Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

A special thank you to the author, Hannah Mary McKinnon, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

First comes love. Then comes murder.

Lucas Forester didn't hate his wife. Michelle was brilliant, sophisticated and beautiful. Sure, she had extravagant spending habits and 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 had been honing a flawless plan to inherit Michelle’s fortune. Unfortunately, it involved taking a hit out on her.

Every track was 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 onto him. And they’re closing in.

Written from the perspective of Lucas Forester—a compelling and dynamic character that readers won't know whether to revere or abhore—Never Coming Home is deftly plotted and deliciously deceitful. Told with McKinnon's signature wit, this novel is both sinister and humorous. So much so that you may never look at your spouse the same way again. 

Never Coming Home is a slow and suspenseful burn that absolutely explodes at the end. Hannah is the queen of shocking finales and this is no exception.  

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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 favour of writing.

McKinnon now lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons.

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Q & A with Hannah Mary McKinnon*

GWR: Describe Never Coming Home in 3 words.

HMM: Twisted, surprising, funny.

GWR: What would be your ideal writing/reading experience (when, where, what, how)? How does this differ from reality?

HMM: I’d love for me to think about my books and have those thoughts appear on the page fully formed—I’d save so much time. Alas, no such luck. Like any job, writing is hard at times, but I get to disappear into the worlds I create and spend time with my characters there. If that isn’t close to the definition of a magical career, I’m not sure what is.

GWR: How did inspiration strike for Never Coming Home? 

HMM: Instead of a news article or a radio segment, which is typically where the inspiration for my books comes from, for Never Coming Home the character appeared first. I wanted to write about someone who was evil, despicable, but also relatable on some levels, and definitely funny—and whose enemies were even worse. Cue Lucas and Bobby Boyle. The story evolved from there, so it was very much character driven, and writing from the antagonist’s point of view was an entirely new experience. I had so much fun, and thoroughly enjoyed crafting another novel entirely from a man’s perspective. 

While I probably shouldn’t admit to this, despite his many flaws, I enjoyed spending time with Lucas because I found him hilarious. I wrote the book during the second half of 2020, so this was very much a pandemic project. My lovely mum passed away that summer, so I needed a place to escape to when everything felt so bleak. I think that’s why this book is my funniest. I needed something to make me laugh.

GWR: What do you have more fun with, character development or plot?

HMM: Oh, both, definitely. Lucas was hilarious and it was so refreshing to be fully immersed in the mind of a killer, to see everything from his perspective and try to have him justify his actions. His character formed in an instant, and the plot came together fast, too. I wrote this novel more quickly than any of my others and it was such a joy to work on from start to finish. I kept telling my husband, “It’s going well, too well, it’s all going to collapse.” But it didn’t. Because of this I fully expect my next ten novels to repeatedly kick me in the crotch.

GWR: Do you like writing from the perspective of the opposite sex, or is it more of a challenge? 

HMM: I enjoy both although I find when I write a man’s point-of-view I’m more direct. Nevertheless, one of my first questions is, “Whose story is this?” After that, I try not to overthink whether I’m writing a man or a woman. The important thing is to give them a voice, develop their character and backstory, and make them seem as human to the reader as they are to me.

GWR: Did any minor characters develop into more major ones over the course of writing the novel? 

HMM: Yes! Bobby Boyle grew as I wrote the novel and the banter between him and Lucas made me laugh so much. Bobby may well deserve his very own story one day. I was very keen on his sidekick, Heinz, too.

GWR: Your books always have incredible plot twists and jaw-dropping endings. Are they planned in advance, or do they happen organically as you write, or a little of both?

HMM: A little of both. I love twists and turns, and the more books I write, the more I plot them. Detailed outlines make me more productive and efficient because I know where I’m headed, but it’s impossible for me to foresee every twist and it also doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll end up at the destination I mapped out though. In The Neighbors, for example, the ending changed quite dramatically as I got closer to finishing my first draft. In Her Secret Son, the final chapters were different because I wasn’t happy with whom I’d planned to kill off. Sister Dear’s and You Will Remember Me’s endings are close to how I’d imagined but more sinister. 

GWR: Spoiler-free of course, did Never Coming Home end the way you originally thought it would?

