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.
And the killer is still out there...
I'd like to thank Ellie at Penguin Books for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour as it gave me the perfect opportunity to bump up No Way Out up my TBR pile as I'd already bought a copy of the eBook.
DI Fawley and his team are back in Cara Hunter's latest book No Way Out and what a gruesome case they have in store for them. A suspected arson where a toddler has died, his older brother is critically injured and it looks like they were home alone as there is no initial trace of either of their parents. But it's not long before the body of the mother Samantha is found amongst the debris which leaves the lingering questions 'Where is the father Michael?' and 'Could he really have torched the house with his family still inside?'
Slowly the team begin to piece together a picture of the couples life, their marriage and family dynamics, and it's almost voyeuristic as we soon discover how Samantha was struggling with the effects of post-natal depression, a case of sibling jealousy from 10 year old Matty towards 3 year old Zachary, and Michael is not without his own fair share of problems, professional, personal and financial, that he was struggling to deal with. But despite everything that unfolds it's still hard to believe that a father could do this to his family and disappear without a trace.
As with the previous books in this series interspersed within the narrative are media reports of the initial fire and subsequent discoveries along with the related reader comments, official police and pathology reports, as well as flashbacks to periods prior to the fire which gives us an insight into the mindsets of Samantha and Michael and certain events in the months leading up to that fateful night.
But as well as Fawley having to deal with another case involving young children, which is always a reminder of the loss of his own young son, we are also privy to the fact that he has recently separated from his wife which is something not many on his team know. Deciding to take a back seat he hands over to acting DS Gislingham to lead the investigation which creates tension within the team itself especially from recently demoted Quinn. At the time of reading No Way Out I had not finished reading book two In the Dark so wasn't completely aware of the history as to how this change of roles came about, although it is hinted at, but as you'd expect when these types of role reversals happen it's always hard to accept change so it's no wonder there's resentment by Quinn towards his now superior.
By now I've gotten used to the writing style of Cara Hunter and the absence of definitive chapters, which I will admit I found a little jarring at first, instead the story unfolds almost like scenes from a play as piece by piece information is discovered and the team establish the facts surrounding this tragic case. But of course it's not all plain sailing and there has to be some misdirection and a few red herrings thrown into the mix as otherwise it wouldn't have been such a gripping read for us readers. I had one theory worked out in my head as to what the motive was and on conclusion it turns out I was partially correct but I was still a little surprised by the eventual outcome.
And as for that finale I was so pleased that there was finally some good news for Fawley and something for him to look forward to so here's hoping there's no more surprises in store for him in the next book All the Rage which is to be published later this year. In the meantime I'm hoping to finish reading In the Dark this afternoon so hopefully I can review it later this evening or tomorrow.
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