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"Never Ask Me"
Each of us has a question we dread.
In a quiet neighborhood in the wealthy Austin suburb of Lakehaven, the body of Danielle Roberts is discovered on a park bench. Danielle was a beloved member of the community, an adoption consultant who delivered the joy of parenthood to a number of local families. Her murder shocks Lakehaven.
Perhaps no other family is as crushed as the Pollitts, who lived two houses down from Danielle and thought of her almost like family. Her death becomes the catalyst for a maelstrom of suspicion and intrigue. You have been told a huge lie, an anonymous email charges the son, Grant. No one can learn the truth now, thinks the father, Kyle. Never ask me what I'd do to protect my family, resolves the wife, Iris. I'll do whatever it takes to save him, vows the daughter, Julia, of Danielle's grieving teenage son.
The Pollitts always thought they'd always be there for each other. When each begins to suspect the others of the unimaginable, the strength of their bonds will be tested in extraordinary new ways. The latest from New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott is his most suspenseful thriller yet: a riveting tale of the dangerous secrets one family has concealed-and what happens when the question each Pollitt hoped they'd never be asked threatens to expose their darkest truths.
In a quiet neighborhood in the wealthy Austin suburb of Lakehaven, the body of Danielle Roberts is discovered on a park bench. Danielle was a beloved member of the community, an adoption consultant who delivered the joy of parenthood to a number of local families. Her murder shocks Lakehaven.
Perhaps no other family is as crushed as the Pollitts, who lived two houses down from Danielle and thought of her almost like family. Her death becomes the catalyst for a maelstrom of suspicion and intrigue. You have been told a huge lie, an anonymous email charges the son, Grant. No one can learn the truth now, thinks the father, Kyle. Never ask me what I'd do to protect my family, resolves the wife, Iris. I'll do whatever it takes to save him, vows the daughter, Julia, of Danielle's grieving teenage son.
The Pollitts always thought they'd always be there for each other. When each begins to suspect the others of the unimaginable, the strength of their bonds will be tested in extraordinary new ways. The latest from New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbott is his most suspenseful thriller yet: a riveting tale of the dangerous secrets one family has concealed-and what happens when the question each Pollitt hoped they'd never be asked threatens to expose their darkest truths.
368 pages, Paperback
First published July 14, 2020
279 people are currently reading
5694 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Abbott
53 books1,238 followersJeff Abbott (born 1963) is a U.S. suspense novelist. He has a degree in History and English from Rice University. He lives in Austin, Texas. His early novels were traditional detective fiction but in recent years he has turned to writing thriller fiction. A theme of his work is the idea of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger and fighting to return to their normal lives. His novels are published in several countries and have also been bestsellers in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and France.
Series:
* Whit Mosley
* Jordan Poteet
Series:
* Whit Mosley
* Jordan Poteet
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 322 reviews
August 8, 2020
A dead body on a park bench can only lead to one thing.
Questions and more questions. Never answers.
Especially if that individual happens to be a neighbor. A very close neighbor who may be harboring some of your secrets as well as their own.
The Pollitts live in a very close-knit upscale neighborhood in Austin. Iris is a song writer who lives with her husband Kyle and their two teenage children, Julia and Grant. Before sunrise, Julia meets up with her best friend, Ned, to play a search game on their phones. They head to the park in the darkness. But what they will come upon will be the shock of their lives. It's Ned's mother, Danielle Roberts, on that bench with a wound to her throat. She is still. Very still.
Never Ask Me opens with a bang and keeps the guessing games spinning on overdrive throughout. Danielle's death will leave many of these individuals compromised and held under suspicion. Someone wanted Danielle dead. Who would benefit most from her death and why?
Jeff Abbott goes deep into the lies that people tell. It's an interesting premise where the outside layer depicts normal suburban life in Austin with school activities and people going about their daily business. Abbott then pivots in a whole different direction when this all gets serious. International seriousness of the deadly kind.
Never Ask Me is a nice jaunt into escapism for the reader. But there's a thread running through this one that may bring the headlines closer to home. See what you think.
