wp-1602267712404.jpgWelcome to my stop on the Never Turn Back blog tour sponsored by Suzy Approved Book Tours! Thank you to Suzy for the invitation and for the gifted book!

About the Book:

Linwood Barclay meets Michael Farris Smith in this Southern-set domestic thriller about family, vengeance, and atonement from critically acclaimed Southern mystery novelist Christopher Swann.

The bonds of family never truly let go.


In fact, its grip only tightens the further you try to run: crushing and crippling.

Ethan Faulkner is a precocious child with a brilliant but troublesome sister, a war vet for a father and a weary mother trying to manage their family. One night, a young woman rings their doorbell, desperate to hide from two men who are pursuing her when one of the two barges in after her. The struggle leaves both of Ethan’s parents dead.

Years later, Ethan has a successful teaching career and a budding relationship with a coworker, Marisa. But he hasn’t quite followed through on his promise to dying father–take care of his sister. Susannah is not an easy person to keep tabs on, is a handful even when the tabs are kept, and quite frankly, Ethan wants her to suffer for preventing him from getting to dad before he died all those years ago.

It was a long time ago and Ethan tries to all of it behind him. But it seems to be the only thing Marisa is interested in discussing. When Ethan attempts to break it off, Marisa’s reaction threatens to shatter the life that Ethan has carefully constructed. Before long, news of a shocking murder breaks with evidence pointing to Ethan as the prime suspect, leaving him no choice but to dig up the painful memories of the past in order to find the truth of the present.

Lyrically conveyed with emotion and nuance, Never Turn Back is a powerful story about family, vengeance, and how some actions echo through the years with irreparable consequences.

My Thoughts:

Well, this book is certainly worth of the over four star rating it has received on Goodreads! What a thriller!

Ethan’s parents were killed during a home invasion, and while horrific, he has placed it all carefully in the past. More than decade later, hardly anyone knows what happened because Ethan is determined to keep it under wraps. From there, everything goes tipsy turvy, and twists and turns happen. That’s all I will say about the plot.

I loved all the characters in this book. I found the storyline compelling, with the writing and pacing on point. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Ethan and Susannah, his sister.

Overall, Never Look Back surprised me in the best of ways, and I’m grateful to have read it. I’m ready for another Christopher Swann book!

I received a gifted copy.

About the Author:

Christopher Swann is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. He earned a B.A. in English from Washington and Lee University, an M.A. in English and creative writing from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Ph.D. in creative writing from Georgia State University. He lives with his wife and two sons in Atlanta, where he is the English department chair at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School. His debut novel, Shadow of the Lions (Algonquin, 2017), was a finalist for the 2018 Townsend Prize for Fiction and a finalist for a 2018 Georgia Author of the Year award; made the long list for the 2018 Southern Book Prize; on the 2017 summer reading lists for Publishers’ Weekly and Deep South Magazine; was a SIBA Okra Pick for the summer of 2017; and was named one of the Best Southern Books of 2017 by Southern Living.

His second novel, Never Turn Backt, is due out October 6, 2020 from Crooked Lane Books.

Have you read Never Turn Back, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR