Member Reviews
I love HMK books and I was so excited to see that she was publishing another one! This was such a good read -& I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!
Book Title: The Revenge List
Author: Hannah Mary McKinnon
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing - MIRA
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: May 23, 2023
My Rating: 3.7 rounded up
I have read several Hannah Mary McKinnon’s novels. When I read "Never Coming Home" ~ which I loved ~ I made a comment that in the Author’s Notes, Ms. McKinnon had a Q & A and she gives us a big hint regarding her next novel. Not the title but a bit about Frankie the main character. I immediately went to put it on TBR list however it is difficult to put a book title on my list when I didn’t have a title but I do have the name of the author: she is someone who does NOT disappoint!
Sooo I was excited when I saw this was available!!
Frankie Morgan is in her early thirty and works for her dad. who ordered her to anger management classes.
In class she creates a “forgiveness list”
~ a high school bully,
~ her college nemesis,
~ a mysterious man named Adrian Costas who ruined her life,
~ her obnoxious neighbor,
~ her back stabbing colleague,
~ her father (she is definitely harboring resentment)
~ her counselor Geraldine,
~ another mysterious man called Shay, the driver of hit & run who took her mother’s life
However, Frankie’s list is taken.. Now something is happening to the people on the list.
Frankie needs to find out who is after everyone on her angry/revenge aka ‘forgiveness list’ as she surely will be blamed for the crimes.
Frankie narrows it down who may have taken her list and fears Evan; the hot guy from class might have; especially when she found him near her bag, holding her driver license.
He does admit following her but is innocence of anything more.
We soon learn something about Frankie’s past that leads us to believe we now might know who it is!
This is a major twist – I certainly didn’t see coming.
The ending leaves us to thinking there just might be a follow-up to this story.
However, after the ‘Reader’s Guide’ there is once again a great Q & A section when we get a hint to the next story
Question ~ What can you tell us about your next novel?
Ms. McKinnon gives us a hint that she will be introducing a new protagonist - drummer Vienna.
No title but yep it will be on my TRB list!
Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing - MIRA for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 23, 2023
This author has a knack for writing characters that are not only interesting and wildly entertaining, they’re also unhinged. For me, that’s a good thing and Frankie was a trip. She was frustrating at times, she really made terrible decisions and blew up her life like every chance she could lol but there was something about her that was oddly endearing for me too. The plot was pretty unique though not realistic, but it was fun and I wasn’t sure how things would come together in the end. As much as there seems to be like a lot going on it also felt like a slow burn with things getting pacier in the end. Things were left wide open, so much so that I wonder if there will be a sequel? But overall this was fun ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was SO good. The main character makes you want to shake her at times but I was rooting for her just as much. Hannah Mary McKinnon has not disappointed me once! Super excited for this to hit shelves and tell customers about it.
Thank you NetGalley and The Killer Crime Club for the opportunity to read The Revenge List by Hannah Mary McKinnon. I was thrilled to read this novel as Hannah Mary McKinnon is a master writer of a novel with twists that make sense yet come out of nowhere.
The Revenge List is a story of family tragedy, drama and mental health. Frankie, the main character, is struggling with managing her intense anger. Frankie gets pulled into trouble as she deals with her life and traumatic events from her past. As the novel unfolds the reader gets to learn more about Frankie's past and the people in it.
There are twists and some terrifying moments. The Revenge List is a novel to sit back, enjoy the ride and don't expect to put the book down until the last detail is revealed.
Frankie Morgan is a woman with a lot of anger issues. Her mother died in an accident when she was 14 and her relationship with her father has never been the same. After an altercation with one of the clients at her father's company, he insists that she attend an anger management course. In the first session, she is asked to create forgiveness list with all the people Frankie feels have wronged her in the past. After the session, and a strange encounter with Evan (another participant) and an Uber, Frankie discovers her journal with the list missing. Then she discovers that people on her list start having serious accidents. This starts Frankie spiraling out of control, getting angry at the littlest things, while also trying to figure out who has her list. After about the halfway point, things in Frankie's past are revealed that can lead you to who the perpetrator is.
I liked Frankie as a character and could empathize with her in many ways. The ending was well done and leaves the door open for speculation about the fate of Frankie, her family and friends.
Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for this Arc!
This book had some great twists, it was fast paced and the plot was super original, this is my first book by this author but it won’t be my last!
This is a good, twisty story with a premise I hadn’t seen before. In spite of a rather unsympathetic main character, I enjoyed this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am so conflicted about this book. The pace is fantastic and the plot highly engaging. I had to suspend my disbelief over some of the things that main character Frankie does, particularly breaking & entering, and growing to dislike her as a character. Then, the whole book twisted. It wasn't what I expected and I'm left with mixed feelings. It is well written. It was GOOD.
I just don't know if it was for me.
The Revenge List is about a volatile and angry young woman who makes a forgiveness list in therapy, but it is stolen and tragedy begins to befall the people on the list. It is up to Frankie to find out who is the culprit before it’s too late. It is an interesting premise, which is the only reason I kept reading. I kept waiting to be swept away, but it didn’t happen. Even when something interesting happened, I was so annoyed at the main character that I could not enjoy the potentially good parts! Frankie is so hard-headed and infuriating, I just wanted to be away from her. She ruined the book. My dislike of her overshadowed everything else about the book. Thank you to NetGalley for this opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for honest opinion. I wish I liked it more!
