Tag: sociopath

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#BlogTour: Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

For this blog tour we’re looking at a strong tale of possibly the perfect murder – as told by the villain. For this blog tour we’re looking at Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

Was It Really The Perfect Murder? This is an interesting tale in that we get the villain’s perspective – and virtually no one else’s. Throughout this tale, it is clear that our narrator has killed his wife and believes he has gotten away scott-free – and is about to achieve everything he ever set out for in life because of it. Not because he had any ill-will, you see, simply that he is a problem-solver and a survivor, and he’ll do whatever it takes to solve his problems so that he can live the life he has always deserved. Along the way we get the stories of the tragedies he has endured and the opportunistic ways he has taken advantage of situations regardless of any pesky words on paper about how wrong his actions may be. And we also see his unravelling when it becomes clear that *someone* seems to know what he did… Truly one of McKinnon’s better books.

So why did I drop it a star despite rating every other book I’ve read from her as 5*? Because this one does in fact mention COVID – a fair amount, actually – and I’m waging a one-man war to stop authors from doing that. At *least* for now, and *possibly* for ever. The single star deduction is really my only tool in this one-man war, so I employ it any time a book mentions COVID at all, no matter how strong the book was regardless of this fact.

And again, this really was one of McKinnon’s stronger tales outside of the COVID references. Very much recommended.

Below the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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Featured New Release of the Week: Problem Child by Victoria Helen Stone

This week, as we gear up for Autism Awareness Month in just a few days, we’re looking at a book that does a great job in humanizing and normalizing another neurological divergence. This week, we’re looking at Problem Child by Victoria Helen Stone.

This was a great tale in and of itself – the pacing was solid, the “shocks” were used well, the mystery was compelling, etc etc etc. Seriously, if that is all you care about here, then you’re good at this point. Go buy the book. 🙂

Where the book really shines and elevates itself is in its use of a neurodivergent character as its primary protagonist = and in showing that such a neurodivergence doesn’t mean that the person is “good” or “evil” or “better” or “less”, that they just *are*. Yes, many neurodivergences give abilities beyond the typical, and the one highlighted here – sociopathy – is no different. Ultimately it is up to the neurodivergent individual to assess their own abilities and learn to use them to live their life however they want – which is exactly what our protagonist has done and is doing… and what another character has to learn. Truly a great and yet also frank look at the issues surrounding sociopathy specifically but also neurodivergence in general, this really is a solid book to read in preparation for Autism Awareness Month beginning barely a week after this book releases.

Very much recommended, and I’m very much looking forward to more from this author and this world.

As always, the Goodreads/ Amazon review:
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