By Robyn Rossit
Content warning: toxic relationship, kidnapping, addiction, death, violence
After reading and enjoying Hannah Mary McKinnon’s 2021 release, You Will Remember Me, her latest release, Never Coming Home, was a highly anticipated release for me this year. It is a story about Lucas Forester, a man who married the wealthy and sophisticated Michelle. While her wealth was enticing, her lavish spending habits and attitude towards anyone who was beneath her status left something to be desired. Lucas has a plan to inherit his wife’s fortune, but unfortunately, because of an iron-clad prenuptial agreement, this involves taking out a hit on her. Lucas is smart and ensures every track is covered while falling into the role of the grieving husband. However, when a photo and mysterious note appear on his doorstep, he realizes that someone is onto him.
I really enjoyed that Never Coming Home was told from Lucas’ perspective. A thriller told from the villain’s point of view is always a refreshing change from the usual formula. I found Lucas’ narration style reminiscent of Joe from You by Caroline Kepnes. He’s arrogant, intelligent, and a bit of a sociopath. That being said, he is a very unlikeable main character—which he is fully intended to be. He is manipulative and very entitled. But to be honest, all of the characters in Never Coming Home were unlikeable. Michelle looks down her nose at people and mistreats Lucas almost as much as he mistreats her. At one point, I said out loud that the only character I liked was the dog.
Lucas’ upbringing was less than easy. Brought up by a father who had a gambling problem, as well as an alcohol problem, had him taking care of the two of them much earlier than he should have had to. This was a theme that is woven throughout his story. His obligation was to continue to care for a father who didn’t really take care of him.
For the most part, the pacing of the story is very consistent. Hannah Mary McKinnon is a brilliant writer and really knows how to execute plot twists and turns. Similar to the last book I read by her, I was not able to completely guess the ending. I did find the ending happened a little too quickly, but at the same time, the last few chapters were highly engaging. Thankfully I had no reason to put it down when I got to the final stretch and enjoyed the ending in one sitting.
While Never Coming Home, in my opinion, did not quite measure up to You Will Remember Me, it is still a welcome addition to the thriller genre. It is certainly quite dark and will have readers on the edge of their seats. Hannah Mary McKinnon knows how to weave a dark and twisty story.