Talking with Hannah Mary McKinnon
·
Describe A KILLER MOTIVE in…
Ø Four words: Fast-paced, surprising, twisted, devious
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 kind of unique research did you do for A KILLER MOTIVE?
It’s hard to answer this question without giving anything
away, as it’s related to the antagonist. Suffice it to say that my research was
eye-opening and quite disturbing.
· What do you hope readers take away from A KILLER MOTIVE?
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.
·
Tell us more about how you started writing
My thrillers are:
Ø The Neighbors (2018)
Ø Her Secret Son (2019)
Ø Sister Dear (2020)
Ø You Will Remember Me (2021)
Ø Never Coming Home (2022)
Ø The Revenge List (2023)
Ø Only One Survives (2024)
Ø A Killer Motive (2025)
My romantic-comedies are:
Ø
Time After Time (as Hannah
Mary McKinnon – 2016)
Ø
The Christmas Wager (as Holly
Cassidy – 2023)
Ø
The Christmas Countdown (as
Holly Cassidy – 2024)
A
Killer Motive
Hannah
Mary McKinnon
On Sale
Date: September 9, 2025
978077838767
Trade
Paperback
$18.99
USD
400
pages
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…
BUY LINKS:
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Stella
My pulse thudded in my neck like Morse code. A
steady tap-tap loosely translating as come on. Shoving my hands under my
thighs, I slid farther down the passenger seat and peered over the dashboard
toward the darkened house at the end of the street.
For ten minutes I’d willed the motion-activated
porch lights to stay off. Hoped the heavy living room drapes with the silver
ring print I’d been mesmerized by as a kid would remain closed, allowing us to
stay undetected.
Tap-tap.
Already 9:47 p.m. Where was he?
The cloudless Maine sky had long transitioned from
bright blue to bubble gum pink before enveloping our corner of the East Coast
in a blanket of rich black velvet. A cool breeze drifted through the open car
window, providing a welcome break from the searing early August temperatures.
Rain was on its way for Portland and beyond
tomorrow, which would be a welcome relief. For now, the sound of buzzing
cicadas filled the Friday night air while this summer’s hottest anthem played
on a radio somewhere in the distance.
The classic smell of freshly cut grass invaded my
nostrils, conjuring memories of picnics in the park, running through
sprinklers, and hands sticky from melting strawberry popsicles. Like those lazy
days years ago, tonight would be perfect. All I needed was for my brother to
show up.
“Do you think he changed his mind, Stella?” Jeff
said, his voice a gentle rumble.
Glancing at my boyfriend, I took in his dark blond
hair, straight nose, and the sculpted stubble accentuating a set of epic
cheekbones. I let my gaze sweep across his toned biceps and chest. Underneath
the faded-but-somehow-still-fitted Alanis Morissette T-shirt was a set of
rock-hard abs I couldn’t wait to run my hands over again. Part of me almost
wanted Max not to show up so we could go straight home.
I reached for Jeff’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“No, he’s too excited for the party. I bet he’s waiting for Mom and Dad to fall
asleep in front of the TV.”
Jeff laughed. “Way to make them sound ancient.”
My parents were fifty-one. I was about to reply
that compared to Jeff’s twenty-four years and my twenty-two, that was ancient,
but the sight of Max emerging between a pair of fir trees stopped me. With a
mischievous grin on his face, he speed-walked toward us, his hands tucked into
the pockets of a Simpsons hoodie.
I smiled at my baby brother. Baby was slightly
unfair considering his eighteenth birthday was under two weeks away, but I’d
forever tease him about being four years younger. Max didn’t mind. He knew that
from the moment I first saw him in the hospital, swaddled in a bunny-print
blanket, his plump cheeks rosy red, I vowed I’d be the best big sister in the
world.
Tonight, my solemn promise meant busting his
grounded ass 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 asshole 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.”
A KILLER
MOTIVE
by Hannah Mary McKinnon
Available September 2025 from MIRA.
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. |
SOCIALS:
Website: www.HannahMaryMcKinnon.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon (@hannahmarymckinnon)
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/HannahMaryMcKinnon/ (@hannahmarymckinnon)
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/HannahMMcKinnon (@hannahmmckinnon)
Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/author/show/15144570.Hannah_Mary_McKinnon
BookBub:
www.bookbub.com/authors/hannah-mary-mckinnon
LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/hannahmarymckinnon
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