No Way Out

Ow, ow, ow. That's me kicking myself for not reading the first two books in this series. This one, book three, works absolutely fine as a standalone (I was assured of this fact before I started reading) but given how good it is I really wish I had read them in order.

In this story, DI Adam Fawley and his team are working on a fire at a large family home. They know there were two children in the house at the time of the blaze but their parents are unaccounted for. When it becomes clear that this was no accident the team need to find out who is responsible...and why.

This is such a gripping story. It's slightly unusual in that there are no chapters. There are plenty of stopping places so don't worry about that, but the lack of proper show more chapter stops means that the pace is kept up all the way through and also that it's easy to keep reading as I was finding I could just fit a bit more in.

I liked Fawley and his team very much. They work together really well and are portrayed brilliantly. This is one of the strengths of this book (and the other police procedural series that I have kept up with) and I think that it's what makes it stand out from others in this genre. In No Way Out, the former DS Quinn has been demoted to DC with Gislingham acting as DS. Although I'm not entirely sure what happened to bring this about, there's enough back story so it didn't spoil the read. Again, this is a time when I wish I had read the other books first but I'm really glad I didn't wait any longer to read a Cara Hunter book.

One thing I particularly liked about this book is the way transcripts, online news articles and the like are used. In fact, I did a little squeal when I saw a floor plan of the house. There are also differing perspectives - Fawley in the first person and the rest in the third, which means that Fawley is very much put centre stage as a character, especially given his own private issues. I thought the whole book was really well executed.

In short, I loved this book, raced through it in fact, and hope to go back and catch up with the first two in the series (TBR pile allowing). The plot is fantastic but ultimately I think it's the characters that make it special. Having said that, the author really kept me guessing and it's some extremely good old-fashioned detective work that brings the story to a conclusion. It's just fabulous all round. show less

This mastefully written police procedural packed with suspense and intrigue will suck you in and not let go, so don't make any other plans. The plot is packed with red herrings to keep you guessing right up until the twist at the end. I found the layout of the book to be interesting. There are no chapters, but it is split where a different section starts. There are transcripts of interviews and conversations, and news articles. The author was very detailed, and I love the little extras. The story switches back and forth between present investigations and the year leading up to the fire. This novel is so well written that I loved everything about it. When I purchased this book, I did not know it was the third in a series, so I will be show more going back to read the first two. show less

DI Adam Fawley of the Thames Valley Police is dealing with troubling personal problems, but he is still dedicated to doing his job effectively. Fortunately, Adam can rely on Acting DS Chris Gilslingham to step in for him when necessary. The members of Fawley’s team are trying to discover who set a blaze in the home of Martin and Samantha Esmond. The fire spread rapidly and claimed innocent lives. It will take time to sift through the debris and pinpoint the cause of the inferno, but meanwhile, there are leads that the police intend to pursue.

This book has flashbacks that reveal what had been going on in the lives of Samantha, Martin, and their two sons before the fire was set. In the present, Detective Constables Erica Somer, Verity show more Everett, Gareth Quinn and others interview witnesses and suspects, track down and study CCTV footage, conduct computer searches, and analyze phone records. Much to their chagrin, the officers find this to be a challenging case with many hidden layers.

Cara Hunter’s “No Way Out” is a hard-hitting, compelling, and character-driven British police procedural, in which we get to know each individual’s personality quirks. Although the mystery has far too many red herrings, it is a clever and entertaining whodunit that keeps us guessing until we learn exactly what happened and why. The intricate plot demonstrates the terrible damage that self-centered individuals with untreated emotional problems can inflict on those around them. Although this novel has passages of wry humor, it is ultimately a heart-wrenching story about flawed human beings whose reckless decisions lead to needless tragedy. show less

A large house in Oxford has been destroyed by fire but DI Fawley and his team are called in when the bodies of two children are found - a dead toddler and his barely alive elder brother. Social media is outraged that the two children were left alone, until the body of the mother is found. Suspicion focuses on the missing father but surely this is too easy a solution?

This book falls just a little short of being fantastic. There is a little too much convenience in the plotting and an unsatisfactory ending, particularly the final scenes with Fawley and his wife, fail to convince. However it is a strong police procedural and Hunter has a talent for producing interesting and gripping tales.

This review first appeared on CriminOlly.wordpress.com. I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in return for a review.

‘No Way Out’ is an efficient, nicely detailed police procedural that didn’t work quite as well for me as I would have expected it to. On paper it has everything I like in this kind of book - a varied cast, lots of forensic information and a good enough premise. In the end though it felt too much like other things, without enough of a hook of its own to pull me in.
The book centers on the investigation of a house fire by DI Adam Fawley and his team in the Thames Valley Police. Naturally there are bodies in the charred remains of the house, as well as a strong suspicion of foul play. It’s the third show more Fawley book, but the first that I’ve read. It’s clear that a lot has gone on in the earlier books as there a numerous references back to previous events, both the crimes the team have investigated and the details of their personal lives. Author Cara Hunter handles this well, summarising what has gone before without dropping too many spoilers. I never felt like I was missing things because I hadn’t read the other books, but I also don’t feel like they’ve now been ruined for me.
The Oxford setting means you can’t help but compare it to Colin Dexter’s brilliant ‘Inspector Morse’ novels, and sadly it’s just not as good. The main issue I had is that the mystery never really got under my skin. You know how sometimes when you read a detective story the desire to know what really happened is all consuming? That just wasn’t the case here. Worse still, I didn’t feel like Fawley and team cared that much either. Too often it felt like they were doing a job rather than crusading for justice. I suspect that this is in fact the reality of modern policing, but it doesn’t make for brilliant reading.
That’s not to say that the book is awful. The story is relatively simple, but Hunter tells it in quite a complicated and interesting way, with a mixture of third and first person perspective (the first being Fawley). She also includes present day narrative on the investigation and extended flashbacks on the build up to the crime that flesh things out. On top of that, there are numerous sections which come from other sources: excerpts of police interviews, stories from news websites, and so on. These sometimes work well (although there were some formatting issues in the Advanced Reader Copy I had) but often feel like they don’t add enough to the story to justify the pages they take up.
The characters feel convincing, especially the family that are the victims of the fire, but critically I didn’t really care about any of them. That may be why the mystery didn’t grip me and it certainly left me wanting to finish the book so I could read something else rather than because I wanted closure.
‘No Way Out’ is a book that’s entering a very crowded marketplace, and while it has some original ideas (especially in the way the story is told), it ended up feeling like a bit of an also ran to me. Not terrible by any means, and if you love this kind of thing it might well be for you, but for me it lacked the spark needed to make it essential reading. show less

Yet another good read!

Even though it wasn’t as good as the previous book, it was filled with twists right till the end. Every time I made a guess, the author introduced another twist, which would take the entire plot to another direction.

As the series progressed, I have really begun to enjoy DI Adam Fawley and his team. Each of the team members have been very well written and characterised. I enjoyed how the author includes some of the events of the past along with current investigation procedure to make the reading experience even more exciting.

The crime genre is tightly packed with budding authors eager to display their writing skills as they start a new story with new characters and usually a slightly flawed lead detective. The hope is that if the story and main players are welcomed by an eager reading audience then further books will follow as a series is born. The problem is that there are now far too many so called authors plying their trade with the result that the writing is often bland and stereotypical in its delivery.

No way out is the third in a series featuring DI Adam Fawley and his intrepid band of warriors; Gislington , Quinn, Somer and Everett. A fire has occurred in a residential property, one child dead and one child clinging to life. It would appear that the show more parents are not in residence, and so the search is on to find them, the hope being that they can provide clues and answers to this appalling crime. Due to personal circumstances DI Fawley has stepped down as lead detective and has entrusted the investigation to her colleague Gis promoted as acting DS on this occasion.

This is your average crime thriller, one of many competing for attention in a crowded diluted market. The usual suspects are present; an overworked DI with personal problems, bright- eyed junior detectives eager to prove their worth and a rather odd misguided sense of humour...We are investigating the death by burning of children and so our young band of police officers are working 24/7 it could be said they are on fire....not so sure I welcome this attempt at humour. Reading an average thriller only highlights the great difference between aspiring authors and established heavyweights such as Ian Rankin or Robert Galbraith. I have recently read, indeed consumed with vigour, the 3 Cormoran Strike novels which are simply outstanding and only serves to reinforce my opinion that good writing is the preserve of a few and only a minority ever attain this status. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that it what I have written. show less