Such a great thriller about the lengths a mother will go to for her child.
Full review to follow shortly. 4/5 stars

A popular radio presenter in a coastal town in the UK, Anna reacts to an unexpected attack like a lion defending her cub. Instinct. Plain and simple. But the reactions of the people around her are not so simple. Anna soon becomes the target of unwanted attention from fans and detractors alike, as well as from someone claiming to be a serial killer.  The narrative mostly reflects Anna’s point of view, interspersed with first-person passages representing the killer’s thoughts. I found it to be an engaging read, with many twists as Anna learns more about local and family history.  Although the identity of the “Ophelia Killer” came as a surprise to me and the pieces fit together in the end, the killer and the killer’s motivation didn’t entirely mesh with my sense of the culprit’s character.  If you enjoy thrillers, you might want to add this to your TBR list.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me and I wasn't able to finish it. I wasn't able to get interested and invested in the story and I didn't connect with any of the characters either.

No Turning Back by Tracy Buchanan begins as a story about a mother's need to protect her child, no matter the cost. Anna is walking the beach with her infant daughter, Joni, when a young boy comes running towards them with a knife shouting "Please don't hurt me!". Anna reacts by grabbing a long hair comb out of her purse and stabs the young boy with it. The young boy dies. Is Anna a murderer, or was she correctly assuming she and her daughter were in danger?

And yes, you read that correctly, she stabbed him with a comb, and he died (from a comb).

Add to this that Anna's husband recently left her, she is returning to work as a local radio talk show host/star with a super conniving and jealous co-worker, the community begins to turn against her, and a serial killer appears to be back on the scene and is leaving Anna notes all the time and you can see 1) that Anna's life is taking a big down-turn, and 2) there is a lot (A LOT!) of drama going on here! The thing is, not much is believable.

It's almost as if the author started a lot of different plot-lines going, and then, unable to decide on one, proclaimed "well, there's No Turning Back now!" (insert chuckles).

I read on because I wanted to know what happened to good old Anna, but the ending is even more unbelievable than the pages before it. A big miss on this one for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It was a slow start, but after 10% it picked up. I am not convinced of the premise of the book - to kill a child to protect yours. Some parts of the story, when it is described what is happening, are not very clear and I had to re-read them. I was curious to see whodunit, although at some point I guessed who one of the murderers was, albeit later than I expected (and have liked!) to guess who the murderer was.

Some parts seem impossible, and forced. Those police officers, poor souls, were highly incompetent. That kid was very smart for an eight month old, the people were stiff in their dialogues for the most part, and even the romantic relationship is not plausible and doesn't make you cheer for the characters. The setting by the sea was lovely, though.

However, for a mystery story, it was nice, I enjoyed it.

A good fast paced thriller. Full of suspense and twists and turns.

I couldn't help but side with poor Anna as she tries to hold onto normally daily life while trying to figure out 'who did it'.

I couldn't help but be 'annoyed' with the doofus police who can't seem to figure out what is/was going on! Personally I didn't see why they kept suspecting poor Anna. But indeed they did!

Then, her friends shun her.

Her x-husband who in my opinion was a bit of a jerk begins to accuse and starts threatening to file for full custody of their sweet 8 month old daughter. Sighting that their baby is in danger being with her Anna. Then hello the sweet little baby is actually kidnapped while in His mother's care at her professional day care. Hello? That part just got me.

Sadly because I couldn't help but see how all these events could actually happen!

The only person who seems to want to help is Jamie the older brother of the boy she accidentally kills.

But the reader along with Anna is left questioning his intentions!

All this takes the reader through a wild twisty turning ride.
That finishes with a few surprises.

I totally enjoyed reading No Turning Back! I was intrigued from the beginning to the end.

I received a complementary copy from Great Escape Tours

The premise is good. I liked the voice, love British work is super most of the time. After being attacked by a teenager, while trying to protect her child, Anna is now in a world of trouble. Is she a heroine, or a villain? Is her personality split, or is she innocent?

Over all a very interesting read, although I would have preferred a few tweaks, I can deal with it. I would read another book by this author.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

I started off living this book but by about a third through I was wishing I was at the end. The characters were on the shallow side and the plot was unbelievable and contrived.

Anna Graves is going through a tough time in her life. She is about to return to work after an 8-month maternity leave, during which she separated from her husband, when, while walking on the beach along the coast of England, she is approached by a crazed teenage boy. The boy pulls a knife, and in trying to defend her baby and herself, she kills the boy with a comb pulled from her purse. She is initially cleared by the police, but the autopsy on the boy shows something much more. Anna’s father committed suicide twenty years ago, and now the apparent reason for that suicide - the Ophelia Killer - has returned - sending emails to Anna and perhaps killing young boys as he had in the past. Are the accidental killing by Anna and the return of the Ophelia Killer related? Sounds like a good premise. Not for me. The book is not well-written (often repetitive), the characters not likable, the romance seems contrived, and the story develops much too slowly. Despite the surprise ending, I say take a pass.

I thought the premise of this book was a good one, what would you do to protect your child?, but after that it kind of fell apart. I didn't really like any of the characters, and the ending seemed highly unlikely. It was OK to read, but not one of my favorites.

Well, I didn't see that coming at all. Nothing in this story is what it seems and no one can really be trusted. Anna is an accomplished single mother, responsible for the success of the radio station where she co-hosts a show. Other than a bitter but overall friendly divorce, her life couldn't be any better. Then the unthinkable happens: she accidentally kills a schoolboy in self-defense (she didn't mean to, she was just trying to protect her baby daughter). At first, everyone seems sympathetic but eventually the tides start turning and she's slowly losing everything she worked so hard for. To complicate matters, the Ophelia Killer is back after a twenty year absence and the police think that Anna is involved. Her only unlikely ally ends up being the brother of the boy she killed, who wants to know why he was acting so strangely and aggressively toward Anna. He was actually my favorite character. A guy from the wrong side of the tracks who is actually trying to do the right thing. A compelling story with a very unpredictable plot.

Anna is taking her young daughter for a stroll when she is attacked by a school boy. In defending her daughter and herself, she stabs and kills him. If that wasn’t bad enough, not only is she hounded by the media but she receives texts from what may be the Ophilia Killer; a person who murdered teenage boys some twenty years before.

A lot of buildup, some tense moments, and a twist I didn’t see coming at the end but I’m not sure if I really liked it. I thought it was an okay read, just not exciting enough for my tastes.

This is the first book I've read by Tracy Buchanan. I enjoyed it but not as much as I had hoped to. It just isn't one of those that sticks with you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

When Anna Graves, famed radio host was walking with her child on the beach, a seemingly crazed teen attacks her. As she tries to fend him off to save her child, she stabs him in the neck with her comb and he dies from his injury. Thus begins an upsurging storm of events threatening to end her career and the stability of her life. As more deaths occur, they are reminiscent of the Ophelia Killer whom her investigative reporter father was working to discern his identity. Like peeling the layers of an onion, an increasingly distraught Anna tries to clear her name and investigate the real killers. With tension as taught as a highwire, Buchanan creates a novel that draws one in, creating an explosive ending that most will never discern...Another summer read not to miss!

Note: There were some story threads that one had to suspend belief, but I felt it was fun to just ride the wave!

There are no amount of words that I could write that would give do this book enough justice! This book is AMAZING... AMAZING!!

Where do I even begin with this book! It was gripping the whole way through there was not a moment in this book where I was bored or had to push myself to read.There were so many twists that I didn't see coming and when I thought i knew what was happening how wrong was I.

The way the characters interacted was amazing, there were some unexpected ones too, It made you think you were right but then an incident would happen to completely throw you off. I thought my detective skills were good but even I couldn't figure it out. The ending completely shocked me!

The way the booked progressed was amazing. I honestly can't put into words how much I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

I would love to see how Anna progressed a couple years from now and if all the events still affected her ( to be honest I don't think you'd ever forget something like that)

No Turning Back is without a doubt in my Top 3 for the year Maybe in my Top 2! I think it's going to be my top thriller for the year as well but we'll have to see!

I received a copy of "No Turning Back" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Tracy Buchanan for the opportunity to read this book.

This book was 4.5 STARS!!! It had more twists and turns and was so fabulous. Definitely a great book to read by the pool if you like books like "Don't You Cry", "The Last One", "All the Missing Girls", or "Pretty Girls". It is a thrill a minute book that leads to several twists before the final ending! Oh, my!!

Definite recommend for this summer!! This book is an easy book to read and I read it in ONE day!! Great book!!

What a page turner this book is, I couldn’t put it down.

The story begins with Anna Grave, newly separated from her husband Guy, returning after maternity leave to her job as co presenter on a hugely successful chat show. After a fabulous but tiring first day back Anna takes her daughter Joni along the beach just as she does every evening, however today she encounters a school boy wielding a knife and seemingly intent on causing them harm. Naturally her motherly instinct kicks in to protect Joni at all costs and the boy, Elliot ends up dying. This tragedy shakes and divides the whole community even Anna’s own family and resurrects the unsolved mystery child killings over 20 years ago.

No Turning Back is packed with suspense and drama. I didn’t guess ‘who done it’ and was totally shocked who the culprit is. I have read all of Tracy Buchanan’s books now and can say she is a fabulous author with a writing style that hooks me in from the start.

Tracy Buchanan grabs you from page one until the end. The police are focused on one suspect but there are so many others who could have committed the murders. The least expected is the one they should be focusing on. Great thriller!

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Avon and Tracy Buchanan for the opportunity to read and review this thriller!

I really enjoyed this book centered around a newly-single mom, Anna, just back to work after her maternity leave. She's taking a walk by the beach when she and her daughter are attacked by a young schoolboy. She has a metal comb with her that she reaches out to protect her baby - it plunges into his neck and kills him.

The police are at first sympathetic but when Anna finds another boy's body that has gone missing, they turn their suspicions onto Anna. As does everyone else, including her estranged husband who feels that Joni might not be safe with Anna. Then an old unsolved serial killing case, dubbed the Ophelia Killer, comes to light - is he back?

There is lots of issues going on here - class differences, familial loyalty, crowd hysteria, media intrusion and responsibility.

A good mystery to curl up with!

When a radio talk show host Anna defends herself and her infant against an attack from an apparently drug crazed teen, her actions draw widespread praise. But when the teenager dies and the autopsy reveals something surprising acclaim quickly turns to condemnation and suspicion. Even worse, it has attracted the attention of a long dormant serial killer. With no where to turn and no one to trust, Anna plunges headlong into an investigation that leads too close to home.
Although I liked Anna and the pace of the story was good. The story is told from both the perspective of Anna and the serial killer. It is an easy read with plenty of action.The story hits some hot button issues by highlighting how trial by the press and public opinion results in injustice. Overall a fast paced read with enough twists and turns to hold your interest through to the end.