Category: blogging

You Can't Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie
Published by Simon & Schuster Canada on June 9, 2020
Pages: 400
Goodreads

A riveting new novel of suspense about a disgraced young journalist caught up in a grifter’s game, and the trail of identically named victims she uncovers, from the instant bestselling author of I’ll Never Tell and The Good Liar.
Assumed identities. A con game. Unwitting victims.
After being fired from her investigative journalism job for plagiarism, Jessica Williams is looking for a break from the constant press coverage. She decides to escape for a week to a resort in Mexico boasting no connections to the outside world. While waiting at the airport for her flight, she encounters a woman with the exact same name, who she dubs Jessica Two. Drawn together by the coincidence, they play a game of twenty questions to see what other similarities they share, and exchange contact information.
A week later, Jessica returns home and discover that large cash withdrawals have been made from her bank account. Security footage from the bank confirms her suspicions—Jessica Two has stolen her money. She goes to the police, only to be told that the crime is a low priority. Frustrated, she meets up with a trusted old friend, Liam, who is an investigator. When the two Google “Jessica Williams,” they get thousands of hits—Jessica was the most popular girl’s name in 1990 and Williams is almost as ubiquitous as Smith. Convinced that this isn’t the first time this scam has been run, Jessica is determined to catch the imposter, and writes a Facebook post hoping to chase down some of Jessica Two’s other victims. When she gets a number of responses, she sets a plan in motion to catch the thief, encountering a string of identically named victims along the way.
Then, the threatening messages start arriving.
Filled with incredible twists and turns, You Can’t Catch Me is a tantalizing, character-driven exploration of how far people will go to get revenge.

I have had so much fun highlighting all of Catherine’s books here on the blog and updating my reviews with my current thoughts this past week and a half. It’s hard to believe that after tomorrow’s review of Six Weeks to Live that I will have to wait almost a whole year for her next book to come out.

You Can’t Catch me is another one of those psychological / mysteries that I literally couldn’t put down once I started it. Just when I think how is Catherine going to top the last book she smashes out of the ballpark one again. This was another book that I managed to almost read in one sitting. I was instantly hooked. This book had me all over the place with the twists and turns. Just when you think you have it figured out, you really don’t have it figured out.

Have you ever googled your name or even searched for it on Facebook to see how many people share your name? I know I use to do it all the time and I found a ton with my name and there is even an author with my name. I was once messaged by someone with my name saying she was trying to connect with others with our name. Thankfully I read Catherine’s book first and never replied back… LOL

Our main character is Jessica Williams and after being in a cult (The Land of Todd) for 12 years she was able to escape with the help of Liam, a private investigator. Jessica wants nothing but to blend in and not stand out. She has managed to change her life around and goes to school to be a journalist/ writer.

It’s while sitting in an airport bar that things go from good to bad for Jessica but she won’t know it right away because once she boards the plane she turns her phone off. While waiting for a drink the waitress calls her name she replies as does another woman. At first, she thinks nothing of it because it’s a common name well it’s only once the two women start to talk that Jessica gets a little freaked out because they both have the exact same birthday. They exchange phone numbers and this is where it all goes downhill for our MC Jessica because she allows Jessica 2 to tap the phones together. Once back from her trip Jessica (#1) realizes that she is broke, her bank account has 0 funds. She begins to put two and two together and realizes what Jessica 2 has done.

She asks Liam for help and upon her research, she discovers she is not the only Jessica Williams that has been targeted by Jessica #2. Jessica reaches out to two other victims and follows Jessica 2’s trial. All the women have similar stories of their interactions with Jessica 2. Will Jessica (mc) be able to catch Jessica 2 or will Jessica’s threat of you can’t catch me happen?

Okay, so this is where I am going to stop my review and urge you to go and get a copy of the book to see for yourself. This book will literally take you on a roller coaster.

The only thing I have to say is to be careful if someone sits next to you with the same name as you, don’t play their game because they will be taking all the information you and never let them have access to your phone.

 

 

 

I'll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie
Published by Simon & Schuster Canada on June 4, 2019
Pages: 384
Goodreads

What happened to Amanda Holmes?
Twenty years ago, she was found bludgeoned in a rowboat at the MacAllister family’s Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with the crime.
Now, after their parents’ sudden deaths, the MacAllister siblings return to camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate the camp occupies. Ryan needs to sell. Margaux hasn’t made up her mind. Mary believes in leaving well enough alone. Kate and Liddie—the twins—have opposing views. And Sean Booth, the groundskeeper, just hopes he still has a home when all is said and done.
But it’s more complicated than a simple vote. The will stipulates that until they unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda, they can’t settle the estate. Any one of them could have done it, and each one is holding a piece of the puzzle. Will they work together to finally discover the truth, or will their secrets finally tear the family apart?

This is Catherine’s eighth book and it’s even better than the last one. I am not going to lie but I love Catherine’s books and she is an automatic buy for me hands down.  I don’t even have to know what the book is about because to be quite honest they never disappoint. I have not been disappointed yet.

This is another amazing psychological thriller/ mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat. I really tried to take it slow but when you reach that certain book you know there is no turning back and you just have to drop everything to finish the book and I pretty much have been devouring her latest books within a day.

I’ll Never Tell flips between the past and the present which works really well because you need that background information to fully understand the storyline. The story is told from the point of view of the family, Sean the groundskeeper and Amanda. Here is where I have to admit that I had to have a little cheat sheet with the names of all the narrators and little notes from the chapters.

The book centers around the McAllister family. Sadly the parents have passed away and the kids Ryan, Margo, Mary, twins Liddie, and Kate are going to the family’s Camp Macaw. So many kids have passed through the gates of this summer camp. So many memories. They are there to listen to the reading of their parent’s will and figure out what they are going to do about the camp. But it’s not as easy as they think it will be because in order to sell the camp they need to figure out what happened to Amanda and who is responsible for her death.

Will they be able to figure out what happened to Amanda and who is behind it? Are they ready to face the truth about family secrets?

Since hurting my back in the summer of 2019 we had decided to forgo our summer vacation of renting a cabin in Lake George which would have been the perfect setting to read this book so instead, I had to imagine I was there with the help of some beach sounds playing in the background.

Sadly I never got to experience going to camp when I was younger our summer vacations were spent taking the train from my little town in New Brunswick to Montreal so we could spend the summer with my grandparents.

The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie
Published by Simon & Schuster Canada on April 3, 2018
Pages: 360
Goodreads

After a horrible tragedy, three women are forced to face the reality of their lives. One has secrets she desperately wants to remain hidden, one strangely finds purpose in grief, and one mysteriously tries to escape her past.
A photographer captured Cecily Grayson fleeing in the wake of the explosion that killed her husband. The photo quickly brings Cecily unwanted attention as the “poster child” of the tragedy.
Franny Maycombe lost her birth mother in the blast. She and Cecily partner to help others deal with the losses they experienced that day. But the alliance rapidly becomes an uneasy one.
Meanwhile, in Montreal, a third woman attempts to reinvent herself. Will she succeed? Or will her past haunt her forever?
THE GOOD LIAR is a brilliant take on marriages, the secrets families hide—and how longing and guilt can drive us to commit the most unexpected acts.

This is Catherine’s seventh book and another thriller which I am really loving. I love a good book that is really hard to put down and that has you on the edge of your seat, leaving you to know no clue as to what is going to happen. Just when you think you know you really don’t. You are not only dealing with one character but three so there is plenty of moments that leave you wondering what will happen. I can pretty much devour Catherine’s books in either one or two sittings. I love that she can wrap everything up in one book.

As I mentioned there are three characters Franny, Kate, and Cecily. Cecily has lost her husband in an explosion to which she was a witness. Unbeknownst to Cecily her photo was taken and months later its resurfaced bringing her much-unwanted attention. Cecily has a secret that she is trying to keep hidden.

I felt so bad for Franny because she lost her birth mother to that explosion. They had only just reconnected two months prior.

Our third character is Kate. Kate is now living in Montreal and trying to build a new life leaving behind Chicago. As the story unfolds you soon realize why Kate had to leave.

Even though these are three separate characters the explosion ties them all together. As you get to know these characters you can’t help but wonder who is lying and who is telling the truth. They all have secrets and lies that no one knows about but we all know secrets and lies can’t be secrets and lies for long because it just takes the right person to uncover them.

The book is told from their points of view over a course of several weeks but the explosion happened a year prior. The chapters go from past to present and as they are told you begin to see how each of them is connected. I love that the book takes place both in Chicago and Montreal.