Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Group read final comments.
Spoilers welcome for the entire book on this thread for I'll Never Tell.
What did you think of the book?

I ended up rating it a four. On the downside, it seemed quite contrived, starting with the basic premise for the book - a father couldn't resolve Amanda's murder (nor could the police), so he made his kids do it after his death? Come on. Or Ryan taking the "blame" for killing someone when it was an accident. It was like the characters were looking for reasons to beat themselves up emotionally. And the author overused the tactic of revealing a "secret" only to find the secret was a misunderstanding. I got numb to that ploy by the end.

HOWEVER, the character development was excellent (IMO) - I assume they were all supposed to be unlikable. And despite the overuse of the method described above, the twists kept me off balance for most of the book.

Bruce I rated the book a four star as well.
It's funny, the last group read book had characters so unlikable that this seemed like a breath of fresh air in contrast, and agreed - the character development was outstanding. With the exception of Sean, I found something (eventually) likeable about each of the siblings.
I found nothing to recommend the Dad, Pete MacAllister as a parent. The idea for the will was completely nuts. It appears this was a family that didn't discuss anything or encourage communication.

The secret of Sean's parentage appeared to not be a secret to anyone but the five siblings. I don't know how you explain something like that, but you need to with boys and girls and teenage hormones. Also it was simply unfair and cruel to not treat Sean better, as part of the family; cruel to leave Ryan on the hook, and to ignore Kate's contributions and interest in the camp.

Ann wrote: "Bruce I rated the book a four star as well.
It's funny, the last group read book had characters so unlikable that this seemed like a breath of fresh air in contrast, and agreed - the character dev..."

Interesting. What was the last book ... so I can avoid it. Seriously, I found little to like in this cast. They all had loyalty to misunderstandings, I suppose, but is that even something to admire? Maybe.

Bruce: Lol - it was The Silent Patient!

Bruce wrote: " What was the last book ... so I can avoid it. "

Ann wrote: "It's funny, the last group read book had characters so unlikable that this seemed like a breath of fresh air in contrast..."

Bruce: I think the siblings' closed ranks in the face of tragedy and splintering off separately as adults was probably a coping mechanism. It may have worked for them until the will forced them to confront it, but I am not sure I can admire it..

Bruce wrote: "They all had loyalty to misunderstandings, I suppose, but is that even something to admire? Maybe. "