Ms. Michaels hit it out of the park again!!!!!!! I loved this mysterious but feel good story!!!!!! You fall in love with the characters of this neighborhood and wished you lived in such a tight knit neighborhood that looks out for its own. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for my early review copy

No Way Out
by Fern Michaels
I enjoyed this book immensely and didn't want to put it down. It is a perfect book for a rainy day, the beach or vacation.
It starts very suspenseful and mysterious and will have you spooked. Then suddenly it's like everyone takes a happy pill and becomes a different person. It reads like the book was written by two different people who didn't have the same plot plan for the book and neither half matches the title. The first half is dark and full of bad things yet to come and the second half is " tip toeing through the tulips". The plot ends quickly and is rather anticlimactic.
Thanks NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to read this book.

I was looking forward to a “gripping novel of suspense” but I soon found out that this book was more like a cozy mystery that I never really got into. It didn’t grip me.
The story started out interesting enough with Ellie, a woman who doesn’t leave her home. I wanted to know why and what the event was that caused this. This kept me reading, in hopes of finding out soon. Then Colleen and Jackson were introduced to the story with Mitchel, the husband/father. This was a domestic abuse situation that escalated quickly in the chapter.

As I was reading, waiting for some information to why Ellie was almost a recluse, it began to appear that the main character was really Colleen, not Ellie as the book's summary suggests. There wasn’t enough in the story about Ellie and her memory loss and what happened with her boyfriend.

In addition, I found it hard to believe too many details about the characters and setting. The small town as described was just a bit too idyllic... it was too much like "Mayberry." Mitchel's reform happened too quick for it to be realistic. Colleen’s new romance was too fast. Hector, as a teenager, wouldn’t have time to do the amount of work that he is given credit for.

The plot came to an end pretty quick and was anticlimactic with many situations working out for the positive so easily. No cliffhanger, no “wow” moment. I didn’t hate the book, I did finish it, but I felt like there was too much that was lacking.

Thanks the NetGalley and Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Hibbing is a small, quiet town...or so people think. This book is about several families who live on the same street of this small town and their struggles in life. I enjoyed following these families and seeing their lives intertwine to bring happiness and friendship to them! Highly recommend this as an entertaining read!

Ellie lives a sequestered and protected life. She never leaves her house and lives in constant fear. The only problem is, Ellie doesn’t know why. Suffering from amnesia, Ellie knows her life is in danger, but her memories are vague. Until she figures out the mystery behind her head injury, hospitalization, and subsequent memory loss, she won’t leave her well-protected home or see the people she loves most. Most importantly, she is hiding from her ex Rick, who took off after Ellie’s hospitalization.

Ellie spends much of her time observing the day-to-day lives of her neighbors, but she never interacts with them until a young neighborhood boy named Jackson develops a bond with Ellie’s dog. Slowly, Ellie begins to long for friends, interaction, and a sense of belonging, and she finds a friend in Jackson’s mother Colleen, who is going through trials and tribulations of her own.

However, when Rick reappears, Ellie’s nightmares and migraines return. Determined to understand his role in her injury, Ellie uses her technological skills to find answers. Can Ellie face her past and find out what happened to her? Can she trust her neighbors and friends to help her reenter the world?

Much of the story focuses on Ellie’s day-to-day life, as well as the lives of her neighbors. Ellie’s neighbors are an eclectic mix and include an elderly man who lives alone, a teacher and her young son who are victims of abuse, a new family who has just moved in, and a couple who frequently travels. All of these characters influence Ellie’s life, especially Jackson and his mother Colleen.

The relationship between Ellie’s dog Buddy and Jackson is very sweet. I think seeing the daily interactions between Jackson and Buddy propels Ellie to open herself up to others again. Slowly, Ellie warms to the idea of connecting with her neighbors. However, fear of the unknown, especially in regards to her accident, limits her. Colleen and Jackson also need some support, and find it in Ellie, much to the surprise of all of their neighbors.

