No Return

by Brett Battles

An F-18 Navy fighter careens out of the blue sky above the Mojave desert. A TV cameraman who grew up in a small town just miles away can see what is going to happen next. Frantically, Wes Stewart races to the downed jet and tries to save the pilot’s life. When the plane explodes, Wes escapes without harm—and plunges into a murderous conspiracy.It’s been fifteen years since Wes has been back to the desolate land of his childhood. Now he finds himself up against the U.S. military, the local police, and someone who is tracking his every move. In the moments he spent with the dying pilot, Wes discovered something that could get him killed. But while he tries to untangle a web of lies and secrets surrounding the crash, another danger is stalking him. And this one he will never see coming.From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Audiobook, Military Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2012

About the author

Brett Battles is a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling and Barry Award-winning author of forty novels, including the Jonathan Quinn series and its Excoms spinoff, the Project Eden series, and the time bending Rewinder series. He’s also the coauthor, with Robert Gregory Browne, of the Alexandra Poe series. He is one of the founding members of Killer Year, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He lives and writes in Ventura County, California.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent plots that linger a bit too long in some instances that test the bounds of naivety by the main character. 6 of 10 stars

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was action packed from the very beginning. Two stories -- one from the past, one from the present -- intertwine to make a great story. An ending that comes at you out of nowhere! 8 out of 10.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In between writing shorts stories & the next book in his Quinn series, Brett Battles has found time to write, yet, another standalone novel, NO RETURN. NO RETURN is a thriller with a mystery wrapped up in it. As a prodigious fan of Brett’s, I always look forward to his books & what new stories he has to offer.

This story takes place in Brett’s hometown of Ridgecrest, CA. Our main character, Wes Stewart, who also happens to be from Ridgecrest, returns after 15+ years while part of a filming crew who is shooting an episode for a TV series. While filming a segment near China Lake, they are witness to a Navy F-18 plane crash, which they are also able to catch on film. Wes races to the scene of the crash hoping to render help. He finds the pilot unconscious but alive. Wes successfully revives the pilot but finds that the pilot’s harness is stuck. Wes runs back to his vehicle to get a knife & returns to the cockpit. But not before there is an explosion engulfing both pilot & cockpit. The Navy soon arrives to investigate & asks them for the film so they can review the footage of the crash. The next day, the local paper recognizes Wes as a hero, though he does not feel that he is. Wes discovers the photo of the deceased pilot in the newspaper’s article is not the man he attempted to save. A mystery Wes can’t let go. The events that unfold after that fateful day entwine Wes & his crew in a mystery involving the Navy, a possible cover up, and a reunion with an old friend, Lars, who now works for the Navy. And finally, a secret that Wes had thought he had left buried behind many years ago resurfaces. Why is the Navy trying so hard to convince Wes that he is confused about the pilot’s photograph? Is Lars a part of this cover up? Can Wes uncover the truth about the true identity of the pilot?

Brett has managed to create a tale of suspense and mystery with his usual flair for excitement. The characters are interesting & likeable, the situation plausible, and the suspense builds to a crescendo to an ending that surprised me. Even though the story starts out with a bang (the plane crash) its pace is slightly relaxed for the first couple chapters until Wes starts uncovering facts that just don’t make sense.

I appreciated Brett taking a journey back home and sharing his memories, although altered for the story, with me, the reader.

I finished this book in two sittings (I would have finished in a day if I’d had the time) and enjoyed every minute of it!! I absolutely LOVE Brett’s Quinn series (can’t wait for #5 to come out in a couple of months!!!!) but I also really enjoy reading something that involves a different story line & characters I haven’t met before. I can always depend on Brett to give me a page turner that will keep me up all night!!

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-stopping, intensely gripping read with ingenious plot twists as to keep you sweating all the way to the end!!

This captivating page-turner is a pure delight and heart pounding extravaganza, which leaves you breathless as you become entwined within an absorbing tale. Fueled by fast-paced action and intense drama from the very first page, I was plunged into a nail-biting astonishing read that doesn’t let go. Unable to put this book down for even a moment I was so impressed by an accomplished author who writes with such skill, assurance and sophistication as to send chills down your spine. Cleverly crafted containing such depth and substance, this spectacular suspenseful and fast-moving read is just outstanding! Dynamic and propelled by attractive, interesting characters this really is a powerful read and one that totally blew me away.

