This was a thoroughly engaging, enjoyable roller coaster ride of a thriller. While I did guess one twist early on, there were so many other twists and turns to come that I did not foresee. The alternating timelines and the potentially unreliable narrator made this a super suspenseful read. I was upset I could not stay up all night to finish it because this is definitely the type of book you don’t want to put down. A really great thriller!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of No Place to Hide!

This is a retelling of Doctor Faustus. Adam is now a doctor and has a family. He believes that CCTV cameras and people out on the streets are filming him because of a pact he made while he was in university. The story flips back to Adam in university and the present. The story does drag a bit, but I think anyone who knows the original story and is new to it can enjoy this book.

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

This just didn't grip me the way thrillers usually do and it did feel really sloe for the majority of the book. Nothing really happens and it all feels a bit if a character study. The narrative also felt a bit off for some reason and didn't feel consistent throughout but I'm not sure if that's just because I was bored so it all felt a bit forced. However!! Its a new take on the thriller genre and a concept I've never coke across before so it was awesome seeing fresh ideas. The characters are quite well written and it felt the like the medical details had been researched to make the somewhat accurate. There were a few twists and turns but overall I did struggle to keep my attention on it

4-5 stars

‘Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you’.

Paediatrician Adam Pound seems to have a good life with his wide Tania and two young children. He believes he is being watched , this feeling seems confirmed by the appearance of a large camera at the bottom of his road. When his son Freddie wanders off in the park he’s found by old friend Clio who Adam knew at university- a case of unrequited love. The novel backtracks to 1998 to Cambridge where Adam does his medical degree. He meets Clio when both act in a production of Dr Faustus and through Clio Adam meets Louis. What happens in Cambridge in 1998? Does the developing danger in the present day emanate from there and why has it resurfaced 24 years later??

The storytelling alternates between Then and Now which works very well with the two blending seamlessly with lots of oddities, off notes and things that don’t add up. I’m wowed by the clever, complex, intelligent plot with an enveloping sense of claustrophobia, growing paranoia and of nets closing in. At times situations feel bizarre but it becomes scary with a building fear and dread as lovely lives implode. The plot has real momentum throughout and aspects of it are very sobering and believable. There are some jolting revelatory twists and high voltage shocks with some scenes of sky high tension as the drama escalates.

I absolutely love the use of Dr Faustus in the storytelling which becomes a modern day Faustian tale. Who is the devil? Who is Mephistopheles? Who will collect? What will they collect? This is a gripping go with the flow aspect of the novel and some great settings such as the Minack Theatre in Cornwall add an extra dimension to the dramatic effect. The novel comes together well at the end and the strands from both timelines fuse and make perfect sense. It’s dramatic and almost Hollywood worthy!

Overall, a cracking read from an author who sure can write psychological thrillers!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Aria and Aries - Head of Zeus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This is a good, old school thriller with plenty of twists and surprises. The characters were dark and deep and the plot was engaging. A great atmospheric thriller!

I will be honest there were some parts of this that really seemed to lull or drag and so I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked to, however it was still an enjoyable read and all the psychologial parts of a thriller were completely there and I loved those aspects, I just didn't vibe with the writing 100%

No Place To Hide is an odd, if original psychological thriller. It starts off feeling very much like a typical example of the genre. Adam is now a successful paediatrician, happily married with two children, but his past secrets from his time as a medical student at Cambridge come back to haunt him when a woman he used to know suddenly reappears. The narrative switches between the present and the past as things gradually start to unravel. From this perspective, No Place to Hide is a very slow burn. Nothing much happens until at least a third of the way through the novel, by which time I was losing patience with both Adam and JS Monroe. But then it switches into more interesting territory, as Adam's Cambridge friend Ji introduces him to the dark web and suggests that his life may be being filmed as part of a horrific game that is linked to what happened at the university all these years ago. This gripping section of the book enters a kind of Black Mirror territory - I was especially reminded of the excellent 'Shut Up and Dance'. But then, it wheels back round to a pretty unsatisfying psychological thriller resolution, where a lot seems to have been swept under the carpet.

