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.
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.
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: 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.
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