This was the third cara hunter book I’ve read, and although not my favourite, it was still past paved, believable but intriguing at the same time, keeping you guessing right till the end! initially the book started with the gruesome findings of dead bodies in the Edmonson family home, more poignant due to the children involved, the case to elicit the cause of the fire and the perpetrator of it led the reader along a believable journey full of police procedure, unexpected happenings and complex family dynamics this was all done via police interview extracts, personal statements etc etc and flashbacks to pre fire times.
Overall it was a good read but didn’t grip me as much as close to home, however I would recommend it to family and friends.
Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy to read.

This is a gripping read from the start and I didn't want to put the book down until I finished it! Interestingly it had excerpts from an online paper in it as well which broke the writing up a bit but actually added to the story for me.

It's the Christmas holidays and a fire breaks out in the early hours of a morning in a house where a family lives. The firefighers go in the burning building searching for the family but can only find the children, unfortunately the youngest is already dead at the scene, the other is rushed to the hospital but is not in a good way. It takes a few hours to bring the fire under control. There will be an investigation to determine if it was an accident or arson.....

Very well written, lots of suspense with not giving too much away. The police have to work hard with the fire dept to determine if its an accident or arson and once decided, they work flat out. This is the third book in the series, I am now going to read the other two so I catch up on the characters, I enjoyed this book so much. Will read more of this author in the future.

A solid 4 Stars for this third book in the series, not only with a new case but bringing us up to date with DI Fawley and his team; the dynamics within the team and their private lives.
The case begins with a fire which finds a toddler already dead and a young boy critically ill. While the team investigate how this tragedy came about the reader learns what led to this scenario. There are many twists and turns, red herrings and much humour which brings a welcome relief to such harrowing circumstances which brought tears to my eyes.
This series just gets better and better.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Cara Hunter/Penguin Books for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

No Way Out by Cara Hunter makes it 3 in a row for this author. A hat trick of puzzling mysteries with red herrings and curve balls. I know I’m mixing up all my metaphors here but I’m just trying to impress on you how much I love this series.

Thanks to Penguin for giving me for giving me a copy of this book for review consideration. As always, no matter what the source of the book, you get my honest, unbiased opinion.

FIRST LINE OF NO WAY OUT BY CARA HUNTER

Helmet camera footage, Firefighter Fletcher, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service – Incident at Felix House, 23 Southey Road, Oxford – Footage starts as two fire engines pull up in a suburban street.
MY THOUGHTS ON NO WAY OUT BY CARA HUNTER

We are reunited with the team of complex, clever, hard-working detectives that I have come to know individually. I’m totally engaged in their personal lives as well as their professional ones. And each book just makes me like them even more. Even roguish Quinn. Watching them cope with everyday life problems, and trying to keep their own issues out of the workplace is just very addictive. Especially when the lines get blurry.

This book features a horrific house fire and every answer the police uncover just seems to throw up more perplexing questions. I kept guessing, and re-evaluating as the plot developed. The storylines are dark and Cara Hunter doesn’t hold back on the gristly detail.

Then the gorgeous Oxford setting elevates this series even for me. As does the format of the book which includes police reports, newspaper articles, and social media commentary.

Basically all I want to say is this series is fab, read them and see. They can be read out of order, but I’d still recommend reading in series order (Close to Home, In The Dark and then this one). Just because the detectives personal lives are such an integral part of the books.

WHO SHOULD READ NO WAY OUT BY CARA HUNTER?

Highly, HIGHLY recommended to those who love police procedurals, thrilling plots that grip you, and a modern-day Oxford setting. Fans of authors such as Shalini Boland, Lucy Dawson and Samantha Hayes should also enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley, Cara Hunter and Penguin Books (UK) for giving me the opportunity to read this book, what an amazing read this was.

I loved the first two books in this series so I had high hopes for this one. I am glad say Cara Hunter well done you didn't disappoint with this book. Just when I thought that I had figured it all out you go and throw in some very unexpected twists and turns, this has me changing my thoughts so many times that I was completely wrong. A huge well done again Cara.