No return reads like a Linwood Barclay, with such breakneck pacing and as much action as a 007 James Bond film. The main protagonist Wes Stewart is thrown into the midst of a murderous conspiracy, as he survives a death-defying airplane crash, above the Mojave desert. Fifteen years later Wes finds himself up against the US military, the local police and a mysterious individual who is tracking his every move. During the plane crash he spent his last few minutes with the dying Pilot, who told him something of great consequence…something that could easily get him killed. As Wes tries to untangle a web of deception, lies and secrets surrounding the airplane crash, he doesn’t realize that there is something sinister lurking within the shadows…one that he did not see coming.

This dizzying plot overflowing with innumerable, unexpected twists and turns certainly keeps you thinking! I was glued to each sentence as though my life depended on it, and was shocked by how remarkably inspired this book really is. Thoroughly engaging I would recommend this as a great summer/ holiday read (although preferably not to be read when in the air!), as you will be delighted by this terrifyingly explosive read. This wonderful fictional treat is so brilliant and which had me sat on the edge of my seat, hence I have now found a new author whose other works I cannot wait to discover. Any fan of action/ thriller/ crime and mystery will adore this new novel, with its compelling plot and believable, memorable characters. A truly distinctive, original book that stands-out on any bookshelf with its striking cover!!

*I won a copy of “No Return by Brett Battles” through a GoodReads, first-read giveaway.
I would like to thank the author for having a select number of his books as a giveaway, which I concider myself to have been extremely privileged to have read. *

[Pierre Tassé (Enjoying Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't in the style of Brett Battles. I guess he was trying his luck in a different venue, different angle...well, it was different all right! Not my cup of tea. Glad I finished it.

[Joe Noir · Rating 3 out of 5]

A TV crew is filming a television show at the Trona Pinnacles at the dry bed of Searles Lake in the Mojave Desert. An F-18 takes off from nearby NAS China Lake, and crashes near the film crew. Cameraman Wes Stewart is first at the plane, and tries unsuccessfully to free the still alive pilot. The plane bursts into flames and the pilot is killed. The next day, the local paper prints the story, but the photo they print of the pilot is not the man Stewart tried to save. It could be an error, but Stewart's attempts to find out stir up nefarious activity.

I started this novel last summer, but put it down after a few chapters. The writing was oversimplified, and events did not happen as fast as I would have liked. Then, I recently read some interesting things about the author, and decided to give it another try. My copy was gone. I had apparently placed it in bags of books I donated to the Friends of the Library. Then the book became difficult to find as no store had it in stock, new or used. I could have ordered it, but...ehh, I wasn't sure I was that excited about it. Anyway, I eventually found a copy, and began reading it again.

The writing is still oversimplified, about on the level of a good YA novel. There are no technical details. A techno-thriller this is not. Things proceed pretty much as the reader would expect, just not as fast. There are a couple of very old secrets and hints of an incident in the past that could also have come from a YA novel. Then the first message is left for Stewart, and a chill went down my spine. There are obligatory mystery/thriller scenes that the reader can see coming. However, as the book approaches the climax, and things pick up, the author really starts to shine. There are twists and turns, surprises, and action. I kept waiting for Battles to pull the rabbit out of the hat, and explain the set up. When he does, I found it completely satisfying. There is quite a bit of exposition, as the villain explains things and the author ties up loose ends, but it sort of adds to the cinematic quality of the denouement. Why do bad guys have to explain instead of just killing their nemesis straight out? Tradition, maybe?

Anyway, it's not a great novel, but will make a good beach read. I would certainly read more from this author, and in fact I've already picked up a couple. I want to be able to lay hands on them once I'm ready to read them.

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brett Battles, how dare you disappoint me. It was like opening up socks for Christmas (kid point of view, not adult) when you were expecting a Gameboy or something. Contrary to typical Battles style, this took about a third of the book to get started, and even then it wasn't all that compelling. Then there is the most obnoxious character of Anna, where seriously...I don't know how to express my utter distaste for her bland uselessness. Oh, and the "mysterious past" I had guessed at about, I don't know, maybe page 15. So, yeah, huge revelation there. I didn't basically call everything that happened.

I could ramble more about all of the little things that I didn't like about this book-because everything was pretty much awful except Lars Andersen, who strangely grew on me throughout the book. That might be because he wasn't useless and has an awesomely Scandinavian name-but my overall love of Brett Battles makes it too painful to speak of all the ways I feel betrayed.

Now this review isn't harsh at all. I really should just not have finished the book so I wouldn't be compelled to express my opinion.

