While "What Never Happened" was an enjoyable read I don't know that I would ever read again. Much of the book seemed to drag on and I didn't like any of the characters in the book. It's unlikely I will like a book if I don't care about any of the characters and I found Coco and friends to be pretty obnoxious. I was fun but just not the best.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance read in exchange for this review.

Colette relocates to her Catalina Island home after separating from her partner. Many years ago, she was the only survivor of a deadly home invasion. There are several elderly people who have died on the island recently. As Colette learns more, she wonders if there's a connection to her own tragic experience.

There are a lot of smaller stories in this book, and it definitely felt like too much at times. I liked the premise of the book, and the potential was there. However, I'm not sure if having so many subplots was necessary. The ending and resolution happened quite quickly too. I did like Colette as a character, and I thought her career as an obituary writer was interesting. I will read this author again!

This book What Never Happened by Rachel Howzell Hall was such a great mystery thriller read for me. The beginning pulled me in with so many questions- Who? What? Why and How? I can’t imagine what Colette went through during those teens years and later in life dealing with the grief and aftermath of what happened to her family. Now 20 years later she is returning back to Catalina island to hopefully restart her life after a breakup from her husband. Her best friend Maddy has a job for her at the local newspaper. This book is such a page turner with several twists I did not see coming. There was some omg moments as the events unfolded throughout the book. I thought the characters in this novel were well done. Colette’s character has gone through so much and continues to unravel once she moves back to Catalina. I feel like she just can’t get a break. She is such a strong character. Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This one was a miss for me. I enjoyed the actual mystery part but I had a hard time with the main character Coco’s internal dialogue. Her feelings towards people seemed to swing wildly back and forth and I just found some of the actual dialogue a little off. I also didn’t find any of the characters particularly like-able.

I’m such a fan of Rachel Howzell Hall! “What Never Happened” kept me hooked from the very first pages with suspense and twists.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Coco is returning home to see her aunt after being away for many years. She is working for the paper when she is disturbed by the number of death notices. She will try to piece everything together to find out if they have a serial killer in town. I liked this book.

Aw I just loved Coco, what an amazing story, with lots of small island secrets, a beautiful setting an a brilliant protagonist who will stop at nothing to get answers xx

This book sounded so mysterious and I had high hopes for this one. I found it slow at times and hard tor get through. I wanted to move onto the another book but got through it. Maybe Halls next book will be better

Coco returns to her Catalina Island childhood home, where 20 years earlier, she was the sole survivor of a home invasion that killed her family. She gets a job as an obituary writer at the Island’s lone paper, owned by a college friend. Soon after her arrival, Coco starts receiving threatening mail in the form of her own obituary. Could it be related to the home invasion? Or is it connected to the recent suspicious deaths of several senior citizens? That’s the backdrop for What Never Happened, another winner from Rachel Howzell Hall. The almost lyrical writing will keep you mesmerized, as the words just flow together, making this such a pleasure to read. That writing style, coupled with an ever-expanding plot will have you powering through the book. The only blemish is an ending that feels a little rushed after a well paced buildup, but that doesn’t detract from the overall satisfaction with the book, and it’s many underlying social issues, all deftly addressed within the pages. Well done! I received an arc of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book sounded really good, but for me it didn't really live up to its promise. I found the main character (Colette) to be completely irrational and for a long while I thought the book would be one of those with an unreliable narrator. For the life of me, I cannot fathom holding on to the house in which your entire family was killed for TWENTY years. Especially if there is such a shortage of houses for sale on the island - seems like it would be really easy to sell. And it's not like they even really lived there by the time they were killed, so no great memories attached to the place.

I also found her internal dialogue confusing as she swung wildly from liking to disliking people (and back again).

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love books with atmosphere and this one was a home run in that category. An eclectic island! The characters were fairly well done, although the main character at first seemed a bit lazy and implausible at times. (For example “how did this happen”!! Big deal!! Oh I’ll look into this later and then forgotten)
The plot was really well done and kept me guessing. The suspense level was good, great even towards the end.
It was well written with lots of twists and turns that kept me turning pages

I was really excited about this book because the character was a black female lead in a thriller setting. The bulk of the action happens in a fixed location and adds Covid restrictions to the mix to add to the level of suspicion and interpersonal friction. Coco has survived a horrible murder early in her life and returns to Catalina to find herself in the middle of more bizarre murders. There’s a ton of suspects and the dread steadily builds. Pacing for the most part was great.

I enjoyed the story but I’m not sure I would recommend it to my fellow thriller reading friends. The reveal was predictable and a little cartoonish. It undermined the legitimately scary murders. Also, some interesting themes were introduced and never really addressed or dug deep into.

It’s good enough that I’d like to read her back catalogue

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC

Wow! Just Wow, never expected the book to end like it did. The book had lots of twists and turns but it really grabbed once the older ladies started dying. I like that the main character had a couple things going on in her life like dealing with her family murders, her husband and trying to get back on her feet. But I had to reread once the epic ending started. Because it was a total surprise. Highly recommend this book.

Rachel Howzell Hall does it again. I love her fresh voice. I love her blunt characters and her twist and turns. Every thriller gets stronger, and this was no exception. If you haven’t read her books before, do so ASAP. She is exactly what the over saturated thriller market needs.

This book is well written and satisfying but starts off a bit slow. If you stay with the novel it does pay off by the end, and Howzell Hall's characters are quirky and fun. Recommended for fans of the author and those who enjoy longer mystery/suspense novels. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoy reading Rachel Howzell Hall and this was no exception! I loved the quirkiness of Collette and all of the characters. Each of them had just a little something "off" about them.

Collette moves back to Catalina Island to take care of her feisty aunt and to reclaim the house her murdered family left behind 20 years ago. But as soon after she arrives, she notices a pattern of mysterious deaths. In her job as the obituary writer for the local newspaper, she has an opportunity to find out more about the deceased which spurs her on a hunt to find out more. I liked the introduction of a love interest, but it seemed like a weird relationship (e.g., happened too quickly, he's always at her leaky basement, they never go to his place) and we are not sure can be trusted. Throw in some COVID era complications and you have the perfect petri dish for a thriller.

Some of the things that fell flat for me were that sometimes the character of Collette used words not in character (ain't) and that she didn't tell her "husband" the one thing that could stop his quest for a divorce. Overall though, the book was entertaining with some great word choices, and interesting characters.

Upgraded to 4 stars because I'm still thinking about it - to me, that's a sign of a great book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance reader's copy.

I found this book very slow. I can always tell when abook isn't grabbing attention by how long it takes me to read it. This one took 5 days, I put it down and didn't even read for a few days.
It was a good story, just, did not keep my attention. Maybe the writing style was part of it.
I did like the story, interesting and different....which is hard to find these days.
Thanks to netgalley, the publisher and sithor for the chance to read this advanced copy.

This was certainly an enjoyable read. It is certainly more thriller than mystery at parts. I enjoyed that the plot had the main character return to the scene of a horrific crime, and I’ll admit that the weaving of Covid into the plot didn’t feel forced or overdone. The reason I’m rating it a little lower is that there were no likable characters— all were self-involved, and some dialogue was a little eye-rolling. There’s even a line in the story that nobody likes a protagonist that you can’t relate to, referencing Coco. Even Coco’s “friends” and family were obnoxious. The only people I was rooting for were deceased. Also, some of the plot points were obvious or hokey, for lack of a better word. That said, it was still fun to watch the island become slowly more isolated and zero in on the killer(s). Also, in the beginning, it was frustrating that some plot points weren’t developed enough, but some flushing out happened about halfway. Thank you to Thomas and Mercer, Rachel Howzell Hall, and NetGalley for the ARC!

The beginning of the book made me excited to read. But everything past that was a little slow amd extremely repetitive, the ending was exciting and was not what I was expecting so I'm glad I finished it.

If you are a fan of mystery thrillers and want to read one that immediately immerses you, What Never Happened needs to be on your tbr pile. From the moment I started this book, I couldn’t wait to get to the next page.

Colette returns to the island where, as a child, she was the only survival of a horrific murder. Now elderly women are dying at an alarming rate and it’s up to Colette to figure out what is happening. Is it just her paranoia or something nefarious?

Howzell Hall masterfully builds suspense through a frenetic writing style that leaves the reader on edge. Set during the earliest days of the pandemic, this is the first book where I thought the pandemic as a plot device added to the intrigue. This standalone novel is creepy and a page turner.