Cover Image: Never Back Down

Never Back Down

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Member Reviews

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and Crooked Lane. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This is #3 in the Faulkner Family Thriller series. Susannah Faulkner is on the run to protect her brother and uncle and everyone else she loves. When Finn, and ex-soldier that has it out for Susannah doesn't play by the rules, she must return to Georgia, in hopes that she can still protect them.

I really like this series. It is action packed. I read the 2nd book and haven't yet had the opportunity to read the first, but the author does a great job in explaining the important things that you need to know. I would definitely recommend this series.

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Never Back Down by Christopher Swann is an action-packed thriller that will captivate readers and keep them on the edge of their seats.

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Exciting read….lots of action, liked the lead character, wished I’d read the previous 2 books in this series and may go back to do that.

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What a terrific page turner! Suzie finds people but she can't find Finn, the man who has, for warped reasons, tormented her family but mostly Suzie for years. Now he's put one right in her face- and she's going after him for it. Luckily, she has her Uncle Gavin, his employees (and her friends) Cesar, Gus, and Frankie, as well as her brother Ethan, wh0 she will do anything to protect. And Gavin, well he's got big time connections with a wide range of criminals except that he's just been arrested. The action in this is propulsive but there are some wonderful softer moments as well, especially between Suzie and Ethan and the others. She's tough, yes, and she's awesome. No spoilers from me about anything in this- I went in blind and other readers should as well. I'd only read the second book in the series and can assure you that this will work fine as a standalone because Swann gives you the necessary background (and everyone - don't miss the afterword). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

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Susannah Faulkner has dedicated her life to helping others albeit in a somewhat unconventional way. She does her best to find people, some who are lost but others who don’t want to be found. She prides herself on a job well-done when she completes her task; however, her task is more challenging this time around.

Finn is an ex-soldier who served overseas with Susannah’s father and feels that he was wronged. Over a year ago Finn gave her a choice of watching her loved ones die or to pursue him in a game of chase. Having Finn go after her family was not an option. . .

Susannah goes from one city to another trying to find Finn and hopefully end the chase while still being alive to tell the tale. She’s always found the person she’s looking for, whether dead or alive. Her newest quest doesn’t end the way she hopes and reignites the fire within to ensure she finds Finn and ends this once and for all.

Her world is rocked when people close to her are arrested and she races against the clock to find the answers she needs before it’s too late.

I really enjoyed this novel and had a hard time putting it down. I will definitely recommend it to other people and will ask that this series be ordered for our school library when we return in September. I can’t wait to see what the next installment (crossing my fingers that there will be a next!) of the “Faulkner Family” has in store for Susannah and her family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an ARC of this novel. #NetGalley #NeverBackDown

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Book 3 in the Faulkner Family Series – after I finished, I immediately looked to find book 1 and 2!
Suzie finds people, that is what she does best. As she is bringing her last missing person home, things don’t go as planned. Finn, an ex-army friend of her dad, has had her chasing him across the country and has been quiet for a bit, until now.

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This is the third installment in a series. I had a hard time getting into this book. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

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Never Back Down - Christopher Swann
Susannah lives a dangerous life, always on the go, finding things and people, never backing down from a challenge.
Her latest game of cat and mouse with ex-soldier Finn takes precedence over any stability, constantly keeping her on her toes, travelling all over the country to try to find him while playing his games. Susannah must find him to ensure the safety of her family.
As innocent bystanders get caught in their crossfire, Susannah is determined to end this. With the help of her uncle, her friends and FBI contacts, Susannah will stop at nothing to take down Finn.
This is the second book in this series that I've read (I should really go back and read #1), and honestly I hesitated at first. This kind of story isn't usually my go-to, but as it was with the last book, at the end I was pleasantly content with how everything wrapped up and genuinely happy that I gave it a chance. It's an action packed book, and you can't but help picture Susannah as a total badass. I look forward to any others that come from the series and will take comfort in knowing that I really do love these books! ⭐⭐⭐⭐/4!
Thank you Netgalley for the awesome ARC!

