This was an addicting thriller that hooked me from the start! I haven't read any books by this author before and now I definitely want to. I really liked Sam and the dual timelines in this too!

YOU NEVER SAID GOODBYE By Luca Veste

Thank you to Bookmarked for the gifted copy!

MY RATING: I liked it!

SUMMARY:
Sam and his family were in a car accident when he was nine, and his mom and brother were killed. Sam and his dad moved away immediately, too hurt to stay. As an adult, he visits his dying father, who he hasn't seen in over 20 years. His father was assaulted in his own home, and his last words rock Sam's world: your mom is alive.

MY THOUGHTS:
This book was fast paced and tense, always waiting for something else to happen. There were crazy highs and lows and always something going on. I loved the inclusion of this young but power imbalance love and thought it added to the story.

I was confused a bit by the beginning of the story, with lots of characters and plot lines and timelines. Even once I figured them out more, the use of first person was tricky and I'd have to read a bit before knowing who was speaking. Maybe names as the chapter titles or third person POV would've been easier to follow.

Overall, a very quick and plot based read. A good pick for my first book of 2023!

I really enjoyed this book once I got into it. There are so many characters introduced right away that I had to create a "cheat sheet" to keep track of them initially. Once I got the characters down and how they fit into the story, it was a very enjoyable read. The story was very fast-paced and kept me reading long into the night to see what happens next.

Luca Vesta’s book, You Never Said Goodbye, will be a treat for those who love thrillers where what they believe to be true comes under constant questioning. Sam Cooper begins a quest for the truth with his father’s shocking confession on his deathbed that his mother is still alive. For twenty-five years he has lived with a memory of the drowning death of his mother and brother with the added guilt that he should have saved his brother and could not. Left with his grief-stricken distant father, his life has only recently begun to have hope.

The confession and the realization that his father has been attacked will send him from London to Connecticut and the page-turning quest to find the truth. How his mother came to be in this situation is one mystery, who attacked his father and now seems to be pursuing him is another, and how a mother could abandon her husband and son with no word for twenty-five years is a third. It is a compelling read.

You Never Said Goodbye
Author, Luca Veste
Available now!

Thank you, @bookmarked for my #gifted arc and for my @netgalley e- arc!

Wowza, You Never Said Goodbye is the definition of a dark psychological thrilling cat and mouse hunt. It gave me The Fugitive and Sleeping with the Enemy vibes.

You Never Said Goodbye is a dark thriller of secrets and lies that have remained buried for twenty' five years until Sam gets a life- changing phone call, notifying him that his father is dying in the hospital. His father, with whom he has little to no relationship after his mother and brother drowned twenty- five years earlier in a devastating accident that they were all in together. Sam has lived with all- consuming guilt that he did not save his younger brother, and his father was so deeply grieving that he was unable to comfort or be a father to Sam.

Once at the hospital, it's clear that Sam's father was attacked, and his last words to Sam send him on a wild chase that sets in motion the absolute unimaginable. Everything he thought he knew about his family's past is seemingly untrue. Is it possible that his mother may actually be alive after all these years? But why would she never reach out to her only surviving son?

What follows is Sam's search for the truth. Filled with shocking discoveries, deceit, violence, and several characters that must prove their loyalty, You Never Said Goodbye questions how far Same will go to discover the truth.

I love a good who is she mystery thriller book and wow did this one deliver. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy

Pub: December 6, 2022 by @bookmarked

Sam Cooper’s life has been pretty rough. His mother and brother died in a car crash, that he witnessed, and grief overtook his father.

On his deathbed, Sam’s father makes a shocking statement: Sam’s mother, Laurie Cooper, is still alive. Sam is immediately drawn into a mystery that spans decades and continents as he searches for the truth.

This book is action-packed! From England to the UK, the story is tension packed and there’s always the feeling that you’re being chased and can’t trust anyone.

It took me a little while to get into the story. At first, all the bad guys blurred together. When Sam arrived in the US and met Tom and Quinn things clicked for me. Sam is at the centre of the action, but it’s Laurie and her story that was the heart of the book for me.

Also… can we please get a book about Quinn !? She is so interesting and I feel like we just got a teaser into her character.

If you have friends or family that love authors like Michael Connelly, I think this would make a great holiday gift.

Thank you @bookmarked & @this_is_edelweiss & NetGalley for the eARC to read and review.