HMM: Out of all my books so far, Never Coming Home turned out the closest to my initial vision and was the smoothest to write and edit. I even knew the final word before I sat down and typed “Chapter 1,” which is something that has never happened before. The storyline was crystal clear in my mind and the bones of the story didn’t change significantly during the editing process. Having said that, and as mentioned before, more twists and turns appeared when I wrote. That’s another fun part of writing, discovering what your characters will do when you let them loose. I can’t possibly know everything from the beginning.

GWR: Can you share a bit about what you are working on now?

HMM: With pleasure. 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.

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon

A special thank you to the author, Hannah Mary McKinnon, Harlequin MIRA, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you also to Harlequin for the opportunity to be a part of the Blog Tour. 

Forget the truth.

Remember the lies.

Waking up alone on a deserted beach with a gash on his head and only in swim trunks, he has no idea who he is or where he comes from. Everything he should know—his identity, his family, his life—has ben replaced by uncertainty. But returning to his hometown in Maine uncovers more questions than answers.

Lily Reid thinks she knows her boyfriend, Jack. Until he goes missing one night, and her frantic search reveals that he's been lying to her since they met, desperate to escape a dark past he'd purposely left behind.

Maya Scott has been trying to find her estranged stepbrother, Asher, since he disappeared without a trace. Having him back, missing memory and all, feels like a miracle. But with a mutual history full of devastating secrets, how far will Maya go to ensure she alone takes them to the grave?

Shared fates intertwine in this twisty, explosive novel of suspense, where unearthing the past might just mean being buried beneath it. 

While it starts off as a familiar amnesia trope, McKinnon peels back the layers of secrets, lies, and deceit—completely blindsiding her reader—and makes it unique and fresh. This simmering and suspenseful read absolutely explodes at the end. Hannah is the queen of shocking endings and this is no exception. The finale is both clever and satisfying. 

You Will Remember Me is deftly plotted, layered, and perfectly paced. 

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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 favour of writing.

She now lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons.

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Q & A with Hannah Mary McKinnon*

GWR: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started writing.

 

HMM: Writing novels wasn’t on my radar until we moved from Switzerland to Canada in 2010. When we arrived, and my HR start-up company failed, it catapulted me into deciding what I truly wanted to do, and whether I wanted to reinvent myself. After a long while (with a lot of moping about) I realized the answer was to become an author, and I got to work, making a ton of mistakes along the way (more on that later…).

 

My debut was a rom com called Time After Time (2016) a light-hearted story about paths not taken. After that I decided I wanted to write grittier stories, and quickly transitioned to the dark side of suspense. The Neighbors published in March 2018, Her Secret Son in 2019, Sister Dear in 2020, You Will Remember Me in May 2021 and Book 6 is scheduled for 2022—all of them in the suspense genre. Sister Dear also published in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It’s an exciting journey to say the least!

GWR: Is there a particular author/work that inspired you to become a writer or the way you write? 

 

HMM: Yes, Jennifer Hillier, whose debut Creep has a little cameo in You Will Remember Me. Here’s why: years ago, while waiting for my son at our local library I spotted Creep on a shelf. Intrigued by the cover, I picked it up, read the blurb, took it home and couldn’t put it down. It was a turning point in my writing career. When I was younger I mainly read thrillers, but after a personal tragedy in my early 20s, I could only stomach light-hearted reads. Creep reminded me of my love of suspense, and I realized the second book I was working on at the time, The Neighbors, was far grittier than my debut (rom com Time After Time). Jennifer’s book gave me that final push I needed to cross over to the dark side. I have all her book and they are brilliant. Fun fact: we live in the same town and have become great friends. Mentioning Creep in one of my novels is an homage to her work and our friendship.

I’ve had a long-standing love-affair with both Lisa Jewell and David Nicholls’s books. I discovered Lisa Jewell’s first novel, Ralph’s Party, at the airport back in 1999, and have all her books. She has a shelf to herself! I adore how she expertly shifted from rom com to family drama to domestic suspense throughout her career, and her stories always pull me in.

GWR: What draws you to darker themes?

 

HMM: I’m fascinated by the resilience and strength of people, how they cope when faced with tragedy, what they do to survive—including the lies they tell themselves, and each other. Our experiences, both good and bad, shape who we become, and shape us differently, which is equally interesting to explore. Creating difficult but entirely fictional circumstances for my characters provides the opportunity to think about how, and why, people have varying reactions to the same situation. I hope my stories also make the reader wonder what they would do if they found themselves in my characters’ shoes. Writing about these dark themes is also an opportunity to examine my own fears from the safety of my keyboard, and reminds me not to take what I have, and the privileges that come with that, for granted.

