ARC

Review: Jackal by Erin E. Adams

~ megs14malloy

JackalJackal by Erin E. Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Even though she is returning to her hometown of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, as a successful adult, Liz Rocher is still filled with trepidation. Her memories of her time there fill her with anxiety.

Growing up a bit of an outcast, the one person she could always rely on was her best friend, Mel. Now Mel is getting married and has asked Liz to be part of her special day.

Mel and Liz have remained close over the years and Liz is even the godmother to Mel’s daughter, Caroline. When it comes to visits though, it’s always them going to see Liz in the city; same with Liz’s Mom.

It’s her turn to show up this time, so she does. It feels strange to be back; doesn’t seem like a lot has changed. Her Mom is certainly full of the critiques straight away.

At the wedding, Liz is discomforted by the woodsy venue. The local woods, the subject of dark legends and a frequent player in Liz’s nightmares, are part of her worst memories from Johnstown.

In spite of the location, Liz is enjoying spending quality time with Caroline. It’s sort of on her to keep an eye on the girl while Mel and her new husband entertain at the reception.

Sometime between dessert, dancing and dodging awkward conversations, Liz loses site of Caroline. She begins searching, asking everyone if they have seen the little girl, but no one has. Starting to panic, Liz enters the edge of the woods. She’s scared.

After finding a frightening bit of evidence, Liz comes to the conclusion that Caroline is gone. She needs help. A full search party is assembled.

Liz is devastated. How could this happen? The incident is reminiscent of another horrible night back when Liz was in high school. A night when another girl went missing in the woods from a party; Keisha Woodson.

Even though she had only planned to stay in town for a couple of days, Liz can’t leave now. She has to stay until Caroline is found. Whatever the outcome, she needs to help. She needs to be here.

In an effort to help find the girl, Liz begins asking around regarding Keisha’s disappearance. Perhaps the two cases are related. What she finds is that Keisha wasn’t the first. She also finds a very distinct pattern, all black girls, missing from the woods, directly around the summer solstice.

Will Liz be able to figure out who, or what, is taking the girls, and find Caroline before it’s too late?

Jackal impressed me. It’s hard to define, it’s quite unique. I would describe it as a thoughtful work of Dark Fiction with heavy Social Horror components. The writing style has a stream of consciousness quality to it, that honestly, I’m not normally crazy about, but it really fit here.

It’s not a super straight-forward story, it does require some effort on the part of the Reader, but I feel like for those who are willing to put in some energy, it will leave a mark.

Liz was a well-developed character. It took time to get to know her, but it would be hard not to feel for her and her experiences. I also felt like her character growth was paced well throughout.

The overall tone reminded me of The Other Black Girl, in that the entire build-up of the story is laced with a certain uneasiness; like you know something sinister is going on just beyond your line of sight.

I love that feeling. The ominous feeling of the developing mystery and the building of tension as the conclusion approaches.

It did sort of lose me a bit towards the end. I’m still a little confused on a couple of things and maybe in those instances would have preferred a more definitive outcome. However, this is 100% personal preference.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Social Horror, or Dark Fiction in general. The topics explored, the over-arching mystery and compelling main character, all combine to make Jackal a stirring debut.

Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m really looking forward to reading more from Erin E. Adams!

View all my reviews

Review: All Hallows by Christopher Golden

~ megs14malloy

All HallowsAll Hallows by Christopher Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

All Hallows, Christopher Golden’s upcoming Horror release, is set in Coventry, Massachusetts.

More specifically, all the events contained within this story surround Halloween Night, 1984, in the solitary neighborhood of Parmenter Road.

The energy in the neighborhood that day is electric, as everyone puts the last-minute touches on the night’s events, decor and costumes.

The Barbosa Family will be hosting their annual and this year, their final, Haunted Woods event. Tony and his daughter, Chloe, have been pouring their hearts and souls into this event for years; setting up just the right props and scares for neighbors and strangers alike to enjoy.

Also that evening will be the typical door-to-door trick-or-treating by neighborhood kids, as well as a block party hosted by the Koenig Family. There’s a lot happening.

The Reader follows the unfolding events via multiple perspectives of individuals living in the neighborhood, including both children and adults.

As the night begins to build, more and more drama is exposed on what one might suppose is a quiet little street. Parmenter Road, like many small town streets, contains a lot of people harboring a lot of secrets. A few of which are about to be brought to light in a big way.

On this night in particular, there are outsiders added to the mix as well. Children dressed in old-fashioned costumes, a Clown, a Scarecrow and a Raggedy Ann, begin to insert themselves into the activities, pleading with the local children for help.

They need to hide, just until midnight from The Cunning Man. Will anyone help them?

I had a lot of fun with this. I love neighborhood-focused stories and this one night on Parmenter Road gave me all the spectacle and intrigue that I could want in that regard.

There was just the right amount of family drama, 80s-references, kills, gore and creepy imagery to keep me 100% invested all the way through.

There are a lot of perspectives, which I feel like not everyone will be crazy about, but for me it made perfect sense. Considering how the story plays out, I actually can’t imagine it being told any other way.

I also loved the atmosphere. Golden brought me back to the Halloween Nights of my youth. Traipsing around with the other neighborhood kids under our claustrophobic masks, carrying plastic orange pumpkins, hitting up as many houses as we could, walking a little faster through the dark spaces between homes.

The strange children and the idea of The Cunning Man definitely brought the chills as well. Nostalgic and scary, I definitely enjoyed the unsettling vibes.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for providing me a copy to read and review. I always enjoy checking out Golden’s new work, sure to be full of creativity and frightening imagery.

Hallow’s Eve is being released on Tuesday, January 24, 2023. Preorder your copy now!!!

View all my reviews

Review: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

~ megs14malloy

Secluded Cabin Sleeps SixSecluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Yeahhhhhh. No. This wasn’t it for me. This wasn’t even in the same zip code as it. I’m disappointed, not gonna lie. You see the rating. I legit celebrated when it was over. We all know, that’s never a good sign.

When Hannah’s often over-the-top brother, Mako, rents an isolated luxury cabin for their friend group for a weekend, she and her husband Bruce, begrudgingly agree to go. Sometimes it is just easier to give Mako what he wants than to fight against him.

Hannah and Bruce have a baby daughter and it will be their first time really leaving her behind. Hannah struggles with the choice a lot, but her mother-in-law is more than capable of babysitting while they’re away.

Thus, they go. Prepared to unplug with Mako, his wife, Liza, Hannah’s best friend, Cricket and her new beau, who none of them have met before.

Arriving at the cabin, they’re impressed. It’s gorgeous, but with Mako, they would really expect nothing less. The tech mogul does tend to go all out.

As the Reader, you follow the interactions of the family and friends as they settle into the cabin. The first night is full of food, drink and fun. An isolated atmosphere is created as they have trouble with wifi connectivity and a storm is coming in. They’ve been warned they could lose power, or worse, get stuck there.

That’s nice. I like the idea of that, but it’s only one part.

There’s also Henry, who we start following as a child in a completely different time and place. Also, it’s not clear how his life is connected to the rest of the story.

And by not clear, I mean not at all. At first when he came in, it was so jarring, I thought I had accidentally opened the wrong book on my kindle.

But wait, yeah, I’m not done yet. You also get the perspective of the owner of the house Mako rented. That was the oddest of them all to me, like, why?!

And lest you believe that we only get the group scenes from Hannah’s perspective, let me assure you, we do not. We get those scenes from multiple perspectives as well.

To me, this story really suffered from trying to do too much. I didn’t feel like the multiple perspectives, or alternating storylines, meshed well together at all.

Additionally, I felt like the thread tying it all together was ridiculous. The antagonist was so unbelievable. I was actually surprised when my eyeballs didn’t roll out of my head during any dialogue involving that character.

I’m gonna leave it there. I have plenty more thoughts, but nobody has time to read through them all and honestly, I’ve burned enough time and energy on this. I’m so ready to move along.

However, with all of this being said, I can see how some Readers may be entertained by this. Just because it didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. If you think it sounds interesting, give it a shot. You seriously could end up loving it.

Thank you to the publisher, Park Row Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. They can’t all knock our socks off.

View all my reviews

Review: Cursed (Gilded #2) by Marissa Meyer

~ megs14malloy

Cursed (Gilded, #2)Cursed by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cursed is the highly-anticipated follow-up to Marissa Meyer’s 2021-release, Gilded. I genuinely love Meyer’s style of writing and her always clever take on classic stories. In my opinion, she’s the queen of retellings.

Because of this, Gilded, pitched as a haunted retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021. Spoiler alert: it did not disappoint!!

Initially, I was under the impression that that was a standalone novel. Reaching the final pages though, it was clear that was not the end of the story.