So I was pretty pleased when within the first few pages, the love interest turns out to be an Arsenal fan! But then the Main Character asks her what she likes about them, and she responds, "Well, they used to be good[.]" I will shelve my entire lecture on the Mikel Arteta project that was well underway in 2020 when this book was set and say only: welp.

That was, perhaps, my first indicator that this book and I might not see eye to eye on a lot of things. The afterword actually helped me gain a greater perspective on what was going on with the author as he wrote this. His mother apparently walked out on him as a child, and the echoes of that loss permeate this novel, that he wrote as an exploration of that pain. And I must say, his generosity in writing for the disappeared mother, Laurie, in this book, is above and beyond. The empathy was greatly touching, as this book chronicles both her life and the life of the son she left behind, in multiple narratives that shift back and forth in time.

Laurie is a teenager when she falls in love with bad boy Anthony Sullivan. She knows that something truly dangerous lurks behind his eyes, but it's only as her world narrows to serving his needs and interests alone, even as he grows wealthier and more powerful, that she realizes that she's utterly trapped. Her best friend from childhood eventually helps her run away with the love of her life, and Laurie builds a quiet, happy existence with her new husband and, soon enough, two children. But a grave miscalculation brings them back to Anthony's attention, and Anthony is not the kind of person to let things -- or people -- go.

Fast-forward twenty-five years and Sam is a damaged thirty-something trying to paper over the cracks in his psyche and finally settle down. Ever since his mother's death in a car accident, his father has pushed him away, so he has mixed feelings about being summoned back to the town he grew up in by the news that his dad's in the hospital. He's shocked, however, to learn that his dad's hospitalization isn't due to illness or accident, but due to having been roughed up by intruders. Worse, his dad confesses to him that his mother is still alive, across the ocean in America where she came from.

This sets Sam on a dangerous search for the woman he'd thought dead for decades, as various forces work with and against him for this purpose. Some of the twists felt over the top, if not verging on caricature, while others were neatly elegant. But the thing I thought this book, or more specifically the main character, needed was therapy. The narrative would still have been propulsive had Sam been less of a throbbing ball of needy energy, and it certainly would have been easier to read.

It would also have been easier to read had it been localized better. Americans talking in British vernacular kept throwing me out of the narrative. I don't blame the author at all -- I mean, you don't know what you don't know -- and honestly wonder if I received a UK version of the proof. I just think that aspect could have used a little more editorial oversight for the benefit of American audiences.

You Never Said Goodbye by Luca Veste was published December 6 2022 by Sourcebooks Landmark and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781728261294">Bookshop!</a>

I really loved the premise of this novel. Sam’s mother died a long time ago when he was a kid. But now he’s an adult and he’s discovered that she may still be alive…

My favourite portions were the chapters from Laurie’s perspective (the mother). They were eerie and I always wanted to know what was going to happen next. I think that the book would’ve captured my attention more if there were more of these chapters. So good.

Anthony was a great villain. He was a bit cliché (standard rich and powerful guy having people killed behind the scenes), but it worked for me. He was scary because it was clear that his pride would overrule everything else.

I did find that this one fell a bit flat for me when it came to the other parts of the book. There were a lot of predictable characters that seemed to fit stereotypical molds. Sam’s chapters didn’t really interest me because it was a repeated formula of him being hunted down by Anthony and his men.

In saying that, the writing was good and the story was solid! I liked this one, but I just didn’t love it and wanted more of that domestic/psychological thriller component. I know a lot of people would love this book, so I encourage you to check it out!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for my gifted copy.

I'm not going to deny that this book held my interest. It was a fast read, it was action-packed. My main problem with it is I just didn't find it believable. Yes, it's fiction. I get that. I just feel it should be somewhat credible. I found it hard to believe Sam, who has had absolutely no military training whatsoever, can manage to evade the bad guys, plan and execute attacks on them. While I believe that Anthony could hold a grudge all those years, where did he get his little army of baddies from? Was he really that much of a big shot? How did he keep track of people years before the internet was even a thing?

There are plenty of evil characters here. Selfish ones. Some good ones. Some who were good but over the course of events, became bitter and broken. There are a couple good twists. The dialogue was well-written.

Overall, I liked the book. It could have been a four-star read for me if I had just been able to believe in it more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this action packed thriller. Wow this was one crazy ride!! Sam returns to his home town as he learns his dad is dying. Pretty much from then on, Sam is on a wild goose chase hearing that his mum is alive though he believed she died 25 years ago.
The story is told in Laurie's POV in the past to learn what happened to her and current day with Sam's search. It was an interesting premise and kept me interested.

