I read my first book from this author a few years ago, and since then I’m always excited for her new releases. This one was a wild ride from start to finish, non-stop tension, twists everywhere, and totally unputdownable. Believe me, you’ll be on the edge of your seat. Loved every single page!

ALC Review:
True Crime podcaster Stella receives a clue about the disappearance of her brother, Max. Six years have passed since Max vanished, and Stella can’t forget that it may have been her fault. Now, Max’s best friend has gone missing, and at the same time, Stella receives a call about Max.
I was hooked the entire time. I keep reading just for more of the kidnapper's POV and their chase of the thrill. Fast-paced and twists I did not see coming! And the ending was just great. Stella was a bit frustrating, but overall, the plot was twisty enough for me to keep reading.
The narrators were fantastic, and the audio is perfection. This is one of those books best read as an audiobook.
Thank you, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley, for the advanced copy

I was completely hooked by the thrilling ride this book took me on! The integration of the podcast theme into the storyline was done seamlessly and added a fresh unseeable twist. That said, I did find myself repeatedly questioning why Stella, as a podcaster, never recorded the mysterious phone calls she was receiving. Especially since they could have served as crucial evidence for the police or compelling content for her show. The audiobook was incredibly narrated, but I do think the chapters from AL's perspective could have been even more impactful with a more distorted or encrypted vocal effect to heighten the sense of menace and tension.
Then there’s Chapter 46… wow that was intense! And the twist was absolutely insane and took the story to a whole new direction I didn't see coming. A gripping and unforgettable read!


*Thank you to Hannah Mary Mckinnon Harlequin Audio, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the digital copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

🐱🐭 Title: A Killer Motive
🐭 🐱Author: Hannah Mary McKinnon
🐱🐭 Genre: #suspense #mystery #thriller #suspense #psychologicalthriller
🐭🐱 Goodreads rating: 4.39⭐️’s
🐱🐭# of Goodreads ratings: 230
🐭🐱 MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🐱 🐭Publishing Date: September 9, 2025

My Thoughts:
Cat & mouse whodunnit with a podcast element. Very well plotted and paced. Multi-pov. A psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last suspenseful page. I thought I had it figured out - and I was WAY off!!! 😉

Happy publishing day Hannah Mary McKinnon!!



Thank you to #Netgalley @netgalley & @harlequinaudio for an advanced audible copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5
Six years after her brother Max vanished, Stella is still haunted by guilt and now runs a true crime podcast to help others find closure. When she mentions on air that she’d do anything for a clue, someone responds with a game—one that promises answers if she plays. But when Max’s best friend goes missing and the stakes turn deadly, Stella is forced into a dangerous challenge where silence is survival and the rules keep changing.

ALC Review -
This honestly had everything I love in a thriller, the premise was incredibly interesting and I liked how it started right away with the
mystery. The ending blew me away with the added chapter of the pov from the kidnapper once it was revealed and hearing the story from all angles (trying not to spoil anything). The POV from the kidnapper before the reveal was a great element to the eeriness of this story. I'm drawn to podcast style thrillers these days especially with audiobooks.

In the beginning the kidnappers pov (prior to the reveal) came off a little cheesy which took away from how serious the situation was. A lot of the
decisions Stella made didn't sense considering her career in the true crime field! It felt overwhelming at times with all of the chaos that ensued. The plot could've been streamlined a little better.

Overall I do think a lot of people who love podcast style/true crime thrillers will enjoy this! Thank you Harlequin Audio for this ALC!

Six years ago, Stella Dixon's younger brother, Max, vanished. She holds herself responsible because she helped Max sneak out of the house to attend a beach party with her and her boyfriend, Jeff. Although Stella hasn't discovered what happened to Max, she has been able to assist other families in finding closure through her podcast, A Killer Motive, which she runs with her friend Vivien. After appearing on a local radio show, Stella is contacted by a mysterious and sadistic person who claims to have information about Max and might be involved in the recent disappearance of Max's friend, Kenji. This antagonist, using the name Anwir, challenges Stella to a dangerous cat-and-mouse game.