I have been anticipating this novel, Cursed, ever since.

Following the final scenes of Gilded, Adalheid Castle is in chaos. Serilda has been trapped in a deadly game with the cruel and clever, Erlking, or Alder King.

In a classic power move, the Erlking forces Serilda to become his wife. He’s hoping to be able to use her powers for his own gain. She plays along, mildly, as she has her own agenda going on under the Erlking’s nose; keep your enemies close and all that.

Serilda is determined to help Gild, the mysterious boy who came to her aid in the first book, solve the mystery of his forgotten past.

Meanwhile, the Erlking is plotting revenge against the seven gods who trapped the Dark Ones behind the veil. If he succeeds, it could change the mortal realm forever.

The stakes are high. Can Serilda and Gild figure out how to free themselves from the Erlking’s grasp before the Endless Moon finds them cursed forever?

Y’all, I’m most likely summarizing this very poorly. My apologies for that, but I do not want to give anything away. This is such a fun story to just sit back and watch unfold effortlessly before you.

I think Meyer did an incredible job of building this world, the characters, the lore and the action, oh my goodness! This one had so much action, but most captivating was Serilda’s character arc over the two books.

The conclusion to this couldn’t have been better. It felt so complete; a true 360. I loved sort of the exploration of the idea of what is in a story, folklore, legends that are passed down over generations. Is there truth in them? From where did these legends come?

Overall, this is a fantastic duology for Fairy Tale fans. It has such a classic feel, but is wholly original; great writing and character development.

Additionally, I did listen to the audiobook for both installments, narrated by the always fabulous, Rebecca Soler.

I highly recommend that format for these stories. Soler’s narration style lends itself perfectly to Meyer’s writing. It’s a match made in heaven.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I’m not sure what is going to come next for Marissa Meyer, but you best believe I’ll be reading it!!

View all my reviews

Review: Final Girls by Mira Grant

~ megs14malloy

Final GirlsFinal Girls by Mira Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Mira Grant’s novella, Final Girls, originally published in 2017 is now being released in audio format.

This story features Dr. Webb, who has created a ground-breaking VR technology that she purports helps clients overcome long-term psychological damage and trauma.

With this process, the clients get taken back to significant times in their lives and run through situations that basically equate to scenes straight out of a horror movie.

I understand the idea to be that the scientists take the clients back to these pivotal moments, break them, shock them so severely, that they are able to rebuild new memories and thus rewire their brains; resetting their psychology.

Another main player in this one is Esther Hoffman, a journalist, who has her own very strong opinions on this type of science.

Esther ends up in Dr. Webb’s lab for a story. She observes a couple of clients running through the process themselves, as well as observing the resulting aftereffects. Then Esther agrees to undergo the treatment herself.

When a real world threat enters the lab during Esther’s scenerio, Esther and Dr. Webb, once on different sides, are suddenly forced together in a fight for survival.

Final Girls explores a unique concept that I was definitely intrigued by. I would definitely pick up a full-length novel tackling these futuristic ideas.

My experience with this story overall, however, can be broken down as follows:

Concept: 4-stars
Plot: 3-stars
Characters: 3-stars
Writing: 5-stars

Mira Grant’s writing is something to experience in and of itself. I love it. Every word carefully placed, themes thoughtfully examined, well-paced and nuanced. I always eat it up.

While I don’t think this story will stick in my memory from now until forever more, I am really glad that I listened to it. The narration was fantastic and it definitely is interesting to think about this type of futuristic therapy.

Thank you to the publisher, Tantor Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had fun with this one and will continue to pick up any Mira Grant work I can get my hands on!

View all my reviews

Review: The Family Game by Catherine Steadman

~ megs14malloy

The Family GameThe Family Game by Catherine Steadman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The publisher claims the rules are as follows:

1. Listen carefully
2. Do your research
3. Trust no one
4. Run for your life

With the The Family Game, Steadman has created her most intriguing plot yet. I was truly captivated!!

We follow UK-born novelist, Harry, who currently lives in NYC with her beau, Edward. Things are going so well for Harry. Her first novel was well-received and she is currently writing her second. And there’s Edward. She can hardly believe their relationship. It’s almost too good to be true.

He’s as handsome as a movie star and as wealthy as an Astor; old money, family money. He’s also kind, supportive and seems so into her it hurts.