[Tom Tischler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An F 18 Navy fighter jet careens out of control in the sky's over the Mohave desert.
A TV cameraman who is on location there races to the downed jet and tries to save
the pilot. It's been 15 years since Wes Stewart has been back to the desolate land of
his childhood. Now he finds himself up against the local police, the US military and
someone who is tracking his every move. In the final moments Wes spent with the
dying pilot he discovered something that could get him killed. While he tries to
untangle a web of lies and secrets surrounding the crash another danger is stalking
him. And he doesn't see this one coming. I thought that this book had a pretty good
story and I gave it a 4.

[Jeff Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, it helps that I attended high school with Brett in the town the novel takes place in, but remove that association and I still found No Return to be a fun read! The action and descriptive scenery put me back home. I could see every twist and turn as though I was the main character being driven around by Brett himself! I shall be reading more of his mastery.

[Wenzel Roessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent premise and a good story with some interesting characters. I did feel the story was slow in unraveling and while a few of the plot twists hit me from out of left field most of them I could see coming a mile away.

[Sandy thyer]

This was a good thriller it started out good and kept up the suspense. I really enjoyed it. I had been in a real reading slump and couldn't get out of it! This book brought me out of it.

[Gerald Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great mystery story with a very unusual plot and lots of characters who fool you.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was an interesting read.

I read a couple of the old reviews prior to diving into this stand-alone book from Mr. Battles, and I have to say those old reviews were too hung up on the fact this wasn’t a Quinn book. So much so, that I believe it hinder their ability to just read and enjoy the book for what it was, well written, albeit straight forward, mystery thriller. There are a lot of characters that you get introduced to from the very beginning, most of which are only there to get the story moving forward, but quickly become background noise.

Most of the story revolves around Wes Stewart, the main protagonist, as the strange events that begin to take place when he returns home after 17 years. Wes is not some action hero, or secrete agent, he’s just a normal guy who left the town he grew up in, and grew up to be his own man. Now, being a Brett Battles book, the word normal is a loaded term; normal looking shipping container being the first thing that comes to mind (Eden Series). But for the most part its actual true, Wes is just an average guy who happens to have and average life, until it longer is. This is what I like about Battles’ books, he’s able to capture a seemingly simple story and twist it on you enough times that you enjoy the fast pace journey as the tale unfolds. There’s often enough hints to let the reader know what direction the story is going, but leaves enough unanswered question to give them a surprised ending.

So why the four stars instead of five, well that’s mainly because of one thing a few of Battles books have that I can’t stand as a reader, force suspense for the sake of delaying the story. Quick example, Lars not telling Wes why he needs to hide in the back of his pick-up truck. Plenty of time during the ride to explain things out in order to calm Wes down, but let’s not because of reasons. There was a few other instances, but that’s the first one that came to mind. This is not a direct criticism Battles, but one I’ve observed other writers have used to delay the reveal for another chapter or two.

Beyond that, I have no problem recommending this book as a good introduction into Battles style and storytelling techniques. It's not Quinn or Eden, but still a decent representation of what to expect from one of his books.

[Jonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are essentially 2 stories in this book. They seem unrelated but the author eventually weaves them together. I didn’t think the crossing of the two stories was handled smoothly but in the end the author does manage to tie everything together (albeit in a forced manner).

The main story is about a film crew seeing the crash of an F-18 Navy fighter in the desert. There is a conspiracy to coverup the pilot’s real identity because of his father and the need to secure funding for a specific technology being tested on the plane. I did think the author did well in creating some uncertainty about whether Lars was involved in the pilot identification coverup. I went back and forth at different points in the book on whether he was involved or not. The second story is related to the protagonist's teenage years and his first return home in 17 years. Old memories are stirred up that impacted the protagonist's past and his current situation.

Since this is a standalone book and it is fairly short, there wasn’t time for much character development of the protagonist. I was okay with that. Even though this book is quite different than the Quinn series, if Battles' writing style appeals to you then it's worth reading.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conspiracy!
There is a conspiracy under way in California. It involves the pilots of advanced US Navy fighter jets based there. Wes Stewart is a member of a film production crew that is operating in the California desert when they witness a plane crash. It is a Navy fighter jet and the pilot has survived the crash but is trapped in the cockpit when the plane begins to burn. He dies in the fire, but it isn't long before the helicopters arrive, and Wes is interviewed by a Navy officer named Foreman.

Wes is certain that the Navy is involved in some sort of coverup and decides to investigate on his own. His investigation takes him to Texas and to Washington, D.C. where he discovers anomalies that convince him that something is seriously wrong. Foreman is not to be trusted.

