A great start to a new crime series. I read this book in one sitting and really enjoyed it. A thrilling read with plenty of twists and turns.

I always love to find a new series and this first book was fantastic. DS Gayle is the perfect lead for a crime series - very likeable despite his flaws. Lots of action, twists and turns and left wanting more.

5 stars - I cannot wait to read the next book.

I was offsick in bed with a serious back problem when I tackled this book. I have not read any of Jack Slater before so I did not know what to expect. And bloody wow, I finished this book, and number two while lying flat on my back in one sitting (or is that lying.....) It was so well written I was scared to let it finish!
Entertaining and highly highly recommended.

4.5 Stars


DS Peter Gayle is returning to work several months after his teenage son disappeared. The boy has not been seen or heard from since.

Gayle's plan was to ease back into work, however, a young girl has been reported missing. Rose Whitlock was abducted from her school that morning. Gayle is determined that no other child will remain missing on his watch.

While investigating, another girl's body shows up. She's been assaulted and strangled. Has the abductor become a murderer? Or is there something else going on in this small town?

Gayle and his team are doing everything they can, chasing down any lead no matter how small. What they find is astonishing ... evidently there is a ring of predators that have gone unnoticed ... until now.

The case takes an unexpected turn as evidence points to Gayle's missing son ....

This is the first book in series ... and it's off to a terrific beginning. Warning --- there is a cliff hangar. This will continue in Book 2 ... NO PLACE TO HIDE.

I really like the characters, although Gayle's wife got a little on my nerves. But I cut her a lot of slack because of having a missing child. Gayle is putting up with a lot himself .... his wife sits and does nothing and then turns around and accuses him of all sorts of things. His team members are treating him with kid gloves, which does nothing but anger him. He's got a great team .... all of them are solid characters.

Many thanks to the author / HQ Digital / Netgalley for the digital copy of this very well-written crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

First in the DS Peter Gayle crime series and enjoyed reading the book. Looking forward to reading the next one
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

The first book in the Peter Gayle series has well developed characters, an intrinsic plot and lots of twists and turns. Highly Recommended!

Nowhere to run by Jack Slater is a true crime and mystery and thriller read.
A missing child.
A dead body with a killer on the loose.
Detective Sergeant Peter Goyle has just returned to work after his sons unsolved disappearance.
This was a good read to start with. I liked the story and the characters. It was a little slow in places then all of a sudden I couldn't put it down. I had my suspicions but I could be wrong. I liked Peter. Can't wait for next part. Highly recommended. 5*. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book from netgalley.

Absolutely loved this book, really kept me glued to the page while I read it. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

The plot for this book seemed to be well researched and thought out. I don't know anything about police procedure apart from what an avid crime reader gleans from other books but on the whole it seemed realistic in this book.

Most of the British detective novels I read feature a Detective Inspector as their main character (and occasionally a Detective Chief Inspector). I am a big fan of British police procedurals, including those by Ian Rankin (John Rebus), Elizabeth George (Tommy Lynley), Mark Billingham (Tom Thorne), and Graham Hurley (Joe Faraday), among others, all of whose main characters are DIs.

I also enjoy Stuart MacBride’s gritty series set in Glasgow, which has as its lead Detective Sergeant Logan McRae. MacBride and Slater are consistent in their presentation of the lot of the Detective Sergeant; like McRae, DS Peter Gayle is charged with the practical, day-to-day tasks of the investigation, reporting back to a DI who is likely occupied with more than one case. The DS works at the coal face: dealing with leads, interviewing witnesses, trudging through fields. He is focused on the procedure, the proven steps that generate results. As a result, Nowhere to Run gives you the dogsbody view of the investigation, and you get the puzzle pieces the same way as Gayle and his team.

In the opening of the novel, DS Gayle is returning to work after an enforced absence due to the disappearance of his son Tommy. He pushes to have the case of a newly missing child, Rosie Whitlock, assigned to his team, which creates some tension between Gayle and his wife Louise, and causes his team to be concerned that he is emotionally unstable when it comes to his perspective in the Whitlock case.

Slater handles the emotional aspects of Gayle’s struggle reasonably well. He is a man torn by guilt over the disappearance of his son and is desperate to save Rosie, and the anguish he feels through the ebbs and flows of the case is nicely presented. Gayle throws himself into the case, not only to find the girl but perhaps to also escape his home life, as his wife has become more withdrawn and hostile towards him. Gayle’s excessive time at work does not help the situation.

But not just this case would keep Gayle at the office. He is a dedicated, tenacious detective who hungers for a just outcome. At the same time, he loves his family and is dedicated to them, even if he is only beginning to realise how much he does and what that might mean for how he works in the future.

