No Going Back

Daniel Whelan #1

by Lyndon Stacey

The first in an exciting new mystery series featuring ex-police dog handler Daniel Whelan - When two young sisters run away on Dartmoor, Daniel Whelan and his German shepherd, Taz, are called into action, and a desperate search quickly turns up one of the girls. However, rather than showing relief at being rescued, she seems terrified. Darkness halts their hunt for her elder sister, and Daniel returns home with one distressing question on his mind: just what were the girls running from?

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Audiobook

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Lyndon Stacey lives in a quiet village in the Blackmore Vale in Dorset, with three assorted dogs and a cat, and her books are set in the surrounding counties.

Although she started writing fiction as a very young child, she worked in many and varied jobs after leaving school, alongside which she gained a very good reputation as an animal portrait artist. Writing was always her first love, however, and when she hit on the winning combination of everyday (if tough) heroes and a rural background abounding with dogs and horses, her first publishing deal was not far behind.

Her many interests include reading (unsurprisingly!) horse riding, Canicross, animal psychology, gardening, music & dance, genealogy and motorcycling, but her overriding passion is for dogs, their training, and all kinds of dog sports.

Reviews

[Fictionophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dustjacket reads: “The first in an exciting new mystery series featuring ex-police dog handler Daniel Whelan”. That statement, coupled with a great dustjacket was all I needed to crack the book open.

About twenty years ago I devoured all the Dick Francis novels I could get my hands on. However, I moved on to other authors and sort of forgot what it was I liked about his writing. All I can say is that Lyndon Stacey would make a worthy successor to Dick Francis. The author’s love of all things equine and canine is very obvious.

“No going back” is the first novel by this author that I have read and I’ll admit, that only after reading the novel did I realize the author was a woman. Her writing style and her name didn’t give that fact away. The writing is fast-paced and absorbing with elements of suspense and danger that permeate the novel.

The setting, the brooding and wintry Dartmoor was an integral element to the story. The protagonist, Daniel Whelan is an ex-police officer/dog-handler (at age 28!) The reader wonders why he left the force and this information is not divulged until a fair way into the book. It is evident that Daniel has an upstandingly moral personality and all the instincts of a good copper.

He now works as a truck driver delivering feed to stables and pet stores. He faithful sidekick Taz, his german shepherd, travels with him on his rounds. Because of his police training, Taz is a great tracking dog. When two young sisters are lost on Dartmoor, Daniel and Taz are called to conduct a search. When one of the sisters is found she does not seem to be happy to be rescued… she seem frightened. Daniel is tormented by the questions “Did he do the right thing handing the girl over? What had the girls been running from?”

Meanwhile, Daniel’s personal life is in turmoil. Since his dismissal from the police he is estranged from his wife and eight-year-old son, Drew. This pains him greatly. Trying to create a rapport with his son is interrupted by Katya, the girl he rescued on the moor. His aid is enlisted to help locate her sister. He was correct to be suspect of the reason for the sisters running away. It turns out they are Romanian girls brought to England for reasons less than savory…

In his quest to reunite the sisters, he makes some good friends along the way. I’m hoping that Daniel, Taz and his new friends will return in a sequel. I’ll be queuing up to read it.

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In defiance to the title, I HAVE "gone back" ...to read the rest of the series in order after inadvertently starting with the third. I'm really enjoying getting to know Daniel Whelan and his dog, Taz. Some of the reviews mention this author in the same breath as Dick Francis and I think the comparison is fairly apt, in terms of a hero who seems to be able to accomplish miracles despite extensive physical injuries. And Taz gets a lot of credit too! As noted by one reviewer, the author obviously changed the lead character's name from Charlie to Daniel (with good reason, he does seem more of a Daniel than a Charlie), but it is a bit disconcerting to have him referred to as Charlie in the description of the book.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like mystery thrillers. The author has a good grasp of how words can be used to create a compelling story.

[Andreanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it in french (Sans retour)..the translation wasn't that great, but the story is good.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

My new favorite genre: Damaged flawed tortured hero with a damaged dog. Will definitely read the next book in the series.

This is not really a mystery since the really bad guys are obvious from the get-go and we know that Daniel and Taz are the good guys but there are also people in the grey area that Daniel must sort out. Daniel's problem is how to carry out a rescue of other children while trying to hang on to his job and juggling his own personal problems involving his estranged wife who currently has custody of his own child.

I was half way through the book and thinking that Taz was being used as a minor plot device. I was hoping that Daniel and Taz would work together more. The reader stays with Daniel when Taz finally gets his chance to go after the bad guy and Daniel was unconscious. Daniel doesn't find out about it until several days later, when we do. So much for working together.

I did not win a free copy of this book. But I was lucky to find it at a library book sale where books were 4 for $1. Which means that I will have to buy the rest of the books in the series because the library has decided not to. Not their first bad decision.

[Taylor Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, easy, and entertaining read though portions of it were a bit outrageous to be a 5 star read. I wasn’t particularly fond of the main character. I didn’t dislike him but character development fell short. He’s supposed to be a smart cop but it never crosses his mind that he or others might be in danger by threatening a criminal enterprise? He’s supposed to be a noble person but completely puts his clearly distraught son on the back burner? I feel like the sons story line was either to set up future story arc or to try to add some depth to Daniel’s character but it fell flat. The overall story wasn’t all that unique or surprising. I already have the second book in the series so I’ll give it go. I really enjoyed this authors other books and hoping this was just a fluke.