The thing is, their relationship is progressing rapidly and Harry has yet to be introduced to his family. Edward has warned her they can be a bit much.

Now that they are engaged, the Holbeck family suddenly emerges as a huge force in their lives. Edward was right, they are a bit overwhelming. That American old-money vibe is just poring from every orifice.

Harry grins and tries her best to take it in stride, but her future-father-in-law, Robert Holbeck really gets under her skin. She’s drawn to him in a way that frankly makes her uncomfortable. Then, of course, there is the Dictaphone cassette he slips her upon their initial meeting.

Harry is confused. What is this? Some sort of test?

Firstly, she will need to find a device to play the ancient form of technology, but once she does, it takes even longer for her to actually listen to it. Frankly, I would have had that baby listened to in full by the end of brunch the next day, but that’s just me.

Harry is shocked by the contents of the tape. It seems to be a confession of a very dark family secret. Something that, if true, could be the downfall of them all. Is it real? Why would Robert have given it to her?

With this potentially shocking information in mind, Harry must endure more family events, each one more dangerous than the last. It’s the holiday season, after all.

In between festive activities, Harry puts her natural research skills to the test as she tries to figure out whether or not Robert’s tape is based in fact or fiction. She’s not sure who she can trust, but the wrong decision could cost her everything.

The Family Game is fun, crazy, dangerous and dramatic, just how I like ’em. The twist was a bit obvious in my opinion, but the writing made it wildly-entertaining anyway.

Harry was in a tough spot. Having no family of her own, I could see why she would be attracted to the Holbecks.

Even though they were a bit scary in their forwardness, there was also something attractive about their closeness and traditions. I can certainly see why she would get caught up a bit in their opulent lifestyle.

I really enjoyed Harry’s investigations into the tape. Because of her work as an author, she was used to researching things and brought all of her experience to the table when looking into Robert’s confession.

I also loved the use of the contents of the tape as a narrative device for learning more about the Holbeck family and Edward’s backstory. We don’t get Edward’s perspective at all, so I found that useful for actually getting a read on him and his life.

I had a lot of fun reading this. It was paced so well and I loved the different family events that Harry got to attend with the Holbecks, each one more startling than the last.

By the end, this was well and truly wild, as over-the-top as they come, but still super fun with a satisfying conclusion. It’s the sort of story where you’ll need to suspend belief for a bit, but for me, that didn’t impact my enjoyment level at all.

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Steadman!

View all my reviews

Review: The Kind to Kill (Shana Merchant #4) by Tessa Wegert

~ megs14malloy

The Kind to Kill (Shana Merchant #4)The Kind to Kill by Tessa Wegert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Kind to Kill is the 4th-book in Tessa Wegert’s Crime Fiction/Police Procedural series, Shana Merchant.

If you are unfamiliar with these books, they follow Senior Investigator, Shana Merchant, who, at the start of the series, transferred from the NYPD to the Thousand Islands region of upstate New York. She does this after having a horrendous run-in with a serial killer.

Initially, Shana is looking for a slower pace then her NYPD position. Alas, it seems murder and mayhem follow her everywhere she goes.

I definitely recommend starting at the beginning of this series and working your way through. Although, like many Adult Mystery, or Police Procedural series, you can read any of the books as standalones, or start anywhere along the line, I feel like this series has the greatest impact if you begin with book one, Death in the Family.

In this installment, it’s mid-summer and Alexandria Bay is gearing up for their popular Pirate Days event. The town floods with tourists eagerly anticipating the fun-filled annual festival.

Shana is still reeling from the events at the conclusion of book three, but she is hoping things will settle down soon enough. Maybe the Pirate Days are just what the community needs to distract their attention away from her and the high profile Blake Bram case for a bit.

Unfortunately, when a tourist named Rebecca, visiting the area with her husband, mysteriously disappears, Shana and her team realize this isn’t going to be a normal, relaxed community event.

Their resulting investigation could put a dark cloud directly over Pirate Days, a fact members of the local government aren’t too happy about. Shana refuses to back down though. Time is of the essence here and they need to find Rebecca; community reputation be damned.

As the investigation digs in, Shana begins to realize a lot of the evidence is reminiscent of the serial killer murders in New York she was involved in. Is it mere coincidence, or has someone targeted the area, targeted Shana, on purpose?

Does A-Bay have a full-fledged copy-cat on their hands?

As with the earlier books, I really enjoyed this one. Wegert has done a great job building out Shana’s character and backstory. In fact, it is a central theme throughout all the books in the series.