Eventually, of course, Wes figures out what is going on and the bad guys are brought to justice. The story is relatively fast paced, but I thought that the plot was a bit far-fetched and not very credible. This novel is not as good as most of the author's other works

[Sue Ellen Melo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a huge fan of Brett Battles since I picked up a copy of the Cleaner on the recommendation of a friend who knows me well. I thought I had read pretty near everything of his, at least all his thrillers until Audible dropped this on my you might like list. This book is a stand alone but it is every bit as exciting as his series books. Wes Stewart is on a shoot for a vacation destination type cable show when an army plan is suddenly headed right for his group. The pilot makes a last second adjustment that cause a crash. He survives the crash but not the fire that ignights. That might have been the end of it but the local paper runs an article about the crash and mentions Wes by name, it also publishes a picture of the pilot, there’s just one problem, the man in the picture is not the man Wes tried to rescue. The article also stirs up a past Wes would rather have stayed burried. I was kept guessing how this would all tie together right to the end. It was a terrific ride.

[Hamlen · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you can't go home again because someone knows what you did last summer it's time to watch out for military industrial complex conspiracies.

Wes Stuart of No Return is not Jonathon Quinn, Brett Battles cleaner of the Quinn Chronicles.

This book reads like a paean to our author's remembered youth, wrapped in a mystery, set at the pace of a thriller. He's earned the opportunity to reach out. But, I'm glad this doesn't appear to be the start of series.

I'm going back to the next step in Quinn's tale, and apparently Battles step into self-publishing.

[Dan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An F-18 Navy fighter careens out of the blue sky above the Mojave desert. A TV cameraman who grew up in a small town just miles away can see what is going to happen next. Frantically, Wes Stewart races to the downed jet and tries to save the pilot’s life. When the plane explodes, Wes escapes without harm—and plunges into a murderous conspiracy.

It has been 15 years since he lived in the small town, but something happened before he left that left someone feeling that they had to make him pay.....

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great multi-layered plot starts with a plane crash and ends with a fantastic character-driven twist. The audiobook has a cool interview with Brett Battles at the end. In it, Brett talks about part of his real-life inspiration for the book. An event from his childhood that knocked around in his imagination for years until he was ready to put pen to paper. It's a great insight into a compelling plot and glimpse into the motivation for this great book.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another EXCELLENT BOOK!

We'd and his colleagues have gone to the desert to film a spot for a tv series and they witness a crash of a Naval airplane. He starts investigating the inconsistencies in what he saw and the "official" report. And that's when he ends up running for his life and comes too close to losing it and his girlfriend's as well. Will he make it out alive? Read it and see!

[Garry Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, this was an audiobook that I listened to while I exercised. Guess I need to exercise more or find shorter books. However, this story seemed to drag, but that may be caused by the length of time it took me to finish. It's not the normal genre that I read/listen, but it was enjoyable. I want to check the other novels written by this author.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takes a while to get interesting

Even though it begins with the crash of a Navy fighter plane it is slow going for too long. I kept asking myself, "When are we going to get a hint as to what this is all about? " I almost stopped reading it. I did finish it but was never really satisfied with it. Battles more recent bbn books are better.

[Alabama Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had an extremely slow start to the story, the first 200 plus pages seemed to show just how dense some people could be. A military accident is part of a cover up and Wes keeps trying to set it right, and nearly dies trying to do the right thing.

Not anywhere as well written as the Jonathan Quinn series.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read by Brett Battles. Plenty of drama, mystery, and realistic characters. First non -Quinn book I've read by battles. Bring them on. Love the action packed adventure of his writing.

[John P. Tow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had no idea the book would end this way....

A good story where truth prevails and a friendship is redeemed.
Also I enjoy how Brett make his story so real even though it is fiction. I think that's why I enjoyed reading hi

[John P Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was great. Am up late and have to get up for work early.

You have a plane crash, a cover up, a senator's son who was the pilot and a film crew from a reality show. Read it. You'll like it.

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't hold up to what I expected from the author based on his other series. I'm not sure if Wes will continue to have adventures, but I will not be following along if he does.

[Joe Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've not had good luck with this author. However this is a standalone novel unrelated to his cleaner series books, and I found it to be pretty good.

[Michael Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read. I like the writer's style. The story flows nicely with an interesting twist. I will be reading more from Brett. Recommended without reservation.

[John (JC) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read a novel by Brett Battles in a while. I am glad I started back.