Climb into the mind of a killer: Lucas hired a hit man on the
dark web to get rid of his outrageously rich and equally annoying wife but a
month after her disappearance a photograph with a cryptic note shows up on his
doorstep. Somebody knows what he did, and now they’re coming for him…
Missing
wife. Happy life.
Lucas Forester didn’t hate his wife.
Michelle was brilliant, sophisticated and beautiful. Sure, she had extravagant
spending habits, that petty attitude, a total disregard for anyone below her
status. But she also had a lot to offer. Most notably: wealth that only the one
percent could comprehend.
For years, Lucas has been honing a flawless plan
to inherit Michelle’s fortune. Unfortunately, it involves taking a hit out on
her.
Every track is covered, no trace left behind,
and now Lucas plays the grieving husband so well he deserves an award. But when
a shocking photo and cryptic note show up on his doorstep, Lucas goes from
hunter to prey.
Someone is on to him. And they’re closing in.
Told
with dark wit and a sharply feminist sensibility, Never Coming Home is a terrifying tale of duplicity that
will have you side-eyeing your spouse as you dash to the breathtaking end.
Reviews ~
“Fiendishly clever and deeply chilling, Never Coming Home is psychological suspense of the first order. With dark wit, searing prose, and a plot that twists like a strangling vine, McKinnon will lure you in and hold you breathless until the final page. Don’t miss this propulsive, hypnotic thrill ride.”—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Last Girl Ghosted
“Hannah Mary McKinnon is the queen of dark thrillers! Never Coming Home captivates, horrifies…and it will make you laugh. Impossible to stop reading until you get to the final page.”—Samantha Downing, USA Today bestselling author of For Your Own Good
“McKinnon clearly had a blast devising this tale of revenge and comeuppance, and the reader benefits from this creepy glee. Fans of The Talented Mr. Ripley will devour this well-written, engrossing story.”— J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Her Dark Lies
Author interview ~
Tell us a little about yourself and how you started
writing.
I was born in the UK to British & Swiss parents
and grew up in the German-speaking part of Switzerland for the most part. After
high-school I moved to Geneva to learn French for a year…which led to me
staying in the French-speaking part of Switzerland for over two decades. I have
two business degrees and was the CEO for a pan-European IT recruitment company
before moving to Canada in 2010. I married Rob, my Canadian rock, in 1999, and
we have three sons, including identical twins.
My writing career was largely born from failure when
my Canadian start-up tanked. I had the option of working in a corporate
environment again or to try something else. Eight book deals later, and
although change was hard and challenging, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve
ever made.
What are some things you enjoy when not writing?
I love getting outdoors and going to the movies. I
live for the previews! I enjoy swimming and recently acquired a water rower,
which is a fantastic and peaceful workout.
How do you start your day (a routine of sorts?)
Always with a cup of PG Tips tea (milk and sweetener,
please) and a hug from my husband (and kids, if they let me, lol).
Finish this: “I can’t write without…”
…having
a tidy desk! For me, a cluttered space = a cluttered mind.
What career did you think you’d have as an adult?
I remember telling my dad when I was about thirteen
that I wanted to own a company. Not a huge surprise considering I grew up in
the eighties when Wall Street and shoulder pads reined supreme. When I became a
shareholder of the IT recruitment company. I worked for in Switzerland at age
26, I accomplished that dream and shifted the goal posts to becoming the boss,
which I did age 35 when I was promoted to CEO. I’ve always been very driven,
which definitely helped with my writing career.
What is something about you that people would surprise
people?
I only attended
school in English for three years, from age 8-11. The rest of my studies were
in German and French, so I never took English literature (sorry, Shakespeare)!
Oh, and my maiden name is Abplanalp, a very traditional Swiss name that
has a story about a baby, a crib, and a landslide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abplanalp
Where do you
get your ideas?
So far, I can pinpoint
exactly how each book started. Book 1, Time After Time, is a story about
a woman who’s unhappy with her life, which was me when we moved to Canada and
my HR company crashed and burned, although the rest of the novel is fictional.
The idea for book 2, The Neighbors, came to me when two houses on our
courtyard went up for sale, and I wondered who might move in. Book 3, Her
Secret Son, stemmed from a news segment I saw while I was at the gym
(probably wishing I were eating cake instead).
