The nitty-gritty: With colorful characters and an intriguing setting, What Never Happened is a fun mystery with some great twists.

Rachel Howzell Hall is a new author for me, and I’m so glad I had the chance to read her latest book. This was a fun, boisterous, guilty pleasure of a story. It’s not perfect, and I can’t say I liked all the characters. But as far as entertainment value goes, the mystery kept me guessing, the setting was new and interesting, and I had a lot of sympathy for the main character Coco, who is just trying to figure out her life.

Colette "Coco" Weber is returning to Catalina Island after living in Los Angeles for the past twenty years, and she’s not happy about it. Twenty years ago, when she was sixteen, her mother, father and brother were murdered during a home invasion, and Coco only survived because she snuck out to be with her friends that night. At the time, her Aunt Gwen agreed to take care of her until she came of age. Now Gwen lives alone in the house Coco inherited from her parents, and due to memory problems, she needs a caretaker. Coco agrees to temporarily move in with Gwen and keep an eye on her, with the intention of wrapping up some loose ends, selling the house, and taking Gwen back to L.A. with her. After all, there are no happy memories for Coco on the island, and she’s still dealing with PTSD from the trauma of that terrible night.

Once she settles into the creaky old house, the past comes flooding back. Gwen clearly doesn’t want her there, and even her college friend Maddy, who runs the local newspaper and has offered Coco a job writing obituaries, seems to be hiding something. And when widows around town begin dying under mysterious circumstances, Coco decides to investigate. Someone is sending her threatening notes and wants her to leave, but Coco is determined to stay and bring justice to the dead women, even if no one believes her.

So there is a lot going on in What Never Happened, maybe too much, which makes the plot a bit chaotic at times. You have the dying widows, a mystery that Coco is determine to solve. The man who was convicted of killing her family—wrongfully, it turns out—has just been released from prison, and now Coco has to face the fact that the murderer might still be out there. There’s a side romance with a man named Noah who also works for the paper. Coco is also trying to fix up the house and get it ready to sell, no easy task, it turns out, on a small island cut off from the mainland. And she’s in the middle of a divorce as well. Her soon-to-be-ex husband Micah thinks she’s stolen a valuable ring from him and is sending her threatening messages. And to top it all off, Hall sets her story in the weeks leading up to the Covid-19 lockdowns. Whew! That’s a lot to cram into one book, although the author does a pretty good job of keeping all her plates in the air.

However, the things I loved about this book make up for it’s shortcomings. Let’s start with Coco. I absolutely loved her voice. She’s feisty, excitable and very much down to earth. She’s had to cope with a lot, I mean just imagine if you had lost your family in one fell swoop like she did? Her aunt Gwen is terrible to her and is trying to get her to leave, but Coco cares for her anyway. As one of the only Black people on the island, she deals with racism on a daily basis (even her “boyfriend” Noah makes some racist comments). Coco majored in journalism at UCLA and now writes obituaries for a living, which I thought was pretty cool. We get examples of these scattered throughout the book, and they were highly entertaining. The story is told from Coco’s first person POV, so her quirky style is front and center.

The setting of Catalina Island is almost a character itself. The story takes place in Avalon, the main city on the island, and the author paints a vivid picture of a place only accessible by ferry (or helicopter), an insular place where the locals all know one another and outsiders are treated as such. I loved the combination of beauty and danger. The island is full of indigenous poisonous plants, unpredictable weather, and of course, hundreds of dangerous, free roaming buffalo. Because of the size of the island, only a certain number of cars are allowed, so most people drive golf carts instead. And in this story, there is at least one killer on the loose, which adds to the excitement. With real estate prices through the roof, a housing shortage, and a lack of resources, I can firmly state that I would never want to live there!

At first I was worried about the Covid element. Like many other readers, I’m sort of over stories that take place during the pandemic, but luckily Hall puts a different spin on hers by setting it during the very early days, when no one knew anything about the virus and everything was speculation. This added to the growing sense of dread, especially when lockdowns were put in place and Coco finds herself literally stuck on the island with a killer.

There are two main mysteries going on. First, there's the mystery of the local women who are mysteriously dying, although at first Coco is the only one who notices something fishy is going on. Hall inserts chapters from the murdered women's point of view as they are dying, which was very creepy and effective. There’s also the mystery of who is harassing Coco and sending her death threats. I thought the author did a great job of interweaving these two mysteries and keeping the reader guessing. I loved that the harasser writes fake obituaries to Coco to try to scare her, they were creepy and a bit shocking! 

The ending was over-the-top, but still a lot of fun. The author even throws in a feel-good epilogue that made me shed a tear or two. I’m very glad I took a chance on Rachel Howzell Hall, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting her next book.

