Books Read: You Never Said Goodbye by Luca Veste

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.

Book Links: Kindle or Hardcover

I'd like to thank Jenny at Hodder Books for my proof copy of You Never Said Goodbye to review. I was originally scheduled to share my review as part of a blog tour but first a migraine and then life got in the way preventing me from uploading it until today so apologies to the author and publisher for the delay. 

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.