Questions and more questions. Never answers.
Especially if that individual happens to be a neighbor. A very close neighbor who may be harboring some of your secrets as well as their own.
The Pollitts live in a very close-knit upscale neighborhood in Austin. Iris is a song writer who lives with her husband Kyle and their two teenage children, Julia and Grant. Before sunrise, Julia meets up with her best friend, Ned, to play a search game on their phones. They head to the park in the darkness. But what they will come upon will be the shock of their lives. It's Ned's mother, Danielle Roberts, on that bench with a wound to her throat. She is still. Very still.
Never Ask Me opens with a bang and keeps the guessing games spinning on overdrive throughout. Danielle's death will leave many of these individuals compromised and held under suspicion. Someone wanted Danielle dead. Who would benefit most from her death and why?
Jeff Abbott goes deep into the lies that people tell. It's an interesting premise where the outside layer depicts normal suburban life in Austin with school activities and people going about their daily business. Abbott then pivots in a whole different direction when this all gets serious. International seriousness of the deadly kind.
Never Ask Me is a nice jaunt into escapism for the reader. But there's a thread running through this one that may bring the headlines closer to home. See what you think.
April 24, 2021
There are points in a story that you despise when you must just stop. Sanity saved. 0 of 10 stars
August 7, 2020
All five stars for the momentum, if nothing else.
A breathtakingly fast-paced, complicated, (to me) unique, family/neighborhood thriller that started quickly and (again, for me) never slowed down.
It's hard to describe this one without employing spoilers, but, at times I thought I was experiencing a mash-up of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies (although set in the U.S., specifically, Austin, Texas, which is a long way from Australia), the recent movie Knives Out, or, I dunno, Tana French's The Secret Place (but on steroids), and ... , but ... no ... none of those are really apt comparisons.
Before the 2020 pandemic, I'd have recommended this for travel/airplane reading. It won't be in play for any literary awards, and no one will confuse the prose with the languid, lyrical experience of consuming James Lee Burke, even if the levels of tension and violence are comparable. And, in an unhelpful analogy, it seemed to be the very antithesis of, say, John le Carre's take on the world of cloak and dagger.
To be clear, it's relatively violent and effectively/consistently tense. Despite the foreign (mostly Russian) aspects, don't expect shades of Towles' (the glorious? transcendent?) Gentleman in Moscow or the kind of travelogue cityscapes you'd find in, say, Silva's Gabriel Allon thrillers. And I'm guessing that many espionage readers will find that Abbott strained the bounds of credulity, and it wouldn't surprise me if others also find that the author tried just a little too hard at the end to wrap everything up with a colorful bow.
But here's the thing: I picked up the book with, frankly, no expectations. (I hadn't even bothered to read a plot summary. I picked up the book because I'd previously read - and was pleased to have enjoyed - one of the author's previous books, which I read because the author and I crossed paths many decades ago....) The opening chapter got my attention, and, although I should have been doing many other things, I couldn't put it down. Even the short chapters, and the frequent change in perspective and voices, added to frenetic, breathless, staccato drive to the finish line.
I expect I'll keep reading Abbott. This one proved to be unexpectedly gratifying.
A breathtakingly fast-paced, complicated, (to me) unique, family/neighborhood thriller that started quickly and (again, for me) never slowed down.
It's hard to describe this one without employing spoilers, but, at times I thought I was experiencing a mash-up of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies (although set in the U.S., specifically, Austin, Texas, which is a long way from Australia), the recent movie Knives Out, or, I dunno, Tana French's The Secret Place (but on steroids), and ... , but ... no ... none of those are really apt comparisons.
Before the 2020 pandemic, I'd have recommended this for travel/airplane reading. It won't be in play for any literary awards, and no one will confuse the prose with the languid, lyrical experience of consuming James Lee Burke, even if the levels of tension and violence are comparable. And, in an unhelpful analogy, it seemed to be the very antithesis of, say, John le Carre's take on the world of cloak and dagger.
