You'll Never Know, Dear

A Novel of Suspense

By: Hallie Ephron

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

An addictive novel of psychological suspense from the award-winning author of Night Night, Sleep Tight, about three generations of women haunted by a little girl's disappearance, and the porcelain doll that may hold the key to the truth.

Seven-year-old Lissie Woodham and her four-year-old sister Janey were playing with their porcelain dolls in the front yard when an adorable puppy scampered by. Eager to pet the pretty dog, Lissie chased after the pup as it ran down the street. When she returned to the yard, Janey's precious doll was gone...and so was Janey.

Forty years after Janey went missing, Lis - now a mother with a college-age daughter of her own - still blames herself for what happened. Every year on the anniversary of her sister's disappearance, their mother, Miss Sorrel, places a classified ad in the local paper with a picture of the toy Janey had with her that day - a one-of-a-kind porcelain doll - offering a generous cash reward for its return. For years, there's been no response. But this year, the doll came home.

It is the first clue in a decades-old mystery that is about to turn into something far more sinister - endangering Lis and the lives of her mother and daughter as well. Someone knows the truth about what happened all those years ago, and is desperate to keep it hidden.

©2017 Hallie Ephron (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Hallie Ephron has achieved a riveting suspense novel, and Amy McFadden's narration is compelling.... McFadden handles plot twists and coincidences with understated intensity, making this a must listen." ( AudioFile)

Plot, Characters, Setting and Narration!

You'll Never Know Dear grabbed me right away. Unlike in many mysteries where there is predictably a dead body on the first page, Ephron seduces you with suspense, luring you with ordinary events that you know won’t last because something terrible has happened and something even worse is on it’s way. A cast of strong female characters, a steamy seductive Southern setting, a couple of missing children and a few creepy antique dolls are more than enough to keep you turning the pages. McFadden’s narration conveys a sense of foreboding without overdramatizing. Ephron and McFadden are a powerful duo, complimenting one another, unlike some books where it sounds like the narrator is competing with the author. A very satisfying read.

Pretty good story! Some twists and turns...

This was a pretty basic but interesting mystery. Mostly predictable. Narrator has an interesting voice and tends to pause instead of stop at the end of a sentence BUT if you hang in there you'll get through it. Not much in the way of character development and one character drops completely off the map in an odd way because you'd think the daughter would be around for a lot of this but isn't. Favorite part of the book is one of the characters describing her breakfast of southern biscuits and sausage gravy.

Forty Years is a Long Time to Hope

Forty years is a long time to hope for the return of your child.
Seven-year old Lissie Woodham chased after a puppy instead of watching her four-year-old sister, Janey. The little girl along with the special signature doll made by her mother were never seen again. Every year on the anniversary of the day Janey went missing her mother offers a reward for the return of the doll. After forty years someone brings a doll forward that could be Janey’s doll. Lissie and her own daughter, Vanessa, search for clues to find out what happened all those years before.
The story weaves around abduction, betrayal, and attempted murder before the truth finally comes out.
This is a well written mystery that teaches you a lot about doll making. I had my suspicions of who the guilty party might be but kept on with the story to find out for sure and why it happened.
I listened to this on Audible.

One out of two......?

A “critical review” says this novel is intensely riveting. Good laugh. I would revise that assessment to say “weirdly interesting.”

The review also says McFadden’s narration is adept and enjoyable, which is quite true. She handles narration subtleties very well.

Creepy story about doll makers and missing girls

Where does You'll Never Know, Dear rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Fair.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Liz. Her story resonates.

Did Amy McFadden do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

No. A couple of the voices were indistinguishable. Two of her characterizations were annoying.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really. The book has a insidious creepiness throughout.

Good story but very poor audio

I quite enjoyed this story. The narrator did a pretty good job with just a few mispronunciations. But the audio was of extremely poor quality and it was difficult both to hear and to listen to.

A Doll Saves the Day

An interesting tale of Southern Life and the elderly women behind the scenes. These Women who made porcelain dolls.

BORING, BORING, BORING!!!

Drags on & on and never goes anywhere. This is a book where you could leave the room for five minutes, return, and not miss a thing. After five hours, I give up - I'm returning back for a credit.