Never To Be Found by Jo Spain

 

Veronica Page offers an unusual service; she helps people to disappear completely. When a police officer tracks her down and explains that one of her clients is a suspect in a double murder, she goes against her code of discretion and agrees to help track him down.

Never To Be Found by Jo Spain is my first book by this author, but it won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the story developed, and the characters, particularly Veronica, came across as very real.

The prologue was very interesting and sets the scene. It explains about johatsu, a phenomenon in Japan where people choose to vanish from their everyday lives, and that there are organisations that exist to help them. Veronica operates a similar operation in the UK. She uses a network of helpers, from people who provide new identities to those who find new employment, and all are kept separate to protect the new identity of the client.

When Veronica is approached by a police detective, she is shocked to learn that one of the people she has helped is wanted for murder. Veronica's clients are looking to escape abusive relationships or financial issues, but the thought of helping someone evade justice fills her with guilt. Agreeing to help the detective soon puts the pair in the spotlight, as the suspect turns the hunt into a cat-and-mouse chase.

I really liked Veronica, she's highly intelligent, empathetic, and adaptable, but she doesn't come across as superwoman, she's well aware of her own vulnerabilities. As we get glimpses of her life, we discover why she has chosen to help people disappear, and this gives us an understanding of why she is reluctant to let people get close.

Finding someone who doesn't want to be found, particularly when you know nothing about their identity, isn't easy. As the web closes on the suspect, you begin to wonder who is hunting whom, leading to a nail-biting conclusion and some shocking revelations.

Never To Be Found by Jo Spain will be published on 2nd July 2026 in hardback, ebook, and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre for a review copy.

Author Details

Jo Spain is the author of the bestselling Tom Reynolds detective series and several No.1 bestselling standalone thrillers. She began writing full-time when her first book, top ten bestseller With Our Blessing, was chosen as one of 7 finalists in the Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition.

Jo is a full-time screenwriter. Her first show, critically-acclaimed crime series 'Taken Down', aired in 2018. In 2021, she co-wrote Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour, with its creator, Emmy-award winning David Logan. She is currently working on several international productions, including adaptations of her own novels.

A graduate of Trinity College, Jo lives in Dublin with her husband and four children.