As with many police procedurals, the investigation expands as the team digs deeper into the lives of the victim and suspects. Other girls have gone missing, and a body has been discovered. As days pass, Gayle becomes more determined to find Rosie, and more concerned that they will find her dead. Slater does a good job of managing the tension, and you begin to believe time is running out as well.

Characterisation is critical in a procedural, in my view. You have to care about the people in the story, or at least understand them and find them interesting. When the main character is a Detective Inspector, you typically have a DS as the main supporting character and a DCI as either a supportive boss or a foil to the DI. With a DS in the lead, your supporting cast can either be superiors or subordinates. Unlike the various senior officers in DS Logan McRae’s life, those in Gayle’s are much less conspicuous. DI Colin Underhill and Detective Chief Inspector Adam Silverstone are mere background characters, with the DCI something of a cliché, the press-hungry and ambitious young rising star who most often gets in the way of good police work.

Slater does a much better job of fleshing out Gayle’s teams of three Detective Constables – Dave Miles, Dick Feeney, and Jane Bennett – plus Police Constables Ben Myers and Jill Evans. While Gayle is clearly the central character, his team are key supporting players whose personalities are generally well rounded out as they help keep the plot moving. They care about Gayle, and you care about them.

Nowhere to Run is a solid debut crime novel, that gives us a character to watch in DS Peter Gayle. There are some things to quibble about, but there is much more to enjoy, and I am glad this is the first in a series.

Verdict: Recommended

Sorry I couldn't actually finish reading this book, I found it to be enjoyable in places but did not capture my attention enough to hold my interest in finishing the story. It was well written though.

A complex, fast paced first instalment in what looks to be a good new crime series. The cliffhanger ending makes a perfect introduction to the next book, hopefully we won't have long to wait for it.

I am still mentally processing the details in this book. Much of it dealt with a difficult subject matter. At times, it made me cringe because of what the missing girl was going through.

The author filled the book with so many details of what it was like to be a police officer, and how they went about their search, that I felt the author must either be a former police officer, or else he researched his subject well. The descriptions of the characters were quite realistic. The pain the parents experienced because their children were missing leapt off the page to such an extent that I could feel it. The book was suspenseful and I had a hard time putting it down.

What I didn't like as much, and there are only two things: Some of the words and terms were not familiar to me A glossary would have been helpful. secondly, I'm not a fan of books that end in cliffhangers. I like a completely wrapped up ending in a mystery series. If the writer is as good as this one is, he/she doesn't need a cliffhanger to entice me to pick up the next in the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ Digital for an advance copy of Nowhere To Run, the first in a series of police procedurals set in Exeter featuring DS Peter Gayle.

Peter Gayle returns to work after several months compassionate leave following the disappearance of his teenage son, Tommy, but his plans to ease back into the job gradually are upset when he is asked, on his first day back, to investigate the disappearance of teenager Rosie Whitlock who didn't make it into school after her mother dropped her off. Peter is determined to bring Rosie home safely but with little to go on it is an uphill task.

Firstly I should state that while Nowhere To Run is a first rate police procedural I feel unable to rate it at the 5 stars it probably deserves because it ends in a cliff hanger and is therefore only half the story. As a reader I find cliff hangers frustrating and leave me dissatisfied with the reading experience.

I did, however, find the actual investigation an absorbing and realistic read. The amount of initial ground the police cover is staggering, including investigation of relatives, IT searches, mobile data, local sex offenders and gossip from the victim's friends. As they widen their search they uncover unrelated crimes and more information to help their search. The logic and professionalism of it all are fascinating.

Peter Gayle is a popular team leader and he has a good team around him which, despite the subject matter, creates a pleasant atmosphere. Obviously he doesn't have his troubles to seek with his wife depressed over Tommy's disappearance and railing at his commitment to work. The latter may be a bit of a cliché but Mr Slater handles it well from Peter's reluctance to go home to his inability to help his wife. He comes across as very human.

Apart from the ending I was very impressed with Nowhere To Run and have no hesitation in recommending it as a good read.

3 Stars

DS Peter Gayle is returning to work after the unsolved disappearance of his son. His wife is in deep depression and DS Gayle is reluctant to leave her at home but seems to be able to do nothing to allay her feelings of hopelessness.

This is a good book for a first-timer novelist. I liked the way the team got along. There are many surprises and suspense along the way.

I didn’t like how the novel ended though. Although I understand the need for cliffhangers, they frustrate me to some degree.

Thanking Netgalley and HQ Digital for forwarding me a copy of this book.