Hooked Book Summary

The Introduction

Emily McIntire's 2021 romance novel Hooked is the first book of her Never-After series. Set in the contemporary world, Hooked attempts to restructure the classic Peter Pan tale with a modern twist. Unlike the original story, Hooked does not involve elements of fantasy. It focuses on the dark side of human existence. The main characters, James “Hook” Barrie, Wendy, and Peter Michaels, are based on Captain James Hook, Wendy, and Peter Pan, respectively, from the original. All the other prominent characters are similar allusions as well. 

James Hook

The novel narrates the story of James, who is in the drug business. As a child, James accompanied his parents to a business meeting with Peter Michaels, who owns the NevAirLand planes. While returning by a NevAirLand plane, they crashed, and none except James survived. He had to move in with his abusive uncle. The abominable was associated with the underworld and was known as “Croc” because of the crocodile boots he wore. The man also carried a pocket watch that James used as a weapon to kill him once he turned eighteen before joining the drug business with a partner named Rue and his group of troubled young men called The Lost Boys. James considers Peter responsible for his miseries and, therefore, wants revenge.

Wendy and Peter

Years later, when Peter Michaels moves to Massachusetts, his beautiful daughter Wendy enters James’s bar one evening. James takes that as an opportunity to get back at Peter and destroy his picture-perfect family. Wendy’s reality is different as she is not on good terms with Peter. All thanks to her wealthy father, she has lived a cloistered life and has few friends. Guys that hover around her because they want to work for Peter. Her little brother John is her friend, but he is leaving her to go to a boarding school. Peter never spends time with them and constantly travels the world for work with his assistant and girlfriend, Tina Bell. 

Hook and Wendy

Wendy enters the bar that evening to spend time with her co-workers. Eventually, she meets James, who woos her, and they start dating. This leads to an intimate yacht date that brings them closer to each other mentally and physically. When an unfortunate fate befalls James’s business partner, Rue, he suspects Wendy of conspiring against him with Peter. The almost-in-love couple now falls apart, hating each other. James decides not to be deterred again. Wendy is unsure what changed him. When they meet again at a gala, he tries to charm her to set his plan into motion before realizing his assumption is wrong as she doesn’t get along well with Peter. 

Smoke Clears

A series of revelations point out who the culprits are as James learns that Peter conspires with Tina and Smee to destroy him. Smee, who was also behind Wendy’s kidnapping, turns out to be James’s cousin from the uncle he killed. Smee even tries to convince James’s employees to leave. The fact that Wendy’s brother John is also James’s half-brother comes to light when it is revealed that Peter’s wife had an illegitimate affair with James’s father when they visited many years ago. That was the reason why Peter caused the plane to crash and even killed his wife after John was born. The Fiasco ends with Wendy killing Peter and Tina for their betrayal.

Aftermath

Hooked ends with Wendy and James covering up Peter’s death to inherit his business empire. Her brother John joins the airline business as an engineer to work on airplanes. The three of them live happily ever after as a family.