GWR: Describe You Will Remember Me in three words or fewer?

 

HMM: Twisted, dark, surprising.

GWR: Five facts readers don’t know about the book:

 

HMM: 1. I set the book in Maine because we visited family in New Brunswick and stayed in Portland on our drive there. It’s a beautiful city and I can’t wait to go back. Newdale and Brookmount (the towns in the book) are fictional – I need to be able to take creative liberties.

 

2. One of the characters finds a library book, Creep by Jennifer Hillier. Creep propelled me to the dark side of writing suspense, and Jenny and I have become great friends. It’s an homage to her work, and her friendship.

 

3. One of the characters is originally from Portsmouth—so was my lovely mum.

 

4. While writing this book, I had a conversation about “could you kill someone using a…” with my husband. He still sleeps with one eye open.

 

5. I mention Meg White from the White Stripes in the book, and I think she’s a phenomenal drummer!

GWR: What’s the inspiration for You Will Remember Me. Where were you when the spark came to you?

 

HMM: A few years ago, a man from Toronto vanished from a ski hill in Lake Placid while there on vacation and showed up six days later in Sacramento. He had amnesia and couldn’t remember much, including the cross-country trip he’d made as he’d hitchhiked across the US. Everything worked out for the man in the end and he found his way home, but it made me wonder—what could have gone wrong? That was the genesis for You Will Remember Me. 

 

A while later I had a vivid image in my head—a man waking up on a deserted beach without any recollection of who he was, or what he was doing there. I kept coming back to his story, how he’d arrived on that beach, what he’d do, and how much danger he was in. As I noodled the plot around, I wondered what might happen if he found his way home but had no idea he’d actually left the town years before, and unknowingly walked back into the dragon’s den. That was it. I needed to know what happened next, who was looking for him, and if he’d survive.

GWR: All of your books are filled with many plot twists and turns. How much of the stories have you mapped out in advance, or does your writing style take twists and turns as you go along?

 

HMM: I love twists and turns, and the more books I write, the more I plot them. Detailed outlines make me more productive and efficient because I know where I’m headed. That doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll end up at the destination I mapped out though. In The Neighbors, for example, the ending changed quite dramatically as I got closer to finishing my first draft. In Her Secret Son, the final chapters were different because I wasn’t happy with whom I’d planned to kill off. Sister Dear’s and You Will Remember Me’s endings are close to how I’d imagined but more sinister. Having said that, as I write, more twists and turns come up, and that’s another fun part of writing, discovering what your characters will do when you let them loose.

I admire authors who don’t plot or outline at all in advance, but jump right in. If I did that, I think I’d spend an awful lot of time meandering about not getting anywhere, and then fret about my deadlines. 

GWR: What is your writing process like?

 

HMM: Very structured, and the more I write, the more I plan. My novels start with an idea—something that pops into my head such as the news story for You Will Remember Me, or a radio segment for Sister Dear—maybe a discussion I overheard. I noodle the thoughts around for a while as the main characters take shape. The next step is to write an outline. I start by jotting down the big picture plot points, which I then use as stepping-stones to build and write the rest of the outline. I fill out personality questionnaires for my main characters to understand them better, and search for photos on the internet to build a gallery I stick on my pin-board. By this point I’m raring to go.

At first, I write a basic manuscript that’s a little over two-thirds of the final word count, then layer and develop until I’m happy calling it a first draft, and send it to my wonderful editor, Emily. That’s when the real editing work begins, which is incredibly exciting because I know the story will become a thousand times better with her expert input.

 

GWR: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

 

HMM: It depends on the novel. For Time After Time (my debut, a rom com) there were geographical considerations, and, as the novel took place from the 1980s to the 2010s, I had to ensure my references to pop culture were accurate. In The Neighbors, Her Secret Son, and Sister Dear, and You Will Remember Me (suspense / psychological thrillers) there were similar geographical issues to consider, but I also had to research legal details. I sought the help from an advisor from child services, a lawyer, a medical examiner, and a police detective, to name but a few. For You Will Remember Me I also had phenomenal input from a paramedic and an ER doctor.

I’m continually amazed how people are so incredibly generous with their time, knowledge and expertise when I call and say, “I’m an author, honest, and I have a few weird questions.” For example, fellow author Bruce Robert Coffin is a retired police detective, and he’s helped me get away with fictional murder multiple times. His input is incredible!

