I really struggled to get into this book. The beginning was really intriguing, but it was just so wordy that it made it really hard to get through. It seemed to drag on and could have been much shorter and still told the story. I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't do it for me.

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. What a great read! Having spent a large part of my childhood on this island much of this brought back memories. This kept me completely enthralled until the end. Well developed character and just the right amount of twists, this book is a must read. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

I’ve decided this author just isn’t for me. I hear great reviews but they just don’t get it for me. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

Intense, creepy, shocking thriller. The ending is a surprise and especially the reason for the mayhem and multiple murders. A quick read because I didn’t want to stop through this action-filled story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this ARC.

After her heart is broken, Colette "Coco" Weber is invited to live on Catalina Island, where her parents and brother were murdered twenty years ago. As she prepares for the accused to be released from prison and is watching her back at every turn, all the sudden she starts getting threatening letters and obituaries of her upcoming demise. Her Aunt Gwen is a complete hoot, but a very shady character who has stolen numerous items from both the locals and tourists during her time as a maid. I absolutely love her spunky personality, even though she wants Colette to leave. As more and more widowed elderly women are killed off one by one, Colette and her friends at the local paper start to question if there is a serial killer on the loose. I liked this book, but soon got bored about two-thirds of the way in. I found my eyes scanning the pages rather than reading whole paragraphs. It also got very predictable at a certain point and took on more of a "cozy mystery" feel rather than a thriller suspense. I do not tend to like this genre as well and find it harder to read. However, overall, it was a good book.

💫 What Never Happened 💫
By Rachel Howzell Hall
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (July 11.2023)
Genre: Thriller

Sole survivor of her family’s mass killing, Colette heads back to Catalina Island after a couple decades of being away. She’s escaping a marriage but also trying to confront her past trauma.
It’s only when she gets there that she realizes that the murderer is still free and local residents start dying around her. Is her paranoia getting to her? Can she trust what she’s thinking? Or seeing?

My thoughts: i wasn’t a fan.
I wanted to love it. And have had a great month of thriller arcs but this drove me crazy. The racist slang made me cringe (I know she meant to do it for that reaction so don’t come at me)… but I just didn’t care about the plot. And the end twist: it just didn’t work for me. It was 🫤 like why?
The island had the creep factor, the ex husband was a jerk. And the auntie was a loose cannon. I felt sorry for the MC but then I just thought it was not just her, but the plot wasn’t there for me.

I’ll chalk up it up to: not for me.

The book started in an interesting way but it was not holding my interest like i thought it would. The writing was a bit wonky sometimes, i couldn't connect to it

What an interesting thriller novel from an author I will definitely have to check out more books from.
Collette wasn't the most loveable main character at times through out this read. She seemed a little crazy, paranoid and broken. It made me root for her that much more. I so wanted her to end up with Noah in the end I thought he cared a lot about her and they seemed to hit it off but it was probably for the better.
I can't believe the turns this book took though, it really had me guessing and changing my mind. I probably thought each and every person was the bad guy at some point in this book, even deputy Santos. It did a really good job of hiding the abd guys right under your nose.
I also really like the pandemic aspect of it. Though I know there are more books that reference or happen during that time this was my first one and it makes me want to read more.
I can't wait to see how people react to his book and will be checking out more from this author in the future.

This read was fantastic!!! Very well written and atmospheric novel. I loved the creepiness!! The characters were well developed and kept me wanting me more and more. I am looking forward to much more from this author

I felt no connection to this book. The writing was great but I didn't feel that pull to care for the characters. This is unfortunately the second book from this author that didn’t work for me, and maybe that’s on me. We can’t love them all.

* Thank you for this ARC! *

I'm sorry to say that I had to force myself to finish this book. It had me hooked at first! But I felt it was too long, and the story dragged. I liked the character developement, but I didn't feel any of them was relatable. Too may loose ends, as well.
It's still entertaining, don't get me wrong - but I had higher hopes with the plot.

A good read. I enjoyed this book and will read more of Rachel Howzell Hall’s books in the future. I would recommend this book to my friends and I think it would make a good book club read.

Rachel Howzell Hall is one of my favorite authors and this book is another example of how talented she is. What Never Happened is the story of Coco Weber, a woman who was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion that killed the rest of her family when she was younger. She returns to Catalina Island, the site of the killings, to care for her Aunt Gwen. She works at the local paper writing obituaries and notices that the deaths she writes about are occurring at an alarming rate. As she questions the nature of some of the deaths she receives her own obituary in the mail. Is there a serial killer on the island? Is Coco next? Hall's style of writing keeps the reader engaged while also keeping the mystery out of reach until the last few chapters. She also creates memorable characters with complicated family relationships. I loved this book and look forward to the next one! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Secrets May Out..
Coco Weber has returned to Catalina Island, her former homeland. An obituary writer, she simply wants to pursue her vocation and calm the waters of her often tumultuous life. Things are never quite that simple. Someone, somewhere is not prepared to let the past lie. Secrets may out. A slow burn suspense where threads merge together with perfection, characters are deftly drawn, narrative sharp and edgy and where the atmosphere is almost a character of its’ very own.

Holy moly. This book was an edge of your seat thriller from beginning to end that I could not put down!

I’ve read other books of Rachel’s I usually enjoy her writings this one was good but it wasn’t amazing for me. I enjoyed the mystery part of it but I didn’t really connect with the characters as I usually do. This was too slow of a read for me, it was good it just wasn’t up to my liking. It was interesting and rather different which is rare to find these days in stories so I was hoping I could like it I just didn’t. Colette goes to Catalina island to live with her horrible aunt, it dragged forever and nothing stuck with me.

What Never Happened is a very engrossing thriller! It is possibly my favorite of Hall's books so far, and I enjoyed the setting, characters, and twists!

Colette “Coco” Weber has relocated to her Catalina Island home, where, twenty years before, she was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion. She moves in with her Aunt Gwen and starts writing obituaries for the newspaper owned by her friend Maddy. She quickly gets involved in the story of missing elderly people on the island.

Generally, I like Rachel Howzell Hall's books, but this one fell flat for me. Most of the characters seemed kind of one-dimensional and unlikeable and the ending was farfetched and nonsensical The resolutions for both mysteries had multiple plot holdes. I did enjoy learning about Catalina, though.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. #WhatNeverHappened #NetGalley

I enjoyed this one a lot! I thought it was well written and well thought out. The characters were overall pretty likeable. I really liked the love interest but I felt like it was a weird relationship. I also thought the COVID era was very well done without being too triggering and too much. I thought the plot was a tiny bit slow to take off and Collette uses some interesting language that didn't feel super natural but other than that, a super solid thriller.

Coco Weber leaves her “husband” and life in LA to move home to Catalina Island and help her aging aunt Gwen. The return home is not so simple, Coco was the lone survivor of a home invasion that still haunts her life.

Coco must deal with the decrepit house, her aunt and her ex as well as her new job writing obits for the island newspaper. Surprisingly the obituaries she writes trigger an unsettling realization that those deaths are not as innocent as they seem and there might be a connection to her past.

I was quickly drawn in by this beautifully written emotional mystery. I look forward to reading more by Rachel Howell Hall.

I received a complimentary e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
#Thomas&Mercer #NetGalley