Sarah Reviews… No Time To Cry by James Oswald

Title: No Time To Cry

Author: James Oswald

Publisher: Wildfire

Publication Date: 26^th July 2018 *Kindle edition

Format: Paperback

This book was received from the publisher in return for an honest review

About the book:

From one of the UK’s biggest crime writers – the man brought you the bestselling Inspector McLean novels – comes a phenomenal new series guaranteed to have your heart in your mouth.

Undercover ops are always dangerous, but DC Constance Fairchild never expected things to go this wrong.

Returning to their base of operations, an anonymous office in a shabby neighbourhood, she finds the bloodied body of her boss, and friend, DI Pete Copperthwaite. He’s been executed – a single shot to the head.

In the aftermath, it seems someone in the Met is determined to make sure that blame for the wrecked operation falls squarely on Con’s shoulders. She is cut loose and cast out, angry and alone with her grief… right until the moment someone also tries to put a bullet through her head.

There’s no place to hide, and no time to cry.

I am such a huge fan of James Oswald and his Inspector McLean series I was beyond excited when I discovered he was putting pen to paper to start a brand new series. No Time To Cry is the first book in that series and for some absolutely unknown reason it has taken me far too long to sit down and read it!

No Time To Cry starts as it means to go on, with no holds barred. As Con finds her boss, and friend, dead. Murdered in their base of operations, an office that very few people knew about. Now fans of the Inspector McLean series will know that James Oswald, does not shy away from the shocking, or the gruesome. The opening of No Time To Cry is actually a little tame in comparison to some of the Tony McLean books but hooks you in none the less.

From that point on I simply could not put the book down and breezed through it in a single sitting. Finding herself under suspicion for Pete’s death Con is suspended from the force, trying to decide if she should just quit, like they so clearly want her to, or to stick it out and try and discover what happened to Pete herself and clear her name. Sitting in the pub one night she’s approached by an old school friend, who asks her for help finding her sister who never arrived back after taking the train home from boarding school. With threats on her life Con finds herself heading back to the one place she’d happily left behind years ago – home. The story follows Con up and down the country as she searches for Isobel, and tries to clear her own name, taking in her old school, the village she once called home, and the beautiful countryside of Scotland. James Oswald’s writing will draw you in, leaving you eager to discover new hints as you try and piece everything together.

Constance Fairchild is such a fascinating character, I really enjoyed discovering more about her as the book went on, the differences between her life of choice in the police force, and the one she was born into, that of Lady Constance, daughter of a wealthy landowner. I enjoyed the fact she was independent, determined, she didn’t just lie down and accept the misogynistic attitudes that found her within the police. At the same time I appreciated the fact that she didn’t get everything right all the time, she was a good investigator but not perfect.

I wasn’t sure whether to talk about Pete as if he was a separate character or not – Pete certainly won’t be for everyone and he may even put some people off the book but I loved Pete! Now Pete is found dead right at the beginning of the book but it’s far from the last we see of him. Ghost or Con’s subconscious come to form he pops up from time to time, helping her think – or just prodding at her. I found him to be a great presence in the book. I’m not sure if this will be the end of Pete, but I don’t think I’ll be disappointed if he reappears in the next book.

And then we have Aunt Flick – I adored Aunt Flick! The elder sister of Con’s dad she is the one member of Con’s family she turns to in her time of need, and she helps without blinking an eye. I must say I’m intrigued to find out what happened five years ago the last time they saw one another and argued! Another plus point for Aunt Flick, she knows Madam Rose! For those unfamiliar with Madam Rose, she’s a character within the Inspector McLean novels, and I was so excited when she popped up in this novel, it was like a little piece of home in a foreign country! But back to Aunt Flick, I hope we’ll see more of her going forward.

I had comments about a few other characters but I won’t say anything about them, in case I accidentally give any of the plot away. I’ll just say there are a few I’ll be happy to not see again, and a few I’m hoping will!

Final Thoughts

This is a excellent start to what I am quite sure will be another stunning series from James Oswald. I’m looking forward to finding out what comes next for Con, and seeing if we might just get a visit from another character from his Inspector McLean novels!

The DC Constance Fairchild books on Goodreads

More James Oswald on SWB

About The Author

James Oswald is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Inspector McLean series of detective mysteries, as well as the new DC Constance Fairchild series. James’s first two books, NATURAL CAUSES and THE BOOK OF SOULS, were both short-listed for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award. AS COLD AS THE GRAVE is the ninth book in the Inspector Mclean Series. James farms Highland cows and Romney sheep by day, writes disturbing fiction by night.