I don’t do a lot of research before I start writing but tend to put placeholders for areas that need fleshing out and go back to them after I’ve finished my first draft. That way I’m not spending hours on facts that don’t make the cut, or getting sidetracked by facts which are interesting, but potentially irrelevant to the story.

GWR: What's the one element of a thriller novel that is a MUST?

 

HMM: Plot twists and secrets. I want to be surprised when I’m reading a thriller, although that can be said for any genre, so I guess you need to throw in a dead body or two somewhere as well.

GWR: How long did it take to write the book, and how many drafts do you usually write before publication? 

HMM: It took me about two weeks to plot the story and develop the characters before opening a new document and writing “Chapter 1.” After that I wrote a basic, largely unedited manuscript that was about two-thirds of the final word count before going over the manuscript again and again, layering and developing until I was ready to call it a first draft worthy of my editor’s eyes. That process took about another six months and I still wasn’t happy with it. That’s when I asked my editor for input and she helped me shape the story. There was a substantial amount of rewrites and we went over a couple more drafts before the valuable input from the copyeditor and proof-reader. I’d say from my initial basic draft to final version I probably went over the manuscript fifteen times. Minimum.

GWR: What comes first for you—the overall idea or the characters? 

 

HMM: It really depends on the book. For You Will Remember Me it was the character because of the inspiration for the book mentioned above. For last year’s novel, Sister Dear, it was the initial story—something I heard on the radio that sparked my imagination. Sometimes idea and character arrive together. It’s a fascinating process. 

 

GWR: What did you have the most fun with, character or plot?

 

HMM: Hmm…both were tricky. Having multiple point-of-view characters (there are three) is always more complex than having one protagonist as you have to develop the character more quickly. I’d also completely underestimated writing a point-of-view character with amnesia. You can’t give them any backstory or memories, nor can you have scene after scene of somebody telling them about their past. You Will Remember Me was a tricky book to write, but it stretched me as an author.

 

GWR: Did any of the characters appear fully formed?  

 

HMM: No, none of them ever do. I interview my characters, i.e. fill in a three-page questionnaire about them. Not only the usual things such as hair/eye colour, age, etc, but more in-depth questions. Religious beliefs, if they’ve ever seen a dead body, how much money they have, aspirations, recurring dreams, fears, etc. This helps me develop the character and ensure I make them different so they don’t sound the same.

GWR: Do you have a favourite character?

 

HMM: They were all interesting to write for many different reasons, predominantly because they’re flawed. Maya was probably the most complex, certainly one of the darkest point-of-view characters I’ve ever written. Although Lily is a sunshine girl, she has her secrets, too, which were fun to explore. As for “the man from the beach,” unearthing him was a longer process, and I kept reminding myself that because I knew his history, it didn’t mean he could because of the amnesia.

GWR: What character did you sympathize with the most and did that change while writing the book?

 

HMM: I sympathized with all the characters—yes, even that one because they were so damaged—and I don’t think that changed as I wrote because I’d plotted the storyline quite extensively and knew where they’d end up. All three were interesting to write for different reasons.  

GWR: What made you decide to write the book from multiple points of view? Was it easier or more challenging to explore these parallel storylines?

 

HMM: As far as I was concerned, You Will Remember Me had to be told from three perspectives, I can’t imagine the book unfolding any other way. Having multiple protagonists makes it easier and more difficult at the same time. Easier because you only have to fill a third of the book with one character’s journey, but harder because you only have a third of the book to develop their character and make your reader connect with and care about them. You have to find the right balance.

GWR: Do you find it easier to write character and dialogue for the opposite sex because you are the opposite sex? (A woman writing a man’s part and dialogue for example).

 

HMM: I love writing men and women equally, dialogue, and otherwise. My first experience of writing a male point of view character was in The Neighbors, and I adored working on Nate’s chapters. In Her Secret Son, the entire book is written from Josh’s point of view, and it was such a great challenge to do so. Sister Dear is exclusively told by my protagonist Eleanor, but You Will Remember Me features three characters, two women and one man. Book 6 is man’s point of view.

 

One of my first questions is, “Whose story is this?” After that, to be honest, I try not to overthink whether I’m writing a man or a woman. The important thing is to give them a voice, develop their character and backstory, and make them seem as human to the reader as they are to me.

