Website columnist Robin Diamond is shocked when crime podcast producer Quentin Garrison contacts her and implies that Robin's mother was involved in a couple of murders back in the 70s. Robin is quite sure that this is impossible, but she can't help wondering why she knows so little about her mother's past. There is no way her mother could have participated in a murder spree. And, beside both killers are dead, so there is no way her mother could be a killer. Then, tragedy strikes when someone breaks in and shots both her parents. Could this have something to do with the old murder case?
I've previously read WHAT REMAINS OF ME by Alison Gaylin and was looking forward to reading her new book, NEVER LOOK BACK. What intrigued me about this book was the big question, was Robin's mother the infamous killer, April Cooper, or not? We get to follow both Robin and Quentin as they, in their own way and for different motives, try to find out the truth. We also get April Cooper's notes sprinkled through the novel from the time of the murders. It's a very interesting and captivating book and I especially liked that I could never be sure what would happen next...
NEVER LOOK BACK. is an engrossing thriller and I found myself quite taken with the story and the interesting twists. I especially liked the fact that I didn't see all of them coming. I recommend this book warmly.
For thirteen days in 1976, teenage murderers April Cooper and Gabriel LeRoy terrorized Southern California's Inland Empire, killing a dozen victims before perishing themselves in a fire... or did they? More than 40 years later, twentysomething podcast producer Quentin Garrison blames his troubled upbringing on the murders. And after a shocking message from a source, he has reason to believe April Cooper may still be alive.
Meanwhile, New York City film columnist Robin Diamond is coping with rising doubts about her husband and terrifying threats from internet trolls. But that's nothing compared to the outrageous phone call she gets from Quentin... and a brutal home invasion that makes her question everything she ever believed in. Is Robin's beloved mother a mass murderer? Is there anyone she can trust?
Told through the eyes of those destroyed by the Inland Empire Killings—including Robin, Quentin, and a fifteen-year-old April Cooper—Never Look Back asks the question: How well do we really know our parents, our partners—and ourselves?
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