Wow! What did I just read? This is stupendous. So many twists and turns, so many what the! moments.
Brilliantly crafted, I think this is the author’s best work so far and I've read and enjoyed all of them.
Rose books a last-minute honeymoon with Luke to Saint-Therese and all is definitely not what it seems.
An exceptionally good read

When Rose turns up at Luke's work and tells him they are going on a surprise belated honeymoon at that moment, he thinks he' is a lucky man.
At the end of the week, Rose confesses that she had another motive, she has killed her abusive ex and his body is in their apartment. Luke gets an ex of his, Mickey, involved and she reports back that there is no body there. So begins a nightmare for Luke. To all appearances it appears that the ex, Kevin has followed them to the Caribbean. As Mickey digs deeper for Luke, lots of anomalies start to surface. What is the truth and will it help Luke when he's in desperate need of help?
This gathers momentum and keeps going right to the end.

I have read quite a lot of books by this author so my expectations were high. I have to admit this one didn’t grab me to the extent the previous ones had done. Somehow I didn’t seem to be involved in the characters as much this time although it is an interesting storyline.
Luke has married and his wife surprises him with an unexpected holiday but that is just that start of a series of events that lead to this quite complicated tale.
I will, however, continue to check out future books by this author as I have always enjoyed them

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I'm an avid fan of Jo Spain, and still am after reading her latest book. From the start I was drawn into the story of Luke and Rose Miller. As you can imagine, everything is not as it seems. We travel to the Caribbean, Donegal and London, whilst also varying between present day and months previous. As usual Jo ties up all loose ends, and no stone is left unturned, when it comes to tidying up all parts of the story. I would absolutely recommend this book

Don't Look Back is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Don't Look Back asap.

"Don't Look Back" is a thrilling and suspenseful novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. It is a must-read for fans of crime fiction who enjoy complex characters, intricate plot twists, and a healthy dose of mystery.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Well. This was brilliant! I really enjoyed this. I'm not new to Jo Spain's books but the premise of this one really drew me in. As secrets continue to unravel throughout I found myself drawn in and unable to put my book down!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the advance copy to read.

This is my first Jo Spain book and it won't be my last. Super easy book with lots of twists. It's a great psychological thriller. I didn't see all the twists coming. Loved the characters Rose and Luke, very clever plot and also really enjoyed the character Mickey.

Solid 4 stars.

Don’t Look Back is a 4.5⭐️ rounded up to 5⭐️
Luke Miller is enjoying the last few hours of his belated honeymoon he’s just had, curtesy of his wife, Rose. He’s relaxed and even Rose has started to relax too but it’s time to go home but Rose has a shock for him. When she was last in their apartment a man attacked her, she fought back but by doing so he knocked his head and he’d died. Luke doesn’t have a clue what to do but there is a dead man in their apartment and he’ll do anything to save Rose from any upset.
This was a very cleverly written book that I couldn’t put down and read in a day. The twists are really good and the Caribbean setting was a welcome change. The duel timelines worked well and helped with the background story ensuring a deeper understanding of the characters. I would recommend this book.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Having had the pleasure of meeting Jo Spain, I can tell you that she is a delightful person. That said, when she is in writing mode, don't believe a word she says. Away from her superb police procedural series featuring Dublin copper Tom Reynolds, she has written several stand-alone thrillers, in which she practices to deceive.

In Don't Look Back she runs through the complete repertoire of her trickery. She tells us the main characters are:
Luke Miller: A decent - but driven - investment banker who fall in love with, and marries -
Rose Miller: An Irish lass, née Gillespie, now a teacher in London and married to Luke, Has an abusive ex boyfriend called:
Kevin Davidson: A member of a rich and powerful Donegal family, whose wealth may not have been acquired entirely legally.
Mickey Sheils: A former lawyer, and onetime lover of Luke Miller. Originally from Ireland, now working in London to protect abused women from their abusive former partners. Able to act mostly pro-bono, thanks to her marriage to:
Nathan Sheils: A big man in The City, formerly Luke's boss.