To be clear, it's relatively violent and effectively/consistently tense. Despite the foreign (mostly Russian) aspects, don't expect shades of Towles' (the glorious? transcendent?) Gentleman in Moscow or the kind of travelogue cityscapes you'd find in, say, Silva's Gabriel Allon thrillers. And I'm guessing that many espionage readers will find that Abbott strained the bounds of credulity, and it wouldn't surprise me if others also find that the author tried just a little too hard at the end to wrap everything up with a colorful bow.
But here's the thing: I picked up the book with, frankly, no expectations. (I hadn't even bothered to read a plot summary. I picked up the book because I'd previously read - and was pleased to have enjoyed - one of the author's previous books, which I read because the author and I crossed paths many decades ago....) The opening chapter got my attention, and, although I should have been doing many other things, I couldn't put it down. Even the short chapters, and the frequent change in perspective and voices, added to frenetic, breathless, staccato drive to the finish line.
I expect I'll keep reading Abbott. This one proved to be unexpectedly gratifying.
July 13, 2020
A reader walks in to a book thinking it is a domestic thriller to find out it isn't. I felt a little mislead. The books starts out with a dead neighbor and a big pile of secrets all around her and her neighbors. A good start! Let's start weeding through all those secrets and see who had enough to lose to kill someone. But at one point, it feels like one author has put down the manuscript and another has picked it up. The story starts getting quite different. I really don't want to say more because I don't want to give away major parts of the plot. But things get a bit political, a bit international, and a bit much for me to really find believable. Still a good read, just not what I was hoping for.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
August 19, 2020
A little. Far. Fetched. To. Me.
Also:
I. don't. like. this. kind. of. writing.
Also:
I. don't. like. this. kind. of. writing.
September 13, 2020
Judging by the reviews I am in the minority. I can only say Never Ask Me why I continued to read this book. The first half was interesting but then it got so convoluted with everyone in the family being accused of murder and then in the end being offered the most ludicrous explanation. Just never ask me!!!
March 25, 2021
Incredible story of a mothers love and all she is willing to do to protect her family. Lots of intrigue, lots of surprises. I enjoy that it takes place in my hime state of Texas. God luck figuring anything out!
August 14, 2020
The premise of this book is very interesting enough to go on. However, many characters seem dimensional to me and the writing style was a little bit weird. It felt like a high schooler wrote this book. Very to the point writing and simple, with no descriptive language and fast dialogue. I didn't particularly care for many of the characters, and the plot felt very convoluted (a Harlan Coben book gone bad).
December 8, 2020
Meh. I had a hard time buying into any of this. It starts off with teens playing a PokemonGo-like game they're way too old for, and then gets even less believable as the book wears on. None of the characters seemed like anything except a character, and the plot just kept getting more and more outlandish. I skipped a bit but would have given it 3 stars except for the ending which just grated on me. I despise the "any crime is forgiveable if it's for a good cause" trope. 2 stars.
July 7, 2020
This wasn’t a bad story, however, I just couldn’t get into it and I didn’t like any of the characters so that didn’t help. To me it was just okay. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
November 14, 2025
I felt it was a little far fetched,but enjoyed it nonetheless,it’s a story about a mother’s and father’s love for a adopted child from Russia and what they would do to keep their family together.Murder and a elaborate plan to kidnap this child is a little over done but nevertheless I found it still kept me interested and pulled on the heartstrings.
July 18, 2020
An interesting thriller and who-dun-it, but a story of revenge that seemed a little muddy for me in the end,
which I didn’t necessarily care for. The story was interesting but the ending, meh.
which I didn’t necessarily care for. The story was interesting but the ending, meh.
August 18, 2020
Adopting a Russian child becomes terribly complicated when the birth mother wants her son back.
This leads to at least 4 murders and a rather absurd story line. I just didn't care for this book.
This leads to at least 4 murders and a rather absurd story line. I just didn't care for this book.
August 8, 2022
Intrigante e misterioso, gostei. Deu ali umas quantas voltas para desenrolar numa coisa inesperada.