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What’s your favorite snack or drink while reading?

Usually, I read in the afternoons so I have a glass of unsweet ice tea. I hear tea is quite controversial and the fact that I drink not only iced tea, but also unsweetened is scandalous. It’s everywhere here – even McDonalds – but when I went to Canada, they thought I was insane! It was quite funny. Oh and if that didn’t make you made enough – when I have hot tea – I heat the water in the microwave. Yup, I’m breaking all the rules. Ha!

Susannah lives a dangerous and tumultuous life hunting down some very evil men. There is one man that she has been unable to find despite years of searching. When she pairs up with Finn, and ex-solider who fought with Susannah’s dad in Iraq, she thinks she will finally find him. Her journey takes her from Arizona to Missouri to Atlanta. As she struggles with the realities of the world she lives in, she begins to wonder if she will finally catch this man once or for all, but shes willing to die trying.

This book is the third installment of the Faulkner Family series and written purely in Susannahs point of view. I think a lot would have been gained to get the story from another point of view as well – it would have contributed immensely to the story. I did enjoy the BIPOC and LGBTIQA+ representation in the book, I always enjoy when those are done well, but this one lacked on other fronts. This book has plenty of tension and suspense. This one was a solid middle of the road read for me – didn’t love it, didn’t hate it and would recommend to some people.

This one is out July 18th.

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, @crookedlanebooks, Netgalley, @netgalley, and the author for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you kindly to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC!

An action-packed quick read, 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏 is the third installment of the Faulkner Family series. I love Suzie’s first-person POV; she’s a badass female heroine that’s so easy to root for. I also loved the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ representation throughout.

I can’t wait for the next book in this series! 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏 is out July 18, 2023!

𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦:
“Maybe it’s true that we all die alone, but that doesn’t mean we have to live alone.”

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Really good, dark and moving. I finished it in no time and I'll be picking up more books from this author in the future.

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Never Back Down by Christopher Swann was an interesting and intriguing story.

The mystery was solid and well plotted.
A great plot, with very interesting characters.
I truly enjoyed reading another action packed story by Swann.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Crooked Lane Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

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Comic Book Justice. In this epic conclusion (?) to Suzie Falkner's story, Swann manages to keep the tension tight even when filling in backstory - and showing that the characters have lived through the year ish since the publication of Never Go Home in near real-time with the rest of us. Except that for Suzie, that year has been spent being tormented by the fallout from Never Go Home. (In other words, read that book first in this particular case.) We spend most of the book with the Big Bad more a menacing presence in the shadows (ala the opening sequence) or the general background (most of the book) while showing off Suzie's own skills ever more prominently, including several other tie-ins to Never Go Home. (Seriously, read that book first.) And then, in the last third of the book or so, Swann gets into Suzie's toughest tests yet - and into some of the most creepy and traumatizing events of these books. Getting into the specifics would be spoilery, but one does need to be generally referenced in case the reader is particularly sensitive to this issue: there *is* a school shooting in this book, and yes, people die in it. Given the realities of the world today, that caution needed to be mentioned. Along those lines, Swann has a line or two where his personal politics tinge the page - but they tend to be throwaway lines that are not pervasive and are quickly moved past, and therefore don't warrant a star deduction so much as a mention of their presence. Overall truly a breathtaking book that you won't want to put down for even a second. Very much recommended.

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Wow!! Great book! This is my first book from this author and whoa! What a great one! Now I have to go back and read all of them from this series! This book had everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action packed, murder, a sadistic killer, and a great cat and mouse mystery! The storyline was so very interesting and had me glued to my Kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! It was so well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me! Big thank you for finding me a new to me author! Lol Thank you Christopher Swann for your amazing words! I can't wait to read more!!

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This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Mystery and intrigue…friends and family…red herrings…I could not become engrossed in this story.

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