This slow burner of a book centres on Abagail Adams, a journalist writing a story about a long ago unsolved murder in her home town. Although many years have passed, the memory of the crime still remain and someone doesn't want Abagail to get too close to the truth.

This book really surprised me, its my first by this author and I wasn't sure what to expect but I am glad I took a chance on it. Abagail is a really strong, likable character and there is a supporting cast of others around her who Waters has given real depth of character to.

The novel is very atmospheric with the locality brought to life by Waters writing. A really enjoyable read that left me guessing until the end. A strong recommendation from me. Thank you to Net Galley and the author and publishers for the copy.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Well written mystery that keeps you guessing! At bit slow paced at first and there are a lot of characters that sometimes get confusing when listening but overall good. The narrators did great.

I'm fairly new to audiobooks and Will Collyer is the first male narrator I've had the pleasure of listening to. Christine Lakin, the female narrator, did an excellent job voicing the different characters as well as the southern accents. I don't think this will ever become my preferred method of reading though. The characters are realistic and the story is an interesting look into a small southern town, current day which in this case is 2015 as well as 40-some years ago. Abbie's college friend Joss Freeman is also in town trying to find a Civil War connection in Hunt's Landing for a television program he plans to pitch to the network executives so we're also privy to some historical information on that aspect. This isn't an edge-of-your-seat mystery but it's well written and comes to a somewhat surprising ending.

My thanks to CamCat Books, via Netgalley, for the opportunity to listen to this debut novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Duration: 11 h 40 m
Published: September 20, 2022

Wow. I just did not see that last twist coming but was totally hooked until we got there! I loved the relationship between Abbie and her kids and Joss. This was a great read and I am can't wait to read more books by S.K. Waters!

#TheDeadWontTell
#NetGalley

This initially took me a couple of attempts to start this Audio book but I'm glad I went back to it as this although a slow starter it gradually built up momentum and then I really enjoyed this. Not a thriller but a good murder mystery with a couple of really good twists

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I really enjoyed this Audio book. At first, I wasn't sure about the second narrator but as time went on, I grew to like the style. The "who done it," aspect was fun and kept you guessing until the reveal. The plot took twists and turns as did the sub plots. The pace was decent. I tend to like a fast pace, and this was a little slower than my normal, but it was good. Just as I was starting to get bored the pace would pick up, so it worked for me. The characters were believable and had their own interpersonal relationships that felt genuine. I liked the diverse personalities represented in characters, without it feeling fake. Sometimes is feels like writers throw in characters or aspects because it's the in thing and it doesn't flow right, certainly not the case here. Will there be a book two.....?

This was an interesting book though there was a lot of dialogue that I found somewhat tedious at times. This may have been more because of my unfamiliarity with audio books than the book itself.

This was a nice read, or in this case, a pleasant listen. The voices and accents on the audiobook were easy to listen to and fitted the story well. It was a murder mystery with an ancient crime to uncover and a killer to find 40 some years after the killing. The story had a perfectly fine protagonist, although I ended up liking her friends more than her as her character could have done with a bit more personality, I thought. All tied up neatly in a little bow as these books often are. Still had me listening til the end, and enjoyed it all so 5 stars!

This was a great book. The characters had depth, the story was well-written and surprising. I didn't see the twist coming, but it all makes sense. It's a beautifully written mystery thriller.

Former historian Abbie Adams receives the first big break of her budding journalism career when her boss asks her to look into the story of an unsolved 1969 murder in her small Alabama town. The victim, Rosalie DuFreyne--one of only a few black students enrolled at the local college at the time--was killed the same night the entire town was out celebrating the moon landing. As Abbie digs into the case, she discovers that Rosalie had a number of connections to the powerful Wexler family. Abbie herself has a fraught history with Frank Wexler, a history professor who shot down her doctoral thesis.