This thriller will keep you in suspense! It’s a page turner that you won’t be able to put down! Lots of twists & turns!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this.
Review
The Revenge List
Hannah Mary McKinnon
Will the Frankie make it? My heart is pounding, my fear is with her.
Moments of frustration and anger are so real that it is my goal to find out
The events that lead to these horrendous situations.
Frankie’s anger management group isn’t helping her too much,
Her anger flares up easily even when she tries not to react.
Frankie’s world is around construction, which is ridiculously considered as
Only a man’s job. The stereotypes of her work It’s not about how good the men think Frankie is, but that She’s a woman. However, this seems to make her
stronger and sometimes angrier.
Frankie’s anger in some instances were transferred to my own. I screamed silently with her. Powerful writing by the Ms McKinnon, which is causing the book to become nearly unputdownable, sure,
There are some breathing moments reading about Frankie’s situations that
Clearly would cause an anger episode in a person prone to same.
The Revenge List, or Forgiveness List, was written intentionally in a discreet way, just for Frankie’s Eyes. Or so it was supposed to be.
This list of names is causing anxiety, paranoia, and fear in her mind. There
Is something sinister brewing around her, and all those thoughts are keeping Frankie confused, angry, yet determined to solve her list issues that are coming to life; regardless of many suspects, and feeling of being
Followed. Roller coaster with emotions goes up and down, reaching some relief after some packages are falling off her “shoulders” which, hopefully
helps looking forward instead of back.
A sequel to Frankie’s story would be definitely on my list TBR.
When a list of forgiveness that Frankie writes during an anger management class is turned into a “hit list” in the hands of a stranger, Frankie has to figure out who is hurting the people in her life before someone dies .
A fast paced thriller with a unique storyline and some unexpected twists . Hard to put down !
This book was twisty! I enjoyed the premise and found it interesting and thrilling. This was a solid 4 star read of me!
The Revenge List is so freaking good. Frankie is a deeply flawed character, but she's so endearing that you cannot help but want to cheer for her. I loved this book because it's thrilling; there are mini situations that had my heart beating. This book had side characters with seemingly sinister motives; it kept me thinking about who is to blame. Thanks for the advance review copy.
3.5 popcorn stars
Does Frankie have an anger issue?
Some of her closest allies think so, and now she is in therapy for anger-management. Her assignment is to make a list of the people she needs to forgive. She writes the names in a notebook and when it comes up missing, she fears the worst.
She panics!
She needs to find out who has her notebook and goes to great lengths to get answers. As things progress, the story gets into "predictable" land. Twists and turns kept me readinge (even when things became pretty ludicrous).
I think my expectations were sky high, after her last novel, Never Coming Home, which I had a blast reading.
It definitely has some fun moments, if you don't get as annoyed with Frankie and some of her behavior as I did! This is just my opinion and I will be first in line for this author's next novel!
Thank you net galley for this arc copy. I gave it 4stars it started out ok and then it seemed super slow to me and dragged on until about the half way point. After that i was hooked wanting to find out what happens next i did predict a couple of the things in the book i wont say so i dont spoil bit i still enjoyed it alot it took me longer to read this one but i ended up getting covid and was really sick or i would of read this in a few days.
Brilliant read, I love this author's ability to get inside your head and keep you HOOKED on her books! I was speechless and had to pick up my jaw off the floor! LOVE LOVE LOVED this one ! EASY 5 stars!
Wow... this was a very good surprise reading for me.
The Revenge List is a very entertaining and fast paced reading.
To be honest, for a few times I didn't enjoy very much how aggressive behavior, and anger was present in someone's life, but then I kept reading and I realized and understood what happened, as the story starts to develop and goes to a different direction in a good and positive way.
Frankie, the main character, is a strong woman, and she shows how she deals with anger, and also how much love she has for her family, which helps her to overcome her issues.
I really enjoyed this book!
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced digital copy, in exchange of my honest review.
4.5 stars - You never know what you’re going to get with a Hannah Mary McKinnon book, and this one isn’t any different!
The plot was clever and original. Frankie, who is in her early 30s and works for her father's construction company, has been sent to an anger management program. Her primary motivation for joining the program was due to a “dispute” with a customer. Frankie maintains that he harassed her sexually as there was no witness, it became a classic "he said, she said" situation. Not even her own father seemed to believe her. He apologized immediately to their valued customer by sending his daughter to the program.
Due to an exercise during Anger Management, she compiles a list of those she needs to forgive in order to move on, including her harassing client, the bully from high school, her college rival, a mysterious man named Adrian Costas who wrecked her life, her annoying neighbour, her backstabbing coworker, her father (for whom she has undoubtedly been harbouring resentment for a long time), her counsellor Geraldine, another enigmatic man named Shay, and the hit-and-run driver who took her mother’s life.
After writing her “Revenge List” she goes to a coffee shop and then loses her notebook, which contained her list. Frankie then starts to notice bad incidents happening to the people on her list.
It wouldn't be a Hannah Mary McKinnon book without a twist ending! I did saw it coming from a mile away, but I feel that’s because I know Hannah now! (haha)
My only small issue was I couldn’t relate to Frankie, and I was constantly stuck between hating her and being annoyed, to feeling a tiny bit of empathy for her. It was a bit confusing for me. I also didn’t love many of the other characters.