The beginning of this had a bit of a slow start for me. There was quite a bit of exploration of the community outlook and others opinions of Shana, her connection to Blake Bram and whether or not she had a culpability in his crimes.

For me, we sort of dug into that side of the story a bit too much at the beginning of this, when I would have preferred the focus to be more on the investigation into Rebecca’s disappearance.

With this being said, once the investigation does really get underway, I was hooked. I’m hooked into Shana’s personal story as well, don’t get me wrong, it just felt a little uneven there in the beginning.

The intensity of the case continues to build throughout the book, as more people get involved, including the complicated family of one of Shana’s team members. There were some clever red herrings placed throughout and I enjoyed guessing at what the final outcome would be.

Spoiler Alert: I didn’t guess correctly!

I’m so excited by the ending of this one. Nice set-up, Wegert! I cannot wait for the next book. Already! It’s true, I’m totally invested in this series.

Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The Kind to Kill releases in early-December 2022, so you have plenty of time to catch-up with, or start the series, before its release.

Don’t miss out!!

View all my reviews

Review: White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

~ megs14malloy

White HorseWhite Horse by Erika T. Wurth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


**A NOVEMBER 2022 BOOK OF THE MONTH SELECTION**

Kari James has a bit of a dark past. There’s her missing mother, her father, who suffered a brain injury in an accident and is unable to care for himself, as well as a best friend lost to their lifestyle choices.

Now in her 30s, living back in her hometown of Denver, Colorado, Kari works, takes care of her Dad and in her downtime, enjoys reading, or having a few beers at the White Horse, her favorite local watering hole.

Kari’s cousin, Debby, is her closest friend. The person she can count on the most. The two spend quite a bit of time together, but would probably be together even more if it wasn’t for Debby’s overbearing husband.

One night while Kari is drinking at the White Horse, Debby arrives. As they chat, Debby presents her with a bracelet that she found while doing some cleaning. It used to belong to Kari’s Mom.

As soon as Kari lays hands on the antique, traditionally-engraved bracelet, she feels a unique energy course through her. This is something powerful.

Kari begins being plagued by dreams and visions, of her mother, of her past, of something dark and dangerous lurking just outside her vision. She’s haunted.

Kari, not unlike myself, has always been a fan of just keeping the past buried. Some events are too painful to dwell upon; they’re best dealt with if they’re not.

Kari had always been told her mother left them. Now she’s not as sure that was the case. She begins to dig. She feels compelled to finally find the truth. Is her mother still alive, is she dead?

Kari’s also sort of forced to deal with her own past, life choices and the loss of her best friend, Jamie. Kari needs to overcome her own guilt, in addition to her grief, in order to move forward with her life.

White Horse is a beautifully-told story. I loved the dark and gritty tone of it all. I could picture everything Kari was experiencing, but it was like watching a Horror movie where the setting is always kind of dark. Where you feel like you are squinting because you’re trying so hard not to miss what’s happening.

I also really enjoyed the themes explored. It was layered, emotional, powerful, and the Indigenous lore and concepts involved in the story were fantastic.

There’s quite a bit of mystery surrounding Kari’s family and early-life. I liked how Wurth gradually revealed the truth. It was done slowly, but in a way that kept me interested from the very start.

The pace and tension continues to build as you learn more. By the end, I was so freaking invested. I had to know the truth!

There were some things that I wasn’t crazy about, but not many. For example, Debby’s husband’s presence occasionally kicked me out of the story, he was so terrible.

Also, some aspects did become a little muddled for me personally, particularly surrounding the focus on The Shining. I think I get it, but I’m not a hundred on it. I may need to read it again to clear up some things.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this story; investigating the long-held family secrets within this one Urban Indigenous family. I listened to the audiobook and would definitely recommend that format. It was well-done and just a great story to sit and listen to.

The texture of the grief, the guilt, I felt it. I connected with Kari. Wurth did a great job developing her character. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am going to remember this one for a long time.

View all my reviews

Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

~ megs14malloy

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Queen of Steamy-STEM is back and she’s done it again!!

Without putting too fine a point on it, I’ll just say that Hazelwood’s stories are the romances of my dreams. I loved this one even more than [book:The Love Hypothesis|56732449].

In Love on the Brain the Reader is introduced to Bee Königswasser, a neuroscientist, who has just been offered the opportunity to work on the project of her dreams for none other than NASA.

