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Karen Taylor #1
No Escape
No Escape [Paperback] Cooper, N. J.
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 13, 2015
This was the first NJ Cooper novel for me to read and certainly not the last.
Karen Taylor returns to family holiday chalet on the Isle of Wight as part of her day job as a psychologist. She has the task of interviewing Spike in one of the prisons on the island as part of her profiling of criminal minds. He has been convicted of brutally murdering a family but during her time with him and on the island she begins to question everything about him and those certainties that the criminal justice system is supposed to safeguard.
The characterisation is well done and the author assembles a great cast without any of them stumbling into cliché and the motivation of all is perfectly handled. The usual plot devices of conflict with authority figures and the usual human/love interest give the novel all the usual requirements of a great and entertaining read.
The pace is perfect and the novel is full of tension, twist, and turns. It is an engaging read and the author has been able to write a crime novel with a fresh and new main character rather than the ubiquitous police procedural.
Karen Taylor returns to family holiday chalet on the Isle of Wight as part of her day job as a psychologist. She has the task of interviewing Spike in one of the prisons on the island as part of her profiling of criminal minds. He has been convicted of brutally murdering a family but during her time with him and on the island she begins to question everything about him and those certainties that the criminal justice system is supposed to safeguard.
The characterisation is well done and the author assembles a great cast without any of them stumbling into cliché and the motivation of all is perfectly handled. The usual plot devices of conflict with authority figures and the usual human/love interest give the novel all the usual requirements of a great and entertaining read.
The pace is perfect and the novel is full of tension, twist, and turns. It is an engaging read and the author has been able to write a crime novel with a fresh and new main character rather than the ubiquitous police procedural.
August 26, 2016
Absolutely dreadful - I struggled through fifty pages before the pointless descriptions of trivial aspects of the central character's thoughts, actions and other stuff (so much discussion of her clothes and her overanalyses of every object she happened to encounter) became too much. I have read a later one in this series which wasn't quite as awful, but this debut (?) preceded the author improving her writing. The story here was rendered un-findable beneath layers of chaff.
September 11, 2022
Interesting start of a series featuring a psychologist.
March 8, 2024
3.75⭐️
It was an OK book.
1. I figured out who tf Max was, thank God.
2. My theorie was wrong, so I've got a bruised ego, but I wasn't that far off, so I'll take it.
3. The police were really incompetent, annoying, and fckn childish. But is anyone surprised? That might be the most realistic part about this book.💀
4. I don't think the ending hit me that hard cuz idk I wasn't that invested in some of the characters, although there was potential.
As I said, it was an ok, but it didn't leave me shocked or surprised or anything. It was enjoyable to some extent, but some of the characters (police, to be specific) annoyed the living hell outta me. Like you're a grown ass man stop throwing a tantrum cuz things aren't going your way. That's all I have to say.
It was an OK book.
1. I figured out who tf Max was, thank God.
2. My theorie was wrong, so I've got a bruised ego, but I wasn't that far off, so I'll take it.
3. The police were really incompetent, annoying, and fckn childish. But is anyone surprised? That might be the most realistic part about this book.💀
4. I don't think the ending hit me that hard cuz idk I wasn't that invested in some of the characters, although there was potential.
As I said, it was an ok, but it didn't leave me shocked or surprised or anything. It was enjoyable to some extent, but some of the characters (police, to be specific) annoyed the living hell outta me. Like you're a grown ass man stop throwing a tantrum cuz things aren't going your way. That's all I have to say.
February 17, 2015
I've long had an interest in psychology, particularly abnormal psychology. The mind is a fascinating thing, but it has far more spectacular effects when things go wrong. The same is true of crime thrillers, which are a lot more entertaining when things don't work out too well for the police. So a combination of abnormal psychology and crime thriller was always going to appeal to me.
Karen Taylor is a psychologist working on a paper on Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder, which she believes may cause people to commit violent crimes. As part of her research, she has returned to the Isle of Wight where she spent may happy family holidays as a child, to interview Spike Falconer. Spike is a local man, convicted of the murder of a family of tourists and sentenced to life imprisonment in the island's Parkhurst prison.
Karen has to confront her own memories, both of her childhood on the island and of more recent history. Trying to solve Spike's case, she is treated with suspicion by some of the islanders and with outright hostility by others. Only one member of the island's police is pleased to see her, as he thinks Karen can not only get Spike to admit his guilt for the murder he's been convicted of, but also several unsolved murders. The rest, however, are less welcoming and quick to make Karen a scapegoat when anything goes wrong.
I found ''No Escape'' to be a fascinating book, especially with my interest in psychology. I've not studied the subject for some time, so I can't be sure whether Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder is a genuine psychological condition or if it was fictional. Either way, the psychological background was detailed enough to make it all seem very reasonable and realistic.
N. J. Cooper is a writer who seems to enjoy life inside her characters' heads as much as she does out of it. Virtually every situation has an emotional or psychological undercurrent, whether it's an emotion as simple as fear or an indicator of some deeper psychological trauma. Unusually, she's also very visually descriptive at the same time, so there is a lot of colour and visual imagery, allowing the writer to visualise the scene as well as to feel it. Many writers offer one or the other, but it's rare to find a writer who allows the reader to map a mind and a location at once.
If there is one weakness here, it's in the characters themselves. A couple of characters appear briefly for no apparent reason, which left me wondering exactly what the point of them was. For the major characters, most of them have some interesting psychological quirks or something buried deep in their psyche that affects their actions. It seems that no-one in the story does anything for no reason at all, which was interesting, but didn't seem entirely realistic. Given that the basic psychological background for the story was generally well done, it did seem that this was stretching the point a little too far.
On the other hand, this does make things a little more interesting as it adds to the back-story and means that virtually everything is related to the plot and not a word is wasted. However, it does also mean that there isn't a great deal of room for levity. It's a decent enough story, but it's always very serious and even when the characters manage to break away from the business at hand and relax, events catch up with them and it's all serious once again.
In the end, though, the aspects of the story I was most fascinated with proved to be greater than the minor distractions that the negative points provided. The psychological aspects felt real, if a little overbearing at some points and even when events became a little too crowded for comfort. N. J. Cooper is a fine writer and has a decent enough insight into the human mind to add something a little extra to your average crime novel. It's a decent story and a slightly more interesting read than many in the genre and this makes it well worth a look.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
Karen Taylor is a psychologist working on a paper on Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder, which she believes may cause people to commit violent crimes. As part of her research, she has returned to the Isle of Wight where she spent may happy family holidays as a child, to interview Spike Falconer. Spike is a local man, convicted of the murder of a family of tourists and sentenced to life imprisonment in the island's Parkhurst prison.
Karen has to confront her own memories, both of her childhood on the island and of more recent history. Trying to solve Spike's case, she is treated with suspicion by some of the islanders and with outright hostility by others. Only one member of the island's police is pleased to see her, as he thinks Karen can not only get Spike to admit his guilt for the murder he's been convicted of, but also several unsolved murders. The rest, however, are less welcoming and quick to make Karen a scapegoat when anything goes wrong.
I found ''No Escape'' to be a fascinating book, especially with my interest in psychology. I've not studied the subject for some time, so I can't be sure whether Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder is a genuine psychological condition or if it was fictional. Either way, the psychological background was detailed enough to make it all seem very reasonable and realistic.
N. J. Cooper is a writer who seems to enjoy life inside her characters' heads as much as she does out of it. Virtually every situation has an emotional or psychological undercurrent, whether it's an emotion as simple as fear or an indicator of some deeper psychological trauma. Unusually, she's also very visually descriptive at the same time, so there is a lot of colour and visual imagery, allowing the writer to visualise the scene as well as to feel it. Many writers offer one or the other, but it's rare to find a writer who allows the reader to map a mind and a location at once.
If there is one weakness here, it's in the characters themselves. A couple of characters appear briefly for no apparent reason, which left me wondering exactly what the point of them was. For the major characters, most of them have some interesting psychological quirks or something buried deep in their psyche that affects their actions. It seems that no-one in the story does anything for no reason at all, which was interesting, but didn't seem entirely realistic. Given that the basic psychological background for the story was generally well done, it did seem that this was stretching the point a little too far.
On the other hand, this does make things a little more interesting as it adds to the back-story and means that virtually everything is related to the plot and not a word is wasted. However, it does also mean that there isn't a great deal of room for levity. It's a decent enough story, but it's always very serious and even when the characters manage to break away from the business at hand and relax, events catch up with them and it's all serious once again.
In the end, though, the aspects of the story I was most fascinated with proved to be greater than the minor distractions that the negative points provided. The psychological aspects felt real, if a little overbearing at some points and even when events became a little too crowded for comfort. N. J. Cooper is a fine writer and has a decent enough insight into the human mind to add something a little extra to your average crime novel. It's a decent story and a slightly more interesting read than many in the genre and this makes it well worth a look.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
August 17, 2013
Karen Taylor returns to the old family chalet on the Isle of Wight to use it as a base to continue work on her paper about Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder. Her subject on the Island is Spike Falconer who has been convicted of killing a family of four during a picnic.
