Hello, and welcome!

Maybe you glanced at my author photo and thought, “Wait a second, she looks familiar…” That’s because Holly Cassidy is a pseudonym. My real name is Hannah Mary McKinnon, and I’m the author of various internationally bestselling suspense novels including Never Coming Home, and The Revenge List. My first novel was a romantic-comedy, and as Holly Cassidy I’m returning to those roots while adding a sprinkle or ten of Christmas, my favourite holiday season.

Who is Holly Cassidy / Hannah Mary McKinnon?

I was born in the UK, grew up in Switzerland, and moved to Canada in 2010. I had a long career in IT recruitment before leaving the corporate world in favour of telling stories, and I love my second career. I live in Oakville, Ontario with my Canadian husband and our three grown sons. And when I say grown, I mean grown. At 5ft8 I’m officially the shorty-pants of the family!

What’s with the different names?

Writing suspense and romance under two different names makes it less confusing for my audience. We wouldn’t want you picking up a Hannah Mary McKinnon book expecting sweetness and light and instead finding murder and darkness between the pages – or vice-versa. While Hannah Mary McKinnon = darker stuff, pick up a Holly Cassidy novel and you’re guaranteed a happy ending. I promise!

Why Holly Cassidy?

There’s a story (of course there is)! “Holly” because I write holiday romantic comedies and it’s the epitome of festive. “Cassidy” because it means curly-haired (look at my photo and you’ll see how it fits), and “HC” stands for Happy Christmas. We thought it was cute and hope you do, too.

I hope you’ll enjoy exploring this site and my books, and that you’ll check out my suspense novels here.

Happy reading!

Holly Cassidy

(aka Hannah Mary McKinnon)