It’s all there, the secrets, the betrayal, the revenge and a parade of killer characters poised for murder. Inspired by a sensational and factual Florida case, We Would Never, an insanely plotted thriller, has enough red herrings to keep you speculating who mercilessly gunned down Jonah Gelman, smack in the midst of an acrimonious divorce. Surely, none of the Marcus family were capable of homicide! They would never, commit such a horrific crime, “until they found themselves in a situation where they might.”
Of course, Jonah’s mother-in-law, Sherry Marcus was a likely suspect. Now an empty nester, Sherry was the type of mother who would, “bend bars of steel to rescue their loved ones”. Nothing mattered more to Sherry than her soon-to-be-divorced daughter, Hailey and beloved sons Nate and Arnold.
Sherry, absolutely despised her ex-son-in-law Jonah. And with good reason! Jonah abandoned her “Sunshine,” her darling Hailey after seven years of marital discord. Always critical of Hailey’s family, Jonah tormented Hailey with interminable court motions. He prevented Hailey and Sherry’s adorable granddaughter Maya from relocating from New York to be close to her family in sunny West Palm Beach. Without doubt, Sherry hated her son-in-law, but Sherry would never kill anyone.
What about Nate, Hailey’s loyal brother? Nate was, after all the family firebrand, an instigator who, in his childhood, was incredibly mean to his younger brother. As an adult, Arnold moved out of state, completely detached from the family, happily living in Maine. Besides, Arnold was the family softie who saved and trained puppies. He would never even imagine such a heinous act as murder.
Nate however had always been protective of his younger sister. He was nauseated, fed up with Jonah’s despicable rigidity during Hailey’s bitter custody battles. Nate offered Jonah a sizable sum of money, a bribe, to end the escalation. A joker and smart-aleck Nate once quipped the family should kill Jonah. Of course none of the Marcus family took him seriously. Moreover, Nate had more pressing matters on his mind. He worked hard to convince his father to expand their dermatology practice and was seriously concerned about his aging father’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. Frankly most of Nate’s energy was expended on Tara, his assistant in the practice for whom Nate developed carnal feelings. Whenever Tara’s boyfriend Kevin was out of town on business Nate headed for his relaxation destination with Tara. Granted Nate was a scoundrel, a rabble-rouser but he would never hurt a fly. Would he? Would Arnold? Or what about Hailey, the long suffering ex-wife?
A spine-chiller with more moving parts than a Swiss watch. Author Tova Mirvis cautions, “People like to make all kinds of proclamations of what they would never do.” And reconsider.