September 20, 2020
I was not enthralled with this book, in fact, I found all of the characters to be flat or irritating, and the plot a little out of control. Set in suburban Austin, the story begins with what appears to be a random murder of a woman within the confines of her upscale enclave of upper middle class families along a bucolic greenway. Teenagers find the body—one of them is the woman’s son. The dead woman, Danielle, was a lawyer who helped couples find children to adopt from Russia, China, and Ghana. Iris and her husband Kyle, now neighbors to Danielle, were among her success stories, having adopted their son, Grant, from Russia 14 years prior. Iris is one of those women with her hand and nose in everything she thinks is her business (definitely a “let me talk with the manager” type). While she claims to find hubby, Kyle, to be one of the kindest and sexiest guys on earth, he remains cut from cardboard for this reader, and not very likable cardboard. In fact, from teenagers on up to neighbors, it seems like just about everyone here is a cardboard figure with a grudge or secret. The only reason I read on to the end was to find out how an adoption from Russia that occurred 14 years before could so tie up one Texan community. Beyond belief is the answer.
June 15, 2020
This started out pretty straightforward and then slowly veered off into crazy plot twists and....I don't even know what. The end was so unbelievable. I mean maybe spies don't intimidate like they used to, or the threat of them seems unreal, but this was bananas.
Plus I hated Iris by the end.
Ha but I did read the whole thing! Sometimes hate reads are the best reads.
Plus I hated Iris by the end.
Ha but I did read the whole thing! Sometimes hate reads are the best reads.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2021
Jeff Abbott traz-nos este "Não me perguntes", um livro de leitura fluída e que coloca uma pergunta difícil como ponto de partida: Até onde iria para salvar a sua família? Partido desta premissa, toda a história se desenrola em torno de uma família, os Pollitt, que vivem nuns simpáticos subúrbios de classe média-alta da cidade texana de Austin. Lakehaven parece ser, como o próprio nome indica, um amistoso subúrbio à beira de um lago plantado que mais parece o céu. Mas toda a serenidade deste céu é abalada quando o corpo de Danielle Roberts é encontrada no banco de um jardim já sem vida. Este corpo é o início da meada que Abbott nos entrega através dos acontecimentos com Iris, Kyle, Julia e Grant, os quatro elementos da família Pollitt. E quem são eles? Iris, a mãe letrista que há já algum tempo não tem grande sucesso; Kyle, o pai que parece esconder um segredo; Julia, a filha biológica que teve um cancro em criança que lhe conferiu a garra com que encara a sua vida e as dificuldades e Grant, o filho adoptado na Rússia através de Danielle Roberts. É Grant a ponte entre os Pollitt e Danielle, se dedica a tratar de todo o processo de adopções internacionais em países como a Rússia, a China ou o Gana.
Um ponto de que gostei bastante na forma como o livro está construído é que ele se organiza segundo capítulos, sendo cada um deles dedicado a uma das personagens principais deste enredo familiar. Desta forma e em cada capítulo, conseguimos estar focalizados naquilo que cada personagem está a viver, nas suas angústias, dilemas e acções, podendo assim dedicar-nos à sua compreensão e facilitando a interligação com as restantes personagens e sequência de acontecimentos. Ler este livro facilmente me transporta para algumas séries e filmes americanos em que um corpo é encontrado algures e é despoletada a necessária investigação criminal em busca do responsável. Posso quase dizer que o livro transpira aquilo que nos é vendido nos thrillers produzidos em Hollywood e acho que isso facilita bastante o processo de identificação com a narrativa, com o tipo de abordagem à investigação e a tudo o que se vai desenrolando neste thriller, quase drama familiar.
Acho que a temática da adopção internacional está bem explorada, apesar de não poder deixar de pensar se o que se descreve realmente corresponde à verdade do que pode ser encontrada no decorrer deste processo ou se, de alguma forma, essa descrição está impregnada de algum preconceito enraizada na sociedade norte-americana em relação a alguns países. Gostava que o autor tivesse dedicado umas breves palavras no final do livro e debruçar-se um pouco sobre os aspectos desse processo, deixando assim cair por terra este sentimento de visão estereotipada que eu senti e que sinto que outros leitores possam igualmente ter sentido. Foi este aspecto que me levou a dar quatro estrelas em vez de cinco estrelas na minha opinião sobre este livro. No entanto, acho que a história e todos os contornos que vamos vendo surgir ao longo da narrativa estão bem conseguidos, cativam e prendem o leitor na narrativa e não nos fazem abandonar a leitura. Portanto, se há por aí fãs de um thriller com toque de drama familiar, este pode ser uma boa leitura.