Be prepared, however, for some of these people to be -  how best to put it? -  not entirely who they appear to be. The story starts off in a fairly straightforward manner. Rose and Luke are married, but due to Rose's trauma at the hands of Kevin Davidson, their courtship had been a case of two steps forward, one step back. Rose turns up at Luke's workplace, complete with airline tickets and packed bags, and announces that she has arranged a super surprise - a delayed honeymoon on the idyllic Caribbean island of Saint-Thérèse. Their stay is blissful, but on the last night, Luke senses that Rose has become agitated and distracted. Then, she blurts out that they cannot possibly be on their return flight to London the next day.

The reason? Because on the floor of their bedroom in Luke's flat, lying there since the day they left for Saint-Thérèse, is a corpse. It is the mortal remains of Kevin Davidson, who had been stalking Rose for weeks, and finally made his big appearance. They had fought, Rose had pushed him, he lost his footing and cracked his skull - with fatal consequences - on the sharp edger of a very solid  piece of Edwardian furniture. Rose's initial panic had metamorphosed into a plan. A desperate one, yes, but a temporary solution. Luke's flat is the only one occupied on that floor, and ts remoteness would give them at least a few days' grace.

Luke books them out of their hotel and, despite having had a fairly frosty relationship with Mickey Sheils since he ended their affair, he calls her and asks her to go to his flat and investigate. Reluctantly, she does, but when she gets there, guess what? There is plenty of dried blood - but no body.

What follows is classic Jo Spain. One block at a time, she kicks away the supports of what we think we know about what is going on. I read the book on my KIndle, and even when it said 99%, there was time for one more surprise. This is wonderfully inventive stuff, and shows that one of Ireland's finest writers is at the top of her game. Don't Look Back is published by Quercus, and will be available on 11th May.

Thank you Quercus Books, Quercus and Netgalley for the arc. The cover is stunning but unfortunately the book let me down. It was a nice time line and all that was not confusing. But I excpected more after knowing the details from the past. Will ceetenly continue to read the author anyway.

A cracking thriller from this excellent writer, which grips from start to finish and which keeps surprising the reader at every turn. A surprise holiday in a Caribbean idyll, what could be more perfect? But of course there are secrets and lies galore, and myriad revelations, and life will never be the same again. Superb.

When Rose and Luke spend a week together on a perfect, idyllic holiday, what could go wrong? As Rose then confesses her violent ex has found her and is lying dead in their home, they decide to go on the run. But is it only Rose who is keeping secrets? This was different from any other thriller I have read before and kept me wanting to read just one more chapter. Things start to unravel quickly and the depths of people's hidden secrets are shown throughout.

This is a great psychological thriller.
Luke is enjoying a last minute holiday booked for him by his wife but when it’s time to leave, Rose tells him they can’t go back to London as she killed a man in Luke’s apartment, and his body is still there.
Rose has been living in fear of her abusive ex but when an altercation goes wrong, he ends up dead.
Luke calls an old friend and asks for help but when Mickey gets to the apartment she’s in for a shock.
I can’t say too much more as there’s lots happening from this point and I don’t want to spoil it.
There’s more than a few secrets being held by the main characters and as the story progresses more and more is revealed.
This is a great read that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Quercus books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Don’t Look Back is a psychological/domestic thriller by bestselling author, Jo Spain. I’ve read this author once before. This one was an intriguing complex mystery which leaves you constantly guessing and wondering how its all going to pan out. The author develops a layered, suspenseful and fun-to-read mystery which hooks you from the very start. Told across multiple POV, the characters are deep, easy to like and care about what happens to them. On their honeymoon, Luke’s new wife Rose drops a bombshell that there is a dead body back in their apartment, one that she killed in self-defense. Now in a tricky situation as it appears that they have fled the scene, Luke, Rose and Luke’s friend Mickey must work together to find a solution that will keep them out of jail. As things go on it appears there might be more to this situation than anyone thought. An excellent thriller which you won’t want to put down.