Sorting through residents’ memories of that fateful night, Abbie uncovers stories of the town’s history of segregation, an academic scandal related to the NASA project, and a number of secrets that threaten the reputations of people Abbie has known her whole life. As the trail leads closer to Abbie’s former mentor, Frank Wexler, she struggles to maintain her objectivity toward the man who derailed her academic career. The tension mounts as one of the witnesses Abbie interviewed is killed and someone begins tracking her movements. In the end, Abbie is not only racing to meet a deadline, but racing to identify a murderer who is still on the loose, still killing to protect their secrets decades later.

THE DEAD WON’T TELL is rich with a deep sense of place and a strong cast of varied characters. Waters captures the small Southern community without glossing over racial issues or caricaturing Southerners. Amid all the tension of a gripping murder mystery, this book also provides moments of humor and insight into Abbie’s journey to recover from a series of traumas.

A particularly fun subplot features Abbie’s old college friend, Joss, who now stars in a TV series about historical mysteries. With his job in trouble, he hopes to save his career by investigating a rumor of hidden treasure in Abbie’s town--all while dealing with the loss of his girlfriend and her abduction of his cat Lincoln. (As a side note, if there is a sequel, I hope that Lincoln continues to figure into it prominently!) Waters also has moments of beautifully lyrical writing about the springtime countryside, but the descriptions never bog down the momentum of the plot.

I listened to the audio version of THE DEAD WON’T TELL. Although the story is mostly in Abbie’s POV, there are some small sections in Joss’s POV, so there were two narrators, both of whom I enjoyed. They managed to convey the accents of different characters without distracting from the story itself. Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Books for providing me with the audio book in exchange for my unbiased review.

What a pleasure to mix the mystery with treasure hunting and combine with a twist of ancient feuds. Brilliantly combined and enthralling to witness the personal development of the main character. If you want a great read, buy this one - you wont be disappointed.

Abbie Adams jumps at the chance to write about a cold case mystery and have her name in the byline. This historian-turned-journalist uses her historical knowledge of the Alabama community to dig deep and investigate the mystery with the help of some friends. Abbie's long time college friend Joss needed a story for his TV show and Abbie was able to give him a few leads. Throughout the book, I liked how both storylines melded together and I enjoyed following along as Abbie and Joss were uncovering their own mysteries. I liked the twists and turns throughout the book and definitely did not predict who the murder was in 1969. I found the book to be funny and intriguing and I loved the build up of the story through the beginning, I was held by the mystery all the way through to the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook, the narration by Christine Lakin and Will Collyer was absolutely fantastic!! I think the narrators nailed it! They really made the characters come alive and made it feel like you were right there with them.

I will be eagerly awaiting future books by S.K. Waters.

Thank you to NetGalley, S.K Waters and CamCat books for the ability to listen to this.

An interesting storyline, an intriguing mystery, and I liked the narrator -- a winning combination. My only hesitations that nearly pulled this review back a star are that the story is a lot of talking and not much action for a great portion of the book (still interesting, though), and that the protagonist repeatedly promises to act intelligently and then chooses not to without a clear driving reason to make her continue to do so. Other than that, I enjoyed it, and I would recommend it.

This was a page turner (or at least an audiobook, I couldn’t put down)! Abbie is investigating a long forgotten death from back in 1969 with seemingly ties to an old and wealthy family. As she begins to dig into the past, she uncovers more and more information that could tear her town apart. When witnesses start to wind up dead, Abbie is nervous but knows that now more than ever the truth needs to come and will stop at nothing to make sure it does!

This one definitely had me guessing with twists and turns that made me feel like not only was I in a novel but also where I was the detective. Each time she found out more information or information was corroborated, I was trying to figure out how all of the puzzle pieces fit into place.

Hired to investigate a cold-case murder involving her former mentor, a novice journalist’s questions about race and police coverups in the 1960s ruffles one too many feathers, putting her family into the real killer’s crosshairs.

This is a great story with excellent narration. One of my pet hates with audiobooks is it can be a great story but if the narrator doesn’t work then the book doesn’t. This is one of the best I have listened to.

