Today I’m joining the #booksontour for no Going Back, the latest in the Lucy Murphy series by Casey Kelleher. I’ve really liked getting to know Lucy over the past couple of books, and this time she is pushed into a situation which has very scarily familiar circumstances. My thanks to Noelle Holten at Bookouture for including me in the tour and the publisher for the advance copy for review. Here’s what it’s all about:
Release Date: 29 April 2021
Publisher: Bookouture
A child has been taken. A family is out for revenge.
Riley Cooke is just one day old when he is stolen from the hospital. His young mother, Shelby, is beside herself. DC Lucy Murphy and her team face a race against time to find the vulnerable baby and bring him home – before the child’s grandfather, fearsome gangster Pete Baker, takes matters into his own hands.
Pete is sure he knows who’s behind baby Riley’s abduction, and he thinks they ought to pray Lucy finds them before he does. Because someone is going to pay dearly for causing this much pain to his family.
They say never stand between a gangster and his target. But that’s exactly what Lucy must do – because if Pete is wrong, innocent blood could flow.
A shocking and addictive read that will keep you turning the pages. Fans of Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers and Emma Tallon will love this.
My Thoughts
No Going Back is book three in the DC Lucy Murphy series by Casey Kelleher and for that reason, I’d really recommend you read the other two books first. Well, that and the fact that you are missing a great series if you don’t. This time around we join Lucy and the team as they investigate a terrifying assault on a young pregnant woman. Given the victim’s … complicated family life, it’s not clear if the attack is revenge or something more sinister, but with the assault bearing a stark similarity to another attack, the team cannot rule out the fact that this was targeted and the motive was something almost unspeakable.
I’m really enjoying getting to know more about Lucy and her backstory with each new book. She has a very dark past, one which haunts her and which is brought to the fore as a result of this latest investigation. Only her DI knows the truth about what happened to Lucy and her mother, but it’s hard to see how she can keep it from her colleagues for much longer as it really does impact her work this time around. Not so much that it stops her from doing what she does best in connecting with the victims and getting to the heart of the investigation, but it certainly shows up her vulnerabilities which is interesting to see being developed. There are a few other developments towards the end of the book which raise a smile too, and I’m curious to see where they may lead.
The tension is just right in this book, and Casey Kelleher maintains a kind of mystery about the whole investigation by bringing forth many lines of enquiry and several devious and nefarious suspects. It’s fair to say that the victim’s family are far from being whiter than white and that adds conflict as you never quite know what they may do in retribution. It’s one of those strange books where you never really like the victim, or I didn’t anyway, and the word spoilt could have been created for the mother, Shelby. But then you realise that, despite her faults and her attitude, she is a new mother and seeing her pain explored due to what occurs in the story, makes her far more sympathetic than she may otherwise have been. It takes a lot to soften those edges, but baby Riley really does seem to do it and the author has portrayed that bond between mother and child perfectly.
This is quite a gritty series, and the Griffin Estate, where Lucy gre up and where most of the wrong doings take place, really does feel authentic, a believable slice of London life. The setting puts you on edge and from the very opening chapter, which is creepy and nerve jangling, the pacing and the tension are pitch perfect, helping me power right through to the ending. I like the police team, especially Lucy, and it’s great to see her continue to grow and settle into her role as Detective over the course of the three books. But I get the feeling that there should be more to come, that some of the revelations from this book really do need to be explored further and I’m interested to see where the author might lead us next. Great stuff.
About the Author
Born in Cuckfield, West Sussex, Casey Kelleher grew up as an avid reader.
Whilst working as a beauty therapist and bringing up her three children together with her husband, Casey penned her debut novel Rotten to the Core. Its success meant that she could give up her day job and concentrate on writing full time.
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