Book Summary and Reviews of Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

Never Knowing

by Chevy Stevens

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Jul 2011, 416 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

From the acclaimed author of Still Missing comes a psychological thriller about one woman’s search into her past and the deadly truth she uncovers. 

All her life, Sara Gallagher has wondered about her birth parents. As an adopted child with two sisters who were born naturally to her parents, Sara did not have an ideal home life. The question of why she was given up for adoption has always haunted her. Finally, she is ready to take steps and to find closure. 

But some questions are better left unanswered.

After months of research, Sara locates her birth mother---only to be met with horror and rejection. Then she discovers the devastating truth: Her mother was the only victim ever to escape a killer who has been hunting women every summer for decades. But Sara soon realizes the only thing worse than finding out about her father is him finding out about her.

What if murder is in your blood?

Never Knowing is a complex and compelling portrayal of one woman’s quest to understand herself, her origins, and her family. That is, if she can survive...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Stevens's unnerving stand-alone thriller about a woman's search for her birth parents matches the intensity of her impressive debut, Still Missing." - Publishers Weekly

  "As finely calculated in its escalating suspense as Stevens' grueling debut." - Kirkus

  "Stevens' second novel is a knockout, starting strong and finishing even stronger." - RT Reviews

"Block off the weekend, grab a comfy seat and prepare for the rocket ride of your life! Never Knowing will consume you with the desire to read every page, gasp at every twist and know every last secret between one woman and her serial killer father." - Lisa Gardener, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  "Never Knowing is a chilling thriller with enough twists and turns so every time I thought I knew where it was going I was taken somewhere else. I have a feeling that Chevy Stevens is an author who is going to keep getting better and better with each book! I hope I'm still around for the next six -- at which point she'll probably give me a heart attack. But what a great way to go out!" - Lois Duncan, author of I Know What You Did Last Summer.

"A terrifying, chilling scenario that unfolds into a nightmare and had me keeping the light on at night." - Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of Sister

This information about Never Knowing was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Cloggie Downunder

another page-turner
Never Knowing is the second novel by Canadian author, Chevy Stevens. Like her last book, this is a gripping psychological thriller that will have the reader on the edge of the seat until the last chapter. Sara Gallagher, 34 and mother to six-year-old Ally, is engaged to be married to the laid-back Evan. After a childhood with an adoptive family where she never felt wholly wanted, Sara decides to search for her birth mother. With the help of a Private Investigator, she discovers her mother was the only known survivor of a serial killer who was never captured. Worse still, after this information goes public, her birth father starts ringing her. Stevens sets up her narrative as sessions that Sara has with her psychiatrist, thus also delving deeply into Sara’s feelings and emotions. In this page-turner, Stevens touches on serial killing, the debate of nature versus nurture (bad blood), the use of the internet to disseminate information, obsessive compulsive disorder, and the rights of adopted children and birth parents. Stevens gives the reader characters that are all the more realistic for being imperfect and occasionally irritating, a great setting and believable dialogue. The plot is full of suspense with several twists, some humour to relieve the tension and a brilliant climax. Another page-turner.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Author Information

Chevy Stevens Author Biography

Photo: www.suzanneteresa.com

Chevy Stevens lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and daughter. When she isn't working on her next book, she's spending time with her family and their two dogs. Her books, including Still Missing, a New York Times bestseller and winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel, have been published in more than thirty countries.

Author Interview
Link to Chevy Stevens's Website

Other books by Chevy Stevens at BookBrowse

6 more...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Never Knowing, try these:

  • Somebody's Daughter jacket

    Somebody's Daughter

    by Ashley C.. Ford

    Published 2022

    About this book

    One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the looming absence of her incarcerated father.

  • Emma in the Night jacket

    Emma in the Night

    by Wendy Walker

    Published 2018

    About this book

    A searing psychological thriller.

  • The Mothers jacket

    The Mothers

    by Brit Bennett

    Published 2017

    About this book

    A dazzling debut novel from an exciting new voice, The Mothers is a surprising story about young love, a big secret in a small community - and the things that ultimately haunt us most.

We have 10 read-alikes for Never Knowing, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
When No One Else Will
by Amanda Skenandore
1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    Look What You Made Me Do
    by John Lanchester
    A propulsive tale of intergenerational tension and revenge from the Booker Prize nominee.
  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
    by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
    Son of Weather Underground radicals recounts life on the run and decades of revolutionary struggle.
Who Said...

Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.