Book 4, Sister
Dear, was a radio segment about a woman who’d found a wedding ring at a
playground and was trying to locate the owner through social media. Book 5, You Will Remember Me, was inspired by the true story of a man who
vanished from a ski hill in Lake Placid and showed up six days later in
Sacramento with amnesia.
Book 6, Never Coming Home,
was different – this one was character driven. I wanted to write a story from a
male antagonist’s point-of-view, and Lucas literally popped into my head and
said, “Ta-daa! Okay, I’m here, get writing!”
If I wasn’t an
author, I might be…?
Gosh, working in
publishing in some capacity, I hope. Now I’ve been in the industry for years, I
don’t want to leave.
Do you have a
go-to first reader after you feel your manuscript is ready?
Fellow crime
author A.F. Brady and bookstagrammer Sonica Soares have read my last three and two
before anybody else. They’re extremely insightful and give brilliant, candid
feedback, which is exactly what I need.
Is there a
particular author or book that influenced or inspired your writing or decision
to write?
Long-standing
favorite authors are Lisa Jewell and David Nicholls, but it was one of my
closest friends, Jennifer Hillier, whose debut novel Creep propelled me
to the dark side of suspense. We didn’t know each other at the time, but when I
discovered her work it reminded me of my love of thrillers, and that I wanted
to write edgier stories.
Can you tell
us about your challenges in getting your first book published (or this book?)
I made a lot of
mistakes before my first novel was published, including rushing to submit the
manuscript to an agent before it was truly ready. After editing it for two
years, taking creative writing courses, and reading a lot, I managed to
secure representation. If I’d taken those classes and learned about the
industry earlier, it may not have taken as long…but the rejections it kept my
feet firmly on the ground, and made me even more determined.
How do you
market your work?
In collaboration with my
publisher, HarperCollins who are incredibly supportive and have a fabulous team
I can’t praise highly enough. I’m also very active on social media and love
connecting with readers, reviewers, and bloggers. My author friends and
bookstagrammers / book bloggers are fabulous champions of my novels, too. Their
tireless enthusiasm is a balm for the writerly soul and I’m grateful to every
single one of them. It really does take a village.
What are you working
on now?
Book 7 (slated for 2023) is another psychological thriller. It’s
about a woman named Frankie who has some anger issues, and writes a list of
people she could work to forgive as a therapy exercise. She thinks nothing of
it when she loses her list in an Uber, until one by one the individuals become
victims of freak accidents. Frankie desperately tries to determine if the
tragedies are indeed accidental, and if not, who’s behind them before someone
else gets hurt, especially as one of the names on the list is her own… I’m so
excited for this next novel and can’t wait for you to meet Frankie and the rest
of my cast next year.
Is anything in
NEVER COMING HOME based on real-life experiences?
Heck, no! I’ve
never been on the dark web, let alone felt the need to hire a hitman.
Thankfully, my books aren’t true crime. I do sprinkle details here and there
that my family would recognize: I was born in Manchester like Lucas, and worked
in recruitment. Superman pajamas. A stuffed toy. Mud runs—those kinds of things
but otherwise I pull very little from my life. My job is to make things up and
it’s a part of the process I thoroughly enjoy. Besides, I’ve found the more I write the more
I invent—my life isn’t that interesting J
Do you have a
favorite chapter or scene in NEVER COMING HOME?
More than one! I loved
writing the scenes with Bobby and Lucas, especially the banter between them. There’s
a scene in a forest that was creepy and unsettling to write, and I’m glad I did
so with the lights on. I’m a visual person, so I was describing what I pictured
in my head, which was a little gruesome. To counterbalance that, Lucas’s
one-liners and wry sense of humor made me chuckle, and he kept pushing me to
explore his character further. But if I must pick a favorite chapter then it
has to be the last two. I cackled as I wrote them. Out loud.
Do you have a
favorite character in NEVER COMING HOME?
Lucas for the win! He’s wry and funny, and his sense of
humor is very much like mine (minus the murdery bits). He really was a hoot to
hang out with.
Finish this
sentence: “If I could write about anything, it would be…?”
More mayhem and
murder. I love crime fiction and am very happy in this genre. Does that sound
weird? J
What was some
unique research you had to do for NEVER COMING HOME?
This novel took me to some very strange places. First,
I needed to understand the dark web, and I listened to several podcasts about
it, which were both fascinating and disturbing. I had to spend a lot of time
thinking like a criminal, all the way from pickpocket to murderer. I also spoke
to the former commander of Ontario’s Emergency Medical Assistance Team and an
emergency physician to get the medical details right. As always, my go-to
policing and crime scene advice came from retired Detective Sergeant and fellow
author Bruce Robert Coffin, and Forensic Detective Ed Adach. I swear they keep
helping me get away with fictional murder and we have a blast doing so.
Do you have
any advice for aspiring writers?
Read
as much and often as you can and listen to audio books. I wrote an article
about how the latter make you a better author here.
Write, even if you think it’s rubbish, because an empty page is impossible to
edit. Another tip someone once suggested was to skip ahead if I couldn’t get a
grasp on a chapter or scene, that I should focus on another part of the
manuscript and trust myself enough to backfill later. It was revolutionary to
me, and it beats the heck out of staring at a blank page or shoving my hand in
the cookie jar. Also, I was advised to read my manuscript out loud. Every.
Single. Word. Doing so helps avoid repetition, improves cadence, and zaps stilted
dialogue. And, finally, share your work. It can be scary, but it’s the only way
you’ll get feedback and improve your craft. Speaking of feedback: try not to
take it personally. It’s unlikely lip service will get you where you want to
be.
Favorite band
or music? Favorite book and/or movie?
I
listen to all kinds of music but I’m useless at remembering the names of
singers or bands. Impossible to choose a favourite book, but one of my
favourite movies is Inception because it’s so utterly brilliant. The
other is still Love, Actually. I watch it every Christmas when I’m
wrapping presents, know most of the words and absolutely adore it. I’m also
partial to the Marvel movies, particularly when watched in chronological order
of when they take place as I got so many “Aha!” moments that way.
Place you’d
like to travel?
Once things go back to normal, I’m looking forward to
visiting my family and friends in Switzerland. I can’t wait to get back into
the mountains.
Is there
anything you’d like to say to your readers and fans?
Have you heard about First
Chapter Fun on Facebook and Instagram? It’s one of the good things that came
out of the pandemic. Back in March 2020, when Covid first hit
Canada, I was in a Messenger chat with a group of authors, discussing how we
could help promote one another and give our books a boost. I half-jokingly
offered to read the first chapter of their novels on Facebook and Instagram,
and within a few days I had over 40 daily readings lined up and launched First
Chapter Fun. I read for 53 days in a row (didn’t think the “must do hair and
make-up” thing through very well), introducing viewers to a new novel and
author each day.
In May 2020, I teamed up with my partner-in-fictional-crime,
powerhouse author Hank Phillippi Ryan. We created a new Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/firstchapterfun and www.instagram.com/firstchapterfun. We
read twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday (the days with a “T) on both
platforms simultaneously at 12.30 pm ET, and often have book giveaways. All the
previously aired episodes are saved and can be viewed at leisure. It’s a
wonderful community where we share the love of books and introduce new and/or
new-to-you authors twice a week. Our goal is to keep your “to be read” pile
completely out-of-control and, or so we’ve been told, we’re succeeding. Hank
and I have also become great friends and talk all the time, something for which
I’ll be eternally grateful.
Bio
Hannah
Mary McKinnon was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in
2010. After a successful career in recruitment, she quit the corporate world in
favor of writing. While her debut, TIME AFTER TIME, was a rom com, she
transitioned to the dark side thereafter. Her suspense novels include THE
NEIGHBORS, and bestsellers HER SECRET SON, SISTER DEAR, YOU WILL REMEMBER ME,
and NEVER COMING HOME. Hannah Mary lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband
and three sons. Connect on Facebook and Instagram @hannahmarymckinnon, and on
Twitter @HannahMMcKinnon. For more, visit www.hannahmarymckinnon.com
Socials
Website: www.HannahMaryMcKinnon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon (@hannahmarymckinnon)
Instagram: www.instagram.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon/ (@hannahmarymckinnon)
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HannahMMcKinnon (@hannahmmckinnon)
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/15144570.Hannah_Mary_McKinnon
BookBub: www.bookbub.com/authors/hannah-mary-mckinnon
Contactin.bio: https://HannahMaryMcKinnon.contactin.bio
First
Chapter Fun www.firstchapterfun.com
