Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Luca Veste, this book is a great psychological thriller, gritty and dark and full of suspense. A recommended read.

Sam is called to his estranged father's deathbed am who confesses something shocking to do with the death of Sam's mother- could she really still be alive after all this time? . The consequences are terrifying and Sam embarks on a series of events that will eventually blow everyone he ever believed out-of the water. Moving from the UK to the States Sam is aware that he is not alone and someone else is also on the trail to find the truth, someone who will stop at nothing. The mix of fast paced narrative running along with the emotional toll that Sam faces with the knowledge that his mother may have been alive all these years without contacting him, adds a sensitive undertow to the story
A high paced and gripping thriller with an emotional pull - hard to put down and one you will definitely want to finish.

A great thriller
Definitely action packed
Will grip you from the first page to the last
Plenty of twists and turns
Thanks NetGalley

I’ve been a huge fan of this authors work and his work just gets more and more chilling. I have a couple more of his on my shelves, which after reading this, I am bumping them up the list!
To begin with; the book did have the means to become quite complicated with the different timelines and characters. However, once I gave it my full attention and got my head round it all, the book really came into its own. The author really created tension in his writing. This book is not for the faint hearted. There is a lot of blood and gore and each page is full of action.
This is a great action thriller and is highly recommended
Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy

Despite being the author of 8 novels, I have to confess that You Never Said Goodbye is the first that I've read by Luca Veste and what a tense read it turned out to be as we're taken on a journey with our protagonist Sam Cooper as he tries to come to terms with some shocking news from his father on his death bed.

When we first meet Sam it's clear that he didn't have the best of relationships with his dad and they'd been a estranged for a while but despite this he doesn't hesitate to drop everything to go and visit him when he receives a call to say he's in hospital following an attack at home. On visiting his father he receives some shocking news that turns everything he thought he knew about his life on its head.

We soon discover that Sam and his father moved back to the UK when he was a child following an accident that killed his mother and little brother but a death bed confession from his father tells him that his mother Laurie is still alive and in hiding. But from who? Not surprisingly Sam is stunned as to what happened that fateful day and why his family was torn apart without any contact over the years so he decides to head to the US to try and find her for himself to get answers little knowing the danger that he would soon find himself in.

I will admit that I needed to keep my wits about me to keep track of the different characters that we encounter as the story progresses as it's soon apparent that just as his dad was paid a visit, the same people are now following Sam's every move. The story flows between the past and present as snippets of information are revealed which enables the reader to try to piece together events from the past which led to the current day situation.

We do get some narrative from Laurie's viewpoint which does provide us readers with a little more insight than Sam has as to why events played out the way they did. We see how her life was like before she met David, Sam's father, and what led to them going on the run and just who has been on a mission looking for her ever since.

You Never Said Goodbye was a tense read from start to finish and I was constantly trying to figure out what was going on. It's probably a bit cliche to say that this would make a great film, but this clearly would as there's intrigue, mystery and action aplenty as the story progresses.

I’m a massive lover of thrillers so this dark and gritty thriller was right up my street!

It was a fast paced and thrilling read which I flew through. The main characters were well written and developed well, some of the side characters were less fleshed out but I don’t think that impacted the read too much.

The mix of psychological and action based thrills were captivating and worked really well. Leaving it gripping and totally unpredictable throughout.

I did struggle with some parts, seemingly a little unbelievable and far fetched. But sometimes I think you have to look past things and enjoy the book for what it is - fiction!

Would definitely be up for reading more from this author.

3 for neutral. This one was not for me or at least not for my mood! Will update if able to finish at a later date, but seemed a bit different than my normal choice!

2.5 stars. A thrill-a-minute, dual timeline story, but it kept getting more and more improbable as the story progressed. An extra star for being really lacy and exciting, but I cannot bring myself to be enthralled about a story based on violence against women.

(Review copy from NetGalley)

Having read Veste's previous books and enjoying their Liverpool setting it was a surprise to read this one with the majority of the story being based in America. The book was action packed, sinister at times, had a compelling plot and great characters. A highly recommended read that should be a massive success as it deserves to be.

