They'll Never Catch Us

By: Jessica Goodman

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky, Phoebe Strole, Kristen Sieh

A New York Times Best Seller

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 best-selling 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.

©2021 Jessica Goodman (P)2021 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"A fast paced thriller.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“[A] thrilling mystery of friendship, deception and jealousy." (Women.com)

“Uniquely explores the complexities of sisters” (BuzzFeed)

Boring

After reading The Councilors, I was expecting another amazing story that would pull me into the world she describes; however this fell flat on many levels. This story really is just a long and dry narrative about an extremely unlikable lesbian cross country runner. This story is much more about the sport of running and way less about the characters lives and drama that lead to a murder. The main character is really unlikable in many ways, and really doesn’t have any redeeming qualities. It’s also unrealistic where it seems like every character has to mention how they are involved in LGB organizations and support groups. There are more woke virtue signals here than in her other books, and with such a boring storyline, you have to wonder if that was the point of the whole book?

Phenomenal

Loves the buildup of the entire story! Beautiful book, love the characters, the dialog. 10/10 definitely recommend!

Nearly perfect

THEY’LL NEVER CATCH US might just be my favorite read of 2021. Filled with messy, misunderstood girls who don’t always make the best choices Jessica Goodman’s sophomore effort is even better than her debut.

Set in a backdrop of four unsolved teen runner murders THEY’LL NEVER CATCH US is nonstop intrigue. Older sister Stella is home from angry girl camp after an incident with a competitor last season. Ellie is keeping secret her relationship with a teammate’s boyfriend, which included a pregnancy and abortion. The two best runners on their cross country team until newcomer Mila challenges their supremacy. Then Mila goes missing and the sisters become suspects.

I also listened to the audiobook, which I enjoyed because the voices were distinct and on point.

At this point, I’ll read anything Goodman writes. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

It wasn’t terrible but…

It wasn’t the worst book but def wasn’t the best. I thought there would be more murder mystery to it. It kinda dragged out towards the end.

The story dragged.

It dragged and I couldn’t always figure out what character was supposed to be speaking.

Knew before the end!

Was a good read but did know the whole story before the end. Easy read.

Far Fetched

I found myself thinking, "what a bunch of whiners," as the sisters. the coach, & other members of the team whine & complain, whine & moan. Also a large % of the team fits the definition of sociopathic as they cheat on their friends, plan to do bodily harm to their teammates & worse. A town breathtakingly beautiful is described, but all each character aims for is to, "get out of this town." This is not a very believable story or an enjoyable story.

Kept me intrigued

I liked having the chapters from the perspective of each sister. One was very unlikable at first but, as you learn more about her, you come to like her better. I knew one sister was withholding information from the reader and was curious to find out her true involvement in the incident. I thought the reveal of the real killer was a bit of a letdown because the author didn’t drop enough clues about their motivation in advance, so it seemed implausible they’d actually kill for the reasons given.

library?

I mean my daughter took this out at her school library... Is this what our teens should be reading? Hahaha innocently she thought it was a teenage disappearance mystery... In the 1st 20 mins teenage girls are scissoring, holding each other... So instead of finishing she laughed as did I and returned the book... We have no issue with content but it should be listed as LGBTQ..