Publication Date: February 22, 2022
From Rio Youers, the acclaimed author of Lola on Fire, comes a blistering high-octane thriller about desperate love, vengeance, and the precarious pursuit of fame.
“A rip-roaring Hollywood noir that smashes the pedal to the metal and keeps it there. The best villain since Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels . . . This one is hot.” –Stephen King
Luke Kingsley’s glory days are behind him. A star on the rise, his life and career imploded after his soul singer wife, Lisa Hayes, disappeared without a trace, silencing a very public and tumultuous marriage. Most people, especially an avenging PI, think Luke got away with murder. The last thing he expects is to be pulled back from the brink by a starstruck stranger.
Wannabe actress Kitty Rae has chased her dreams all the way from Kentucky to Hollywood. Saving a washed-up actor’s life wasn’t one of them, but she believes in Luke—as much as she believes her own career is just one lucky break away. For now, she works for Johan Fly, a charismatic, wealthy, and seriously unbalanced drug dealer to the rich and famous. When Johan discovers that Kitty has been skimming the product, he vows to make her pay.
As Luke steps up to help Kitty, he uncovers a web of violence and corruption, as well as a single, enticing clue about his wife’s disappearance. Barreling across the Mojave Desert, Luke and Kitty set off to find the long-lost Lisa. But Johan, hungry for vengeance, is hot on their trail. There’s no limit to what he will do to find them. And in a world where fortune favors the ruthless, there’s also no limit to what Luke and Kitty will have to do to survive.
Kitty Rae wants her dreams to come true in Los Angeles but finds herself in a pile of trouble for her role in the designer drug world. Fearing for her life, she turns to Luke Kingsley, a washed-up actor whose life imploded after the mysterious disappearance of his wife. Author Rio Youers delivers a pulse-pounding thriller in No Second Chances.
With vivid details building the story’s framework, the author excels in showcasing life in Hollywood, especially the influx of drugs used by the rich and famous. Kitty gets caught up as a courier, not realizing that a little pinch here and there would ever cause any problems. Those problems don’t come in the traditional form of guns or knives. Instead, her boss, Johan, channels his supposed Viking heritage with threats of a blood-eagle ritual using a special hooked ax.
To match the high octane drama, the author delivers interesting characters. Kitty not only is top-notch on a skateboard, but she has plenty of grit. That comes in handy when Luke heads to Nevada for clues about his missing wife. Luke has been vilified in the media as being responsible for his wife’s disappearance, but with no body, police aren’t able to make any charges stick. Little do Kitty and Luke know that Johan and his crew aren’t far behind.
Snappy dialog and quick action are two characteristics I’ve come to associate with this author. The end result is a story full of energy that will have readers rooting for the underdogs, regardless of Johan’s endless supply of fame and fortune.
No Second Chances serves up an intense storyline straight out of Hollywood, complete with plenty of drugs and a thirst for vengeance.
Rio Youers is the British Fantasy and Sunburst Award–nominated author of Westlake Soul and Halcyon. His 2017 thriller, The Forgotten Girl, was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. He is the writer of Sleeping Beauties, a comic book series based on the bestselling novel by Stephen King and Owen King. Rio lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife and their two children.
