When a secret hurts someone you love, healing has a price—and the truth won’t stay buried.
Perfect for readers who want heart + suspense!
What you’ll feel
- ✓ Seen: mid-life emotional honesty
- ✓ Tense: escalating suspense
- ✓ Hopeful: healing begins when the running stops
- ✓ Relatable: complicated relationships, real consequences
About the Book
Diplomat Elka Vonn thought she’d escaped her troubled family forever. Then her estranged parents vanish from their Pacific Northwest island home, threatening the ambassadorial nomination that represents everything she’s sacrificed to achieve.
Returning to Crown Tree Island after thirty years, Elka confronts more than missing parents. She faces the wreckage of her failed marriage, her fractured relationship with her daughter, and family secrets that someone will kill to protect.
As bodies surface and danger escalates, she must choose between the career that defined her and the family she abandoned.
Never Gonna Know is a gripping suspense about loyalty, ambition, and the cost of trying to outrun the past.
If you like…
- page-turning suspense
- emotional recovery + tough truths
- relationships tested by excuses and secrets
Authenticity
Finding yourself again after ambition has taken you from everything—and everyone—you love.
Secrets
The truths we bury to protect ourselves and what happens when they surface with deadly consequences.
Second Chances + Consequences
Reconciliation is possible, but every choice leaves a mark. Some wounds heal. Some scars remain.
Meet Natalie Ihli
Natalie Ihli is a social worker and educator with a deep love for adventure. She’s currently soaking up Arizona’s desert beauty while dreaming of towering pines and pristine mountain lakes. As she plots out how to master a snowbird lifestyle, her husband endures her ever-growing plans for their next getaway.
Get a feel for my writing!
Get preorder updates
Join for launch news, release day reminders, and occasional behind-the-scenes notes.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
© 2026 Natalie Ihli. All rights reserved.