Moving to Houston, Bee gets to bring along her dark-ray of moonshine assistant, Rocío, who I absolutely adored. The project is set to run for 3-months. This could be the greatest 3-months of her career thus far. Bee is pumped.

Then she discovers her co-lead on the project is Levi Ward. Ughhhh, way to ruin an entire vibe. Levi is a huge jerk her spurned her at every turn in grad school.

Bee never really understood what his deal was with her, but she knows she doesn’t want to repeat any of it at this point in her life.

Unsurprisingly, as Bee and Rocío attempt to settle in at their new office and get to work, it seems that someone is sabotaging them.

Honestly, it’s like Levi isn’t even trying to hide it, but the longer they’re around each other, Bee begins to see a different side to him. Is Levi softening towards her, or was she possibly misreading him all along? Also, if it isn’t Levi sabotaging her, who is it?

Y’all, I adored this story. From the very first moments in Bee’s perspective, I knew I was going to become so connected to her. I adored the way her brain worked, her passions, her backstory, her insecurities, it was all so solidly developed.

Then there is Levi, the epitome of a leading man. He’s handsome, smart, industrious, athletic, motivated, charming, sweet and a Star Wars fan. I mean, sign me up.

I love an Enemies-to-Lovers trope, so I wasn’t surprised that I enjoyed this plot. One thing I really appreciated was that most of the miscommunication between the couple is cleared up earlier in the book than is generally the case.

This allowed a better building of their relationship in my opinion. Usually you spend so much time just trying to have characters actually communicate with one another, it can get frustrating. I didn’t really feel that here. It felt like just the right amount to build tension without causing annoyance.

I also really loved the side characters, particularly Rocío, Bee’s assistant, and Levi’s cat, Schrodinger, because who doesn’t love the cats who star in romance stories!?

I will say towards the end, there was some silly drama that felt very eye-rolly for me, hence the 4.5-stars rounded up, versus a full-5. With that being said though, that’s a pretty minor thing and it was the only time where I was sort of shaken out of the hypnotic trance this story put me in.

I have read all of Hazelwood’s currently published works and I have enjoyed them all. I love that she is writing women in STEM characters and that her characters are all so well-rounded and likable.

As with many Romance stories, there is a formula to them, but hey, they work. You know what you are getting into when you pick up a Hazelwood book and I’m here for it all the way.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

This is my favorite Hazelwood yet and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next!!

Review: Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

~ megs14malloy

Never Coming HomeNever Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The number one thing on Lucas Forester’s checklist for a future mate was that she have money, and we’re talking serious money. The kind of money most people can only dream of; top 1%-levels.

When he meets Michelle while she’s vacationing in London, he sees those big, beautiful dollar signs all over her. She’s perfectly wealthy.

He can hardly believe his luck. His long-time plans of acquiring wealth through a loveless marriage are about to come to fruition. Thus, he puts his well-thought out plan into motion.

The culmination of this plan requires he take a hit out on Michelle and he does, without hesitancy or complication. Now he must play his most important role yet, that of the grieving widower.

Everything is falling into place. He’s feeling good. He’s going to get away with this and then the photos and cryptic messages begin popping up.

Someone knows what he did…

Lucas is scrambling. He needs to figure out who is doing this and put an end to it before they’re able to expose him, but no matter what he does, they seem to remain a step ahead.

Lucas has a lot to hide and this mystery individual is a risk to everything he has built for himself. He’ll stop at nothing to take out this threat.

I really enjoyed Hannah Mary McKinnon’s last two novels, so was very excited to get to this one. Never Coming Home brought her signature wild drama, all while providing a unique perspective.

Getting the story from Lucas’s POV was different and admittedly, very fun. He’s a conniving-dirtbag, there’s no doubt about that, but I found myself quietly rooting for him. It felt a little strange initially, but I got swept up fairly quickly and then was all in.

The final twist was exciting and sort of a fist pump, jaw drop moment, but my main critique actually involves it. The big twist comes very close to the end and I actually could have done with a bit more after the big reveal.

I wanted more of that goodness and I felt it wrapped up a little too quickly for my tastes. Although, with this being said, the final few lines were super-satisfying.

Thank you so much to the publisher, MIRA, for providing me with a copy to read and review. It took me a long time to get around to it, but I’m so glad I have finally read this one.

I am absolutely looking forward to more from McKinnon!

View all my reviews