April 4, 2016
Fans of Never Tear Us Apart will be pleased that this sequel fulfills the promise of Murphy’s decidedly unconventional contemporary love story, set in an unspecified part of the U.S. Years before the story opens, serial killer Aaron Monroe imprisoned young Katie Watts. Aaron’s son, Will, saved Katie from his father and then disappeared. As an adult, Will renamed himself Ethan Williams and manipulated Katie, now called Katherine, into falling in love with him. It’s been a few months since Katherine discovered her new lover’s true identity and kicked him out of her life, appalled by his deceit. Along comes ratings-hungry TV reporter Lisa Swanson, who had once gained fame by exploiting Katherine. Now she’s skating on the edge of journalistic ethics by attempting to arrange a meeting between Katherine and Aaron, who’s currently on death row. Inevitably, Katherine and Ethan/Will are drawn back into each other’s lives. Tension mounts as the charismatic but broken lovers struggle to heal each other while dodging media attention. The superior characterization and compelling plot are enough to outweigh the awkward prose and clunky structure. Agent: Kimberly A. Whalen, Trident Media Group.
May 1, 2016
The second title in Murphy's Never series (Never Tear Us Apart, 2016) starts with Ethan and Katie trying to move on from their failed relationship. After learning the truth about Ethan, Katie isn't sure that she can ever trust him again, and her family would like her to end all contact with him. When Ethan's father (Katie's abductor and rapist) claims in a death-row interview that Ethan was a willing accomplice, Katie has to set the record straight. This brings her back together with Ethan, but are they strong enough to withstand the disapproval of everyone around them? Murphy doesn't shy away from the taboo in telling this heartbreaking story of forbidden love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)