You Can Never Tell by Sarah Warburton

Museum curator Kacy Tremain and her husband Michael move from New Jersey to Texas to escape their past. Kacy was wrongly accused of embezzlement by her best friend Aimee. Countless therapy sessions later, Kacy is still coming to terms with the accusations and betrayal.

Michael’s colleague and his wife Elizabeth live a few doors away from the Tremains. Initially, Kacy does not get along with Elizabeth. She befriends Lena, a happy-go-lucky next door neighbor. Lena and her husband Brody, and the Tremains often hangout together. One day, Michael finds a button camera in the bathroom. Lena and Brody are called in to help out and soon, few more cameras are found in the house. Brody says the camera batteries are dead and might have been installed by the previous owner.

Two years later, Kacy and Michael are proud parents of a baby girl, Grace. When Grace is a few months old, Michael makes a shocking discovery about Brody. A discovery that puts Michael, Kacy and Grace’s in danger.

You Can Never Tell by Sarah Warburton is a chilling domestic thriller. The story alternated between a True Crime Podcast Transcript and Kacy’s account of the events. The story begins with Kacy and Michael moving to their new home in Texas. Kacy is struggling to forgive her best friend Aimee – Kacy was falsely accused of embezzlement and forcibly removed from the job at the museum. Aimee sends a postcard to Kacy – an indirect way of saying ‘I am keeping tabs on you.’ Kacy confides in Lena about her previous job and Aimee’s toxic behavior.

Lena and Kacy soon become best buddies. Kacy also makes friends with her other neighbors Rahmia and Elizabeth. One night when Kacy wakes up to feed her daughter Grace, Michael comes rushing to the room and tells her to run out of the house. The couple, along with their daughter drive to the nearest police station in the middle of the night. Michael accidentally discovered something about Brody and this put him and his family in danger.

I wouldn’t call this a fast-paced domestic thriller. The readers are given a clue as to who the perp might be. A couple of counties have reported a surge in murders – young and old, couple or single men and women are found dead in mysterious circumstances. Kacy’s previous owner was found dead in the bedroom. Different MOs make it difficult to find the killer(s).

I was curious to know what happens next and I couldn’t put down the book until the end. Irrespective of the slow pace, the story is engrossing. Character development is impressive and things take a turn for worse in the second half – this is where the ‘chase’ begins. The ending is okay – nothing great but does justice to the suspense built throughout the story.

You Can Never Tell by Sarah Warburton is a chilling, engrossing and unique domestic thriller.

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Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

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