GWR: How do you decide what point to start the story at and how much detail you’re going to provide?

 

HMM: It was always very clear to me that You Will Remember Me would start with a man waking up on a beach, not knowing where or who he is, and that never changed. For Sister Dear, however, my second to last chapter in my initial draft became my first. Frankly I tend not to worry too much about where to start, or if any chapter is detailed enough when I’m writing the initial story. I find it’s time better spent getting words on the page, however rough, so I can get to the editing stage. Same goes for when to reveal or include details, and how much to provide. When I do self-edits I’ll work on those issues, layering here, cutting there, moving things around. That’s when I ask myself if the pacing is too slow, if anything is confusing because it lacks detail or too convoluted because there’s too much. Once the manuscript goes to my editor, we continue to work on all these points until we’re happy with them.

GWR: Do you build your story around a twist/reveal, or does that happen as you write?

 

HMM: I love twists and turns, and the more books I write, the more I plot them. Detailed outlines make me more productive and efficient because I know where I’m headed, but more reveals happen as I write because I find it impossible to foresee everything in the plotting stage. I don’t think I’d want to, anyway. After all, that’s another fun part of writing, discovering what your characters will do when you let them loose.

 

GRW: Do you have a favourite chapter or scene?

 

HMM: Probably the ending because it’s twisted and hopefully unexpected. My books generally don’t tie up with a cherry on top because that’s the kind of book I like to read (except if I’m reading romance, then it HAS to work out or I’m disappointed)!

 

GWR: Did the story end the way you’d initially thought?

 

HMM: I had three endings in mind, and when I pitched the book to my editor, I asked her, “How dark can I go?” She said, “As dark as you want.” And I did.

GWR: What do you hope readers will take away from You Will Remember Me?

 

HMM: I hope I manage to surprise readers, and they keep thinking about the book long after they’ve finished the final page. My main goal is to entertain, to provide people a form of escape and to leave readers satisfied thinking, “I enjoyed that. It was time well spent!” 

    

GWR: If You Will Remember Me was a beverage, what would it be? 

 

HMM: I’ll give you three:

 

Dark and Stormy (the man on the beach goes missing during a storm, after all) 

Chocolate Amnesia (because I love chocolate) 

Failing those two, grab a locally brewed beer from Maine

 

GWR: What are you working on now?

 

HMM: Book 6, scheduled for May 2022 (title to be confirmed) is complete and I’m very excited about it. It’s written from the anti-hero’s point-of-view, which I’ve never done before, and is the story of Lucas, who hired a hitman on the dark web to kill his rich wife. A month later, Lucas receives a partial photograph of his wife in the mail. Who sent it? What do they know? And, more importantly, what do they want? I can’t wait to introduce you to my characters! In the meantime, I’m writing Book 7 for 2023, another suspense story about a therapy exercise gone wrong (dun-dun-duuuuun).

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite; Maritza Moulite

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin TEEN/Inkyard Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Seventeen-year-old Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended and shipped off to Haiti when a presentation at school goes completely off the rails. She will be spending the next two months writing a "spring volunteer immersion project" instead of vacationing.

Alaine is under the watchful eyes of her (Aunt) Tati Estelle and Celeste, her mother. Celeste is a beautiful reporter who is hiding from the media after a very public incident that is being dubbed as "Slapgate" where she slapped a politician on live TV—she is also hiding a devastating secret of her own.

Happy to be away from the media storm, Alaine gets to flirt with Tati’s cute intern, spend some quality time with her mother, and learn about Haiti—she's visiting for the first time. Alaine also gets to explore her family history, one that is riddled with betrayals, myths, and possibly even a family curse.

But it's nothing she can't handle...

I loved the premise of this book as well as the epistolary style of narrative. The Moulite sisters use letters, emails, diary entries, postcards, and articles to tell Alaine's story. There is also Celeste's storyline which, truth be told, I found more compelling than Alaine's, even though Alaine's had a fresh and intriguing voice. That being said, I am also not the intended audience and I think that readers will identify with Alaine because like most teens, she comes across as confident, yet she is also self-concious with a lot of growing to do.

But the narrative gets away from the authors. There were parts that came across as particularly unorganized and subsequently they lose the plot in places. There are also too many tertiary characters and secondary characters that disappear (Alaine's father, her friend) and an unnecessary sort-of romance.

However, despite that it was 400 plus pages, it was an effortless, enjoyable read. I also liked learning about Haiti and absolutely loved the cover.