Big thanks to the publisher and Sparkpoint Studio for the review copy.

I didn't love this book. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't for me.

Coco is visiting her aunt when she becomes consumed with the number of people who are dying on the island.

I thought the book moved along a little too slowly for my liking. It was a little on the wordy side, but wasn't always saying something, is the best way I can describe it.

I didn't find any of the characters to be likable, including Coco.

Overall, just not for me.

Rachel Howzell Hall is back with another riveting family drama. Her stories always cut to the core and challenge the past so it's always something I want to breathe in slowly. She's one of my favorite authors and this one sounded extra creepy.

Coco seems to have been surrounded by death her entire life. As a youth, she was the lone survivor of a violent and deadly home invasion that killed her family.

After a breakup, Coco is relocating. As an obituary writer, she's going where the bodies are thanks to her friend giving her a new opportunity but she realizes the bodies might be piling up a *little* too quickly.

Her curiosity brings her threats but if there's a serial killer or a chance at finally getting closure and/or justice for her family, they're going to have to try harder than that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!

Colette (Coco) returns to Catalina Island in 2020, returning to the place where her family was brutally murdered when she was a child. Returning bring up buried feelings, but it also seems like someone else doesn’t want her there…

This was a great book and gave me chills! I definitely couldn’t sleep right after. The twists and turns were unexpected and the ending was great. The character of Aunt Gwen is a love-to-hate (or hate to love? It depends), and Coco has her own demons to deal with.

Overall, this was a great book and I couldn’t put it down. 4.5 stars, rounded up!

Colette “Coco” Weber has relocated to her Catalina Island home, where, twenty years before, she was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion. All Coco wants is to see her aunt Gwen, get as far away from her ex as possible, and get back to her craft—writing obituaries. Thankfully, her college best friend, Maddy, owns the local paper and has a job sure to keep Coco busy, considering the number of elderly folks who are dying on the island.
But as Coco learns more about these deaths, she quickly realizes that the circumstances surrounding them are remarkably similar…and not natural. Then Coco receives a sinister threat in the mail: her own obituary.
As Coco begins to draw connections between a serial killer’s crimes and her own family tragedy, she fears that the secrets on Catalina Island might be too deep to survive. Because whoever is watching her is hell-bent on finally putting her past to rest.

I don’t know what it was about this story but I was just constantly wanting MORE. I really enjoyed the concept and the underlying messages of racism, intolerance and the importance of family but I just didn’t connect with Coco or any of the characters for that matter which left me not really caring about the outcome of her story which in turn left me at the end of the book just feeling meh. I read this not long after reading Hall’s other novel ‘These Toxic Things’ and I found too many similarities between the stories and where Toxic Things triumphed, this one failed.

Coco has returned to island where her parents and brother were brutally murdered. Her working through the trauma while also trying to solve multiple murders made a gripping read.

Coco Weber is returning to Catalina Island, CA for the first time in 20 years after an event that forever changed her life. As the story progresses, @rhowzellhall weaves in racial issues, murders, twists, the COVID pandemic, and family tragedy to create an intriguing mystery that will have you turning pages and wanting to read just a little longer.

I am a big fan of Rachel’s books including We Lie Here, These Toxic Things, & And Now She’s Gone. I highly recommend reading any of her books, including her newest, What Never Happened.

Thank you Thomas & Mercer and @netgalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Colette “Coco” Weber was the sole survivor of a home invasion that took the lives of her parents and brother. It has been twenty years and she has returned to her Catalina Island home to see her aunt Gwen (after her ex has left her). Coco writes obituaries and her friend Maddy has a job for her at the local paper. She will keep busy as many elderly residents are dying on the island.

Catalina is a small island with BIG secrets. Will Coco ever learn the secret surrounding the home invasion which took the lives of those in her immediate family????

The premise of this book sounded interesting to me. A survivor of a horrible crime comes home again. More deaths are occurring on the island. But unfortunately, this was not the book for me. This is a slow burn and I struggle with slow burns. I found myself uninterested for large parts of the book. Others are enjoying this book so please read their reviews as well.

The beginning of this book instantly grabbed me as did the initial chapters but as I kept reading, I had difficulty connecting to the characters and the storyline. I found most of the characters to be unlikeable, but I did enjoy Coco and her thoughts. But she also annoyed me with some of the decisions she made.

Again, others are loving this book so please read their reviews as well. This was not the right fit for me.

I have tried to read a few things by the author and I have finally come to realize their writing style might not be for me. It drags on a little too much and I find myself not caring about the characters very much. So disappointing because I really was interested at the beginning.

