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Gail Schimmel
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Never Tell A Lie Kindle Edition

by Gail Schimmel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 893 ratings
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From the author of The Aftermath comes the story of a whirlwind friendship—and the dark secrets lurking beneath it.

After a tumultuous marriage, Mary Wilson is happy in her uncomplicated life, focusing on her twelve-year-old son. She’s always been content with her little family—but then she finds an old postcard that throws her whole past into question…

When an invitation arrives for her high school reunion, Mary jumps at the chance of a distraction from the shock discovery, and meeting her old classmate April feels like a gift. Despite barely remembering April, Mary throws herself into the new friendship and finds her previously quiet social life reinvigorated.

But as the bonds between them are forged, Mary finds herself drawn further and further into April’s life and marriage, increasingly fearing that everything is not as perfect as it seems. Is her own painful past clouding her judgement, or is Mary right to suspect that the people she trusts most are the ones with the most to hide?

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  1. Print length
    348 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Lake Union Publishing
  5. Publication date
    November 30, 2021
  6. File size
    5132 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gail Schimmel is an admitted attorney in South Africa, with four degrees to her name. She is currently the CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board—the South African self-regulatory body for the content of advertising. She has published five novels in South Africa, with The Aftermath as her international debut. She lives in Johannesburg with her husband, two children, an ancient cat and two very naughty dogs.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B096ZHTWMP
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing (November 30, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 30, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5132 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 348 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1542028140
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 893 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Gail Schimmel

Gail Schimmel

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Gail Schimmel is an admitted attorney in South Africa, with four degrees to her name. She is currently the CEO of the Advertising Regulatory Board – the South African self-regulatory body for the content of advertising. She has published five novels in South Africa, and The Aftermath is her international debut. She lives in Johannesburg with her husband, two children, an ancient cat and two very naughty dogs.

Follow Gail at @GailSchimmel on Twitter, or Gail Schimmel Writer on Facebook.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
893 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting!
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2024
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A story that keeps you guessing! I recommend for anyone who enjoys a mystery in an unusual setting. A psychological puzzle that unravels creatively.
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Mareli @ Elza Reads
4.0 out of 5 stars Domestic Thriller at it's best!
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022
"The whole business of organizing school reunions is for those people whose lives peaked at High School and have gone nowhere since."

First of all, I can't believe how long it's taking me to write a review for this brilliant read. But with a hectic school schedule, an unplanned wonderful vacation and load shedding during the hours set out for blogging and reviewing, it's quite understandable (or excusable).

All these typical South African excuses, are one of the biggest reasons that I loved this book so much. I t was a brilliant decision by Tandem Collective to choose a book by a South African author, set in South Africa, for their first readalong with South African readers and bloggers. The setting is Johannesburg and the language, the bring-and-braai, the malls, the school dynamics and friendships, are as South African as you can get.

High School reunions is a tried and tested plot for a number of thriller/suspense authors. Books like Nighttime is my Time by Mary Higgins Clark, are long time favorites. What a thrill to be adding a South African read to this list. I've never been to any of my high school reunions, so I can't really say if there is always a shadowy figure lurking in the wings, or that one person at your table you just can't remember from school. Or even worst, you can remember the person, but not the lurking secret...

When Mary Wilson attends her 20 year High School reunion, she reunites with an old acquaintance with whom se forms a whirlwind friendship. While battling with a couple of secrets on the home front, it initially takes Mary some time to discover that the picture perfect life that April recedes in, has a few serious cracks in. As these things tend to go, Mary soon finds herself slam dunk the middle of questionable domestic drama and suspected abuse. But whose story do you believe and who can you trust with the truth?

Never Tell a Lie was the perfect choice for a readalong. It kept me on my seat and I couldn't wait to jump onto our Instagram group to chat about the latest chapters read. With thought provoking cue cards added to our copies and inquisitive comments by my fellow readers, this book lingered in my mind 24/7 for the week of the readalong.

If Domestic Thrillers and suspenseful plots are your cup of tea, do take a tea break with this one.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Totally captivating
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
Could not put this one down. Swept along with the twists and turns, I tried to figure out who the villain was. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the truth emerged. Well written with lots of suspense and great characters. A totally enthralling read.
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C.A.T.
3.0 out of 5 stars Ugh! You blew it!
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2022
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I was into this story, and in the end you chickened
oiut. You not only made Mary weak, you also fell Into the trap of always believing womem... You also fed into whay you thought society thinks is true.. Shame o n you
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Hannelore
4.0 out of 5 stars New author to add to my list
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2021
Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the eARC.
Mary is a widow with a son and a helpful, loving father, living in Johannesburg. When she gets an invitation to go to her 20-year high school reunion she and her best friend decide to go and end up having a great time. She reconnected with a woman she never really hung out with at school and they become fast friends. They meet often and Mary slowly suspects all is not well with her friend's marriage. She's drawn in more and more until it becomes a bit of a nightmare. Are her friend and two children in danger from her husband?
I really liked Mary and loved the first three-quarters of the book, but towards the end I had to suspend my belief a bit, it felt unrealistic and hurried and was slightly disappointing. Nevertheless I enjoyed it enough to order one of her earlier books.
A good read that I definitely recommend!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A good suspense.
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2022
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This was a very good book . It had lots of twists and turns that keep you reading. It did start out a little slow. The characters were very well explained. All in all a very good read.
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Nathaniel Wallace
5.0 out of 5 stars My heart is actually pumping
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2022
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Satisfying in all the ways. My heart was actually beating hard at the end of this book. Goodness. So intriguing and relatable but.. wow. A must read for suspense thrillers.
One person found this helpful
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Melissa
5.0 out of 5 stars different but good
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2022
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This is the second book I’ve read from this author , and I enjoyed it immensely. I was never sure of where the story was headed, and I like being kept on my toes. It was a great book!
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Top reviews from other countries

Debs
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2022
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This is the second book i have read by this author, i really enjoyed the first but this one.....wow! Really cleverly written which made me change my mind on several occasions. Although the topic was a very serious one the author managed to lighten the mood on several occasions and made me laugh out loud. If you only read one book make sure its this one, by far the best i have read for a long time.
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Kathleen P Nattrass
4.0 out of 5 stars It holds my attention
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2024
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I enjoyed the twists
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A. Souter
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping compulsive read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2021
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Gail Schimmel writes eloquently about relationships and human dilemmas - this story quickly becomes a page turner. There are many twists and turns, and difficult issues are approached with openness and sensitivity. This is the second book I've read by this author, and I look forward to more!
2 people found this helpful
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Lynda Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars The Aftermath Remains My Favourite
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2022
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This is my third book by this author, though The Aftermath remains my favourite of hers. This one all seemed to get extremely rushed toward the end and I wasn't really satisfied with how it all got finalised. Mary tended to get my back up as I thought she was a bit of a nitwit and I found April another unlikeable person as well. I really liked Joshua a great deal, and Leo too. It was just the females that got my hackles up (aside from Stacey who is a gem) !! Liars always irritate me, too, though the author keeps you guessing as to who is speaking with a forked tongue throughout. I was also less than impressed with the way Mary treats one particular person in her life.....
Considering a big part of the story is with reference to Mary's upbringing, I found those chapters are all a little glossed over as well for some reason.
Once again there are some funny little remarks in this-I got a kick out of the Tinder reference and the retort for the Thrupps' delivery chap !
She writes crow's and not crows' feet and got the apostrophes wrong another couple of times, too, wrote roller coaster not rollercoaster and spilt not split ! Luckily, this time I didn't need to keep pausing to head to Google to look up some South African idiom, because the Kindle dictionary actually knew what they were this time.
If not for the (what I considered) quite abrupt ending, it would've been 5* from me.
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