Um ponto de que gostei bastante na forma como o livro está construído é que ele se organiza segundo capítulos, sendo cada um deles dedicado a uma das personagens principais deste enredo familiar. Desta forma e em cada capítulo, conseguimos estar focalizados naquilo que cada personagem está a viver, nas suas angústias, dilemas e acções, podendo assim dedicar-nos à sua compreensão e facilitando a interligação com as restantes personagens e sequência de acontecimentos. Ler este livro facilmente me transporta para algumas séries e filmes americanos em que um corpo é encontrado algures e é despoletada a necessária investigação criminal em busca do responsável. Posso quase dizer que o livro transpira aquilo que nos é vendido nos thrillers produzidos em Hollywood e acho que isso facilita bastante o processo de identificação com a narrativa, com o tipo de abordagem à investigação e a tudo o que se vai desenrolando neste thriller, quase drama familiar.
Acho que a temática da adopção internacional está bem explorada, apesar de não poder deixar de pensar se o que se descreve realmente corresponde à verdade do que pode ser encontrada no decorrer deste processo ou se, de alguma forma, essa descrição está impregnada de algum preconceito enraizada na sociedade norte-americana em relação a alguns países. Gostava que o autor tivesse dedicado umas breves palavras no final do livro e debruçar-se um pouco sobre os aspectos desse processo, deixando assim cair por terra este sentimento de visão estereotipada que eu senti e que sinto que outros leitores possam igualmente ter sentido. Foi este aspecto que me levou a dar quatro estrelas em vez de cinco estrelas na minha opinião sobre este livro. No entanto, acho que a história e todos os contornos que vamos vendo surgir ao longo da narrativa estão bem conseguidos, cativam e prendem o leitor na narrativa e não nos fazem abandonar a leitura. Portanto, se há por aí fãs de um thriller com toque de drama familiar, este pode ser uma boa leitura.
January 20, 2021
Life is unpredictable, but books aren’t, not always. This one was exactly how I imagined it would be. I’ve never read the author before, but just perusing his body of work makes you think…now here’s the dude who writes wham bam thrillers and sure enough…
But it’s fine. Nice, in fact, for a change. So much of the genre is currently populated by female writers who produce a very specific sort of estrogen powered thrillers and so much of it is all about dark psychological twists and turns and this one, although technically potentially describable as a mommy thriller, as in never ask me how much I love my babies mommy thriller, was more along the lines of a straight up action driven machine gun paced adventure. No estrogen to be found, though some testosterone detected on site. Minimal inner life, only the very basic of character development, this is all show all the time, actions over words and all that. This is very much the sort of book a hip dad would read after mowing a lawn on a Saturday. It has murder, suspense and spies for dudes, but also mommy themes and adoption for the ladies, so really a fairly well rounded (much like a hip dad) affair.
Plot wise…this is one of those things where a quiet sleepy wealthy suburb is thrown into chaos when one of their own, an adoption specialist utilized by many in the neighborhood, is found brutally murdered one morning. Who would do such a thing? Everyone loved/liked this woman, didn’t they? Especially her neighbors, the Pollitts, whom she helped adopt their beloved youngest son. Although…tracking back as you will in momma Pollitt’s diary, the adoption was a pretty wild affair. In fact, so wild and dangerous that all these years later it might actually have something to do with the murder. But how, why, who…you gotta read and find out.
It’s silly and pretty over the top and then overexplained just in case you didn’t follow all that and involved a lot of random factors, like models who can’t properly use contraception and secret operatives, but really this isn’t one of those things you gotta puzzle out as you read, this is one of those things where you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. If it were a movie, it’d be a popcorn thriller all the way. With extra butter. But, much like those things can be when done right, it’s actually pretty fun and paced just right, so goes by fast and furious.