MAIKA & MARITZA MOULITE are a sister writing duo.

Maika is a Miami native and daughter of Haitian immigrants. She earned a bachelor’s in marketing from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of Miami. She is also a blogger and writes for nonprofits and other organizations.

Maritza graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s in women’s studies and the University of Southern California with a master’s in journalism. She’s worked in various capacities for NBC News, CNN, and USA TODAY. 

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, Harlequin, Graydon House, and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is a narrative of four of the McAvoy women: Lindy, the wild sister, left home for a fresh start in the city and never looked back; Delia, the other sister, is run off her feet because she is juggling a moody teenager, a baby, the family business, and her mother's ailing health; Brin is the rebellious teenage daughter that's been feeling displaced ever since her baby sister was born; Meredith, the matriarch, has been suffering with some memory issues and struggles with lucidity at times.

The sisters used to be so close. They shared a room and would write in a notebook as to not disturb their mother who had to get up early for work. It was their book of secrets. Seventeen years ago, tragedy struck their family and the McAvoy sisters fell apart. With pressures mounting for Delia, she has no choice but to welcome Lindy back in the fold for much-needed help. As the two sisters try to put their family somewhat back in order, they finally have the chance to reclaim what's been missing: for Delia, a happy marriage, and for Lindy, a sense of belonging and a lost love—but most of all, the sisters are missing each other.

When a particularly turbulent night leads to a shocking revelation, the women must confront the past that they've been avoiding for more than a decade. Will an old secret bring the McAvoy women back together or is it too late?

Fader's narrative is told in alternating third person limited points-of-view between the four women. Lindy and Delia have a complex relationship that plays out over the course of the story. Delia is suffering from postpartum depression. That, coupled with her mother's recent stroke, is affecting her relationships with her husband, Dan, and daughter, Brin. Lindy is struggling with not only returning to her home, but with the prospect of a new job and rightfully finding her place in an industry that she excels in.

Strong women are what makes this story so great. Meredith raised the girls after her husband was lost at sea and the sisters turned out to be resilient both in spirit and will. Delia doesn't realize her own strength and perceives asking for help as a sign of weakness even though she is shouldering a huge load as well as a past trauma. I also think that Lindy's string of bad relationships is a sign of her fortitude, rather than a flaw—she hasn't found someone to compliment her yet.

The characters were relatable and multifaceted. Fader gives away just enough detail to keep her reader vested in their story—her pace is spot on. She also has an excellent ear for dialogue which translates incredibly well on the page.

The mystery of what happened 17 years ago is the driver and really turns this into a page-turner. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this story is. To be perfectly honest, the cover and title didn't really grab me and I think they actually detract from what is a really great book. Please do yourself a favour and give this one a go, you most certainly won't be disappointed. Fader really packs a punch—there's a lot to unpack and discuss. What was also so great was the mystery part of the story. And that ending...

MOLLY FADER is an award-winning author of more than 40 romance novels under the pennames Molly O'Keefe and M. O'Keefe. The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is her first women's fiction novel.

She grew up outside of Chicago and now lives in Toronto.

Girly Book Club Presents: #StrongWomen Read Featuring Pam Jenoff, Molly Fader, and Hannah Mary McKinnon

Photo credit: Girl Well Read.  Do not use without written permission.

Girly Book Club presented #StrongWomenRead featuring Pam Jenoff (The Lost Girls of Paris), Molly Fader (The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets), and Hannah Mary McKinnon (Her Secret Son) at the Bay Adelaide Centre in downtown Toronto. The proceeds of the event went to the Canadian Women's Foundation.

Besides the fabulous food, beverages, and spectacular view, there was a chat with the authors followed by a Q&A and book signing.

The theme of evening was #StrongWomenRead and the ladies spoke about what that means to them

Hannah Mary McKinnon said that it was her maternal grandmother that inspired her reading, as well as credits her parents.

Molly Fader mentioned Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew series) as well as her mother who read her fairy tales.

Pam Jenoff has always been a reader—as a child, it was Judy Blume that inspired her. She told a story about how twenty years ago she wrote to Blume asking her for writing advice to which Blume responded. Twenty years to the day, she happen to meet Judy Blume at her book store!

How has your life influenced your books?

Molly Fader says "Romance, how you are telling a woman's story," and that "love and sex are an important part."

