No Turning Back by Nancy Bush #bookreview @KensingtonBooks @NancyBushAuthor

Title: No Turning Back

Author: Nancy Bush

Publisher: Zebra

Publication Date: December 26, 2017 (first published April 1st 1997)

Page Count: 304

My rating: 3.5 stars

About the book:

Dear Reader,
 
No Turning Back is a romantic suspense novel I wrote early in my career. It was originally published in the 90s as If You Believe, under the pseudonym Nancy Kelly. I’m thrilled that it’s now available again in this repackaged edition. 

They find the body deep in the woods, lying beneath a carpet of wet leaves, eyes still open in a sightless stare. Three dark stains across his chest, and another bullet hole in his forehead.

Child psychologist Liz Havers made a mistake sixteen years ago, and she’s ready to face it. That means confronting Detective Hawthorne “Hawk” Hart, who’s come back to Woodside, Washington, after a case in LA went tragically wrong. His teenage son, Jesse, is finding it difficult to adjust, and stumbling across a dead man doesn’t help.

Bad things never used to happen in the small town of Woodside. Now no one is safe. And the more Hawk tries to untangle a terrifying web of greed and murder, the more desperate his adversary becomes to hide the truth, even if that means killing again and again . . .
 
With its new title and new cover, No Turning Back feels like a whole new book to me—one I hope you will enjoy as much as I do. 
 
Nancy Bush 

My review:

No Turning Back by Nancy Bush is a mystery/thriller read that was first published twenty years ago but is being given a second life with a bit of revamping. Of course I wondered if there wouldn’t be glaring red flags that dated the story within when picking this one up but thankfully it has stood the test of time. The only thing really would possibly be updating with putting in more of the electronics of this era but a lot of books written today may leave that type of thing out.

Now the story in this book really feels like it falls into the romantic suspense category since the main characters have a shared history that is brought forth. Liz and Hawk has a brief fling years before resulting in a son that Hawk is now raising. Liz had returned to the town hoping to meet her son that she gave up being a teen at the time but little does she know she had already stumbled into meeting him. The past history leads to some steamy moments in the current but truth be told I was kind of iffy on this relationship, seemed that now as adults the pair might control themselves a tad better.

As far as the mystery within the book the teens in the story find a body that has been riddled with bullets and are scared to contact the authorities going to Liz for advice. Once the investigation into the murder begins it bordered on an outcome that seemed might be a bit far fetched but certainly different. There was a nice little last moment twist though that seemed fitting to the story. In the end I’d give this one 3.5 stars and felt it was an OK read overall.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Bestselling author Nancy Bush has had an eclectic writing career. She started her first story when she heard how young mothers were making money writing romance novels. She thought, “I can do that,” and talked her sister, bestselling author, Lisa Jackson, into joining her in her foray into writing. At the time Nancy was a young mother herself. Now, she says she’s just…a mother.

Nancy began her career in the romance genre, writing both contemporary and historical novels, but being a mystery buff, she kept trying to add suspense into the plot, as much as her editors would allow. In 2002 she was chosen by ABC Television to be part of a writing group “think tank” which was tasked with developing story for ABC’s daytime dramas. She was one of two people selected from that group to actually become a breakdown writer for, at the time, one of ABC’s top-rated daytime shows: ALL MY CHILDREN. Nancy made the move to New York to join the AMC team while she was writing for the soap. That was an experience, she admits. Ask her, and she’ll swear that the pressure cooker of delivering story every day – lots and lots of story — helped focus her writing.

When Nancy returned to her home state of Oregon she channeled that newfound energy into writing the kind of books she’s always loved: mysteries. She wrote three Jane Kelly Mystery novels in the space of three years, and has another one currently in proposal form. The last several years she’s turned her attention to romantic suspense novels, writing both with her sister and on her own. Like Lisa, sh e’s now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, both in her co-writing ventures and on her own merits as well.

Nancy’s latest project? Summer 2012 is the kick off for her newest suspense series with NOWHERE TO RUN debuting in August and NOWHERE TO HIDE in September. A third ‘Nowhere’ book is scheduled for next year.

Nancy has recently received the rights back to many of her earlier novels and the Danner Quartet, one of her most beloved series, is available again in e-book form. LADY SUNDOWN, MIRACLE JONES, JESSE’S RENEGADE and SCANDAL’S DARLING follow the ups and downs of the irrepressible Danner family in turn of the century Oregon. Nancy also has a number of contemporary romances that have been updated and reformatted and now have new life as e-books. Look for THE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER, DEAR DIARY, and the Summer Lovin’ Duets: SUMMERTIME BLUES and IMAGINARY LOVER along with many more in the coming months.