by Cara Hunter
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Published: 22nd March 2019 (ebook)
18th April 2019 (paperback)
Date of Review: 4th March 2019
It's one of the most disturbing cases DI Fawley has ever worked.
The Christmas holidays, and two children have just been pulled from the wreckage of their burning home in North Oxford. The toddler is dead, and his brother is soon fighting for his life.
Why were they left in the house alone? Where is their mother, and why is their father not answering his phone?
Then new evidence is discovered, and DI Fawley's worst nightmare comes true.
Because this fire wasn't an accident.
It was murder.
My Review
No Way Out is the third novel in the D I Fawley series and is the second book I have read by this author. The novel is structured around past and present timelines that gradually converge to reveal how events of the past led to the devastating house fire. This starts with more recent events but as D I Fawley and his team dig deeper the timeline delves further into the past to reveal shocking twists and turns. Nothing is as it first seems, and this is one of those clever all-consuming stories where seemingly inconsequential happenings turn out to be essential to the story's climax.
The story has a dual narrative. The investigation itself, as well as events of the past, are in third person (mostly limited with some omniscience); but Fawley himself is narrated in first person. The sub-plot centres around Fawley’s private life and ties in with the overall theme of family, children, love and loss. Switching narrative point of view for Fawley works really well. There are a lot of strong characters in the book, and using first person for Fawley brings the reader in much closer to him as the protagonist.
This is a well-written and fast-paced story where shocking plot twists and unreliable characters make this yet another gripping and heart-wrenching read. Cara Hunter is fast becoming one of my favourite authors and I can’t wait for her next book!
Thank you to Jane Gentle at Penguin Random House UK
for an Advance Review Copy of this book.
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