Hannah Mary McKinnon is a plotter, not a pantser (a plotter is someone who plans/plots out their novel before writing, and a pantser is someone who flies by the seat of their pants) and that her business side has also helped with being more of a structured writer.

Pam Jenoff credits her legal background—she brings the revision skills she learned as a lawyer to her writing.

#StrongWomenRead - What would you say to a young girl about this?

Pam Jenoff said that it is like #metoo, empowering women.

Molly Fader thinks that young girls should show each other compassion and ultimately show yourself compassion—compassion won’t fail you.

Hannah Mary McKinnon said that you can "be quietly strong, and that’s okay."

Do you write every day?

Pam is part of the 5 am club—she's up and writing in short, 45 minute sprints.

Hannah structures herself by using her deadline and working backwards. She "chunks draft manuscript and expands."

How did you become a writer?

Pam Jenoff had an epiphany and that was 9/11. She had just became a lawyer and had begun practicing law only one week earlier and knew that she didn't want to die a lawyer. Jenoff took a night course and started writing. She bootstrapped her first two books together and went from there.

Molly Fader used support networks and writing groups.

Hannah Mary McKinnon took a course. She published her first book with a great premise, but bad structure. From there, she invested in an Editor and spoke about how invaluable their advice is. She too joined writing groups and took courses. McKinnon said that it is "scary to share your work, but you need the critical feedback and that without it, you are missing opportunities to learn" and also, "your first draft is meant to suck."

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The Lost Girls of Paris

An emotional story of friendship and betrayal during the second world war, inspired by true events.

With the world at war, Eleanor Trigg leads a mysterious ring of female secret agents in London. Twelve of these women are sent to aid the resistance. They never return home.

1946 Manhattan. Passing through Grand Central Station, New York, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. The case is filled with a dozen photographs, each of a different woman. Setting out to find the women behind the pictures, Grace is drawn into the mystery of the lost girls of Paris. And as she delves deeper into the secrets of the past, she uncovers a story of fierce friendship, unthinkable bravery - and, ultimately, the worst kind of betrayal.

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PAM JENOFF is a New York Times bestselling author of several novels including The Kommandant's Girl, which received widespread acclaim, earned her a nomination for the Quill Awards and became an international bestseller.

She previously served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. State Department in Europe, as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon and as a practicing attorney.

Jenoff received her juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, her masters degree in history from Cambridge University and her bachelors degree in international affairs from The George Washington University.

Pam lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school at Rutgers.

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The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets

It’s been seventeen years since the tragic summer the McAvoy sisters fell apart. Lindy, the wild one, left home, carved out a new life in the city and never looked back. Delia, the sister who stayed, became a mother herself, raising her daughters and running the family shop in their small Ohio hometown on the shores of Lake Erie.

But now, with their mother’s ailing health and a rebellious teenager to rein in, Delia has no choice but to welcome Lindy home. As the two sisters try to put their family back in order, they finally have the chance to reclaim what’s been lost over the years: for Delia, professional dreams and a happy marriage, and for Lindy, a sense of home and an old flame—and best of all, each other. But when one turbulent night leads to a shocking revelation, the women must face the past they’ve avoided for a decade. And there’s nothing like an old secret to bring the McAvoy women back together and stronger than ever.

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MOLLY FADER is an award-winning author of more than 40 romance novels under the pennames Molly O'Keefe and M. O'Keefe. The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets is her first women's fiction novel.

She grew up outside of Chicago and now lives in Toronto.

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Her Secret Son

Josh’s partner Grace suffers a fatal fall. He can't wallow in his grief because he is now responsible for her seven-year-old son. Even though he is not Logan's biological father, Josh is the only father he has known.

For whatever reason, Grace resisted both marrying Josh, as well as having Josh become Logan's legal guardian. She always dismissed the idea with the excuse that it was just a formality. Given that Josh can't locate any paperwork surrounding Logan's birth, he begins to wonder if Grace was hiding something and that's why she resisted making their family official.

As Josh digs deeper, it is apparent that there are many secrets Grace was hiding, each more troubling than the next.

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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 favour of writing.

She now lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and three sons.

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

A special thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Canada, and Graydon House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rouda weaves a dark tale of marriage, betrayal, and deception in this page-turning thriller.  Readers are in the mind of narcissist Paul Strom, a handsome and successful advertising executive that is trying to have the "best day ever" with his wife—Strom is a combination of a character from "Mad Men" and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.  Paul is confident, charming, and thinks that every woman wants him.  

