If a book doesn’t captivate my interest within the first few chapters, I usually won’t continue reading it. So trust me when I say that the opening of “What Never Happened” by Rachel Howzell Hall had me hooked and wanting more.
After the first chapter, I knew it was a book I had to see through to the end.
The premise was unique and unlike any other thriller I’ve read — and I’ve read my fair share of thrillers.
The story is set on Santa Catalina Island, a little island off the coast of California, rocked by the murder of the Weber family in 2001 with only one survivor — 15-year-old Colette ‘Coco’ Weber.
The book’s opening chapter sets the scene at the Weber house in 2001 as Coco sneaks back into her house — only to find her entire family brutally murdered.
Fast forward twenty years later, Coco, an obituary writer and journalist, returns to the island after leaving her manipulative husband – only to find out that the man convicted of her family’s murder was actually innocent. The killer is still running loose — and no one seems to care.
And, on top of that, her husband has started sending her threatening messages and letters.
But that’s not all. Old women are mysteriously dying on the quiet, little “perfect” island, an island residents swear is safe. And no one believes Coco when she says something is going on.
The book also takes place in 2020, which, as we all know, was the year the world shut down. As the murders take place and Coco is stalked daily (her life is threatened on more than one occasion), the government slowly introduces COVID-19 restrictions; eventually, everyone wears masks, and the island shuts down.
Including the pandemic in the plot added a personal aspect that allowed us readers to relate more to the characters.
For the most part, the characters are likable. I admired Coco’s perseverance and drive. As the only Black woman on the island, she frequently faces discrimination on this seemingly friendly island. But that doesn’t deter her from getting to the bottom of the murders.
However, I did find some characters intolerable, such as Maddy, Coco’s “friend” on the island. (#Stuckup much?)
I liked lots of things about the book, and the author did a great job of being descriptive with her writing and setting the scene. I found it easy to picture what I was reading.
However, there were a few things I struggled with.
It was a bit all over the place and sometimes hard to follow.
Without spoiling too much, one character we grew to know and possibly find annoying completely lost his cool on Coco and said some hateful comments — totally unlike the way this character was written. This character can be frustrating, but mean? Not up until that point. And then, to make matters worse, Coco never thinks of it again and acts like it never happened, which left me confused. It’s hard to tell if that was the author’s intention or inconsistent writing.
There were parts of the book that also felt unrealistic. For instance, why did no one think these murders were odd? Honestly, it baffles me. The author could have done a better job of adding realism to the murder mystery aspect of the story.
Still, despite some of my criticisms, I recommend this book to fellow thriller lovers. I found the overall book to be solid. So, it’s definitely worth a read. If you’re looking for a unique thriller set on an island during a pandemic and in the middle of a housing crisis full of stuck-up island people and death, this is your book.
Featured image via cottonbro studio on Pexels