[Norma Laming · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and I’ll be listening to the next one, if we get it. Although you know what the set up for the story is before it starts, because it’s set out for you and then you get the explanation at the beginning of the novel, fortunately it doesn’t take too long after that actually to get going beyond that into the development of the plot. I found it a bit slow to start with, with rather more explanations, detail and description that was really necessary but as it got on it became a good story. I’m puzzled by one or two loose ends at the end of the book but they don’t really matter. The narration is fine except for some unusual intonation in places and emphases on odd parts of the sentence but overall it makes the novel easy to listen to. I do hope we get more in the series.

[Lata · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Welham and Taz series and looking forward to read more books by Lyndon Stacey. I had earlier read her books where the main subject is horse racing and I have liked her style which is similar to that of Dick Francis. Here the subject was not horse racing, but there were horses and dogs included. i loved the dedication of Taz, the German Shepherd.The chase and rescue in the end was exciting.

[Kathy KS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in my search for Dick Francis readalikes. A fun, quick, read with likable characters (and evil villains, of course). Daniel's relationship with his dog, Taz, is a plus. I'm looking forward to reading more about the two of them.

[Lovora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book

I like book with dogs in them . It was a quick read because I was able to skip a lot of useless details.

[Lisa Eirene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really connect with this book. The characters were pretty one-dimensional and the story was ok but not gripping.

[aprilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

not quite as good as I'd hoped but will continue the series

[Ted Cartier · Rating 4 out of 5]

While slow at time, the pace picks up and the story keeps you interested.

[Rebecca Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying mystery with terrific characters and a Dartmoor setting.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book and excellent audiobook narration once again by the always brilliant Andrew Wincott!

[Sheri Phipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the idea of Daniel having his German Shepherd with him as he works. A bit slow at times, but was still good. The narrator in the audio version was amazing.

[Vy Nab · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel is an ex dog handler in England. He was forced to quit the police force because of something he did. You don't know what that reason is until fairly far into the book. He is separated from his wife, Amanada and his 8 year old son, Drew. His son desperately wants to live with his father, but Daniel works long hours as a truck driver delivering feed to horse stables and other animal farms. After his dog, Taz finds a little deaf girl for two grandparents, his picture is in the paper. He receives a phone call from a man who tells him his two daughters have run off. The man believes Taz can help find them. Daniel accepts the request while wondering why the local police have refused to help. When the young girl is located, Daniel is puzzled by her response. When he phones later to see if the older sister returned, the man answers the phone by responding with another name. Daniel initially locates the older sister at one of the horse farms but she takes off before he can ask her any questions. The story continues as Daniel tries to find the answers to his questions. At the same time, Drew continues to plead with his father to let him live with him. A good story and apparently the first in a series with this character. While I usually find it difficult to read English books because of the colloquisms they use (trying to figure out what they are really saying), I perservered with this book and am glad I did.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disgraced former police officer Daniel Whelan and his dog Taz have gained a local reputation after finding a lost child. So Whelan isn't too surprised when a man calls to beg them to find his two daughters, lost in the Dartmoor mists. He finds one girl, and learns that the other returned to her father and his surly brother on her own. But he's still suspicious of the pair--why did they call him instead of the police?--and when he sees a girl who looks like the older of the two, he's even more suspicious. Unable to trust the local police, and fearing any contact with them will lead to his police records, Daniel and Taz investigate on their own, with only a little help from well-intentioned acquaintances who are not aware of the evil they're confronting.

[Grey853 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel's an ex-cop, dog handler, but he's been forced out along with his dog Taz. Now, he drives a lorry, but old habits die hard. When a father calls to say his daughters are lost on the moor, he and Taz help find them. The problem is, one of the girl seems terrified instead of relieved. Later he finds that the other girl ran away, so he sets off trying to figure out the puzzle. In doing so, he sets off a chain of events that lead to danger and violence.

During all this, he's also dealing with the break up of his marriage and the possible loss of contact with his eight-year-old son Drew.

This is the first in the series, and I'll likely look for more.

[Vaibhav Manoharan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really Good Mystery that I've read in a long time. Lyndon Stacey has written this story in a fast paced manner. The story keep you engaged through-out! It's the story of 2 Detectives, Daniel and Taz. The former is a retired Police officer who works as a cattle feed delivery driver and the latter, a retired Police Dog. They solve one crisis and the next emerges each giving a clue of the original problem. It's a "nice" read though.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel Whelan is a former police dog handler who was forced to leave the force. His police dog was forced into retirement, too, so they are still together. He meets a distraught father who seeks help finding his 2 daughters on the moor. But something seems strange to him. Why were the girls running away? He can't let it go, and his life is beset by frighteners. All the more puzzling...

[Jools · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read, fast paced story, believeable characters (to the point where I so want to meet Taz!) - I listened to this as a talking book, and couldn't wait to get to the next disc each time. Very highly recommended

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

New author for me.

[Joella Tunnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good story of an ex-policeman and his retired police dog - the first of a series of their adventures with bad guys.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the first in this series with the new character of Daniel and his ex-police dog Taz. Looking forward to carrying on reading this series, very engaging.

[Lindsay Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A huge proof-reading error. All the publicity and the blurb on the back refer to him as Charlie. How could they have missed that?

[Barbara Gard]

good, British

[Philip Mccauley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyndon Stacey does it again a great mystery story