Scan barcode
mybookstaygram's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Car accident
bookingwithjanelle's review against another edition
5.0
This book was good from start to finish. I love a good mystery and this one did not disappoint. There were lies, secrets, murder, gun fights, and people traveling halfway across the world to solve a 25 year old mystery. I really enjoyed the shifting timeline so the reader could fully understand the present by being given the actions/motives of the past. The main character was an "average" guy, but he became so much more in the search for what really happened to his mother. I love that a seemingly ordinary man could transform into something new while also trying not to die. Veste sets a good scene and I was impressed with the small twists and turns of this book.
a_stylish_bookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this action packed thriller. Wow this was one crazy ride!! Sam returns to his home town as he learns his dad is dying. Pretty much from then on, Sam is on a wild goose chase hearing that his mum is alive though he believed she died 25 years ago.
The story is told in Laurie's POV in the past to learn what happened to her and current day with Sam's search. It was an interesting premise and kept me interested.
yvonne_aaf's review against another edition
I picked this up based on the cover - a gorgeous dusky sky with a glowing window just screamed domestic thriller to me, but it was a very different book once I got into it. The story would resonate with a lot of other people, but I didn't find the main plot as compelling as others might have.
steph1rothwell's review against another edition
4.0
I have read a couple of Luca Veste’s Merseyside based books before and really enjoyed them. This new book, a standalone mainly set in America, was one that appealed as soon as I’d heard about it.
Sam is living alone in London and when he is on a date with a woman he likes a lot he receives a call from the hospital telling him to get there as soon as he can. His father was extremely poorly. He arrives in time but wasn’t prepared for what he discovered or how much danger he was now in.
He was a character I liked immediately and who I had a lot of sympathy for. He had a very difficult relationship with his estranged father since the loss of his mother and younger brother. But he didn’t show self pity, instead he focused on trying to find answers and trying to stay alive. He also managed to maintain his sense of humour and a degree of cynicism, especially with regard to the size of his meal portions in America and the amount of adverts on TV. The fear that he felt throughout, not knowing why people wanted to kill him felt real, but the most convincing was his fear of the rivers, showing that his experience had left long lasting scars.
It is one of those novels where the reader knows more than the characters, I knew why Sam’s mother was forced to flee, the lengths that her stalker would go to but I didn’t know who could be trusted and whether his mother was dead or alive. I also could see the reasons why some of the characters did what they did when the eventual truth was revealed. Strangely I also felt a little sympathy for a few of them.
This is a book full of twists, danger and regret. I loved it
Sam is living alone in London and when he is on a date with a woman he likes a lot he receives a call from the hospital telling him to get there as soon as he can. His father was extremely poorly. He arrives in time but wasn’t prepared for what he discovered or how much danger he was now in.
He was a character I liked immediately and who I had a lot of sympathy for. He had a very difficult relationship with his estranged father since the loss of his mother and younger brother. But he didn’t show self pity, instead he focused on trying to find answers and trying to stay alive. He also managed to maintain his sense of humour and a degree of cynicism, especially with regard to the size of his meal portions in America and the amount of adverts on TV. The fear that he felt throughout, not knowing why people wanted to kill him felt real, but the most convincing was his fear of the rivers, showing that his experience had left long lasting scars.
It is one of those novels where the reader knows more than the characters, I knew why Sam’s mother was forced to flee, the lengths that her stalker would go to but I didn’t know who could be trusted and whether his mother was dead or alive. I also could see the reasons why some of the characters did what they did when the eventual truth was revealed. Strangely I also felt a little sympathy for a few of them.
This is a book full of twists, danger and regret. I loved it
ellfe's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the Arc! This book was eventful from the beginning and the description interested me. I didn’t really vibe with it as much as I thought I would, but the writing was fine and the plot lived up to the summary overall.
I wasn’t really expecting any of what happened. There were a lot of plot twists and a lot of action. There was a lot going on at all times, everyone was constantly in motion. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, just not my usual type of read. If you’re into fast paced action, car chases, etc then this is the book for you!
TWs for; abuse, violence, guns, death, drowning, mentions of alcohol, fire
I wasn’t really expecting any of what happened. There were a lot of plot twists and a lot of action. There was a lot going on at all times, everyone was constantly in motion. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, just not my usual type of read. If you’re into fast paced action, car chases, etc then this is the book for you!
TWs for; abuse, violence, guns, death, drowning, mentions of alcohol, fire
mariasmusings's review against another edition
3.0
Initial thoughts:
You know that you have enjoyed a story when you are torn between supporting a character and wanting to take them aside to talk about their behaviour! And that is precisely my reaction to the latest novel my Luca Veste.
The novel opens with a terrible car accident some decades ago, resulting in the deaths of all involved. And then we jump into the present a d meet Sam Cooper a young English man who is startled to receive a phone call alerting him that his father has been attacked and is now in hospital. Travelling to his old home town from London, Sam soon learns that the attack was not a random burglary and instead his father was the victim of a targeted attack. It's not long before Sam is also under attack and learns these attackers are looking for his mother. Except his mother died in a car accident some twenty years earlier. Or so they have always believed. Now Sam is returning to his mother's home, to track down his remaining relatives and try to discover the truth before he too is killed.
I found myself intrigued by the idea that Sam's mother could still be alive - how could she possibly have hidden for two decades? And why? Was her husband wrong all along?
It's difficult to say more without giving away key elements of the plot but I will say that there are characters that I did not like - more anti-heroes than typical heroes, I guess. And this works well as we sympathise more with Sam and his situation.
Definitely an enjoyable read and a thriller that will keep you guessing.
You know that you have enjoyed a story when you are torn between supporting a character and wanting to take them aside to talk about their behaviour! And that is precisely my reaction to the latest novel my Luca Veste.
The novel opens with a terrible car accident some decades ago, resulting in the deaths of all involved. And then we jump into the present a d meet Sam Cooper a young English man who is startled to receive a phone call alerting him that his father has been attacked and is now in hospital. Travelling to his old home town from London, Sam soon learns that the attack was not a random burglary and instead his father was the victim of a targeted attack. It's not long before Sam is also under attack and learns these attackers are looking for his mother. Except his mother died in a car accident some twenty years earlier. Or so they have always believed. Now Sam is returning to his mother's home, to track down his remaining relatives and try to discover the truth before he too is killed.
I found myself intrigued by the idea that Sam's mother could still be alive - how could she possibly have hidden for two decades? And why? Was her husband wrong all along?
It's difficult to say more without giving away key elements of the plot but I will say that there are characters that I did not like - more anti-heroes than typical heroes, I guess. And this works well as we sympathise more with Sam and his situation.
Definitely an enjoyable read and a thriller that will keep you guessing.
readbydanni's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.0
For fans of Hollywood blockbuster-style plots, You Never Said Goodbye is a great book filled with kidnapping, gunfights and high speed car rides. For me, it wasn't really my kind of book.
The plot is ok but ultimately I finished the book feeling a bit flat and deflated. I wasn't really bothered by that point about what happened. I felt like the twist that had been alluded to throughout the book just felt flat at the reveal.
One thing that bugged me was the character of Quinn. She had so much promise to start with and the clichéd twist with her character just made me feel disappointed. She could've been given so much more depth as a character but her ending was poor for a character that I'd initially liked a lot.
Luca Veste is a great writer and this is a very good book for the right audience. Unfortunately not quite as enjoyable as I'd hoped but still good.
---
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Luca Veste for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The plot is ok but ultimately I finished the book feeling a bit flat and deflated. I wasn't really bothered by that point about what happened. I felt like the twist that had been alluded to throughout the book just felt flat at the reveal.
One thing that bugged me was the character of Quinn. She had so much promise to start with and the clichéd twist with her character just made me feel disappointed. She could've been given so much more depth as a character but her ending was poor for a character that I'd initially liked a lot.
Luca Veste is a great writer and this is a very good book for the right audience. Unfortunately not quite as enjoyable as I'd hoped but still good.
---
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Luca Veste for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
liseyp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Thank you to the author, publishers Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
A powerfully compelling fast-paced thriller. This is the assured voice of a writer coming into his own.
Sam lost his mother and brother in a car accident 25 years ago. His father survived, but it feels like Sam lost him too as his grief and anger prevented him from being the parent Sam needed. Now his father is dying and as Sam makes the pilgrimage to see the man he has been estranged from for so many years he is shocked that his dad’s final words suggest that his mother may still be alive.
Danger, intrigue, love and hate all combine to take Sam on a journey to America to the scene of that fatal accident and to try and find answers. It’s a fantastically-paced story as we try to get to the bottom of what happened, why Sam is now in danger and whether there is any real hope of being reunited with his mother. A great read and Luca’s best book to date.
More...