranger -- and not developed in a way that made you care about any of them. And one of the main plot points involves a woman opening her door to a bloody stranger who is holding a knife and inviting him in? Um, no. Not going to happen. This alone made me want to put the book down within the first 20 minutes of reading.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my first read of an Elizabeth Adler and will most likely be my last. I was not a fan of the writing style. I was totally turned off by the fact that she knew so much about all things French, to the point of arrogance almost, but not that someone born at the end of January is an Aquarius, not an Aries. A fact as easily researched as picking up the morning paper and looking in the horoscope section.
The only character I had any emotion for at all was Hector, the dog.
The mystery killer, was no mystery and I was annoyed the entire time. Why I finished it? Because I'm weird like that. LOL Always holding out hope that something, somewhere, will get better. For me, in this book, it didn't. That's what I get though for grabbing a book off the new release shelf at the library without reading up on it!

[Theresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just can't do it anymore!!!! This waste of trees didn't even deserve one star but I have no choice for negative 50 so it gets the lowest I can give.

DNF!! I read 55% which I think is more than necessary to give a book a real chance. I skimmed the rest. Nothing new came from the skim. I had the entire thing figured out about 50 pages. Ack!!

The story was was too predictable and repetitive but that was not even the reason I quit. I quit because the writing was irritating and bad. I even checked to see if perhaps the author might have written this in a different language and I was reading a horrible translation hack job. Nope-- just bad in English! What I can't understand is how the thing got published. Let alone the author has several published books that from subsequently reading the reviews weren't much better received than this clap.

Example of the odd vernacular and word choices and stupid writing

The aunt tells her niece the guy who needs "fixing" is the kind that's "right up your street". Huh? You mean right up her alley?

I wanted to shred the stupid book when the doctor character kept saying she was feeling things in her "downstairs" when she found herself sexually aroused during a date. It came complete with quotes at least 77 times in one scene.

I also hated that the cougar aunt kept whining about how old she was. You'd have thought she was ready to kick the dang bucket. Then you learn she's 58. That got a huge eye roll from me.

But I'm not done! Here is my favorite irritant--

In one scene there were so many inconsistencies I could barely keep up. At first before dinner started a character was described as wearing an odd combo of sandals, white jeans, a black turtleneck, and some weird orange rabbit fur jacket thing. Later after dinner she had on a white linen top and someone in his mind admired her tanned legs? Wait?? Did her pants fall off during dinner?

I could go on and on and on... Hahaha

At least if you go to a bad movie you can lean back in your chair and grab a 2 hour nap. We don't get that lucky with bad books. I can't believe I wasted hours of my precious life I'll never get back. Gag me!!

Hope the next book I pick up is better. This author is on my permanent "heck no" list!!

1*/3.18

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited to receive this book from Goodreads as part of its First Reads program. After a few pages, I was all:



That's what this book reminded me of! After the opening scene where a young women was brutally assaulted, I could swear I even heard the theme song...

Now, comparing something to Law and Order, particularly SVU, isn't a bad thing at all. SVU is solid, as is this book! After the opening attack, you follow a team of detectives and doctors as they try to save the victim and find the killer. It even gets a little Criminal Intent here and there when you get insights into the killer's head. And like an SVU marathon on USA, you get sucked in and you just have to find out what happened. And then before you know it, your whole day is gone.

There's nothing really wrong with this book, but there is nothing to particularly distinguish it either. It's a fast-paced, entertaining read with good characters. But similar to how after you've seen a few episodes of Law and Order, you pretty much know the drill, this is a pretty standard mystery. There's even a twist near the end that is easily guessed half-way through. But again, that's not to take away from the book. You know what you're getting into, and it's still certainly entertaining. If you're looking for a solid mystery, you can't go wrong with this book.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see if there's an SVU rerun on...

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the fact there's a serial killer on the loose, Fen says come on in, have dinner, and let me tell you all about my single nieces. So the stranger, after spending the night at Fen's house, trots on down to niece Dr. Vivi's Emergency Room where she has finished taking care of the most recent victim of the serial killer and begins to worm his way into her life.