Hannah Mary McKinnon has created an exceptionally suspenseful ride in A Killer Motive, packed with unexpected twists and turns. Stella is willing to go to great lengths to uncover information about Max, even if it means lying and keeping secrets from the people she cares about the most. (And some of them might be keeping secrets from her as well.) I've read many books centered around true crime podcasts, and this one is unlike any I've read to date.  The pace is brisk, and the suspense never ends. This book will keep you reading through the night.

All of the narrators did an excellent job. The voice of Anwir sent chills down my spine. 

4.25 stars.

This was okay. I was excited about the premise of this but it fell a little flat at the ending.

Stella’s brother Max went missing six years ago and now she has a podcast where she discusses true crime cold cases. When someone calls into the podcast accusing Stella of giving up on her brother’s disappearance, things heat up. Kenji, Max’s best friend, suddenly vanished and the caller calls Stella and tells her if she wants to know what happened to her brother and Kenji, that she needs to solve some clues.

While I was surprised when I found out who was mysterious caller, the story just didn’t grab a hold of me like I hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin audio for this advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

A great twisty & unpredictable read that had me addicted! It was fast paced and no matter how many times I switched up the suspect I was still wrong haha.

Stella Dixon is the host behind the true crime podcast The Killer Motive, but she is still wondering what happened to her own brother, Max, who disappeared six years ago.
While Stella made a guest appearance on another podcast someone called in that seemed to have new information about Max's disappearance, but is she willing to play the game to get to the bottom of the answers?
All of the narrators were fabulous! Amy Hall; Mel Benjamin; Nick Thurston; Bernadette Dunne; Carol Schneider
4.5-4.75 stars for sure.

Stella has been feeling guilty about her brother, Max, gone missing 6 years ago and have been running a true crime podcast to help other families with closure. When she goes on a local radio show and gets a little hint about her brother, the cat and mouse game begins.

This was a great fast paced story and I felt so stressed for Stella. She is having issues with her husband and has no one to turn to with this game being played by the anonymous person. Lots of twists and turns and I did not see how the story played out.

The narration was phenomenal with the cast of narrators of Amy Hall; Mel Benjamin; Nick Thurston; Bernadette Dunne and Carol Schneider. I loved the anonymous POV and how creepy it made me feel.

Thank you @readmirabooks @htpbooks_audio for a copy of the audiobook.

‘Why do people play games?’
‘People play games… to win.’

Ok, wow. This was such a fun thriller! I genuinely had no idea how it was going to end until right before it was revealed. I love thrillers like this where everyone has secrets but not necessarily the secrets you think they are. I really loved the Maine setting! All the characters were interesting and I was suspicious of everyone… but not enough 😅 I’m also a fan of podcasts being in thriller books so I loved that aspect. I can’t really imagine the ending being any better. I don’t believe I have any real complaints about this book at all. It was a good time and I def recommend it!
🎧
I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend it if you enjoy audio. It is narrated by Amy Hall, Mel Benjamin, Nick Thurston, Bernadette Dunne, and Carol Schneider. They all did their chapters incredibly well. Especially when you get near the end 🤌🏻 it was perfect. I’m so happy I had the opportunity to listen!

I started this on my kindle and thought I would switch to the audiobook as it wasn’t really pulling me int. I guess the story just wasn’t for me!

Hannah Mary McKinnon’s latest is a twisty cat-and-mouse thriller that kept me guessing. Did I guess the true villain? No. Did I care? Also no. I was just along for the suspense-filled ride. There were times I wanted it to move faster, but that’s just my impatience at wanting to know RIGHT NOW. No spoilers, but the last chapter made it all come together for me. Plus, it has a Maine setting, making my Maine girl heart happy!

