Brandon Massey

Reader Comments about DON’T EVER TELL

Pinnacle
ISBN: 9780786019939
(July 1, 2008)

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Here are comments from our group of Advance Readers about Brandon Massey's DON’T EVER TELL.

Carol from Newport News, VA

Have you previously read a book by Brandon Massey?
I have never read a book written by Brandon Massey, but I certainly will be looking for them now.

What other suspense/thriller authors do you usually read?
Normally I read true crime books --- about 10 or more a month.

What did you think of DON'T EVER TELL?
Mr. Massey has written an extremely fast-paced, suspenseful mystery that you can’t put down.

Joshua Moore and his wife Rachel are living a good life --- new home, friends, and good jobs. He was always surprised that she even fell for him --- he wasn’t that much, while she was intelligent, beautiful and the owner of her own beauty shop.

One day things changed; Rachel began acting aloof, almost as if she were hiding something. She was --- and now her past is catching up with her.

Mr. Massey has vividly described each of his characters so that you could see and feel them. His ability to write with suspense and action makes the reader want to continue reading on and not put the book down. This mystery will capture you from the beginning.

Pamela from Woodstock, GA

Have you previously read a book by Brandon Massey?
This is the first book I have read by Brandon Massey.

What other suspense/thriller authors do you usually read?
I enjoy reading books by Harlan Coben, J. A. Konrath, Lois Greiman, Carl Hiaasen, Janet Evanovich and many many others.

What did you think of DON’T EVER TELL?
I thoroughly enjoyed reading DON'T EVER TELL. It was an interesting story that was well written. The characters were people that I felt I would like and could relate to. I live in the Atlanta area, and that gave me a special bond with the characters and the setting of the story.

Would you ever read a future book by Brandon Massey?
I would read another book by Brandon Massey.

Tina from Brandon, MS

Have you previously read a book by Brandon Massey?
No.

What other suspense/thriller authors do you usually read?
I usually read chick lit, but I have read some Charles Wilson and John Grisham.

What did you think of DON'T EVER TELL?
I thought it was a great read! It had a nice flow to it that made it hard to put down! I will definitely recommend this book to family and friends. It made me want to read more thrillers.

Would you ever read a future book by Brandon Massey?
Yes.

Cheryl from Angola, NY

Have you previously read a book by Brandon Massey?
No. This was the first book that I've read.

What other suspense/thriller authors do you usually read?
My favorite author is Barry Eisler. I read and like a lot of newer authors, including Marcus Sakey, Sean Chercover, Tim Maleeny, Shane Gericke and Colin Campbell.

What did you think of DON’T EVER TELL?
I liked it more than I thought I would. The plot was fairly pedestrian, but it was well written. I cared about the characters and really wanted everything to work out okay. I would compare this to Harlan Coben's stand alones of recent years.

Would you ever read a future book by Brandon Massey?
Probably.

Elizabeth from Bruce, MI

Have you previously read a book by Brandon Massey?
No.

What other suspense/thriller authors do you usually read?
I read all books by Harlan Coben and Dennis Lehane. I also read the books by Joseph Finder that do not deal with corporate life (e.g. I did not like COMPANY MAN, but I enjoyed THE MOSCOW CLUB very much).

What did you think of DON’T EVER TELL?
The prologue and chapters that dealt with the x-cop/escaped prisoner were good; they really made you hate the guy even as they were told from his point of view. The chapters that dealt with Rachel seemed immature to me. By "immature," I mean that they would have appealed to me when I was in high school, but do not anymore, now that I am 50. Taste evolves.

I had to laugh in the first chapter (after the Prologue) when it was so obvious that a male wrote it. It sounded like a male sexual fantasy when he remarked that, although the husband had a great sexual appetite, the wife's was insatiable.

Would you ever read a future book by Brandon Massey?
Maybe. Some of his chapters showed promise. I would want a good one in hard back.

John from Augusta, GA

Have you previously read a book by Brandon Massey?
No.

What other suspense/thriller authors do you usually read?
I read Daniel Silva, David Baldacci and Dean Koontz.

What did you think of DON’T EVER TELL?
Mr. Massey did a good job in building tension. The antagonist was someone you loved to hate. However, I thought the ending was a bit contrived and unbelievable.

Would you ever read a future book by Brandon Massey?
I doubt it, but it would depend on the plot.

Shaun from Chicago, IL

Have you previously read a book by Brandon Massey?
No.

What other suspense/thriller authors do you usually read?
I read Mary Higgins Clark, Wendy Corsi Staub, Joy Fielding and John Grisham.

What did you think of DON’T EVER TELL?
Overall, I enjoyed the book. Dexter was an appropriately creepy villain (I'll never look at bacon grease the same way). I kept turning the pages and finished the book quickly. However, I thought the climax was a bit contrived and clichéd (a dark and stormy night with a menace on the loose. It wasn't anything new). The pacing leading up to the climax was choppy and some of the intensity was lost with this side trip to the house on the island, a revelation that seemed out of place. I would have liked to have seen Dexter's point of view as he made his way to the island. Did he take the ferry? Swim? Fashion a makeshift raft? We'd already seen how determined he was to find his ex-wife. It would have kicked up the action even more to have seen that thread picked up.

As an African American, I appreciated that this book told the story of upwardly mobile blacks who were caught up in a situation that could have happened to anyone versus a story centering on pimps, guns, drugs and hos in the ghetto. There are far too many books out on the market like that, and I frankly can't relate to any of them because it's not my own personal experience. It was refreshing to read a story where the characters were clearly black, but I wasn't hit over the head with it by relying upon a bunch of tired stereotypes. Bravo! I hope to see this trend continue in publishing.

I'm from Chicago and it struck me as odd that Dexter referred to the skyline as the "downtown Chicago skyline." I never heard it that way, usually "Chicago skyline," or "the skyline." We don't have multiple skylines. Also, there's Chicago and there's Illinois. People from Chicago and its suburbs (of which Zion and Waukegan would be considered) don't typically say they're from Illinois -- usually they say they're from Chicago (even if they are technically from the burbs). It was jarring to hear Rachel talk about when she "left Illinois," because it didn't sound authentic coming from someone from the Chicagoland area.

While I enjoyed the book overall, I did find the writing to be weak at times. There seemed to be an overwhelming need to describe EVERYTHING. Practically every scene included detailed descriptions of what people ate, what they wore and the history of every street and neighborhood where the action took place. The excessive descriptions took away from the story and bogged down the action. It's like JANE EYRE --- it took the characters three pages to walk into a room (a slight exaggeration, but not by much) and I was often reminded of that while reading DON’T EVER TELL. There was also too much hyphenation and too many commas and clauses. These devices make for dull writing and take away from the action.

Would you ever read a future book by Brandon Massey?
Depends. It's my understanding that he mostly writes horror, which is not a genre I read. If it were another suspense story and it sounded interesting, I might.

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