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No Way Out
Stephanie Mortimer feels trapped. Her alcoholic mother and domineering father have never loved each other, let alone their only child, and her upbringing has been one of violence, repression and neglect. In an attempt to escape, Steph agrees to marry a man she doesnt even love but a tragic accident means their marriage never takes place. Then her father dies and the terms of his will reveal that he still has a hold on Steph even beyond the grave. Reeling from the news, the last person Steph expects to meet is the man of her dreams. Jason Connor could change her life for ever, but will their whirlwind romance be the answer to Stephs prayers or the beginning of a nightmare?
320 pages, Hardcover
Published August 7, 2008
24 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Lynda Page
47 books43 followersAuthor of 29 books, Lynda Page was born and brought up in Leicester. The eldest of four daughters, she left home at seventeen and has had a wide variety of office jobs. She began her prolific writing career with her first novel during her 45 minute lunch hours at work. The book took 18 months to complete and was snapped up by the leading UK publisher, Headline, and she has been under contract to them ever since. She lives in a village in Leicestershire and is a full time writer.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 25, 2013
Good read! But the author doesn't let you know the year or era until near the end of the book which was a little confusing. Also I found the storyline a little frustrating because why didnt the main character simply leave? Or collect her weekly allowance and rent a unit somewhere away from there? The author states it was over a normal weeks wage that she received weekly. Or why not get the locks changed when he was out partying?
Also it seemed at the beginning of the book there was character development for a young man at the business party, we read of him again at her fathers funeral- this was never developed - perhaps a ditched storyline? But I kept waiting for his reappearance as such significance was put on the looks he gave her and his handsomeness?
Ripping suspense all through however!!!
Also it seemed at the beginning of the book there was character development for a young man at the business party, we read of him again at her fathers funeral- this was never developed - perhaps a ditched storyline? But I kept waiting for his reappearance as such significance was put on the looks he gave her and his handsomeness?
Ripping suspense all through however!!!
January 7, 2014
This was such a disappointing book. A mystery with no real clues to indicate who or why the murders occur. Everything is told to us, we discover nothing for ourselves. The plot is presented to us as a series of fait acomplis, there is no depth to the characters who are a hotchpotch of unexplained social inadequacy.
Sorry, wouldn't recommend it there are much better mysteries out there.
Sorry, wouldn't recommend it there are much better mysteries out there.
August 10, 2023
Enjoyed the book and found it gripping enough even though it was set back in the 60’s. Hopefully for women today there is more help and less belief that they can’t escape domestic violence.
August 18, 2014
I've had this book on my shelf since shortly after it's release, and I've picked it up a couple of times only to put it down. But finally, I decided it was time to sit down and read it.
It did start off slow; in fact the story didn't pick up until almost 200 pages in, and those 200 pages took me a couple of days to get through. Anyway, around page 230 was when I really got into it, and I couldn't put it down until I finished the book.
---spoilers ahead---
The blaring signs that Jay was using Steph had me groaning about what a stupid character she was, but as the story progressed, I realized how ignorant I was to call her stupid. Many people in abusive relationships don't even realize they're in one until it's too late, and they are in no way at fault or less intelligent than the abuser. Jay manipulated Steph and covered up his blatant requests for access to her money with the love she thought he felt for him. Steph genuinely believed that he was in need and was doing everything in their best interests as a married couple with a future. I am glad, though, that she eventually realizes that this relationship is an abusive one, and that she manages to get herself out of it in the end.
While a certain plot twist was incredibly disturbing, it was a pretty good plot twist. I never would've seen it coming, and honestly it's the first good plot twist I've encountered in a while (well, story-wise, if this has ever happened to someone in real life I feel completely horrible for them to have encountered someone so disgustingly disturbed).
As I said before, the first half of this book could've been much better, plus the infodumping could've been cut down a lot, but all in all it's a wonderful read that really opened my eyes. I was previously aware of and upset by the fact that abusive relationships exist and the severity of some of them, but I connected with Steph in a way that actually gave me a headache from how terrible I felt for her. I'm glad I didn't read it before now; I don't think I would've been able to appreciate it in the way that I do. It was worth the wait, and definitely worth the read.
It did start off slow; in fact the story didn't pick up until almost 200 pages in, and those 200 pages took me a couple of days to get through. Anyway, around page 230 was when I really got into it, and I couldn't put it down until I finished the book.