I didn't care for this book. I didn't like any of the characters. I couldn't stand Fen, I thought she was foolish and the advice that she gave her nieces was ridiculous at best. None of them thought it was strange when some weirdo that showed up on their aunt's door, showed up in the niece's Emergency Room the next day? I would have flipped out on my aunt for letting him in, not invite the guy to dinner. What the heck was wrong with these women?? They all KNEW there was a serial killer out there. The way they all talked to each other was so childish too. "Vivi" was obviously an accomplished doctor and yet she allowed everyone to treat her like a child, that made me crazy.

Bottom line, didn't like it. Wouldn't recommend it. I haven't read anything else by Elizabeth Adler to compare it against. I read some of the reviews on goodreads and other people seemed to like it, so perhaps it's just me.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear god. How did this get published? I hearby declare this book renamed, "The Murder Jigsaw Puzzle With the Missing Pieces," in honor of the number of times the author used the phrase "another piece to the jigsaw puzzle." Seriously. Did anyone count the number of times? I finished the book only to see how many more black Range Rovers and creepy leading men would be introduced. I wholeheartedly disagree that this author writes well rounded female characters. Here, she wrote a repetitive and lazy story with annoying leads. Pllllllllllh.

By the way, January's sign is not even close to Aries.

[Pamela Hovanec · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book a page turner! ON PG 169 AND I LOVE THIS BOOK ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS READ MORE , FEN & VIVI ARE WONDERFUL AND SO ARE THE REST OF THE PEOPLE IN THE BOOK. I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH ALEx!
WELL THE 2 PEOPLE I THOUGHT I MAY BE WELL YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK, IT WILL KEEP YOU HANGING ON ALL THE TIME, YOU DONT WANT TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN A MUST READ!!!CANT WAIT TO READ ANOTHER FROM THIS AUTHOR..SHE WILL TAEK YOU ON A CURVY ROAD THAT COMES TO A DEAD END STOP! YOU'LL SAY EITHER :I THOUGHT SO ; OR I CANT BELIVE IT!

READ ON

[Melissa Seng · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this book through Goodreads Firstreads. I'd never read anything from this author before but I will be now. "Please Don't Tell" was great. I couldn't put it down. Most stories like this one are usually pretty predictable. I'll say that this was not. It was a fast read and kept my attention. I felt as if I knew each of the characters. I will absolutely suggest that all my friends read this book once it comes out. Way to go, Elizabeth Adler!! You have a new fan.

[Meghan · Rating 1 out of 5]

WEAK!!! I figured out the ending by the time I finished the first third of the book and stuck with it to see if I was right...but then it kept going, and going, and going. Very superficial (Gucci shoes, Range Rover, Burberry coat...bleh) and way overdone. Writing is terrible and character development is weak. I rarely rate the books I read with such harshness but this one STUNK!

[Meghana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an advance readers' copy of this book in the mail for a Goodreads giveaway, and was pleasantly surprised. This book is an engrossing, easy read that I finished within a day; I want to award it 2.5 stars, but GR doesn't allow that.

Romantic thrillers are not exactly my favourite genre, because I'm not a big fan of romance books unless they're classics. That said, Elizabeth Adler is a natural. Her writing flows smoothly, seamlessly, and her attention to detail is refreshing.

The story follows an older woman, Fen, and her two nieces, as their peaceful family is rocked by a series of murders in San Francisco and the ensuing investigation. As each of the women come into their own, they find their lives suddenly entangled with men who are not as innocuous as they seem.

Light, teasing, and suspenseful, Adler's novel will have you racing through the pages. I finished it within a day, and I was pretty busy doing other stuff! If you're a fan of romance-thrillers or just looking for an easy read, I would recommend this book.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I am going to have to agree with most of the other reviews of this book.
This book is terribly written...it is stilted and forced. Almost as if it had been translated (badly) from another language. She even uses some catch phrases wrong: She "lured him on with low cut tank tops." Lured? Shouldn't that be LEAD? There would also be random sentences that didn't mean anything. Mostly these were about Brad's dog, Flyin'.
And not to mention the glaring fact that no woman would let a bloody stranger into her house on a stormy night when her phone and electricity is out. Certain things just magically resolve themselves with no story development, such as when her dog gets kicked, but magically rallies back to full health in 24 hours.

Poor character development. The dialect and voice of the characters isn't believable. The dialogue between characters is forced and doesn't flow.

I figured out "whodunit" within fifty pages of reading.

Not good.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say this book was not one of her best. The killer was predictable, the dialogue didn't flow freely at times and I couldn't find myself liking any of the characters except the dogs. The matriarch was supposed to be so worldly, but came off as a silly lovestruck teenager. The sisters were 28 and 30, but their dialogue was written as if they were 65+ Europeans. And please don't get me started on errors. Fen's age was wrong, last names changed, and even the killers age at his first kill was messed up. Didn't anyone edit this book?

[Mariazita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este livro de Elizabeth Adler é diferente dos habituais, traz um pouco mais de suspense.
Um livro agradável para ler nestas tardes de Verão.

[Andrea Corley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Please Don't Tell
Author: Elizabeth Adler
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Length: Unabridged; 8 hours 48 minutes
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: July 9, 2013
Genres: Fiction; Mystery; Suspense

Visit my review/blog HERE!

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
Fen Dexter’s quiet life on the idyllic California coast is interrupted one stormy night when a blood-covered man shows up on her doorstep, claiming to have had a car accident. He tells her that he is on his way to San Francisco to help the police solve the murder of his fiancé. Unable to make it to the hospital because of the storm, he stays the night at Fen’s, and the attraction between them is obvious. The next morning he heads to the hospital where Fen’s niece, Vivi, is an ER doctor. Vivi is treating the most recent target of a serial killer whose signature move is to leave a note saying “Please Don’t Tell” taped across his victims’ mouths. When Fen’s mysterious stranger comes to Vivi to have his wounds stitched she agrees to set him up to talk with the police about his fiancé. Who is this man, really? What does he want with Fen and her family? And will they live long enough to uncover the truth? Told with Elizabeth Adler’s knack for terrific female characters and breathtaking twists, Please Don't Tell will keep you guessing, right up to the end.

My Review:
I listened to the audio version of this book and I really felt like it started out with a bang and held my interest instantly. I was just browsing the online library and the cover intrigued me, so I borrowed it and started it instantly, and loved it from the very beginning.

The narrator did a wonderful job of reading this story and being able to keep me interested throughout the entire novel. She was great at distinguishing herself for each character and made it easy to follow along with who the story was about. She captured emotion and the story with great gusto! I wouldn't hesitate to search out more books read by this narrator just because she did such a wonderful job!

This was my first novel by Elizabeth Adler, and I was very pleased in totality with this book, so I would not hesitate to pick up another Adler book in the future. The Title and the Cover were enough to pull anyone in, and I felt that she did a great job with character and story development. She also did a great job of not letting the romance overwhelm the mystery and suspense, which any mystery/suspense fan will love!

There were a great diverse set of characters, some that I couldn't help but love from our first meeting, and others that I couldn't stand from the first meeting, to a few that I had to learn to tolerate and grew to love by the end! You have Fin with all of her infinite wisdom, Vivi, the charismatic doctor, JC, the ever-so-dependent little sister, Alex, the intriguing intruder, Dr. Ralph, the older psychiatrist and colleague to Vivi, and Brad Merlin, the big, strapping detective.

The only thing that bugged me about the story, was the predictability of it. I had guessed very early on who the killer was, and knew with certainty, who the guilty party was a little over halfway through the book, with my predictions being right. However, even though I was able to predict WHO the killer was, I was surprised at the actions of the killer, as well as the reactions of the remainder of the characters. I do feel that this was a well written story, full of suspense, mystery and intrigue.

That being said, I did enjoy listening to this story, thoroughly enjoyed the narration of the story, and will at some point seek out another Elizabeth Adler novel and most definitely will seek out other works read by Bernadette Dunne!

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I won it through First Reads and I am so thankful. I was so excited and could not wait to read it. I wish I would have read it sooner! It is such a page turner; I couldn’t put it down.

This book was a perfect combination of romance, thriller, and mystery. One of the reasons it was perfect for me was because the mystery aspect of the book didn't go too deep, it wasn't too in depth. If a mystery plot line is too complicated I get bored so quickly, so I could really appreciate how simple but still incredibly mysterious it was. Another plus to the simplicity of the mystery was that, you thought you figured it out, but at the same time, it could have gone either way. I actually did not know who the killer was until a few chapters before the characters did – which is a good thing, or else it would’ve been so frustrating if they went for a different person.

I was on the edge of my seat until I finished the book. It held my attention constantly and I just had to finish it quickly. I loved all the characters and how different they were. I absolutely loved that Fen adopted the Vivi and JC. I loved the unique situation.

The one thing that, thinking back, I didn’t care for, was how easily Fen let the stranger in. I totally felt like I was standing right beside her as I read it, but I’m a little naïve so I thought nothing of it (except ‘why would you do that and why are you so calm about it?’). But I think Fen and her Intruder’s relationship progressed a little too quickly.

I thought Brad was totally delightful and I loved his partner. I thought it was so sweet the relationship Jerri and his family had. I couldn’t help wanting to see him more in the book.

I’ve never read a book by Elizabeth Adler but I am so grateful to Goodreads for introducing me to her work and can’t wait to read another book written by her.

[Katie Kenig · Rating 2 out of 5]

It all starts with a storm on the coast, and a knife-wielding, blood covered stranger that shows up at the door.



There's a serial killer on the loose in San Francisco. There's a cute ER doctor who is sort of dating three different men, though she's trying to pass one or more off on her transient/loser/beautiful little sister. There's a cougar of an aunt who used to be a dancer in Paris. There's a weird little pink poodle who turned out to be one of the best-drawn characters in the book. There's a mystery that is pretty obvious from the start, without a lot of questions or twists.

There's some fairly inconsistent writing and stereotypical characters and lots of plot holes.

I don't know what it is with me and mysteries this year, but most of them that I've picked up just aren't very satisfying. This one included. This was a draggy, slow read. I found it hard to relate to the characters. I found the plot to be kind of boring - even the parts that were supposed to be super suspenseful. It took me a while to get through this book because I would get bored so quickly.

The most disappointing part? The one thing that isn't explained in the least - the title of the book is the note left on the bodies the serial killer left behind but it's never really gotten into. More of "What's the point, then?" feelings than I can count.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a dark and stormy night on the California coast. There's a serial killer terrorizing San Francisco, who drugs and rapes his victims, slits their throats, and leaves them to die; one of these young women is discovered clinging to life and rushed to the ER, where the beautiful Dr. Vivian Dexter stabilizes her before surgery. "Dr. Vivi", struggling to get over a failed romance, catches the eye of two men, the detective, hunky Brad Merlin, and the hospital's famous psychiatrist, "Dr. Ralph". Miles away on Big Sur, Aunt Fen is disappointed that Vivi must postpone her visit due to the weather. But Fen won't have to eat alone, for a rugged stranger, drenched and bleeding from a car wreck, appears at her door seeking help.

Thus opens Please Don't Tell, setting up a plot full of danger and romance. The love at first sight theme is seriously overextended, especially because several of the men serve as persons of interest. That doesn't stop Fen, Vivi, and her sister JC from hanging all over them anyway, better judgment be damned. It's not much of a stretch to foresee who the killer really is, and one of the three will become his next target. Not much of a mystery, not many thrills, but readers who enjoy a heavy dollop of romance will probably enjoy this tale.

[Colleen Fauchelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A killer is on the loose, he picks up girls of all ages. Takes them into the forest rapes them and cuts their throats but all starts to fall to pieces in his life when one of the victims is found alive ,but only just.
Fern - 58, lives with her dog, has brought up her neices Vivi and J.C. One stormy night a man turnes up at her door with a knife in his hand and he is bleeding.

Alex- injured from running his car into a tree, his fiance murdered, Fern and Alex make a conection when they first meet.

Dr Vivian - Always helping others out always trying to fix people, unlucky in love. Vivi is the first to help save the victim found in the forest.

Dective Brad merlin - wife walked out on him and his pink poodle, he is very good to the dog. He sees every case a jigsaw puzzle find the right pieces and solve the case, he has the hots for Vivi

Dr Ralph Sandowski - An internationally known psyciatrist, also likes Vivi, offers J.C a job when she crashes his date with Vivi, helps the police in the murder case.

J.C - No job, messy love life needs to grow up, poor vivi has her hands full with her as a sister.

This book was o.k. I found it a bit over the top at times, I felt it was part drama part murder mystery. It did go on a bit at the end.

[Nan Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

After about a third of this book I wanted to check in here and read the reviews to see what others had to say. The first third of the book read like a cheap paperback from 30 years ago. From what I read, I was convinced that this was merely a re-publication of an old cheap paperback. Why? Well, to begin with no one has cell phones. No one has Caller ID. No one even has voice mail nor an answering machine. Those things are really basic to anything written in the new millennium. Let's see ... what about computers? Nope. Any sort of Information Technology? Nope. Any sort of technology ... period? Nope.

Besides the fact that the plotting seemed at least 30 years old, there was simply nothing to hold my interest. Stupid, STUPID women? All 3 of them. Multiple marriages/boyfriends/encounters?

This is my first read by Eliz. Adler and it will certainly be my last! I simply can not imagine how (or why) this got published. Don't waste your time.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started out okay. Then 88 pages in: How old are you? ...forty next birthday. Which is? January. Hmm, Aries. Yeahhh, look at the paper or online next time.
After that I just found more and more little things that irritated me for example when they described Dr. Ralph "was, in fact, forty-eight years old, just as Vivi's aunt had predicted." they kept stressing that fact when ACTUALLY- Vivi's aunt just said he was old. Vivi is the one who said he was about 48. After I got halfway through i gave up and jumped to the end but that bugged me too! I probably won't try any more of her books.

[Sónia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tendo em conta o prólogo, este é um livro que "engana" bastante. Dá a ideia de que é um daqueles policiais negros, com muita violência à mistura. Nada mais errado. Julgo que a autora introduziu uma vertente mais noir, com alguns crimes pelo meio, para dar um outro ar à obra. Não o conseguiu totalmente porque, a meu ver, este é mais uma obra ao estilo de Elizabeth Adler, que é exímia a escrever romances com uma pitada de mistério. Como tentativa de policial não seduz, muito honestamente.

Não seduz porque, a meu ver, é tudo demasiado óbvio. Até a forma como tenta dar a entender que o criminoso é um para ocultar aquele, que nitidamente, se consegue depreender em toda narrativa. Demasiado óbvio, também, ao usar o clichê de que um assassino em série é uma pessoa solitária, com um modo vida que destoa um pouco dos demais.

Não deixa de ser uma leitura agradável, mas não é dos melhores livros que li da autora.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just ok. I had such high hopes for this mystery, but it was way too easy to figure out, and the killer's reasoning was just too much like every other book out there--nothing new or particularly thrilling. Really, this seems more about the romantic storylines than the mystery anyway.

One pet peeve--this author obviously tried to make the story more "gritty" by throwing in bad language here and there. It absolutely does not work with this story, it feels forced and almost reminds me of someone's sweet grandma cussing--it just doesn't fit.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 1 out of 5]

A romance novel with serial killer interruptions. The mystery was predictable...and I never solve mysteries! I liked having a 58-year-old woman as a central character, and if you like dogs, there are two of them who have more personality than any of the human beings.