This is a marvellous historical murder mystery set in small town Hunt's Landing in Alabama which I listened to on audio, 11 hours 40 minutes long, narrated by Will Collyer, perfectly fine, but the real stand out star is Christine Lakin, who conveys the subtleties and nuances of the more complex character of Abbie Adams, widow, mother to teenagers George and Martha, historian and journalist. Lakin's narration alone is worth listening to the audio, as she immerses the listener into the people and Hunt's Landing of 1969 and the much changed present. An accident that results in serious injuries and hospitalisation leads to Abbie being offered her first byline looking into the barely investigated murder of beautiful black student, Rosalie DuFreyne in the woods so long ago, in turbulent 1969 with the first moon landing.

Arriving to stay with Abbie is her college friend Joss from California, a confident celebrity TV historian, desperate for a new story to pitch and alighting on a local story on the soon to be sold Grover House and missing treasure, in the process becoming more familiar with Hunt's Landing. With no experience of journalism, it takes a tentative Abbie a little while to find her feet, retired cop Jethro Turner provides her with valuable feedback after his interview. However, she needs to see her powerful old professor, Frank Wezler, a man who generates nothing but hatred when his refusal to accept her PhD defence ensured she failed, her life ruined. Fearing her bias, she meets him where he denigrates her abilities, tells her to drop the investigation, saying he and his family will not comment on Rosalie. As Abbie digs into Rosalie's life, it soon becomes clear the past has present day repercussions with a killer doing whatever it takes to never be discovered, including murder.

Waters is an engaging, atmospheric and spellbinding multilayered Southern storyteller, one that will particularly appeal to those who love the pivotal role of the past, with a historian as the main protagonist in this dangerous cold case. There is a wide cast of disparate characters, black and white, good and bad, all of whom feel authentic and real, in this tale where race in 1969 plays a significant role. This is a gripping and entertaining listen that held my attention from beginning to end, skilfully plotted, with its numerous twists and turns, including some unforseeable surprises. This is a brilliant read, but I would specifically like to recommend the audio, it is just so good. I can't wait for what the author writes next. Many thanks to the publisher for the wonderful ALC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an intricate and well written cold case mystery novel. I enjoyed the multiple layers in the story and the two different mysteries that were playing out together.

I always enjoy dual narrators in audio books and this is no exception. Our voices are that Abbie and Joss, each bringing their own identity to the story. Joss is the tv personality, male, bold, confident, and solid and he never varies from this persona. Abbie is female with inner struggles, lack of of confidence hesitance, and at times frustrating. She also varies her characters by adding accents or vocal ranges.

Abbie Adams is a journalist, assigned to investigate a 1960s cold case that rocked her small town. Luckily, Abbie's college friend Joss, a documentarian, happens to visit and investigate his own story but he helps her as well. Abbie’s investigation uncovers, murder, racism, segregation, loyalties, and coverups, nothing new today as it has always been there.

The first chapters present a slow burn story, but then the suspense increases as there are a lot of revelations and plot twists.
S.K. Waters has penned an impressive debut novel.

This was an extremely well written novel and well developed characters that I grew so attached to.

The setting was exactly right-the town of Hunts Landing is full of secrets. The main character, Abigail Adams, is a historian and journalist who is assigned to do a story on a 40 year old cold case surrounding the murder of a young woman. As Abby digs deeper into the past, she finds that many things in her quant, quiet town are not as they appear.

The epilogue set in 1969 and told from Rosalie’s perspective was the perfect way to bring this case to a close.

I received a free audiobook copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This was an interesting read. I have a degree in history and I appreciated the attention to detail involved in researching historical events. I found it interesting that Abbie pretty much admits to being an unreliable narrator and investigator, and it keep the reader wondering if she's deliberately misinterpreting clues and interviews.

This is a good book if you like investigative journalism, historical mysteries, multiple viewpoints, and neatly tied up endings!