The story begins with Paul and his wife, Mia, leaving for a child-free weekend up at their lake house.  He's promised her that this will be the best day ever.  The couple say this phrase several times during the drive and the reader wonders what is going on with these two.  The tension is palpable and written as such that we don't know the extent of the problem, or if in fact these two even like each other.

Paul is an incredibly unreliable narrator, so narcissistic that he cannot read social cues or navigate relationships.  He thinks that women want him, when in fact he is actually stalking them and the attention that he bestows upon these victims is stalkerish and harassing plain and simple.  The comparison to Ellis' Patrick Bateman is there, although Paul is not quite as polished, and unlike Bateman, there is no likability whatsoever.

Rouda goes out on a whimper.  There needed to be more of a psychological throw down to amp it up to another star.  All-in-all, a great read for the summer and I would definitely recommend this book.

KAIRA ROUDA is a USA Today bestselling, multiple award-winning author of contemporary fiction exploring what goes on behind closed doors of seemingly perfect lives. Her novels include All the Difference, Here, Home, Hope, In the Mirror, and The Goodbye Year.  Her modern romance novels are set on beaches, including the Indigo Island series and the Laguna Beach series, also its own Kindle World.

She lives in Southern California with her family.  

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clara Solberg and her husband Nick seem to have it all—a  great marriage, two healthy children, and a successful dental practice. That is until Nick and the couple's four-year-old daughter, Maisie, are in a car accident that claims Nick's life. Clara is only a few days postpartum and her emotions are running the gamut from shock, grief, confusion, disbelief, and now paranoia that is fuelled by Maisie's night terrors of "the bad man".

Although the crash is ruled an accident, that Nick was speeding and lost control, Clara can't stop obsessing that Nick was run off the road. It is here where Kubica turns truths into lies, and secrets start to take flight.

Told in alternating perspectives of Clara in the present day, and Nick leading up to the accident, Every Last Lie accelerates in pace and suspense, but ultimately it stalls a little at the end. Unfortunately with this ending, Kubica negates all of the suspense and build up she so masterfully weaves throughout. That being said, I would still recommend this book as well as Don't You Cry and The Good Girl.

MARY KUBICA is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature.

She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter. 

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Canada MIRA for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

The story opens with a 90-year-old woman visiting a museum exhibit that transports her back in time to war-torn Europe in 1944.  

After becoming pregnant by a Nazi solder at sixteen, Noa is forced to give up her baby and shunned by her family. She lives above a rail station that she cleans in order to earn her keep. A boxcar with dozens of Jewish infants stops at her station en route to its final destination, a concentration camp. Noa, in a moment of weakness and thinking of the child she lost, grabs one of the babies and flees into the snowy night.  

Astrid is a Jewish wife of a German officer that has been forced to divorce her. She has no papers and has lost the whereabouts of her family. Having grown up in the circus, she is able to fall back on her professional aerialist training and joins a German circus that will keep her secret. Noa is rescued by a member of the same travelling circus that provided refuge for Astrid fourteen months earlier. In order to blend in, Noa must learn to be part of the flying trapeze act. The head aerialist, Astrid, is her teacher and mentor after finding herself demoted to catching the aerialist. The two women are thrown together—rivals at first, Noa and Astrid form an unlikely pairing and an unbreakable bond.

Described as Water for Elephants meets The Nightingale, I was hesitant to request this book because both titles are so unforgettable. I had nothing to worry about—Jenoff’s writing is superb! She deftly segues between voices/perspectives and time. 

Her relationships and struggles are believable with the exception of Not and Luc. I found their connection happened so quickly and as a result, Noa was impulsive. I did want Luc to be more a little more developed like the other characters. Because he was not, this made Noa’s attraction to him seem a bit contrived.

This book is a solid 4 stars for me and I would absolutely recommend it.

PAM JENOFF is a New York Times bestselling author of several novels including The Kommandant's Girl, which received widespread acclaim, earned her a nomination for the Quill Awards and became an international bestseller. 

She previously served as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. State Department in Europe, as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon and as a practicing attorney.  

Jenoff received her juris doctor from the University of Pennsylvania, her masters degree in history from Cambridge University and her bachelors degree in international affairs from The George Washington University. 

Pam lives with her husband and three children near Philadelphia where, in addition to writing, she teaches law school at Rutgers.