This book is filled with unexpected twists and turns, humour in places and packed with suspense and emotion. I have got to know the characters well through all three books, so I'm hopeful that I don't have to wait too long to find out what they investigate next and explore in more detail their personal lives. I really hope that there is a next one.

I definitely would recommend this book and the series.

Review
Thank you to @netgalley Cara Hunter Penguin Books for the arc of No Way Out.
Couldn't put this down, a real page turner. This is the third book in the DI Fawley series but the first Cara Hunter book I've read so it's a stand alone book.
A house is on fire, one child is dead and another is critically ill, where are the parents, what has happened.

A really gripping thriller that kept me guessing until the very last page. I loved it. Would recommend!

Cara Hunter is a brilliant crime thriller author and No Way Out has a powerfully good plot. This is the third in the DI Fawley series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone and is full of suspense and immensely engaging. It has a dynamic start and never loses that lead.
The story opens with a reported fatality of a toddler in a house fire in Oxford just after Christmas. An older brother is pulled from the inferno by firefighters and rushed to hospital, the mother is missing and the father is reportedly attending an academic conference in London, but not answering his phone. The fire scenes are particularly harrowing and tense and some of the heroic and horrific aspects of the roles of the firefighters and police are laid bare. As the Fire Inspector concludes arson, this becomes a murder case for DI Fawley and his team and this is in no shape or form a straightforward case.
Almost every snippet of information the detectives glean has to be investigated to ascertain its significance or irrelevance and no stone is left unturned. As a reader and would be sleuth, we try to retain each potential clue in case we need to pluck it out later to try and crack the case. We, as spectators, are party to some knowledge fed to us by family scenes occurring weeks and months before the fire, which the detectives aren’t, but this may or may not prove to be pivotal as we later find out. The author also weaves in news bulletins, social media tweets and clips to great effect, which add immediacy and authenticity, increasing our sense of urgency and involvement.
In this story we get a glimpse of DI Fawley’s personal life and a vulnerable side to him. Likewise we see all the characters in his team, how well they work together, their professional face and their fallibility, all interesting in their own ways and enriching our imagination.
The ending was different to what I expected and brilliant. Even when I thought all loose ends had been tied up, I was surprised with another unexpected twist. What was great about this was that it wasn’t far fetched and I was left with the feeling that all the clues had been there, but some crucial element had eluded me, which is much more satisfying than guessing the ending and getting it right!
This is a five star read and I can’t wait to read more from Cara Hunter and eagerly await the next in the series.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Penguin Books (UK) and Cara Hunter for the opportunity to read and review No Way Out.

Brilliant story that I have reviewed everywhere for you. Loved the pace the way it kept you turning those pages wanting to find out more and then a few clues along the way. Great book by a talented author.

My thanks to Penguin Books U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of Cara Hunter’s Oxford-based police procedural ‘No Way Out’ in exchange for an honest review. After publication I did buy my own copy.

This is the third in her DI Fawley series and although I hadn’t read the earlier books I had no problem getting a sense of who was who from the background provided. Even if the series is named for Fawley, it was very much an ensemble piece with a cast of well realised characters.

‘No Way Out’ opens very dramatically as just after the Christmas holidays a devastating fire destroys the Esmond home in North Oxford. Two young children are pulled from the blaze by firefighters. Yet why is there no sign of their parents? Their mother is missing and father attending an academic conference in London though he isn’t answering his phone. As the Fire Inspector indicates that it was very likely arson, this becomes a murder case and more questions arise.

It is a very sad and grim case though there are some moments of humour in the narrative that don’t detract from the seriousness of the storyline but make the characters seem more real.

I always enjoy it when characters in a book reference popular culture and here one says to a difficult witness “I’m afraid real life is a great deal messier than Inspector Morse.” Still some aspects of the plot involving academics could easily be found in a said Morse drama.