A 5* read without a doubt.

You Never Said Goodbye was a fantastically gripping domestic crime thriller from Luca Veste. I was drawn in from the outset by the opening scenes with its flashbacks to events in the past. Sam Cooper's mother and brother are tragically killed in a car accident and he learns to cope as best as he can with his loss. Years later he finds out that this might not be the case and that his mother might be alive after all . There are various timelines and perspectives in the book, all of which help to add more detail to an already gripping story.

If you like lots of action in your stories this book will be for you. The plot was too far fetched for me but I can imagine it being made into a tv series. Lots of half truths and love Interest.

My first title by this author and I found it well written with lots of twists and turns. Rather than a crime thriller I found it more of an adventure story with an unlikely hero - an ordinary young man who suddenly finds himself thrust into a world of thugs but manages to survive.
The story kept me reading well into the night but it is not my genre.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Luca Veste/Hodder & Stoughton for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Luca Veste is an author who never fails to impress me, he always manages to bring something new to the table, and his latest standalone novel is no exception.

Sam Cooper is on a date when he gets a phone call asking him to return to his home town. His Father is dying and Sam is required to be at his bedside. Sam hesitates at first, he hasn't seen his Father in years, but believes he'll regret it if he doesn't go.

If only he knew what was waiting for him...

The death of Sam's Father, is the beginning of a very dangerous journey for Sam. His Father's death was caused by someone else, someone who believes that his Mother is still alive, and who will do anything to find her.

Sam's Mother and younger Brother were killed in a car accident when he was younger, something he's never forgiven himself for, although it most certainly wasn't his fault. She can't be alive, it's simply not possible.

But someone believes she is, and will keep killing until they find her.

You Never Said Goodbye is a fast paced, action packed thriller. Another gem by Luca Veste that will keep existing fans satisfied, and hopefully bring some well deserved new ones!

This is my first ever Luca Veste novel I've read but it was highly recommended so couldn't wait to read. It didn't disappoint with its high tension, twisting plot that took me from sleepy England to America. It was one book I couldn't put down as I needed to know the ending even if I'd guessed some points along the way. A thrilling psychological action packed thriller.

Laurie and Anthony were young when they dated and thought they were in love. Anthony is determined to be a very rich man and live in a splendid house. Laurie thinks she loves him until his constant possessiveness and brutal attacks makes her feel trapped.

Laurie managed to escape Anthony and ran away with the man she loved and had a family. But, when her father died, it was said she went home and was attacked by Anthony.

This scenario is bantered about by her surviving son. I tried so hard to follow this book but became quite irritated with the plot that made no sense at all. Unfortunately, it came across as a second rate crime show. Therefore, it was at over the 50 percent point that I gave up.
There is a limit to my patience. No thanks.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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!

This is the first time I have read something by Luca Veste and now that I have, it won´t be the last. This book was clever on so many levels, spanning 30 years of mystery, lies, kidnapping and what borders on Mafia type people.

Without giving anything further away, you easily connect with the main character Sam, as you are whisked along side him in his quest for the truth about his mother.

A great read, will probably go back and read it again very soon so that I can absorb it more.

My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy in return for giving an honest review.

Grips from the first page. A man trying to get a grip with his past following his father's death-bed confession. This was a great thriller and I recommend it.

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

For fans of Hollywood blockbuster-style plots, You Never Said Goodbye is a great book filled with kidnapping, gunfights and high speed car rides. For me, it wasn't really my kind of book.
The plot is ok but ultimately I finished the book feeling a bit flat and deflated. I wasn't really bothered by that point about what happened. I felt like the twist that had been alluded to throughout the book just felt flat at the reveal.
One thing that bugged me was the character of Quinn. She had so much promise to start with and the clichéd twist with her character just made me feel disappointed. She could've been given so much more depth as a character but her ending was poor for a character that I'd initially liked a lot.
Luca Veste is a great writer and this is a very good book for the right audience. Unfortunately not quite as enjoyable as I'd hoped but still good.
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Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Luca Veste for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.