How Far Would You Go to Survive?

Zoethi Khan’s The Never List

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher

After a life altering car accident best friends Jennifer and Sarah decide to start something called “the never list.”  This is a list of things they will never do so they can stay safe and alive for as long as possible.  After seeing Jennifer’s mother die, neither of the girls wants to take the risk that that could happen to one of them.  At this point, they are all each other has.  But one night, while taking their regular cab home from a college party all of their safety training is useless, and Jennifer and Sarah find themselves in the dungeon with two other girls.  Sarah will stay there for three years, Jennifer will not make it out, and Sarah will spend the rest of her life trying to make up for that.

Before I start with the rest of the review I have to note that this book is not for the squeamish.  Khan has included enough details here about torture and the S&M culture that anyone not prepared for it will find it tough to get through.  However, I think Khan walks the line well, while she’s definitely taking a risk, she’s not crossing into what the horror-genre world knows as “torture porn.”  While graphic, I think Khan still manages to take the topic seriously and even though the topics might be sensational Khan isn’t just using that sensationalism to sell her book.

Sarah is our main character and narrator, but she’s joined in the protagonist role with the other two girls she spent years with in the dungeon.  Each of these girls is handling the trauma in their own way and through them Khan is able to explore how people cope with trauma and tragedy.  Of course, if you’ve read the back cover you know that this isn’t just a human interest story about survival…and the girls who made it out of the dungeon are still tied together in a quest to keep Jack, their captor, in jail, and eventually end up back in the house none of them wanted to see again with a twist that will make your heart sink.

author zoethi khan

This book as a remarkably fast paced read and hard to put down.  Khan has managed to throw in plenty of mystery and twists of fate to make you wonder just where she’ll go next and I’m excited to say I didn’t see the ending coming, so much so I want to read it again and see if I missed any clues the first time.  Any fan of darker crime fiction will love this book, just make sure you’re ready to read about the topics.  However, if you are just looking for an S&M horror show you’ll be disappointed.  Khan has delivered an intelligent plot and a page turning mystery.