Coco is returning to her home twenty years after surviving a massacre. Elderly people are dying and at first, Coco isn’t suspicious until she gets her own obituary.

I wish we had more flashbacks early on to really build the suspense. I was drawn in by the prologue/obituary at the beginning but then the next couple chapters didn’t really keep up that suspense/keep me drawn in like I wanted.

I love anything Rachel Howzell Hall and this was no exception. I really enjoyed this one. More review to come!

Thank you @netgalley for my advance copy!

What Never Happened had a great premise but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. Whenever I put it down, I didn’t want to pick it back up but I was curious enough to see how it would end that I finished. I was disappointed by the ending and also felt like there were some threads left unfinished. Spoiler: what was the point of the compass necklace recording everything?? That was never used? Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend to all my friends! The plot, characters, and writing were so captivating! Thank you so much NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

What Never Happened by Rachel Howzell Hall is a slow burn mystery, set on Catalina Island.

This was my first book by this author, and although I didn’t love it, I guessed way too early the ‘who’ and ‘why’ of the story. Still, it was entertaining and fun read and I’ll check out other books this author has!

Thanks to #Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts off with SO MUCH TENSION. When you get past that 5% mark, your breath will catch. Like…damn. I’m scared to look but can’t look away at this point. 🫣

This will make for a great thriller choice and I loved the mystery and interesting characters! It was a unique and fun one.

I'm not sure it I like it or not. There's a lovely setting, there's some cozy and some thriller elements.
I wasn't a fan of Coco but the mystery was solid.
.3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Colette has relocated to Catalina Island 20 years after being the sole survivor of a home invasion that killed her family. Now she is back to care for her ailing Aunt Gwen, write obituaries for the local paper, and escape her ex-husband.

While there, Coco realizes there may be a connection between mysterious deaths happening to elderly inhabitants of the island and sets out to investigate.

This is definitely a slow burn mystery but at the same time, a lot is happening. We have Coco’s relationship with her ex, her relationship with her aunt, revisiting the deaths of her family, and the racism she experiences from the inhabitants of the island.

With the slow burn, I was not sure I’d like this one but I ended up really enjoying it. The author does a great job of throwing us off the track throughout the book. The remote setting of Catalina Island was beautiful but also added to the suspense (stuck on an island with a potential killer? 😱).

I will mention that the book plays out in the beginning days of COVID shutdowns in 2020 (not mentioned in synopsis). It was very minor to the plot but if you are avoiding books with it, keep that in mind.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the chance to read What never happened by Rachel Howzell Hall. The summary and cover is what drew me to this book and new author. The beginning starts of with a bang, and then just slows down. I wanted to like it, but the writing style bothered me and I kept putting it down. The ending picked up, but overall this wasn't for me. 21/2 stars rounded up.

Colette "Coco" Weber is returning home to her Catalina Island home, where she survived a deadly home invasion twenty years earlier. All Coco wants is to be with her aunt Gwen, to escape her ex, and to get back to what she does best: writing obituaries. Her college best friend, Maddy, owns the local paper and has a job that will keep Coco busy, considering how many elderly people are dying on the island. As Coco works through these obituaries and learns more about these deaths, she quickly realizes that they're very similar, and not natural. In the mail, Coco finds a sinister threat: her own death obituary. The more Coco connects the crimes of a serial killer to her family tragedy, the more she fears the secrets on Catalina Island are too deep to survive. Somebody's watching her, and they're hell-bent on putting her past to rest.

I was going through a significant reading slump until I received approval for this ARC. However, once I finished reading this book, it completely pulled me out of that slump. I gave this book a rating of 4/5 stars primarily because I had a strong intuition early on about how the twist would unfold. I won't go into detail to prevent spoilers. Despite having that gut feeling, I found myself continuously shifting between characters as I couldn't make up my mind about who I believed to be the antagonist.

Although I had a solid idea at the beginning, I was still shocked by the twist. I won't go into specifics to avoid spoiling it. Hall skillfully crafted the suspense, and I absolutely adored Coco's character. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to fans of thrillers and mysteries. I eagerly await July's arrival so I can purchase a physical copy for my collection. My next mission is to read Hall's other books!

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Colette was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion 20 years ago. The killer took her entire family from her while she was out and up to nothing good. Now she's back home, getting away from her life, writing obituaries. But the more she learns about these deaths, the less they seem natural. Could the same killer still be at work?
This is a mystery chockful of twists and turns and red herrings that will keep you guessing, but it did feel drawn out. The ending felt rushed and was predictable, and I was not a fan of the whole COVID aspect of it. It's the second book I read by this author, and I think I'm just not vibing with her writing. I did read plenty of good reviews for the one though, so maybe it'll work better for you.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.