If We Tell You

Publication Date: October 2024| Thanks NetGalley for an ARC

Overall Verdict: An unremarkable thriller that was more confusing and inconceivable than entertaining or suspenseful.

1/5 Stars

Book Summary: Twins Lewis and Cameron find themselves on the run after their parents unexpectedly kill intruders at a community barbecue. Armed with cash, fake identities and the instruction to go to Edinburgh, Scotland they are forced on their own into the unknown. Trying to piece together the clues their parents left behind, while also trying to conceal their true identities, Lewis and Cameron pretend to be one person so they don’t cause any more attention than necessary.

My Analysis: I really don’t like rating a book so low, knowing the blood, sweat and tears that go into writing something and getting it published. But this one just wasn’t good. Not all that much actually happened and the events that did were either confusing or so unrealistic that it was hard to buy into the plot (even for a YA novel). I also didn’t care for the main characters of Cameron or Lewis- here they are on the run and I just couldn’t bring myself to root for them. The novel is split up into both of their perspectives, and for twins that are supposedly so different, I found myself forgetting whose perspective I was in too often. The one thing I did like about this book were the secondary characters, it’s honestly what saved it for me. I kept reading wanting to know what ultimately was going on with the twins parents, but I also found that unsatisfying. Ultimately not one I would buy for the library or recommend, it would definitely be a DNF for too many readers.