They'll Never Catch Us

by Jessica Goodman

**A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

From rising star Jessica Goodman, author of They Wish They Were Us, comes a new fast-paced thriller about two sisters vying for the top spot on their cross-country team—until a teammate’s disappearance throws their lives off course.
 
"An utter page-turner. Goodman's voice is razor-sharp and keenly precise. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn!" —Tiffany D. Jackson NYT Bestselling Author of White Smoke and Grown

Stella and Ellie Steckler are only a year apart, but their different personalities make their relationship complicated. Stella is single-minded, driven, and she keeps to herself. Cross-country running is her life and she won't let anything get in the way of being the best. Her sister Ellie is a talented runner too, but she also lets herself have fun. She has friends. She goes to parties. She has a life off the course.

The sisters do have one thing in common, though: the new girl, Mila Keene. Both Stecklers' lives are upended when Mila comes to town. At first, Ellie and Stella view the new star athlete as a threat. But soon Ellie can't help but be drawn to her warm, charming personality. After her best friend moved away and her first boyfriend betrayed her, Ellie's been looking for a friend to share her secrets. Stella finds herself noticing the ways she and Mila are similar. Mila is smart and strong--she's someone Stella can finally connect with. As the two get closer, Stella becomes something she vowed she'd never be: distracted.

With regionals approaching and college scouts taking notice, the pressure is on. Each girl has their future on the line and they won't let friendships get in their way. But then, suddenly, Mila goes out on a training run and never returns. No one knows what happened, but all eyes are on the Steckler sisters.

• ISBN10: 0593353455
• ISBN13: 9780593353455
• Publish Date: 16 August 2021 (first published 27 July 2021)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 May 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Razorbill
• Edition: International edition
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

This was a slow burn to get started, so slow that at times I was pretty frustrated. There is such a heavy emphasis on cross-country that it almost overshadowed the rest of the story. While, yes, cross-country was important to the story, it often felt like I was being banged over the head with it. Nor did it help that there were a lot of factual inaccuracies surrounding the sport.

There is also a cast of characters that isn’t always terribly likeable. But while there are those who don’t like that unlikeability, especially in a protagonist, I enjoyed it. It added to the suspense of the story, with the protagonist potentially an unreliable narrator. I don’t have to like a character to find them complex and interesting, and they were definitely that.

But the big reveal… it felt rushed and incomplete. It’s difficult to explain without potentially spoiling the ending, which I will not do. Suffice it to say that some of the storylines felt hastily wrapped up in ways that felt implausible and incomplete. But did I guess at the killer? No, I didn’t. So that’s good.