The pacing was very good and I felt totally caught up in the investigation. I liked the inclusion of reports, news items, transcriptions and the like.

Overall an excellent police procedural and I certainly am interested in reading the prior books in the series as well as future ones.

No Way Out is the gripping third book in the DI Fawley series, and although I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the previous two it's still a great, entertaining read. It's a perfectly paced story written in Hunter's eminently readable style and is very quick to get through. If you enjoy well-crafted gritty plots, twists turns and red herrings and a clan of experienced, compassionate investigators then give this a go. Many thanks to Penguin for an ARC.

This was the third in the series but the first one I’ve picked up - wow! An absolute stunner of a book and perfectly readable as a stand alone.
Loved the mixed media, the changing perspectives and loved all the police characters and the crime itself was well plotted and nicely revealed.
Seriously good stuff - off to buy the first two in the series now!

Three books in, I’m already very fond of DI Adam Fawley and his team. I’m also a great fan of the way different storytelling styles are brought together to move the plot forward, as well as chapters that either get right inside Fawley’s head or follow one or more of the others around at a slight remove, we also get extracts from online and print news sources and transcripts of interviews and video footage. So far, the main factor linking the cases and the characters’ background plots has been children, those directly affected by crime and those within the team’s families – including Fawley’s deceased son and the problems within his marriage resulting from the unexpected death of a much longed-for child. This third book follows that theme as two youngsters – apparently left home alone in the Christmas holidays – fall victim to a serious fire that soon transpires to have been started deliberately.

Late at night on the fourth of January, the Fire Service are called to a blazing building by residents of neighbouring houses. Although they are able to pull the two children out – the younger boy dead, the older barely alive – before the house collapses, there is no sign of either parent or any other responsible adult. As Fawley’s team begin their investigation the next day, they find that neither parent is contactable. The boys’ maternal grandparents, living some distance away, are unable to provide any clues as to their whereabouts, nor is the children’s uncle when he makes contact from a boat still further away.

Understandably, there is a great deal of media interest in the case, some of which is reproduced, complete with online comments, throughout the story. Alongside the investigation, readers also learn that the seemingly perfect family, as initially reported to Fawley and the other investigating officers, had a number of ongoing problems. These were both helped and exacerbated during the previous year by the actions of a young man, who came to help with the garden but then gradually became a bigger part of the family’s lives – particularly, it seems, by helping to take care of and play with the children. As the body-count grows, Fawley learns that the man had another connection to the family and their house that he had not disclosed to them. However, he is nowhere to be found and concerns grow as to whether he is the perpetrator or another victim of the tragedy.

In the background, Fawley and his wife have temporarily separated following a seemingly insurmountable difference of opinion over whether or not to adopt a child, following their past difficulties conceiving and then losing their son. Other members of the team also have romantic and professional complications to deal with, and there’s the possibility of a new connection for at least one of them.

I loved this book so much. Several of its twists and turns caught me out, but all made sense in the end. I’m not sure how patiently I can wait for the next book, but in the meantime, I’ve tracked down a radio series mentioned in the story and in the author’s notes which may shed some extra light on Fawley’s background and domestic situation.

This is a great series and this book had me hooked from the first few pages.
Adam is investigating a nasty house fire where one child is dead, and the other is fighting for his life.
What he can’t work out is where the parents were.
The story is told in the present tense but there’s also some chapters telling the story of what happened leading up to the fire.
It seems life for Samantha was not great and she was struggling to cope with two young children.
There are a few shocks in store towards the end of the book and just when you think you’ve worked out what happened, it’s turned on it’s head again.
This is a great crime thriller.
Thanks to Penguin Books UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Summary:

DI Adam Fawley has got the worst case of his life.
A toddler died in a fire and his elder brother fighting for his life. And the parents are missing. Mom is nowhere to be found and Dad was in London is not picking up the phone.
Worst still DI Fawley and the firefighters know this fire is no accident!
Will he be able to untangle the complex web of homicide and arson?