---spoilers ahead---
The blaring signs that Jay was using Steph had me groaning about what a stupid character she was, but as the story progressed, I realized how ignorant I was to call her stupid. Many people in abusive relationships don't even realize they're in one until it's too late, and they are in no way at fault or less intelligent than the abuser. Jay manipulated Steph and covered up his blatant requests for access to her money with the love she thought he felt for him. Steph genuinely believed that he was in need and was doing everything in their best interests as a married couple with a future. I am glad, though, that she eventually realizes that this relationship is an abusive one, and that she manages to get herself out of it in the end.
While a certain plot twist was incredibly disturbing, it was a pretty good plot twist. I never would've seen it coming, and honestly it's the first good plot twist I've encountered in a while (well, story-wise, if this has ever happened to someone in real life I feel completely horrible for them to have encountered someone so disgustingly disturbed).
As I said before, the first half of this book could've been much better, plus the infodumping could've been cut down a lot, but all in all it's a wonderful read that really opened my eyes. I was previously aware of and upset by the fact that abusive relationships exist and the severity of some of them, but I connected with Steph in a way that actually gave me a headache from how terrible I felt for her. I'm glad I didn't read it before now; I don't think I would've been able to appreciate it in the way that I do. It was worth the wait, and definitely worth the read.
November 22, 2015
Where do I start?
Firstly this book reads like an autobiography or misery memoir. Secondly the author clearly does not understand what 'showing and not telling' means. And, thirdly, the entire novel is so far-fetched it's bordering on ridiculous.
In 400 pages Steph's future husband and her father die, she meets a man (Jason), gets married, falls pregnant, and then finds out he's her alcoholic mother's secret son (her brother).
The themes are good (grief, addiction, domestic abuse, incest) but they could have been written better.
Overall I thought the author had written a fictionalised account of her life story and added in bits of inauthentic distasteful waffle to try and make it sound less so. I'm very disappointed. Considering this author has a good following of contemporary fiction readers, I cannot understand how this book ever made it to print.
Firstly this book reads like an autobiography or misery memoir. Secondly the author clearly does not understand what 'showing and not telling' means. And, thirdly, the entire novel is so far-fetched it's bordering on ridiculous.
In 400 pages Steph's future husband and her father die, she meets a man (Jason), gets married, falls pregnant, and then finds out he's her alcoholic mother's secret son (her brother).
The themes are good (grief, addiction, domestic abuse, incest) but they could have been written better.
Overall I thought the author had written a fictionalised account of her life story and added in bits of inauthentic distasteful waffle to try and make it sound less so. I'm very disappointed. Considering this author has a good following of contemporary fiction readers, I cannot understand how this book ever made it to print.
February 8, 2014
Different from Lynda Page's usual stories but I found this gripping & had to keep reading.
July 16, 2017
Absolutely fantastic read, didn't like having to stop reading it and put it down. Definitely want to read more books from this author!
October 22, 2017
utter drivel
No way out dosent deserve a single star , I'm only giving it one star ,in order to review this book,
No way out dosent deserve a single star , I'm only giving it one star ,in order to review this book,
August 15, 2018
Quite possibly the worst thriller I’ve ever read. The characters were all unlikeable, the plot twists were all completely predictable, the foreshadowing could have been screaming at you from the page it was so glaringly obvious... can’t say I’m in a hurry to pick up another one of her books.
One positive is that it was very easy to read, and so if you’re getting into reading for the first time, I think her style might be a good one to start with.
One positive is that it was very easy to read, and so if you’re getting into reading for the first time, I think her style might be a good one to start with.
October 28, 2023
I’m not really a reader of books more an audio book person, but I picked this up on my recent holiday in the hotels book swap section and I couldn’t put it down once I started. I was desperate to know why jay had turned so nasty. I’m so please this book had a happy ending and that Ursula become a changed woman. Thoroughly enjoyed it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2019
Very good. Very sad and quite disturbing- but a good read which I just had to finish.
The reviews going back this far are copied out of a notebook I kept with records of the books read...
The reviews going back this far are copied out of a notebook I kept with records of the books read...
September 8, 2019
Good twist at the end
Began to get a bit slow in the middle but a good twist at the end made up for this
Began to get a bit slow in the middle but a good twist at the end made up for this
December 28, 2019
Great read
A mother great book from Lynda page she makes everything so interesting and you can't put it down. Looking forward to reading many more books
A mother great book from Lynda page she makes everything so interesting and you can't put it down. Looking forward to reading many more books
September 17, 2019
Sometimes I just couldn't stand the personal narrator, it was too obvious how stupid the heroine was. I was quite furious but I think it is a good way to show readers that you shouldn't accept how others treat you if they aren't nice.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews