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A review by steph1rothwell
You Never Said Goodbye by Luca Veste
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