No Turning Back: A Novel

by Tracy Buchanan Narrated by Henrietta Meire

Overview

Anna Graves's whole life has recently been turned upside down. A new mother, she's just gone back to her job as a radio presenter and is busy navigating a new schedule of late night feeding and early morning wake ups while also dealing with her newly separated husband. Then the worst happens.

While Anna is walking on the beach with her daughter, she's attacked by a crazed teenager. Terrified, Anna reacts instinctively to protect her baby.

But her life falls apart when the schoolboy dies from his injuries. The police believe Anna's story, until the autopsy results reveal something more sinister. A frenzied media attack sends Anna into a spiral of self-doubt.

Her precarious mental state is further threatened when she receives a chilling message from someone claiming to be the "Ophelia Killer," a serial killer who preyed on the town twenty years ago—and who abruptly stopped when Anna's father committed suicide.

Is Anna as innocent as she claims? And is murder forgivable, if committed to save your child's life?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

04/10/2017
British author Buchanan (After the Life) makes her U.S. debut with a melodramatic serial killer thriller. While radio show personality Anna Graves is walking with her eight-month-old daughter, Joni, along the beach of Ridgmont Waters, the village where she grew up, a teenage boy attacks her with a knife. Her assailant, soon to be identified as Elliot Nunn, a boy from the “deprived docklands area,” takes a fatal fall onto the comb she pulls out of her bag to protect herself and Joni. Witnesses and the police agree that it was self-defense, so why does Anna feel so terrible? When poison is discovered in Elliot’s system, it harkens back to the Ophelia Killer, whom Anna’s father, a journalist, was investigating when he jumped to his death. At this news, everyone in Ridgmont Waters, even Anna’s ex-husband, Guy, turns against her, but she finds an unlikely ally in Elliot’s older brother, Jamie. When another teen’s body is found, Anna is afraid a killer may be closing in on her family. The final denouement, obviously meant to be shocking, defies all credibility. Agent: Caroline Hardman, Hardman & Swainson (U.K.). (June)

From the Publisher

Praise for No Turning Back:
“Tracy Buchanan’s No Turning Back is a must read for fans of psychological suspense. Tightly plotted and intense, this novel will have you looking over your shoulder and peeking under your bed. Filled with twists and turns, No Turning Back will keep you flying through the pages to the shocking end.”
-Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence

"A gripping psychological thriller, No Turning Back had me flipping the pages late into the night. If you think you know what’s coming, think again. Tracy Buchanan’s sly plotting will keep you guessing whodunit from the first surprising twist through the unexpected, chilling ending.
—A. J. Banner, USA Today bestselling author of The Twilight Wife

"No Turning Back begins simply, with a seemingly random attack and a desperate act of self-defense. From there it evolves into a story of dark secrets, tangled relationships, and unexpected alliances. Tracy Buchanan’s characters are real and compelling, and she keeps the tension rising until it unravels the life of her protagonist in ways that are both devastating and inevitable. This is a gripping and entertaining read—a smart, sophisticated thriller you won’t want to miss."
—Harry Dolan, national bestselling author of The Last Dead Girl

“No Turning Back is a rollercoaster ride of a book. Ask yourself how far would you go to protect your child—you know the answer but are you prepared for the consequences? It’s chilling, brilliant, a great read!”
—Alexandra Burt, author of The Good Daughter and Remember Mia

“Anna’s fear, exhaustion, and mama-lion devotion to her daughter are palpable. A suspenseful ‘woman in jeopardy’ debut from British writer Buchanan.”
—Booklist

"Events cascade at a relentless pace in this perfectly taut psychological thriller."
—Foreword Reviews

"You will be turning the pages as fast as you can...For those of you who like psychological thrillers filled with suspense and loads of questions, then you will love what this author has written...definitely a thrill ride."
—Night Owl Reviews Top Pick, five-star review

“An intense and emotional story filled with dizzying twists and turns...this is a book well worth reading.”
—Mystery Scene Magazine

“A great book, full of twists and turns...[It] did not disappoint.”
—Manhattan Book Review five-star review

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"Filled with twists and turns, No Turning Back will keep you flying through the pages to the shocking end. —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author

Kirkus Reviews

2017-03-21
A news presenter makes news herself when she kills a schoolboy to defend her baby girl.After her first day back on the job as co-host of a call-in radio show, anxious new mother Anna Graves takes her infant daughter, Joni, for a walk along the beach in her seaside village on England's south coast. She's already feeling threatened by scruffy teenagers when a wild-eyed boy in a school uniform runs up to her and pulls out a knife. All Anna has for protection is a long-toothed comb, but it's sufficient to kill him in a scuffle. She's not charged with his death, which was clearly self-defense, and when the tragedy goes public, many admire her for bravely protecting her child. But when a minor indiscretion she'd committed with a married co-worker comes to light, suddenly Anna the hero is Anna the adulterer, and her guilt about that brief incident adds to her lacerating remorse about killing the boy. He would have died anyway; he was dosed with digitalis, just like the victims of the mysterious Ophelia Killer, who 20 years earlier used the same drug on teenage boys and left their bodies floating in garden ponds surrounded by flowers. Anna's father, an investigative reporter, had become so obsessed with the case that he threw himself from the top of their lighthouse after an argument with Anna. She's never forgiven herself for accusing him of neglecting his family, and she has guilt to spare for telling off a bullying co-worker. Her life goes from bad to worse when speculation that she might be an Ophelia Killer copycat makes the local detective eye her with new interest. As her friends abandon her and she begins to doubt herself, her only support is from her loyal grandmother and a much less likely source. Nothing, however, prepares her for the horror when the real killer comes after her. Readers' sympathy for Buchanan's (The Lost Mother, 2016, etc.) suffering heroine will be sorely tried by her endless wallowing as momentum builds toward an over-the-top denouement.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170546046
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/13/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

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