I really enjoyed this twisty domestic thriller that has you cheering for the villain! If anyone could get readers to root for a murderous, gold digging husband it’s Hannah Mary McKinnon!

Lucas Foster thinks he’s planned the perfect murder. His victim? None other than his wealthy wife. The only problem is the past doesn’t want to stay buried and it’s clear someone is out to make him pay.

Perfect for fans of antiheroes or books like My wife is missing by DJ Palmer. Much thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my early review copies!

It was a refreshing change to read a book with the bad guy as narrator. I also really enjoyed the dark humour. Although there were some parts that felt contrived and the ending was meh, this was still a fun read.
This is the first book I've read by this author and I am going to check out some of her other ones.

I LOVED the concept of this book, however, the plot was fairly guessable.

Lucas Forester is married to a dream girl. Michelle is beautiful, driven, and rich. Despite being snobbish at times, Lucas seems head over heels. However, unknown to those around, Lucas has been planning to inherit Michelle's fortune by hiring a hitman. He left no traces of the crime and played the role of a mourning husband. Until mysterious notes and photographs start showing up claiming to know what he's done. Follow Lucas's story as he hunts down the mystery.

I really enjoyed the POV from inside the head of a master con-man. At times I found myself rooting for him! I did have the ending guessed, but I wouldn't say it took away from the book. I do feel that the ending was a little rushed and could have been explained a bit more. Despite this, I enjoyed this read and look forward to more from Hannah Mary McKinnon.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever wanted to read a book written from the perspective of the bad guy? Well, look no further, this is it! Lucas Forester is sure his master plan to inherit his missing wife's fortune is foolproof! But suddenly as things begin to unravel we lean more about Lucas' plan and past while he tries to make sure things don't fall part.

The plot of this one was so intricately planned out, yet easy to follow. I had my suspicions about a potential twist, which turned out to be partially true, but there was a lot more to the story than I was able to figure out along the way. There were definitely a few good twists and turns and the ending was rather satisfying. And honestly, reading this book had me wondering if the author had just written the manual or how to get away with murder! This book would make a great movie!

Another wonderful book by this author! The story was told through the POV of the villain. It was interesting to learn how his mind worked and how meticulous he was in his plans. He needed his wife dead so he could inherit her fortune and he was confident in the scheme he had put into place. I know the author has mentioned ‘Wait until you meet Lucas’ and I see what she meant now. He was very manipulative and diabolical and it was interesting to then see him unravel when he realized maybe he wasn’t as clever as he thought. I figured out some of the plot twists but I didn’t see all of them. This book was well done and entertaining. A great thriller to add to your summer reading list.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an entertaining read! I loved to hate Lucas. He seemed like he was the perfect husband and perfect son-in-law, but he was really a master manipulator. I really enjoyed hearing the story from his POV. The ending was surprising and I wasn't prepared for it!

This is the first book I've read by Hannah Mary McKinnon. Really enjoyed her style of writing. Highly recommend this fast-paced psychological thriller!

I love getting the villain’s perspective. It’s so interesting to read about what is going through their minds and the reasons for their actions.

I really liked Lucas and you could somewhat justify his previous actions (to a point!). I was intrigued on all of the planning he did and the steps that he took to make sure that the police didn’t dig too deep into him (but isn’t it always the husband?!).

Just over halfway is where the novel starting to lose me. Even though I did enjoy seeing Lucas fall apart when his well laid out plans turned out not to be foolproof, I wasn’t a fan of Lucas’s past coming back to haunt him. It seemed out of place and I was more interested in the current day saga. Sadly, the twist ending was one that I saw coming from the very beginning.

3 calculators out of a potential 5. An enjoyable read from the villain’s eyes.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Never Coming Home is a thriller. This is my first book by this author.

This is told solely from the male POV. The narrator is Lucas (1st person POV). Lucas is a psychopath. And I absolutely loved getting to see his point of view. It was fabulous!

The story is about his rich wife Michelle. She has vanished. Lucas has to pretend to care. Everything is going well for him until he starts receiving messages.

This was a fascinating thriller. At times it was riveting, especially towards the end. I do wish that there had been more characters. I definitely prefer when there are more suspects to choose from. The ending was exciting. However I was not totally satisfied with the twist. But overall it was a fun read.

