Review of “Nowhere to Run” by Jack Slater

Most of the British detective novels I read feature a Detective Inspector as their main character (and occasionally a Detective Chief Inspector). I am a big fan of British police procedurals, including those by Ian Rankin (John Rebus), Elizabeth George (Tommy Lynley), Mark Billingham (Tom Thorne), and Graham Hurley (Joe Faraday), among others, all of whose main characters are DIs.

I also enjoy Stuart MacBride’s gritty series set in Glasgow, which has as its lead Detective Sergeant Logan McRae. MacBride and Slater are consistent in their presentation of the lot of the Detective Sergeant; like McRae, DS Peter Gayle is charged with the practical, day-to-day tasks of the investigation, reporting back to a DI who is likely occupied with more than one case. The DS works at the coal face: dealing with leads, interviewing witnesses, trudging through fields. He is focused on the procedure, the proven steps that generate results. As a result, Nowhere to Run gives you the dogsbody view of the investigation, and you get the puzzle pieces the same way as Gayle and his team.

In the opening of the novel, DS Gayle is returning to work after an enforced absence due to the disappearance of his son Tommy. He pushes to have the case of a newly missing child, Rosie Whitlock, assigned to his team, which creates some tension between Gayle and his wife Louise, and causes his team to be concerned that he is emotionally unstable when it comes to his perspective in the Whitlock case.

Slater handles the emotional aspects of Gayle’s struggle reasonably well. He is a man torn by guilt over the disappearance of his son and is desperate to save Rosie, and the anguish he feels through the ebbs and flows of the case is nicely presented. Gayle throws himself into the case, not only to find the girl but perhaps to also escape his home life, as his wife has become more withdrawn and hostile towards him. Gayle’s excessive time at work does not help the situation.

But not just this case would keep Gayle at the office. He is a dedicated, tenacious detective who hungers for a just outcome. At the same time, he loves his family and is dedicated to them, even if he is only beginning to realise how much he does and what that might mean for how he works in the future.

As with many police procedurals, the investigation expands as the team digs deeper into the lives of the victim and suspects. Other girls have gone missing, and a body has been discovered. As days pass, Gayle becomes more determined to find Rosie, and more concerned that they will find her dead. Slater does a good job of managing the tension, and you begin to believe time is running out as well.

Characterisation is critical in a procedural, in my view. You have to care about the people in the story, or at least understand them and find them interesting. When the main character is a Detective Inspector, you typically have a DS as the main supporting character and a DCI as either a supportive boss or a foil to the DI. With a DS in the lead, your supporting cast can either be superiors or subordinates. Unlike the various senior officers in DS Logan McRae’s life, those in Gayle’s are much less conspicuous. DI Colin Underhill and Detective Chief Inspector Adam Silverstone are mere background characters, with the DCI something of a cliché, the press-hungry and ambitious young rising star who most often gets in the way of good police work.

Slater does a much better job of fleshing out Gayle’s teams of three Detective Constables – Dave Miles, Dick Feeney, and Jane Bennett – plus Police Constables Ben Myers and Jill Evans. While Gayle is clearly the central character, his team are key supporting players whose personalities are generally well rounded out as they help keep the plot moving. They care about Gayle, and you care about them.

Nowhere to Run is a solid debut crime novel, that gives us a character to watch in DS Peter Gayle. There are some things to quibble about, but there is much more to enjoy, and I am glad this is the first in a series.

Verdict: Recommended

Nowhere to Run is published by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.