A Killer Motive by Hannah Mary McKinnon
Book Summary
In this thriller for
fans of Ashley Elston and Jeneva Rose, a manipulative kidnapper gives a true
crime podcaster one week to locate her brother’s best friend. If she succeeds,
she’ll learn the truth about her brother’s disappearance six years ago, but if
she fails, his friend will die.
You never know who’s
listening.
To Stella Dixon,
sneaking her teenage brother out of their parents’ house for a beach party was
harmless fun—until Max disappeared without a trace.
Six years later,
Stella’s family is still broken, and she can’t let go of her guilt. The only
thing that keeps her going is helping other families find closure through A
Killer Motive, her true crime podcast.
In a bid to find new
sponsors and keep making episodes, Stella goes on a local radio show. But when
she says on air that if she had just one clue, she’d find Max and bring whoever
hurt him to justice, someone takes it as a challenge.
A mysterious invitation
to play a game arrives, with the promise that if Stella wins, she’ll get
information about what happened to Max. Stella thinks it’s a sick joke…until
Max’s best friend vanishes. And she’s given new instructions: tell nobody or
people will die.
Desperate and unable to
trust anyone, Stella agrees. But beating a twisted, invisible enemy seems
impossible when they make all the rules…
Internationally bestselling author Hannah Mary McKinnon was born in the
UK, grew up in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 2010. Her eight suspense
novels include THE REVENGE LIST, ONLY ONE SURVIVES, and A KILLER MOTIVE, and
her work has been optioned for the screen. She also writes holiday romantic
comedies as Holly Cassidy. Hannah Mary lives near Toronto, Canada with her
husband and three sons. You’ll find her on socials as @hannahmarymckinnon,
and please visit www.hannahmarymckinnon.com for more.
Author Social Media Links
Author Q & A
Tell us about the inspiration for A KILLER
MOTIVE?
Typically, I can pinpoint where the idea for a book
came from, but with this one it’s a little more elusive. I remember wondering
what a person might do if someone they deeply cared about vanished, and how
that might affect those left behind. What if I pushed it further and the main character
of my story blamed herself for the disappearance? How far would she go to find
her missing loved one if she was given a clue? The story grew legs from there.
How did you develop your main characters, Stella
and her antagonist?
Stella’s psyche was
relatively clear from the start, and I knew she’d feel responsible for Max’s
situation. I had no clue she was a true crime podcast host—that brilliant
suggestion came from my agent, Carolyn Forde. However, my antagonist’s identity
eluded me for some time as I noodled around the concept. Like Stella, there was
a change in the villain’s profession. This switch was thanks to my editor, Dina
Davis, and I’m so glad because it works far better
than my original idea.
What was the most difficult part of writing A
KILLER MOTIVE?
There are a lot of
twists and turns and red herrings, so keeping track of those (and the
timelines), plus making sure they were sufficiently tied up at the end was
quite a challenge. There are also a couple of fight scenes I asked my husband
Rob to act out with me, so I could get the description of the movements right.
He’s always game for a laugh!
What did you know about podcasting before
writing A KILLER MOTIVE?
Other
than listening to them…nothing! However, I researched them quite heavily, and I had the pleasure of meeting Laurah
Norton, host of the One Strange Thing and The Fall Line podcasts.
Her pertinent questions really helped deepen Stella’s motivations for A
Killer Motive. As a side note, if you have the opportunity to hear Laurah
speak at a conference, grab it with both hands because she’s incredible. Check
out her podcasts, too.
What’s your dream job other than being a
novelist?
As a kid I wanted
to be a lawyer or a police officer but at this point in my life it would be
working in TV or film albeit writing or directing, not in front of the camera.
Maybe I’ll attempt writing a screenplay one day. I have ideas…
What are some things you enjoy when not
writing?
I read a lot (not
really surprising!), I work out frequently (recently took up self-defense and
loving it), and I started drumming as I was writing Only One Survives.
Along with my family and work, that all keeps me well out of trouble!
What are you working on now?
To be honest, it’s a little too early to divulge much, but I’m working
on a deeply personal thriller based on something that happened in my life many
years ago. It was a daunting project to tackle, but now I’ve started, I don’t
want to stop. I’m excited to continue working on the story and share details
about it when I’m ready.
My Thoughts
I was drawn into A Killer Motive by Hannah Mary McKinnon with the mysterious disappearance of Stella’s brother,
Max. I wanted to know what happened to
him and who was behind the disappearance.
I enjoy following the case, picking up clues, and piecing them together. There was quite a bit going on in the middle
of the book (it is a little chaotic). There
are twists, red herrings, and multiple suspects. I liked the cat and mouse game between Stella
and the guilty party. I had narrowed in on one person and I was eager to see if
I had guessed correctly (I love solving whodunits). I have a feeling the reveal will take many
readers by surprise. I had not read a
book with a true crime podcast before, and I found it interesting (as you can
guess, I sought out some to listen to). A Killer Motive is a psychological thriller that will take you on a roller
coaster ride.
Excerpt
Tonight, my solemn promise meant busting his
grounded a** out of his minimum-security prison, aka our parents’ house, so he
could join Jeff and me at what would be the coolest party of the weekend.
Lighthouse Beach was a twenty-five-minute drive from Deering, the Portland
neighborhood where Max and I had grown up, and now I couldn’t wait to get
going.
Max slid into the back seat of Jeff’s old red
pickup truck. I turned around, laughing at my brother’s beaming face and the
perpetual impish twinkle in his green eyes, which looked so much like mine.
“We were about to leave,” I deadpanned. “Thought
you’d chickened out.”
Max snorted. “As if.”
“Are we picking up Kenji?”
“He’s at his girlfriend’s so he’ll meet us at the
beach,” Max said, before jokingly adding, “He’d better, considering he’s taking
off next week. Some best friend he is, leaving me behind.”
“Hey,” I shot back with mock indignation. “I
thought I was your best friend.”
“Are you two sure about this aiding and abetting?”
Jeff cut in before Max could throw a good-natured sibling zinger my way. “Your
mom will go ballistic if she finds out.”
Max shrugged. “I don’t care. She’s way
overprotective.”
“You know her reasons,” Jeff said.
We all did. Mom’s older brother died when she was
nine and he was seventeen. It was terrible how some a**hole truck driver had
run over our uncle, killing him instantly. Still, Max’s rebellion tonight was
fueled by the fact Mom had banned him from going to California with Kenji,
saying it was too far away, and Max was too young. They’d had a massive
argument about it, which led to my brother being grounded for the weekend,
hence tonight’s great escape.
“I told them I was heading to bed,” Max said.
“They never check, but I stacked my pillows under the duvet just in case.
Nobody will notice.”
“If they do, I’ll take the full blame.” I patted
Jeff’s hand. “Max, we’ll drive you home. No after-parties with Kenji, got it?
What Mom and Dad don’t know can’t hurt them.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” Max gave me a salute. “Anyway,
I’ll need some sleep. I’m volunteering at the clinic tomorrow. Woolly had a
mass removed and I want to be there for him.”
“Woolly?” Jeff said. “Dog or sheep?”
My brother grinned. “Giant Angora rabbit. He’s
awesome.”
“You’re such a softie,” I said before letting out a
whoop. “All right, let’s go. Lighthouse Beach, here we come.”
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