Thanks so much to Quercus and Netgalley for my e-arc in return for an honest review.

I buddy read this with my good pal Janet, we both had similar thoughts on it.

So the second half was much better than the first half, we were 52% in saying it was a bit slow then bam, it hit us with a lot lol. The characters were quite easily likeable, and easy to follow who was who. I liked the 2 main characters Luke and Rose, but I think I likes the side character of Mickey the best. She works with vulnerable women trying to escape violent partners, she seems very head strong and persistent.

I’d read another of Jo Spains books, this was good.

4.5/5 rounded up

Luke and Rose are away on their honeymoon and just before they are due to fly back, Rose tells Luke she will not be returning. Why you ask? Because she killed a man and his dead body is waiting for them in their apartment.

Thank you Net Galley and Quercus books for an advance ebook copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was another excellent book from Jo Spain! There are twists upon twists upon twists. I kept thinking I had worked out all the twists, but when the reveals come, I was nowhere close! I loved all the characters and their complex relationships with each other. It’s a perfect beach read as I guarantee you will fly through it!

What an incredible twisty thriller!
Jo Spain really knows how to write them. This was absolutely gripping
I had my suspicions about a certain character in the book and turns out, I was suspecting completely the wrong character but for a very similar motive.
I loved the way the book was told from different timelines and different countries, really feeling the novel being pieces together
The chapters ending in cliffhangers so you just has to read on, all led to me racing through this book
The pace matched my reading speed and was eagerly turning the pages to find out just what has happened to Kevin
A great book, full of suspense and a great twist
The author does not disappoint

Interesting characters, twisty plot, you will struggle to put it down. Highly recommend this one!
Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this ARC.

Luke Miller's life is turned upside down when on the last day of an impromptu belated honeymoon his new wife, Rose, tells him she can't go back home because there's a dead body in their apartment. The body is that of a violent man who abused Rose in the past. She fled but he tracked her down, and now he's in a heap on the bedroom floor. Luke can only think of one person who might possibly help them.

That would be Mickey Sheils, whose life's work is finding safe spaces for women fleeing their abusive partners. Despite the way Mickey and Luke parted all those years ago, Mickey can't resist a woman in need and promises to help so Rose can stop running.

But of course things aren't as easy as that. There are skeletons in closets and close guarded secrets that are left to be discovered as the story goes on. Personally, I found that the gist of the tale was somewhat predictable and easy to figure out. However, the bigger picture, motives if you will, eluded me. I didn't trust these characters. Something felt off about them from the very beginning, even if I couldn't quite put my finger on why. Mickey is the exception to the rule. With her, I merely failed to understand why she would drop everything to help Luke.

There's quite a bit of traveling around in 'Don't Look Back'. From the Caribbean to England to Ireland and back again. It's all wonderfully descriptive but that didn't take away my view that it often felt as if very little was actually happening. And since I quite quickly realised some things weren't as they seemed, there really wasn't enough tension in this story for me, no matter how hard the author tried to create some. What Jo Spain does do awfully well is setting a scene. You can actually see things playing out right in front of your eyes, like you're watching it on television.

'Don't Look Back' started with a bang but then unfortunately for me seemed to fizzle right out again. This might be due to the fact that I worked things out too fast, I don't know. Maybe it's just that same old "reading too many psychological thrillers" thing again. Very few things seem to surprise me anymore. For the most part though, I kept thinking I would gladly have read an entire book about Mickey and her job, but I really didn't care about Luke and Rose, and whatever things they were hiding from one another.

I'm calling this a blip, as I normally really enjoy Jo Spain's books. Her writing is always fabulous and addictive, as it is in 'Don't Look Back'. The difficult topic that is tackled here is handled remarkably well. The space is spot on and for a book that is 400 pages long, it actually reads quite quickly. Somehow, this one just didn't quite work for me but I will eagerly await Jo Spain's next offering.