So yeah, exactly as expected. All in all, a perfectly decent introduction to a new to me author. Not the sort of thing where you want to immediately read all their other books, more like if I ever have nothing to read and another one of Abbott’s standalones is available, it’ll definitely be a possibility.
But it’s fine. Nice, in fact, for a change. So much of the genre is currently populated by female writers who produce a very specific sort of estrogen powered thrillers and so much of it is all about dark psychological twists and turns and this one, although technically potentially describable as a mommy thriller, as in never ask me how much I love my babies mommy thriller, was more along the lines of a straight up action driven machine gun paced adventure. No estrogen to be found, though some testosterone detected on site. Minimal inner life, only the very basic of character development, this is all show all the time, actions over words and all that. This is very much the sort of book a hip dad would read after mowing a lawn on a Saturday. It has murder, suspense and spies for dudes, but also mommy themes and adoption for the ladies, so really a fairly well rounded (much like a hip dad) affair.
Plot wise…this is one of those things where a quiet sleepy wealthy suburb is thrown into chaos when one of their own, an adoption specialist utilized by many in the neighborhood, is found brutally murdered one morning. Who would do such a thing? Everyone loved/liked this woman, didn’t they? Especially her neighbors, the Pollitts, whom she helped adopt their beloved youngest son. Although…tracking back as you will in momma Pollitt’s diary, the adoption was a pretty wild affair. In fact, so wild and dangerous that all these years later it might actually have something to do with the murder. But how, why, who…you gotta read and find out.
It’s silly and pretty over the top and then overexplained just in case you didn’t follow all that and involved a lot of random factors, like models who can’t properly use contraception and secret operatives, but really this isn’t one of those things you gotta puzzle out as you read, this is one of those things where you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. If it were a movie, it’d be a popcorn thriller all the way. With extra butter. But, much like those things can be when done right, it’s actually pretty fun and paced just right, so goes by fast and furious.
So yeah, exactly as expected. All in all, a perfectly decent introduction to a new to me author. Not the sort of thing where you want to immediately read all their other books, more like if I ever have nothing to read and another one of Abbott’s standalones is available, it’ll definitely be a possibility.
January 12, 2021
I’m torn on this one. I loved the backstory of the adoption from Russia and all the details that involved, but it totally fell apart at the end and seemed unbelievable. If not for the end, I’d have easily given this four stars.
June 17, 2021
Whoa. I definitely didn't see that coming. You'll need to suspend disbelief for this one, but it's still a twisty, fast, and fun read.
August 9, 2020
Completely ridiculous plot. Starts out OK and goes off the rails.
November 5, 2020
Interesting, exciting and well rounded thriller. Delivers as promised.
May not be everyone's cup of tea, but I had fun reading it and it kept my attention.
May not be everyone's cup of tea, but I had fun reading it and it kept my attention.
March 3, 2023
3.5 STARS
NEVER ASK ME is difficult for me to rate. On one hand, I very much enjoyed listening to the audiobook. Iris and Kyle are the terrible foreign adoption parents. They hate Russia, their son Grant’s (formerly Sasha) homeland and want to erase that part of his history. I’m by no means pro-Russia, but adoptive parents can’t erase their child’s history without sending negative messages to that child. Decades ago, long before the 14 years ago they adopted Sasha, Americanizing children and taking away their names was common place. I have friends who did foreign adoption 40 yards ago. They gave their kids American middle names and kept their birth names so that the kids could choose. I have friends that adopted from a different country 20 years ago and kept their kids’ names. Both families incorporated their children’s very different heritage into family life and raised their children to be proud of their homelands.
I wish Jeff Abbott had included a family that did foreign adoption in a more healthy manner, to balance out the unforgivable mistakes in the 21st century when we as a society know better. I blame a lot of the bad adoption parenting on murder victim Danielle, the adoption attorney known for matching several neighborhood families with babies from other countries. Danielle, though on the surface beloved by everyone, seemed at best mildly corrupt at worst criminally so.
