Welcome to the second meeting of the Quill Quotes Book Club! Hopefully you’re still enjoying I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie and are as excited as we are to continue discussion. This discussion covers chapters 1 – 30, so please hold off on any spoilers for the final discussion if you’ve read ahead. See the I’ll Never Tell Book Club Summary Page for the reading schedule details and other discussions.
Kevin’s Thoughts
We are starting to learn a lot more about each of the family members and there’s finally starting to be some hope that they can work together to figure out the mystery of Amanda’s death! On the flip side, there seemed to be a lot fewer “Amanda” sections so we haven’t filled in much more of that night’s events. The tie-in between the timeline table and the one Margaux draws in the story is pretty cool. I also like the reveal that the twins know more than they’ve told anyone through the matching tattoos of the book title, “I’ll Never Tell”.
Favorite Quote:
“The person you were, the person you used to be, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was how others saw you.”
– Catherine McKenzie, I’ll Never Tell
Brooke’s Thoughts
I am still really enjoying this book. I like that it’s very fast and easy to read. I don’t want to stop reading. I want to keep going so I can figure it out! We still don’t have all of the puzzle pieces yet but I think they will be falling together very soon. I can’t wait for the final discussion!
The family keeps getting crazier and crazier! No one seems to know anything about each other’s lives except the dad because he was spying on all of them. How weird is that?!? He stalked his own children but never asked them their thoughts about Amanda? They are such a strange family. I can’t wait to see what their conclusion is about what happened to Amanda.
Favorite Quote:
Kill me dead, as Margaux and I used to say. Like there was another possible result of killing.
– Catherine McKenzie, I’ll Never Tell
Who’s the Killer?
Last Week’s Poll
If our votes are any indication, the killer wasn’t revealed in the first 15 chapters. There was no clear favorite and only Ryan, Liddie, and Someone Else escaped without suspicion.
Kevin’s Prediction: Sean
I’m sticking to my prediction from last time: Sean. I’m also still open to Mary, an accident, or someone outside the family but everything from this section’s reading makes me more confident it’s Sean. We still don’t know the details but the twins “seeing the man in the canoe that sat too low if there was only one person in it” probably wasn’t Ryan and there’s only one other man to choose from.
Brooke’s Prediction: Mary
I am still going with Mary. I think Ryan and Sean are too obvious of choices. Ryan may have been at fault for whatever happened to Stacey but I don’t think he had anything to do with Amanda. Liddie and Kate were too young at the time. I don’t think its Margaux because Amanda was her best friend and because of her conversation with Ryan in Chapter 24. She seems like she really wants to figure out what happened.
Vote
Has your opinion changed from last week or are you sticking with the same prime suspect?
Sorry, this vote is now closed. Please see the results below.
Discussion Prompts / Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts / questions below:
- Share any theories you have on the killer.
- Did your opinion on the killer change since last time?
- Who’s your favorite character so far? Why?
- Have any favorite quotes to share?
- What do you think of their dad’s notes and spying on them?
- Do you think they’ll sell or keep the camp?
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We hope you’ll enjoy this discussion and join us again next week to discuss the book’s finale! Check the I’ll Never Tell Book Club Summary Page for details. Also, be sure to participate in the genre vote for our next read if you haven’t yet.
This was an exciting section!
I voted again that it was an accident. Although this family gets more and more dysfunctional, none of them are cold-hearted enough to kill a teenage girl in cold blood. Although they might surprise me; I didn’t expect the dad to be a creepy stalker, either, but I was wrong about that.
One thing doesn’t add up… Why had the twins decided to keep this detail, that they saw Ryan that morning, to themselves? What was their motive? I can’t imagine they care that much about protecting Ryan. Perhaps it was for self-preservation, because Ryan has dirt on them, too? This is suggested in chapter 17: “‘It’s possible to have been with Amanda that night and not be responsible for what happened to her, right, girls?’ He looked back and forth between the twins. They were staring at him with identical looks—dread, anger, guilt.” This is the only explanation I can think of, that the twins and Ryan had an understanding that no one will tell on the other, because the act of doing so would make them a suspect themselves. I increasingly believe that Ryan and Margaux are not guilty.
In Amanda’s timeline, I predict that she and Sean are going to hook up, or get close to it, then some accident arises, but that still doesn’t explain what Ryan and the twins were doing on the island/in the water that night. I think their dad might have had a hand in this, or Swift?