Tonally, the book also feels like it's stuck between several kinds of narrative. The writing is noticeably more ambitious than is the case with most psychological thrillers, and Monroe seems to be attempting a nuanced, literary portrait of Adam and his social circle. But then, once the plot kicks in, much of this is lost, and Adam becomes more simplistically heroic. I actually preferred the Adam we got later in the novel, as the early, darker version didn't seem to fit into the thriller-esque narrative - but this makes the ending feel weak, again. Monroe also moves between third-person present-tense in the present-day sections, and first-person diary-style entries in the past, even though we're always in Adam's head. I found this extremely distracting, especially as the unrealistic conceit of Adam writing a diary is swiftly abandoned, and wonder if straightforward first-person throughout would have worked better. Finally, there's a bizarre coincidence in the middle of the book that seems to have no bearing on the plot and could have been abandoned.

Having said all this, I would read more by Monroe. I admired his attempt to do something different with the thriller genre, even if it didn't quite work for me. 3.5 stars.

I will post this review to Goodreads, my blog and other platforms etc nearer the publication date.

This wasn't the best one of his in my opinion, but I did really enjoy it. It was believable and really wondered which way it was going to go. It was revealed quite early on who the perpetrators were but it was good to read how we got to the conclusion.

Doctor Faustus and the Dark Web meets medical thriller.
Definitely not you bog standard psychological
3.5 rounded up, because I found myself skimming in the last 10% to get to the ending

What do you do when your past haunts you, worse than you could ever imagine? Adam Pound had an encounter in 1998 when he was a medicine student, and in order for his secret not to be revealed, he made a compact with a guy named Louis. Twenty-four years later, Adam is now a successful pediatrician with a wife and two kids, and his past began to remind him of the pact he made. He must do everything he can to save not only his reputation and career, but mist importantly, his family.

🍂

I liked the story, especially that some the aspects of it can happen in real life, given how much technology has advanced throughout these years. You cannot be too complacent to expose yourself in this day and age, as anything can not only be used to your advantage, but on the contrary how it can be used against you. I personally liked the nature of each character, although some parts seem a little far-fetched. Overall, I enjoyed every cliffhanger that it has on almost every end of the chapter as the timeline goes back and forth. I work in the medical field, so it was nice to be reading some aspects of the book that I believe were thoroughly researched by the author.

No Place To Hide will be available on April 13, 2023. Thank you Netgalley, author JS Monroe and Aria and Aries for a copy of this ARC!

No Place to Hide by J.S. Monroe was a compelling and compulsive read!
I knew when I read the description I needed to read it.
Monroe grabbed me from the first page and made me ignore everything else…
One thing I didnt care for was that it is a slow burn thriller. I wished it was a bit more fast paced but other than that I enjoyed everything about it.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Aria & Aries,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

No Place to Hide
by J.S. Monroe
This was a good book.NOT great, a bit too slow before marriage and after. Just seemed too dark and moody. But, the ending was a shock for sure.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. I requested it because a favourite author of mine, Mick Herron, had 'highly recommended' it, and I think I was therefore assuming it would be like his novels...

This was dark, with a strong sense of menace - I had to take a break from it at one point. I didn't really enjoy it, partly because I found it oppressive and partly because I didn't warm to or identify with any of the characters. The women in particular remained opaque to me. Tania seemed to flip between supporting Adam and refusing even to speak with him. Mainly her character seemed to consist of moodiness, and as for Clio - even now I've finished the book I'm not really sure what she ever felt about anything.

Things that troubled me while I was reading (why some one would hate Adam so much for example) were revealed at the end, and I think this might be a better book for a different reader.

“No Place to Hide” by J.S. Monroe is a psychological thriller about what happens when paranoia turns real. Ever since Adam’s university days he’s felt uneasy at the sight of cameras. Even though 24 years have passed since his incident in college, he starts to notice more CCTVs and cameras pop up in his life. Soon after, strange things start happening Adam him and his family. Maybe he feels like people are watching him because they actually are….

This review contains spoilers.

What I liked:
All medical facts in this book are accurate based on my medical and psychological knowledge.
This novel was really unique and it seemed to have many interwoven layers. As the story kept going, I felt it got more and more intense which really drew me in. I also enjoyed the references to other novels within the book, and how those were incorporated.
The ending was great and I believe it really tied everything together in a satisfying yet still interesting way.

What it could improve on:
I do feel Ji was a little overly convenient, but I liked his presence in the story overall. Also, Adam saved Louis’s life and his ‘soul’ years ago, so if anything you would’ve thought that may even the score. But I suppose it wasn’t the deal Adam made…

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC of this book.