You Never Said Goodbye by Luca Veste @HodderBooks @LucaVeste #book #review #YouNeverSaidGoodbye #NetGalley

 

You Never Said Goodbye by Luca Veste

Published by Hodder & Stoughton

Publication Date: 17th February 2022

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Book Description:

A DEVOTED MOTHER

Sam Cooper has a happy life: a good job, a blossoming relationship. Yet, there's something he can never forget - the image seared into his mind of his mother, Laurie, dying when he was a child. His father allowed his grief to tear them apart and Sam hasn't seen him in years.

A LOVING WIFE

Until an unexpected call from Firwood hospital, asking Sam to come home, puts in motion a chain of devastating events. On his deathbed, Sam's father makes a shocking confession.

A LIAR?

Who was Laurie Cooper? It's clear that everything Sam thought he knew about his mother was wrong. And now he's determined to find out exactly what she did and why - whatever the cost.

What happens if you discover you've been lied to by your own family for twenty-five years?

Sam Cooper is about to find out.

My Thoughts:

I first discovered Luca's work through his first DI Murphy & Rossi book, Dead Gone back in 2015. I have watched how his writing has evolved from that first detective novel then branched out into more chilling work with The Bone Collector and The Six. I've loved them all! You Never Said Goodbye is different again. A young man's journey through his adolescence in the belief that his mother and little brother had been killed in a road accident, having to deal with his feelings of guilt and needing to cope with not only his own grief but that of his father. Their relationship so full of cracks that the only way Sam Cooper can cope is to move away and build a new life on his own.

Then, years later, he gets a call from the hospital advising him to get there quickly, his father is critically ill. This is where his life suddenly gets complicated: his father tells him that his mum is still alive. But then his father passes away without giving him any further information. Why would his father lie to him? Why have they lived the way they have for 20 plus years? Did his mother hate them so much that she chose another life without them? Sam doesn't believe this. From everything he can remember of his old life his mum was always there for him and his brother. But if she's still alive, what about his brother? Sam is completely shaken by what his father has told him and quickly takes off for the US to seek answers. 

From the moment Sam leaves the hospital he's aware that he's not alone. Someone else wants answers too and it's soon very obvious that they're not going to leave him alone until he's told them what he knows. Sam finds himself in grave danger on multiple occasions, but who can he trust? Why are these people so desperate to chase down Sam and his family? Who are they? Even the one person he was pretty sure he could trust quite literally with his life is now on a growing list of people that Sam feels threatened by.

This is a fast-paced book with a very different feel from Veste's previous work - maybe the hint of American thriller writing has cast its vibes into this one? The characters are strong - Anthony Sullivan is particularly unlikeable in every sense, and his "security staff" are easy to visualise - the plot-line had my pulse racing with action-packed scenes. Yet underneath all the gun-toting and threats of physical violence, there's the sensitive scenario of a young boy who, having believed he'd lost his sibling and his mother, could be reunited with them after so many years. The confusion and emotion of the many questions raised by Sam's father's deathbed confession are tangible and you really feel for this young man whose personality has been moulded by a foundation of lies. 

Can Sam find out the truth before danger catches up with him once and for all? One thing's for certain: it's going to get messy!

About the Author:

Luca Veste is a writer of Italian and Liverpudlian heritage, married with two young daughters, and one of nine children. He studied psychology and criminology at university in Liverpool. He is the author of the Murphy and Rossi series, which includes DEAD GONE, THE DYING PLACE, BLOODSTREAM, and THEN SHE WAS GONE. Part psychological thriller, part police procedural, his books follow the detective pairing of DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. The novels are set in Liverpool, bringing the city to life in a dark and terrifying manner...with just a splash of Scouse humour. 

He is also the editor of the Spinetingler Award nominated charity anthology 'Off The Record', and co-editor of 'True Brit Grit', also an anthology of short stories for charity. He is a former civil servant, actor, singer and guitarist, and now a full-time writer. 

He can be found at www.lucaveste.com and on twitter @LucaVeste