My Take on the book:

This is the third book in the DI Adam Fawley series. And my first book by the author and in the series. But someone can read the book as a standalone book.

I liked the author’s style of writing. She puts in life in each of the characters. The writing is clear and helps the reader's imagination. Throughout the author keeps the reader engaged. One doesn’t lose focus or interest even for a microsecond.

That brings me to the pace of the book which is perfect. Except for DI Fawley, all the characters are in 3rdperson. DI Fawley’s characters speak in the first person for giving depth and create a background to the character.

What I liked author touched finer societal subjects like post-natal depression. The author did not victimize the characters instead showed that such incidents a family. And the family should fight together.

Coming back to the original story, the suspense and the climax are well written and well thought. As we move towards the end one might figure out the culprit, but how and the who is something you don’t see it coming at all.

This book has piqued me and I will read the 2 other books in the series.

And if one is a fan of crime fiction, this book is a perfect read.

I give this book 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin UK for giving this book in exchange for an honest review,

The house fire at 23 Southey Road was horrific. The destruction complete. And the knowledge that it was done deliberately sent a shiver down the respondents’ spines. When the two children were pulled from what was left of the house, one deceased, one critical, the police couldn’t work out where their mother or father were. Would they be found in the remains? Or had they left their young children unattended?

Detective Inspector Adam Frawley knew they had to find answers and quickly. But with it being Christmas holidays, a lot of places were closed. He and his team needed to sift through the evidence, sparse though it was, and come to some conclusions. Was it an accident? Was it murder? What would they find?

No Way Out is the 3rd in the DI Adam Frawley series, and once again it’s a convoluted and traumatic case. Author Cara Hunter writes a thriller that gets the reader in; but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first two I’m afraid. A little too drawn out in my opinion, with the style of writing – the texts, emails, interviews; all in italics - disconcerting. But that said, I’m happy to recommend it to thriller fans.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I am NEVER disappointed in a Cara Hunter novel, looknig forward to anything she releases with excitement and the need to put aside a whole evening for reading. However, No Way Out exceeded all my expectations. It's a tightly plotted, beautifully written police procedural that I honestly couldn't put down.

No Way Out is hugely compelling and features some favourite characters from previous novels in the series - DI Adam Fawley, Quinn (as annoying as he is!), Somer, Gislingham... they're all great to read about and help make this novel as addictive reading as it is.

The plot itself is really intriguing - I didn't guess the ending and I certainly didn't see a lot of it coming, but as usual Cara Hunter manages to avoid anything too unbelievable, sticking with convincing, enjoyable storylines that are exactly what I want to read. I don't want to say anything else about the story as I (of course) don't want to give too much away, but there'll definitely be parts that will surprise you. As I was reading No Way Out I was just thinking, this is definitely one of my favourite crime series which I swear just keeps getting better with every release!

I discovered Cara Hunter last year and she soon became one of my top ten authors.

Third in the Adam Fawley series and equally as good as the previous 2.

A tragic house fire that leaves one child dead and another critical opens up a lot of questions when it’s revealed that the children were possibly home alone and it seems that the fire was started deliberately.
Set in a before and after style you get to experience both the build up before the fire and the tragic after effects.

Well written, great twists and with chilling descriptions.

5 stars

DI Fawley #3

It's 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 fighting for his life. Why were they left in the house alone? Where is their mother? Why does their father not answer his phone?

This is an emotional, addictive and fast paced read. DI Fawley and his team are back. Fawley's mind is not properly on the job so he hands the case of the house fire, where a child has died and another one is fighting for his life, over to Gis to investigate as acting DS. The story is told from the investigation and the events that took place 317 days before the fire in the victims' house. The plot is full of twists and the tension builds. We get to know DI Fawley and his team a little better as their characters develop. This series just gets better and better.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Books Uk and the author Cara Hunter for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cara Hunter is easily one of my favourite authors. This is the third book in the DI Fawley series and it does not disappoint. A roller coaster read full of twists and turns and with an unexpected ending that I did not see coming. 4/5