ABOUT THE BOOK:
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…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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 Hannah Mary McKinnon – Photo by Robert McKinnon
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Read on for an exclusive Q&A with McKinnon:
Q: Describe ‘A KILLER MOTIVE’ in…
Hannah:
- Four words: Fast-paced, surprising, twisted, devious
- A sentence: In A Killer Motive, a twisted, manipulative kidnapper challenges a cold-case podcaster to locate a recently abducted man with the promise that if she succeeds, the truth about her brother, who went missing six years ago on her watch, will be revealed.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from ‘A Killer Motive’?
Hannah: I always say I write to entertain and provide readers but I guess this time around I hope the story will also challenge any preconceptions they might have, as writing the project did with mine. Again, I can’t say more, or I’ll give away clues.
Q: You often say you’re a “heavy outliner.” Can you share what that means?
Hannah: Essentially, I break my story into small steps, from beginning to end. While I don’t come up with every single twist, I have the main beats, which help me move my outline from one chapter to the next. Along with character interviews, I also build a photo gallery and a map of the area I’m dropping my cast into. It’s all quite detailed.
Q: What did you know about podcasting before writing A KILLER MOTIVE?
Hannah: 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.
Q: If you could go back and tell yourself one thing when you were at the beginning of your writing career, what would it be?
Hannah: Probably to take some creative writing courses, as they helped immensely, and were instrumental in my getting an agent and my book deals. I’d also tell myself to celebrate the milestones I’ve achieved before setting new ones. Stop for a minute, pat yourself on the back, and say, “You did it!” Take a minute before chasing the next dream.
Q: Tell us more about how you started writing
Hannah: Writing novels wasn’t on my radar until we moved from Switzerland to Canada in 2010. When we arrived, and my HR start-up company failed, it catapulted me into deciding what I wanted to do next. My debut was a romantic comedy called Time After Time (2016), a lighthearted story about paths not taken. After that, I wanted to write grittier stories and quickly transitioned to the dark side of suspense, only to return to rom-coms years later.
My thrillers are:
- The Neighbors (2018)
- Her Secret Son (2019)
- Sister Dear (2020)
- You Will Remember Me (2021)
- Never Coming Home (2022)
- The Revenge List (2023)
- Only One Survives (2024)
- A Killer Motive (2025)
My romantic comedies are:
- Time After Time (as Hannah Mary McKinnon – 2016)
- The Christmas Wager (as Holly Cassidy – 2023)
- The Christmas Countdown (as Holly Cassidy – 2024)
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