Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsNo Way Back
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2023
I received Long Way Home from NetGalley but discovered it was the second book in a new series, so went back to the first book as I like to start at the beginning if at all possible. No Way Back is the first book I have read by this author, although I understand he has written three other series. NYPD detective Jack McNeal initially comes under suspicion when his estranged wife’s body is fished out of the river Potomac in Washington DC. He is not convinced by the verdict of suicide and suspects foul play, but none of the law enforcement agencies will take the investigation any further. Caroline was an investigative journalist with access to the White House, but must have uncovered something that put her in grave danger.
Normally a police officer who plays it by the book (he works in Internal Affairs), his mind unbalanced by grief, he is pushed to the edge and feels he has no choice but to take the law into his own hands. It is dialogue heavy, some of it a bit clunky, and there is quite a lot of unnecessary repetition. Hopefully this will not be a problem in the next book as the new character has now been established. I particularly liked the unflattering portrait the author paints of the president (perhaps based on someone in particular). The ending leaves lots of loose ends and unanswered questions which will presumably be picked up in the next book. No Way Back is not perfect by any means, but I liked the character of Jack McNeal enough to carry on and read Long Way Home.