I enjoyed the characters, both the adults and teens, the plot was twisty in ways I guessed and didn’t guess.
NEVER ASK ME is difficult for me to rate. On one hand, I very much enjoyed listening to the audiobook. Iris and Kyle are the terrible foreign adoption parents. They hate Russia, their son Grant’s (formerly Sasha) homeland and want to erase that part of his history. I’m by no means pro-Russia, but adoptive parents can’t erase their child’s history without sending negative messages to that child. Decades ago, long before the 14 years ago they adopted Sasha, Americanizing children and taking away their names was common place. I have friends who did foreign adoption 40 yards ago. They gave their kids American middle names and kept their birth names so that the kids could choose. I have friends that adopted from a different country 20 years ago and kept their kids’ names. Both families incorporated their children’s very different heritage into family life and raised their children to be proud of their homelands.
I wish Jeff Abbott had included a family that did foreign adoption in a more healthy manner, to balance out the unforgivable mistakes in the 21st century when we as a society know better. I blame a lot of the bad adoption parenting on murder victim Danielle, the adoption attorney known for matching several neighborhood families with babies from other countries. Danielle, though on the surface beloved by everyone, seemed at best mildly corrupt at worst criminally so.
I enjoyed the characters, both the adults and teens, the plot was twisty in ways I guessed and didn’t guess.
September 12, 2020
3.5 stars. The Pollitts live in a wealthy neighborhood outside Austin where the average home goes for about $800,000. Their family is composed of father Kyle, mother Iris, daughter Julia, and son Grant. One of their neighbors, Danielle Roberts, arranged for a foreign adoption of Grant from Russia 14 years ago. Danielle's son Ned and Julia are friends. They are walking to the park one morning and find Danielle's body. She has been murdered. My first thought is that this must be related to Russia.
The story becomes more complex as it goes along but the writing flowed pretty smoothly. The story is methodically unfolded through the use of the Pollitts' narration with police interviews interspersed. I liked the mentions of a few landmarks around the Austin area. At times, the story got pretty crazy, perhaps even absurd. Hey, it's fiction. There are plenty of twists that were not expected. I didn't find many likeable characters but the story finished strong.
The story becomes more complex as it goes along but the writing flowed pretty smoothly. The story is methodically unfolded through the use of the Pollitts' narration with police interviews interspersed. I liked the mentions of a few landmarks around the Austin area. At times, the story got pretty crazy, perhaps even absurd. Hey, it's fiction. There are plenty of twists that were not expected. I didn't find many likeable characters but the story finished strong.
December 7, 2020
A woman is found murdered in an Austin greenbelt. Families are connected by international adoptions and there are many suspects and subplots. The ending was preposterous with the sudden entrance of the CIA and a Russian oligarch fighting over a boy who was adopted 14 years earlier. Multiple plot issues really bothered me. The adoption story that happened in 2002 but the characters had cell phones that worked internationally and emailed documents to each other routinely, the teenagers who loaned their phones or dropped their phones so they were easily hacked, and the breaking and entering of multiple houses begged belief.
October 3, 2020
What a ride!
This book has international adoption, CIA, espionage, hacking, spying, murder, and family all rolled into a really good mystery read.
Keeps you guessing all the way through to the end.
This book has international adoption, CIA, espionage, hacking, spying, murder, and family all rolled into a really good mystery read.
Keeps you guessing all the way through to the end.
August 24, 2023
É aborrecido... e leva as 2 * porque, após ler 100 páginas, ainda me senti com vontade de ir ver o final... mas passei o meio do livro sem o ler..
July 25, 2021
It’s been awhile since I read a Jeff Abbott book, so now back in the groove of Jeff’s style of writing I’m glad I chose this book to read. This kept me intrigued from the beginning. It was a very complex story and so confusing at times. There were so many times I was so tense waiting to see what was going to happen next and to who. So many secrets and lies that two families are sharing and who’s secrets are putting lives at risk. This book is so so complex that your mind really gets a workout.
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