I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Never Look Back by A. L. Gaylin on February 6, 2020
ISBN: 9781409179054
Genres: Psychological Thriller
Pages: 368
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
'Aflame with tension. An intricate, powerful thriller - rivals the very best of Harlan Coben and Lisa Gardner' AJ Finn, author of THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
*****************
She was the most brutal killer of our time. And she may have been my mother...
When website columnist Robin Diamond is contacted by true crime podcast producer Quentin Garrison, she assumes it's a business matter. It's not. Quentin's podcast, Closure, focuses on a series of murders in the 1970s, committed by teen couple April Cooper and Gabriel LeRoy. It seems that Quentin has reason to believe Robin's own mother may be intimately connected with the killings.
Robin thinks Quentin's claim is absurd. But is it? The more she researches the Cooper/LeRoy murders herself, the more disturbed she becomes by what she finds. Living just a few blocks from her, Robin's beloved parents are the one absolute she's always been able to rely upon, especially now amid rising doubts about her husband and frequent threats from internet trolls. Robin knows her mother better than anyone.
But then her parents are brutally attacked, and Robin realises she doesn't know the truth at all...
*****************
'Completely absorbing with a knock-out twist' Harlan Coben
'Gaylin is an expert at acute emotional observation combined with seamless plotting' Alex Marwood
'AL Gaylin is at the top of her game, crafting exhilarating and audacious crime novels that are both rich in character and rivetingly told. They are, quite simply, not to be missed' Megan Abbott
'AL Gaylin is a storyteller guaranteed to keep you up at night' Laura Lippman
'AL Gaylin is a great storyteller' Mark Billingham
'A fiendishly well-told thriller that deepens its grip the faster you read - I loved it' Louise Candlish
If you love Serial, S-Town, Clare Mackintosh, Cara Hunter, KL Slater or Lisa Jewell, you will be utterly gripped by this psychological thriller with a twist you'll never see coming...
Never Look Back. What amazing advice. In everyday situations Never looking back will allow you to brush off moments you wished you could have done something different. Some regret that plagued your mind. Is it healthy to never look back? How can we be expected to reassess our actions, learn valuable lessons and grasp the good with both hands.
A.L Gaylin injects the eerie, spine-chilling meaning. She sets the wheels in motion and can they be stopped? Once something is rolling along, gaining speed, what can be done to stop it? Can it? It just gathers momentum, like a bat of hell. Gravity is on its side and you are just an insignificant being standing in its way…it’s going to hit you if you dare stop it.
Never Look Back is the kind of thriller that I LOVE. The title sets the scene. The author knows how to upset your equilibrium. Icy cold dread sneakily slivers into your heart and leaves you with an eerie dread swimming through your veins. A historic killing spree. An intriguing connection and a need for closure.
A terrible childhood that has the links to a repulsive killing spree in the 1970’s. Quentin lingers and over analyses his childhood. Can he use his profession to finally move forward and let go of the past? Now a successful podcast producer, it is suggested to him that he takes his life forward in a productive way and focus the programme on the spate of murders. Could it finally bring him the closure that he so desperately needs? Quentin agrees but receives a phone call that could potentially rock his world and put his podcast on the line.
The narrative was slick and razor sharp. The fear being injected into the books every word was hauntingly eerie. The author always left you feeling the urgency in her words. I needed to get to the next chapter…I needed to find out just what was going on behind the scenes. I had my Nikes on and laced up – it was a race against time. No matter how hard I ran, I was faced with the roadblocks of lies, unreliable narrators and secrets.
Never Look Back demonstrates the real and frightening effect that our pasts and childhood can play in our adult life. We can be as resilient as we want but eventually our pasts will present themselves as an unmoveable object if we don’t tackle the pain they cause.
The author takes us down a path untraveled, with plenty of potholes, dark corners and noises with no apparent origin. We learn about Robin Diamond. She is an illustrious movie reviewer. She’s brash, in your face and never scared of telling you what she thinks. Despite this she has the same insecurities as the rest of us. Worried about her husband and what he gets up to. Constantly texting on his phone. Working late…just what is he playing at? Things start to hit the fan when she receives an unexpected phone call from Quentin.
It’s such an interesting premise. As the child just what information regarding our parents to we have a given right to know? They are their own person and we all need our secrets, right? I’m a big believer in the fact that you will never receive full closure. Life is all about what you make it. Traumatic events\past mistakes do mould us, but we can fight back and change, if we really want to.
Never Look Back is a slow burn of a psychological Thriller. The author really knows how to sucker punch you into submission.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA Today and International Best-selling author Alison Gaylin has been nominated for the Edgar four times. Most recently, her thriller IF I DIE TONIGHT, won the award in the category Best Paperback Original.
Her critically acclaimed suspense novels have been published in such countries as the U.K., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan and Romania.
She has won the Shamus and RT Reviewers Choice Awards for her books, and has been nominated for the ITW Thriller, Anthony and Strand Book Awards. Her books have been on the bestseller lists in the US, Germany and Belgium. IF I DIE TONIGHT (out March, 2018 from William Morrow) is her tenth book.
NORMANDY GOLD, the graphic novel she wrote with Megan Abbott, is out from Titan/Hard Case Crime in April, 2018.