This book has to be my all time favorite book written by Hannah! Lucas Forester thinks his plan went and is going perfectly until he recieves an envelope with a mysterious clue. Let's just ask one question...... do you know when and why the hunter becomes the prey? Read this and you'll definitely find out!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin MIRA Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Hannah Mary McKinnon - 4.5 stars rounded up for a deliciously fun thriller!

Lucas has spent years crafting the perfect way to commit murder - the victim being his wealthy wife, Michelle. Michelle's mother is ill, her brother an addict, and Lucas is set to inherit all their money. After the murder is done, Lucas portrays the perfect grieving husband, still taking care of Michelle's mother and brother. But then he starts receiving pictures in the mail - is someone on to him?

Lucas is such fun - he's dark, devious, terrible but still has some redeeming values. He takes great care of his dad, he rescued his dog, Roger, and does watch out for Michelle's family, even if it's towards his own goals. This was perfectly written to keep you guessing - and even if you guess some plot twists, you won't get them all and it takes none of the fun away. A must read book to pack along in your beach bag - another winner by McKinnon!

I was so intrigued by this premise but i was a bit underwhelmed. I loved that it was told from Lucas’ POV and got that insight of the bad guy but it was also kind of stilted. A bit one dimensional. And while i oddly rooted for him slightly i also didn’t feel much of a connection. And neither did i for the big twist. I saw it coming so it wasn’t a shocker but i also didn’t root for the wife. I did like his meticulousness tho.

I just think the lack of emotions for me + lack of surprise lowered this for me. 🫢

It was a fun read. A smooth, easy read. But not really a must read.

Told from the point of view of a con man husband who arranges for his heiress wife to disappear. The paranoia of getting caught, visitors from the past and a neighbor that may be too involved start getting to him as he grapples with his decision. Will he get away with it and score big time? Or will he sabotage his own plans??

This gripping psycological thriller will have you guessing throughout and actually feeling sorry for the antagonist!

Today was one of those days I needed to read a twisted diabolical story. Never Coming Home fit the bill perfectly. Lucas has schemed and planned meticulously to off his wife, whose fat trust fund he lusts after. All has gone according to plan until someone starts pulling the rug from underneath him. Frantically, he tries to figure it out. I loved how others messed with his mind because he was such a weasel. When the truth is revealed I laughed because it’s such a great plot twist.

Diabolical. Darkly wicked. Witty and Clever!

Hannah Mary McKinnon delivers a brilliant mind-bending page-turner thriller told from the POV of the antagonist, Lucas Forester. From his perfectly devised master plan to gain the fortune he desperately needs to the spiral downfall when someone outsmarts him.

NEVER COMING HOME is highly entertaining and addictive. Lucas gets my vote for the villain of the year; however, you almost feel sorry for him. Well, sometimes.

Lucas grew up in England, had a poor childhood, and took care of his dad. He has met a rich woman and they have moved to the US. They are married. Of course, she has no idea who he really is. But he fools her and the family (or so he thinks).

He has already taken care of her dad when he came too close to learning his real identity. Now, he needs more money to take care of his own dad in a home in the UK, so it is time to hire an assassin to kill off his wife.

He is smart with carefully laid plans. He has confirmation the job has been accomplished and she is never coming home. Now, he plays the grieving husband with the missing wife.

In the meantime, he is even taking care of her drug addict little brother and playing nice to his mother-in-law who has cancer. He is set to make millions. He must be patient.

However, there is a kink in his plans. Someone knows what he did. Who? Strange things began happening. How will this unfold?

A laugh-out-loud cat and mouse game of deceit. Is his wife still alive, the little brother playing with him, or is the hitman blackmailing him for more money?

What a fun roller coaster ride! Gosh, Lucas has two sides. One soft side is taking care of his elderly dad and taking in his rescue dog, Roger. He is wickedly funny, and you cannot help sympathizing with him. However, he has a dark evil side.

The author does a bang-up job of getting inside his head. Her best yet and deliciously addictive. For psychological thriller lovers and fans of Kaira Rouda! A wonderful character study, with a fun cast of characters! If you enjoy true crime, get this one on your list. Lucas is better than "The Thing About Pam"!

Darkly funny, scandalous, and utterly satisfying.

@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
Pub Date: May 24, 2022

Lucas is a psychopath at worst or a conniving murderer at best. He married his wife Madison for her money. And now, he has made sure that she is Never Coming Home. She is not the first death that Lucas has initiated to achieve financial freedom. And she probably won’t be the last either…

As the book asks, how many married people haven’t thought of how the death of their spouse will positively affect them? I’m hoping that most of those “dreamers” did not follow through as thoroughly as Lucas does.

Being inside the head of Lucas due to the first-person tense is thrilling. It is hard to explain how difficult it is not to root for him to get away with murder.

Never Coming Home is the perfect book for fans of Dexter because it has the same feeling. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars!

Thanks to MIRA and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Most psychological thrillers are written from the point of view of the protagonist. Hannah Mary McKinnon's latest novel, Never Coming Home, takes its point of the view from the antagonist.

Lucas Forester met and married his wife Michelle in the space of a few months. Michelle comes from a wealthy family, and Lucas has a murky past. His only relative is his father who lives in a nursing home in England, where Lucas is from.

Lucas dotes on Michelle, treating her like a queen, so he is devastated when she disappears while he is on trip back to England. Police find video of her being abducted and thrown into a van by a masked man. The van is later found burned, but there is no trace of Michelle.

Detective Anjali has made it her mission to find Michelle, but has not turned up any clues. Michelle's mother Nora is very ill, dying of cancer, and her brother Travis has a serious drug and alcohol problem.

We know that Lucas is the one responsible for Michelle's kidnapping. He hired a hitman on the Dark Web to kill her so that he can inherit her money, which will enable him to take care of his father's medical bills.

Lucas is calculating and cunning. He carefully plotted his entire plan, making certain to leave no traces of his involvement. He is playing the long game, willing to wait as long as it takes (years even) to get Michelle's money and make sure no one suspects his involvement.

It's all going to plan until he begins to receive photos of Michelle. Is she still alive? Did the hitman change his mind and is now extorting more money from Lucas? Lucas has no way to get in touch with the hitman.
His perfect plan is unraveling, and now his past is coming back to haunt him.

If you liked Caroline Kepnes novel (and Netflix series You), Never Coming Home is a great read for you. There are a few twists in the story, including a big one that I didn't see coming. McKinnon has created an intriguing, complicated character in Lucas, and Never Coming Home is a terrific novel for thriller readers who like to puzzle out the story.

Thanks to Harlequin Books for putting me on their Summer 2022 Mystery/Thriller Blog Tour.

should have known that, if anyone could make me root for the villain, it would be Hannah. I’ve also made a note to myself never to cross her, because there are clearly some oh so fiendish thoughts running through her head!

I know I’ve said this before, but every new Hannah Mary McKinnon novel is my next favorite, and Never Coming Home is just so epically twisty that it’s impossible to put down. Also, bonus points because of Roger

Thanks for the opportunity to review!

Link to 5/23/2022 Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd6QUzarVGl/

This was cruising along up until like 30% then hit a dip. The end was fast, furious, and one thing in particular was very WTF. Overall a fine read but not a must for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @harlequinbooks and @netgalley for my advanced copy!

𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝟓 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑!! It only took 5 and a half months, but it was so worth it!!

This book was uniquely written from the villain’s POV, and I ate 👏 it 👏 up!!!! I figured out one of the major twists, but it did not take away from the story at all!!

Being in Lucas’s mind as he takes us through his plan was unsettling, entertaining, and strangely funny with his one-liners.

At one point, I suspected every single character, and I kept changing my mind on who I was rooting for 🙈 yes…even the villain at one point!

I highly recommend this one for a fast-paced, clever, and wicked thriller!

Hannah Mary McKinnon is a master of sinister twisty thrillers! YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE ENDING COMING. While I did figure out parts of this twisty story, I really loved it! It was a breath of fresh air to read a book with a male antagonist; very few of one I have read are in the prospective. Even through Lucas Forester is a bad guy; he hired a hit man take care of his wife, the writing is fantastic that you start rooting for him! This is a must read for the domestic thriller fans!

***** Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA, Hannah Mary McKinnon, and NetGalley for the gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

This review will be posted on Instagram (thriller_book_sisters) on 5/23/22.