Never Have I Ever | Joshilyn Jackson

Title: Never Have I Ever
Author: Joshilyn Jackson

In Never Have I Ever, Joshilyn Jackson brings her signature friendly-but-dark suburban energy to the domestic thriller genre, and for the most part, it's a breath of fresh air.

We meet Amy Whey, who has the "perfect" suburban life: the husband, the stepdaughter, the new baby, and the inevitable dark secret. But let's be honest--this is a domestic thriller. If a character in this genre doesn't have a skeleton in their walk-in closet, are they even a protagonist?

The book kicks off with a fantastic premise: a mysterious new neighbor, Angelica Roux, crashes book club. Naturally, everyone gets a little tipsy, and Roux suggests a game of "Never Have I Ever" that goes way beyond "never have I ever ghosted a guy on a dating app." Amy, possessing a secret that could ruin her life, is understandably less than thrilled.

What I truly appreciated is that Amy isn't your standard, cookie-cutter "suburban wifey." She is fiercely devoted and, when backed into a corner, proves she is capable of some genuine darkness. Jackson excels at grounding her characters in real emotions. Unlike many modern thrillers where I find myself rolling my eyes at a character's ridiculous justifications, I actually understood Amy.

Jackson also avoids the cardinal sin of the genre: she doesn't hoard the "big secret" until the final five pages. The reveals are rationed out nicely across the acts, which saves us from that deflating of a "big twist" that ends up being nonsensical or stupid.

While the writing is as sharp as a kitchen knife, the mystery itself felt a bit disjointed. There were stretches where the plot felt drawn out, like a book club meeting that goes on three hours after the wine has run out.

Furthermore, while the final reveal definitely caught me off guard, it didn't feel like it 100% fit the puzzle Jackson had been building. Looking back, there were maybe one or two breadcrumbs leading there, but mostly it just felt like it didn't belong.

If you're a fan of Jackson's women's fiction, this is a fun, suspenseful crossover. If you're a crime fiction lover who hasn't tried her yet, this is a solid entry point.

It's a good book, it's just not the book. 

Three out of five stars.