I agree about the twins; can’t wait to find out their motive for keeping Ryan’s whereabouts a secret all these years. I also feel like it would have to be a big 180 for the characters and info we’ve learned so far for Ryan or Margaux to have done it.
I’m starting to kind of doubt the accident possibility with everyone seemingly knowing something about Amanda’s death that they’ve kept secret. If it really was an accident, what would they all have to hide? While certainly dysfunctional, I agree most of the family doesn’t seem cold-hearted enough to kill Amanda; I’m not sure about Sean though.
I voted again for Sean being the killer. He seems like he has the most to lose. I am starting to think maybe the dad or someone did something to Amanda that night and Sean found out. Maybe Amanda was going to the police and maybe then camp would be over and gone? Leaving Sean with no one and nothing. I think it is extremely creepy that the dad was spying on his kids. Just makes the whole family even stranger to me! I still don’t have a favorite character and that surprises me! I think because they are still revealing things about each character as time goes on and switching the point of view. I am very excited to finish reading!
I also feel like the dad might be involved somehow but it was pointed out (I think by Margaux) that their parents were out of town that night and only arrived in the morning, so I don’t know. It is weird that Sean went with their dad sometimes on his spying missions, which makes me think he probably knows more than he’s letting on. And the dad taking him makes it seem like they were pretty close, so then to only contingently include him in the will is pretty low.
I think Liddie is my favorite character. Although if Ryan really was on Secret Beach that morning, I’m curious why the twins have kept it a secret all these years? It’s definitely shaping up to be an exciting finale!
I don’t really have a favorite character yet either and I think it is because they are all still suspects. I also don’t think anyone is innocent. I think everyone knows something so they have to put their puzzle pieces together to figure it out.
I just read Kevin and Brooke’s quotes again and realized I picked the same as Kevin. I was planning on Brooke’s so I went back to find the other I liked and didn’t remember that was Kevin’s quote. Last week I didn’t think about quotes so this week I thought about quotes more and found it made me slow down and read with more meaning instead of rushing through just to find out the killer.
Yea, I’ve found that marking and thinking about my favorite quotes helps me enjoy a book much more! That’s funny that you noted the same quotes as us!
I knew you would like my quote! I think we may have even had a discussion like that before! Great minds think alike!
I liked the quotes you all picked!
It is very hard for me to pick a favorite quote while listening on audible instead of reading. I will hopefully get a hardcopy for the next book!
Yeah, seems like every time I hear a good quote while listening to audiobooks I am always driving or can’t pull out my phone quick enough to bookmark it. Probably the only thing I don’t like about audiobooks.
My favorite quote
The person you were,the person you used to be,it didn’t matter. All that mattered was how others saw you.
Catherine McKenzie I’ll Never Tell
I had a couple of quotes I liked and Brooke picked one of them. I laughed at her favorite just because of the sarcasm.
I’m more confused on who I think the killer is. I was thinking Mary but I wonder about Margaux maybe she can’t remember what she did. I also think Sean did it or knows Margaux did and not telling. I still believe two people know and covering it up for the other.
The dad spying on all them was weird but it might help in solving the mystery on the killer. Sean taking all the papers was disheartening because I wanted them to use the information to help find the killer. That’s why I think he knows more than he is telling.
I’m looking forward to finishing the book, it was hard to stop reading. I find mysteries are always hard to put down when you get closer to end can’t wait to find out the killer!
You might be right I think people are covering for each other like the twins saw Ryan at Secret Beach in the morning but never told anyone. I also was upset Sean took the papers because I wanted them to put more information together.
I agree about mysteries being hard to put down which is why it’s my favorite genre.
I don’t think the killer is Sean.because he realizes that he will probably not inherit a thing. He is not worried about how he will live in the future because he has his ships in a bottle business and has saved all proceeds from that, I think.
He is, however, resentful of the maccallisters treating him like hired help instead of someone who has been good for the camp for many years. However having the.siblings go into a freezing lake was a bad thing. Why.
The freezing lake was definitely a bad idea. Sean is certainly resentful of the family but I feel like he must have something more to hide to be so determined to take their father’s notes for himself. Maybe he didn’t do it but knows there’s something that could prove Ryan didn’t either and then he wouldn’t inherit. Like you said though, Sean has his ship in a bottle business and doesn’t seem to need the camp anymore, so I’m not sure that’d be enough for him to suggest the lake exercise.
I don’t think it is Sean either but he is a very sketchy character with helping the dad spy on all of the siblings and stealing the papers.