No Going Back: A Novel

Sheena Kamal

Apr 2020 · Nora Watts Book 3 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

A People Magazine Best New Book Pick

Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by CrimeReads, LitHub, and Book Riot! 

“If you’re looking for a dark, moody, complex thriller with a complex woman protagonist this is your series. I love love love these books."--Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger

From Strand Critics Award winner Sheena Kamal, comes the third novel featuring the brilliant, fearless, deeply flawed Nora Watts whose vendetta against a triad enforcer escalates when he places a target on her daughter's back.

Find your enemy. Before he finds you.

Nora Watts has a talent for seeing what lies beneath strangers’ surfaces, and for knowing what they’re working hard to keep hidden. Somehow, it’s the people closest to her she has trouble truly connecting with. In the case of Bonnie, the teenage daughter Nora gave up for adoption, she has to keep trying. For Bonnie has a target on her back—and it’s all because of Nora.

Two years ago, Bonnie was kidnapped by the wealthy Zhang family. Though Nora rescued her, she made a powerful enemy in Dao, a mysterious triad enforcer and former head of the Zhangs’ private security. Now Dao is out for revenge, and she needs to track him down in order to keep herself—and Bonnie—safe.

On Dao’s trail, Nora forms an unlikely partnership with Bernard Lam, an eccentric playboy billionaire with his own mysterious grudge to bear, and reunites with Jon Brazuca, ex-cop turned private investigator and Nora’s occasional ally. From Canada to southeast Asia they pursue Dao, uncovering a shadowy criminal cabal. But soon, the trail will lead full circle to Vancouver, the only home Nora’s ever known, and right to the heart of her brutal past.

 

Ratings and reviews

4.5 stars. No Going Back by Sheena Kamal is a pulse-pounding mystery. Although this newest release is the third installment in the Nora Watts series, it can be read a standalone. Nora Watts returns to Vancouver only to discover that someone is after her and her estranged daughter, Bonnie. Nora knows exactly who wants her dead and her nemesis will stop at nothing to exact his revenge. Nora puts all of her energy into locating him and she becomes allies with very unexpected people as she travels from Canada to Indonesia in hopes of stopping his nefarious plan. Nora is still at loose ends following what happened to her in Detroit. She feels guilty that she put someone dear to her in harm’s way. Learning Bonnie might be in danger because of her devastates and frightens her. Discovering her foe is still after her, Nora does not want to endanger anyone else. But her former AA sponsor, private investigator Jon Bruzuca refuses to let her search for her enemy on her own. Nora has an uncanny ability to read people and she knows there is more to Bruzuca’s offer to help her than he is telling her. She is very reluctant to agree to work together, but he has connections she desperately needs. Nora’s wary of her new alliance but she will do anything to keep Bonnie safe. Despite her reservations and concerns, Nora is soon on an island in Indonesia where she hopes to face her rival once and for all. But will the plan she and her comrades put into action go as they envision? No Going Back is a tension-filled, suspenseful mystery with a clever storyline and colorful characters. Nora is fearless and reckless as she tries to protect the people she cares about. She is distrustful of offers of assistance but despite sensing hidden motives, she pushes her doubts aside in order to vanquish her deadly adversary. With stunning twists and jaw-dropping turns, Sheena Kamal brings this latest addition to the Nora Watts series to a shocking, uneasy conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this riveting mystery to old and new fans of this marvelous series. I received a complimentary copy for review.

About the author

Sheena Kamal holds an HBA in political science from the University of Toronto, and was awarded a TD Canada Trust scholarship for community leadership and activism around the issue of homelessness. Kamal has also worked as a crime and investigative journalism researcher for the film and television industry—academic knowledge and experience that inspired this debut novel. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.