How far will someone go to avenge family? You Never Said Goodbye by Luca Veste is a fast paced thriller about one man's quest to do this.

A fast paced thriller that will require you to suspend belief in a few places, overall a fun dark and gritty thriller

Fast-paced, thrilling, non-stop action, twists and turns all the way to the end. An exciting, captivating, roller-coaster mystery!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this ARC.

You Never Said Goodbye is a thriller that follows young love gone wrong to present day mayhem. This rollercoaster of a story finds a son living in England believing his mother is deceased, only to be told she might be alive in America. The tragic way she passed has haunted Sam for his whole life as its been over 20 years since he lost her and his young brother. A sudden attack on his life in England, forces him to seek refuge in the states to find answers. Is his mother truly alive?

Sam was incredibly frustrating as he wouldn't listen to those trying to keep him safe. He ultimately escapes three attempts on life after NOT taking their words to heart. The story is a constant motion through people chasing people, fights to back to people chasing people. This story is a quick read.

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS for the complimentary copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Sam finds out that his father was brutally attacked and last minute goes to the hospital to say goodbye. He never expected the news from his father right before he passed that his mother was still alive. The same mother that he believed to be dead all these years.

I’ve only read one book by Luca Veste and I have to say that this one was so much better than that first book! I always love giving authors second chances with books because sometimes they may not work out for me and that’s okay. But I loved this one. It was a mystery that kept your attention the entire time and trying to figure out what actually happened all those years ago. Veste did such a great job and keeping you turning the pages and helping you understand all the events from years prior. The part that took away the 1 star was that the present chapters seem to have different POV from different characters and there wasn’t really a good job at differentiating between the different POV so there were some parts that I would have to reread to make sure I was understanding which character that part was focusing on. Overall, I thought it was still a good storyline that keeps the readers attention and has great twists and turns throughout the book!
*
This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

What a gritty, intense, high octane read that had my mind spinning. Not knowing which way was up, down, left, or right. It was a sprint from the beginning straight through until the end. There was no let up, I help my breath for prolonged periods of time. Until I finally figured out what was going on and the reasons behind it.

Sam has lived in a fog for the past twenty-five years after the night of the horrific accident that took his mother and younger brother from him. His father never fully recovering from their loss, finding solace within a bottle. Pushing Sam away and leaving him to believe that he was the reason his younger brother died. When Sam receives a call saying his father is on his deathbed. His father's last words leave him cold and confused, could his mother still be alive. As a series of events begins to unfold and the body count mounts, Sam is left chasing a ghost.

What fast paced roller coaster ride. I am still recovering from the whiplash and working out all the smaller details. Luca Veste quickly grabs your attention with detailed characters and a fast-moving plot. Thank you to Luca Veste and Sourcebooks for this incredible read.

What happens when you discover everything you believed about your life has been constructed by lies? Sam’s fathers dying, but it is what he shares with Sam that rocks his world. His father shares a truth that Sam finds hard to digest. Once he starts searching for answers and hopefully the truth, secrets and lies fly out of every closet and the main question for Sam is why would anyone make such a choice?
We find out as the story progresses the reasons for ripping this family apart. Sometimes they made sense and sometimes they were a bit over the top and had me rolling my eyes. For the most part though, I just went with the flow. I was definitely surprised when the reasons why all this tragedy happened were revealed. My first time reading a book by this author and it did keep me flipping the pages to find out what would happen next.

This book was good from start to finish. I love a good mystery and this one did not disappoint. There were lies, secrets, murder, gun fights, and people traveling halfway across the world to solve a 25 year old mystery. I really enjoyed the shifting timeline so the reader could fully understand the present by being given the actions/motives of the past. The main character was an "average" guy, but he became so much more in the search for what really happened to his mother. I love that a seemingly ordinary man could transform into something new while also trying not to die. Veste sets a good scene and I was impressed with the small twists and turns of this book.

This was a fun, fast paced read. Sam finds out as his dad is dying that his mother is still alive. He is shocked and is determined to find her. Then it goes on a fun cat and mouse chase as Sam is trying to find his mom but others are trying to find him. The body count piles up pretty quickly in this book and it just keeps you engaged wondering how it is going to end.