I’m delighted, I’m actually buzzing to be taking part in the blog tour and the celebration of the publication of “No Looking Back” by Glaswegian author Alex Kane. So very pleased and extremely proud as she has worked her ass off to get here and she deserves every success! So huge thanks to Sarah of BooksontheBrightSide for inviting me onto the tour, the author, Hera Books, the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy.
Before I share my thoughts, here’s what the official blurb says:
He’ll find you… unless you find him first.
Kat Denton is a woman running away from her past. For the past sixteen years, her life has been a living hell as Jimmy, the man she fell in love with as a teenager, becomes ever more cruel and abusive. Following the fire that killed her parents, leaving her an orphan when she was just a teenager, Kat is utterly alone and can’t see a way out.
Until the day she finds out that she’s pregnant. Vowing to protect her child from Jimmy’s violence, Kat decides to fight for survival – for her and her unborn baby.
Fleeing the traveler camp that has been her lifelong home isn’t easy. But along with her sister in law, Kat escapes with just the clothes on her back and the one photograph she has of her parents.
Kat, along with her baby girl Lucia, starts to build a better life. But when she looks into what really happened in her parents’ death Kat uncovers dark secrets – including a revelation that will lead Kat back to the place she had been so desperate to run away from. Is she strong enough to uncover the truth and save everything that she loves most, or will Jimmy Denton have his revenge?
Previously published as Chasing the Traveller
A fast-paced, totally unputdownable crime thriller that fans of Mel Sherratt, Mandasue Heller, and Kimberley Chambers will absolutely love.
My thoughts:
I first read this book when it was published as Chasing the Traveller and I loved it then. So what did I think the second time around? Well, I don’t know what magical fairy dust these guys have been sprinkling but hell this was even better the second time around! There was something even tighter, rawer and more emotional about the read this time around, so much so I finished it in one night!
The prologue sets the scene for what the reader knows is going to be a hard-hitting tale exploring the travelling community and the issue of domestic abuse. The author does this with an air of sensitivity and recognition is given to the fact that being a member of the travelling community doesn’t necessarily equate to domestic abuse. However, she does explore the culture and a family where women are considered to be the property of men and the male/female divide is clear to all.
No Looking Back is the story of one woman’s escape from the travelling community, a life of abuse and of how she unravels her past to discover the secrets that led her to where she is now. Kat Denton is married to the notorious traveller, Jimmy Denton. It is not a happy marriage, Jimmy controls every aspect of Kat’s life from what she wears to who she speaks to. Any transgression of his “rules” earns her a beating. Following one particularly brutal attack and a disturbing revelation from Jimmy’s sister Ellie, highlights to Kat just how sick her husband really is. The two women make the decision to escape. But will Kat ever escape her husband’s clutches and just what are the secrets that she is about to uncover about her past?
This is hard-hitting and no holds barred gritty tale of two women making a new life for themselves away from the control of the travelling community. The author paints a truly relatable picture of a woman who has lived with abuse. Jealousy, Trauma power and control are all explored in this taut and nail-biting read. It had me crying tears of anger at what Kat had lived with and tears of sadness as her story unfolded.
Kat’s fear and lack of confidence in herself is palpable and Alex Kane paints a terrifying picture of a woman so cowed by her past that it is difficult not to place yourself in her shoes and taste her fear as she strives to make a new life for herself while constantly looking over her shoulder waiting for Jimmy to find her.
Now, Jimmy Denton and his sidekick Rab are probably two of the most evil men you could ever meet. There is a special place in hell reserved for those two. Their treatment of Kat is barbaric and it is heartbreaking to watch her go through the humiliation. They made me want to reach into the pages and give them a taste of their own medicine.
I loved Kat’s journey to discover the truth behind her family’s past which is told via a series of letters and we watch in horror as the pieces of the jigsaw slowly come together to uncover just what happened to her family.
“No Looking Back” is not a pretty romantic read of life in the travelling camps. It is raw and it is brutal. It kept me hooked all the way through, the pace fast and twisted enough to keep me guessing as to what the outcome would be for Kat and her daughter. Is there a happy ending or will Jimmy Denton rise up and claim back what he believes to be rightfully his – you will just need to read it and find out!
No Looking Back is available to purchase from:
Don’t forget to check out what the other bloggers are saying:
About the author:
Alex Kane is a psychological thriller writer who lives in Glasgow. She is a huge fan of the genre, with her favourite authors in the genre being Lisa Hall, BA Paris and Sarah Stovell. If she is not writing, she can be found drinking tea or gin, taking cat selfies and obsessing over Tom Hardy.
Links: www.facebook.com/alexkanewriter
Instagram @alexkanewriter
Scottish Crime Fiction Blogger and Author 
Thanks you for the fab review and kicking off the blog tour Sharon x
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It was my pleasure! Brilliant read! Xx
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