Karen goes to the prison daily to meet Spike who seems even more manipulative than she expected leaving her struggling to tie in her previous research to this enigma of a subject. She meets up with DCI Trench who is certain that Spike has committed further murders but is unable to get anyone to take his theories seriously. In a bid to get a handle on Spike she visits his family with little joy.
The story is gripping, the twists keep on coming and the characters credible. I'm sure the next few books will reveal more about the man in Karen's life, Will Hawkins a Nurosurgeon who was one of the characters who appeared a little shadowy. I am going to get on and read the remaining books in this series, I am so glad I came across this author.
Karen goes to the prison daily to meet Spike who seems even more manipulative than she expected leaving her struggling to tie in her previous research to this enigma of a subject. She meets up with DCI Trench who is certain that Spike has committed further murders but is unable to get anyone to take his theories seriously. In a bid to get a handle on Spike she visits his family with little joy.
The story is gripping, the twists keep on coming and the characters credible. I'm sure the next few books will reveal more about the man in Karen's life, Will Hawkins a Nurosurgeon who was one of the characters who appeared a little shadowy. I am going to get on and read the remaining books in this series, I am so glad I came across this author.
January 3, 2016
Two and a half a more accurate measure but this is not the first of N J Cooper's I've read and been a bit disappointed with. Partly this is due to repetitive and slightly heavy-handed description (which sets alarm bells ringing for my own writing!)which personally I found intrusive.
In the case of this book, presumably the first in the series, I get the impression that a little too much weight of research has been allowed to weigh down both Karen Taylor - whose behaviour is erratic and unintelligent at times - and the reader. The ending seemed a bit hasty and lumpy and the Elephant Man's part curious. Nevertheless the plot was well-though out and there was enough impetus to keep reading.
In the case of this book, presumably the first in the series, I get the impression that a little too much weight of research has been allowed to weigh down both Karen Taylor - whose behaviour is erratic and unintelligent at times - and the reader. The ending seemed a bit hasty and lumpy and the Elephant Man's part curious. Nevertheless the plot was well-though out and there was enough impetus to keep reading.
March 17, 2013
No point
May 10, 2023
I really loved the characters ,also the details about everything, unlike some comments I've read here not liking that part of the narrative. It provides us with a full colorful picture of the place, smells, personalities. Absolutely love it! Now waiting for the next 3 books in this series to be delivered hopefully for mothers day in Melbourne Australia. Happy reading!
December 3, 2025
Grundsätzlich ist das Buch ganz gut. Man muss sich durch die ersten 100 Seiten kämpfen, die eher langatmig sind und im Stil eines Stifters unnötig detailreiche Umgebungsbeschreibungen enthalten.
Die nächsten 200 Seiten sind dann aber doch sehr spannend. Gegen den Schluss zu wird es ziemlich unrealistisch, was aber in einem Roman durchaus zulässig ist.
Die nächsten 200 Seiten sind dann aber doch sehr spannend. Gegen den Schluss zu wird es ziemlich unrealistisch, was aber in einem Roman durchaus zulässig ist.
May 7, 2017
Probably a 2.5. I almost gave up on this because the first bit was hard to get into. It did improve in terms of plot but there are some odd and pointless characters
June 1, 2020
I'll continue the series
May 12, 2021
Interesting fictional look at forensic psychology. Really enjoyed the plot and liked the characters. Plan to carry on with the series.
May 9, 2023
A slow beginning and a few pages of trivia but all in all a good read
February 9, 2025
Oh dear. This was terrible. I'm not kidding. It was fucking awful.
December 22, 2014
Enjoyed it,except the forensic psychologist reminds me of Kay Scarpetta. Both women have superhuman powers. They can do without food, sleep, withstand extreme cold or heat and suffer injuries without moaning.
Wish I could do all that!
Wish I could do all that!
May 18, 2015
I was absolutely gripped by this novel. After halfway, I couldn't bear to put it down. The characters were incredibly well-drawn and varied. The final denouement was satisfying. I will definitely look for other books in this series.
April 12, 2013
A gripping page-turner!
December 31, 2014
This was an alright read. Not as good as it sounded picked as a book club read.
September 2, 2015
Very good start to a trilogy of books.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews