Two years ago, on a trip to Seattle to visit her brother Aidan, fifteen-year old Scarlett vanished into thin air.
After years of false leads and dead ends, Aidan has almost given up hope. But then a woman sees a girl running for her life across a forest clearing in Northern California. She is convinced the girl is the missing Scarlett. But could it really be her?
Heading south, Aidan finds a fire-ravaged town covered in missing-teenager posters. The locals seem afraid, the police won’t answer any questions and it looks like another dead end―until a chance meeting with returned local Lana gives Aidan his first clue. But as they piece together what happened, Lana and Aidan make deadly enemies. Enemies willing to do anything to silence them.
Only one thing matters now: finding Scarlett ― even if it kills him.
It's such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for No Place To Run today. Many thanks to Mark Edwards, Thomas & Mercer and Rhiannon from FMcM Associates for inviting me and for my advance copy of the audiobook.
No Place To Run is a bit of a departure for Mark Edwards as it is more action thriller than psychological suspense. This may disappoint some of his readers but I was hooked from the start and loved it; the premise of the story is unsettlingly timely and although obviously taken to another level for the sake of fiction, it isn't really far-fetched and I can easily believe something similar is happening right now.
The book opens with a prologue that finds an older woman, Francesca travelling back to Seattle by train after scattering her husband's ashes on a beach in Los Angeles. She's six hundred miles into her mammoth journey, travel-weary but unable to sleep when, as dawn starts to break, she sees a young woman running out of the trees. She sees the look on the woman's face as a man catches up with her but as the scene passes out of sight, there is nothing she can do. Who would believe a grieving, tired old woman, the only person to see anything in the half-light? However, Francesca recognises the girl and realises she is Scarlett Faith, a British woman who went missing in Seattle two years ago.
Francesca emails Scarlett's brother, Aidan and although he is understandably wary, having been contacted by all sorts of cranks since his sister's disappearance, he becomes convinced that Francesca truly believes what she has told him. Throughout the novel, Aidan's guilt is almost palpable and so despite this being the slightest of leads, it isn't surprising that he decides to take a trip south to Eaglewood, the small town in Northern California nearest to the forest clearing where Scarlett may have been sighted.
It initially looks as though he's reached another dead end and even though I knew he would inevitably come across some sort of lead that would allow him to continue his needle in a haystack search for Scarlett, I was intrigued to discover what that break would look like. It's a chance meeting in a local café that finally allows him to believe that he isn't on a wild goose chase; Lana has returned to her home town in search of answers too. Realising that some of the locals know more than they are admitting, they pair up to find out what's going on and why Scarlett isn't the only young person who has gone missing in the area. The action really heats up from this point on in No Place To Run as it swiftly becomes apparent that there are ruthless people involved who will take whatever steps necessary to prevent the truth being exposed. Quite what they are desperate to hide isn't obvious until much later in the book but there are hints and disturbing reveals throughout as the storyline progresses. The sense of tension rises inexorably as it becomes evident that Aidan and Lana are in terrible danger.
Although the third person narrative mostly follows Aidan in the present day, there are flashback scenes as well as parts of the book which give some insight into the deeds of the antagonists; the most interesting of whom is another young woman, Shannon who is a beautifully developed character, particularly in the later chapters. I was impressed throughout by the rendering of the characters and despite this being a high octane thriller, I became emotionally invested in their lives too. Mark Edwards examines several contemporary themes in No Place To Run, including climate change, eco-terrorism, corruption and radicalisation. There are parts of the novel that are especially dark but although there is no doubting the atrocities committed, I enjoyed that there is nuance here too and that without excusing what occurs, there is also a willingness to find out why somebody would take such extreme actions – and why others would follow them.
I listened to the audiobook of No Place To Run and thought the narrator, Will M. Watt did a sterling job, reflecting the highs and lows of the storyline perfectly while ensuring that each character's voice was distinctive and believable. I know a book has burrowed under my skin when I dream about it and while I'm grateful that I didn't experience some of the nightmares described here, it definitely played on my mind even when I was away from it! The evocative descriptions really brought the novel to life, from the majestic beauty of the Californian forests to the less salubrious, even dystopic, settings. I was engrossed from start to finish by this stylish, chilling thriller and loved the clever, surprising and thought-provoking conclusion. Very highly recommended.
No Place To Run will be published by Thomas & Mercer on 21st June 2022 and will be available in paperback, Kindle and audiobook formats. It can be pre-ordered from Amazon, bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones or your favourite independent bookshop.
Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.
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