This was a good cat and mouse thriller. Stella’s brother went missing at a party days before his 18th birthday. Now it is six years later and Stella runs a popular true crime podcast trying to help others in similar situations and help solve certain mysteries. She receives a mysterious caller that claims to know what happened to her brothers and this kicks off the spiral of trying to solve the mystery of what happened six years ago.
The audiobook is narrated by Amy Hall, Mel Benjamin, Nick Thurston, Bernadette Dunne, and Carol Schneider. I really loved having voices for all the characters in this story. It really made the story so captivating and hard to put down.

What I read was twisty, fast moving and went in directions that I never anticipated.

It has a true crime podcast, a cold case, a woman that feels responsible for the disappearance of her brother, and a person that is playing a serious cat and mouse game with our main character.

It’s an unputdownable thriller that I HIGHLY recommend!!

A twisty cold case, serial killer, cat and mouse story involving a cold case murder mystery podcaster who has never gotten over the disappearance of her brother and a mysterious serial killer who gets in touch years later promising to help her find her missing brother. This was twisty, FANTASTIC on audio and highly recommended for fans of books like All the missing pieces or Tell me what you did. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. I am really enjoying the slew of books featuring older female serial killers this year. If you're looking for more, check out I'm too old for this by Samantha Downing.

4.5⭐️

I really enjoyed the! I love a podcast tie in into the story and Stella really used her contacts to the best in an attempt to find her brother. Almost everyone was suspicous in this, especially the people closest to Stella and I got lost in trying to solve the case along with Stella. I was really interested in Stella and Jeff's relationship and it really felt like they were only together because of the shared trauma of Max's disappearance. I was initially really concerned about Stella continuing to take her birth control when her husband thought they were trying to get pregnant. But as the story went on and Jeff got on my nerves more and more I really think she made the right decision.

I loved the reveal of who AL actually was. Even with so many suspicious people in Stella's life I in no way could have predicted who the kidnapper actually was. Especially after having their POV periodically throughout the book it was shocking. I loved that know that I know I can go back and follow the bedcrumbs and that it doesn't feel like a total cop-out!

Thank you Netgalley, MIRA books, and Harlequin Audio for providing this ARC to me!

This was a non-stop thrill ride! When Stella sneaks her brother to a beach party so has no idea the trouble this will cause. First her brother is reported missing and it spirals from there. Fast forward 6 years later and Max is still missing Stella has married her high school sweetheart, Jeff, and is hosting A Killer Motive podcast with her best friend. When Max's best friend goes missing Stella is bound and determined to find both guys. This is my first book by Hannah but will not be my last!

Thank you HTP Hive for the physical copy and the ALC

Stella’s brother went missing at a party she took him to just days before his 18th birthday. Six years later, she has created a true crime podcast to try to help others in her same situation. She gets a mysterious caller claiming they know what happened to her brother and she must do as they say if she wants to find out also.

I was hooked from the very beginning. If you are a true crime lover or you love any true crime podcasts, this is a great one for you! There’s so many twists and turns and I was fussing who the culprit was up until the end.

There is quite the cast of narrators and they did a great job with this! They made it very easy to follow along and to keep up with all of the clues being given.

Audio: The narrators did a phenomenal job with this one! In addition to the main narrator’s work in setting tone through her inflections and storytelling, the antagonist’s voice as Anwir was TRULY haunting. Would highly recommend the audiobook version!

Overall, I’d highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers and crime fiction!

Hannah Mary McKinnon delivers another knockout with A Killer Motive. From the very first chapter, I was completely drawn into the tension and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. McKinnon’s ability to craft layered, complex characters with believable motives is unmatched—every twist felt earned, every revelation kept me guessing, and the pacing was pitch-perfect.

What I especially appreciate is how she balances suspense with emotional depth. The characters aren’t just pieces on a chessboard; they’re fully realized, flawed, and compelling, which makes the unraveling of the mystery even more satisfying. By the time I reached the final pages, I was both stunned and completely satisfied.

This is a sharp, clever, and utterly addictive thriller that fans of psychological suspense will devour. McKinnon is quickly becoming a must-read author for me, and A Killer Motive is easily one of her best yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.