The strength of this novel lies in the character development. There are many characters in the story, and they are all well-developed. You really get the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of all of the people who live on Ellie’s street as well as a few who don’t. That being said, there are a lot of characters to follow, and I didn’t feel invested in too many of them.

I did like the messages about the power of supportive neighbors, trusting yourself, embracing friendship, starting over, and reaching out to others when you need help. However, the story is slow-building and slow-paced. I felt like not much happened for much of the story. It progressed so slowly, and then everything wrapped up very quickly and a little too smoothly. Colleen’s abusive, alcoholic husband, his toxic mother, Ellie’s amnesia, and the reason she doesn’t leave her house are all resolved so easily that it felt anti-climactic. I felt like the entire book was a big build-up, but it didn’t really build up to much, and I was left disappointed.

I think people who enjoy women’s fiction and Fern Michaels will enjoy this book, but it wasn’t my favorite by the author. Thanks so much to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I haven’t read a lot of Fern Michaels books lately but I enjoyed this book. I kept trying to figure out Ellie’s problem and why Rick was missing too. I was really surprised at the turn around that Colleen’s husband Mitch made. I liked the character Andy, the older neighbor across the street.

Ellie has shut herself inside her house in a small Missouri town. Hector cares for her yard, gets her groceries, and does other errands for her. Her neighbor Colleen has invited her for tea bur she won't go, although she allows Colleen's son Jackson into her security gated yard to play with her dog. Why? Well, violence put her in a coma and caused some memory loss; she moved without letting her ex Rick know where she was going. Now, though, he's out looking for her and she made a mistake. Readers of this genre know that things will come to a head. Ellie, however, also learns that her neighbors are more than just stick figures moving outside her window. This touches lightly on some serious issues but Ellie is sympathetic. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

No Way Out by Fern Michaels is simply a very good, well rounded suspense story. It incorporates a tried and true formula that keeps the reader engaged.

Thank you to Net Galley for the advanced copy for an honest review of this book. I really enjoyed the story as it was fairly gripping and you wanted to keep reading to solve all of the issues that crop up in the book. I however was disappointed in the ending. It had such a great lead up and a really great story, but the ending was anti-climatic and it kind of put me off the whole book, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the book right up to the ending. The characters themselves were well developed and you found yourself cheering for both of the main female characters to find happiness and contentment. I also loved the 90 year old neighbour. He added a real human element to the book enlightening us on growing older alone. I gave this book three stars as the ending was so disappointing. Had the ending been better, I would have given the book four or five stars as the story was that good.

Very suspenseful and mysterious.
Certainly keeps you wondering where the story is going.
The story revolves around Ellie Bowman. Something happened to put her in a coma....was it a accident or was her ex-boyfriend at fault? All she knows is she’s scared. She isn’t sure exactly why she has this profound fear.
To compensate for this fear, she completely isolates herself from everyone.
All in all, No Way Out, is a emotional and touching story.
Thank you to NetGallery, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

This didn't hit the mark with me. I anticipated a lot more action and suspense. Instead, this felt more like a cozy mystery, and I found the ending a bit disappointing. There were too many characters to try and follow. Perhaps the author is setting them up for another book, but the large cast made it harder for me to stay engaged and care about them. It also made the story line drag one too many times.

Ellie has a very secluded life it a small quaint Missouri town. The mystery is why she's remained inside her home for two years controlling her life by high tech. Neighbors each have speculated to why no one has seen her but they do not seem concerned which is unbelievable in my opinion. This book has a Mayberry atmosphere with a little drama thrown in. Aspects of her job are interesting and I like that she helped Hector but the story is not believable. The ending is quick and unimpressive.

I was disappointed with this story. I expected a lot more suspense and action and while I am glad that things ended on a positive note I was disappointed with the results.
There are a lot of characters and each character comes with his/her own story but the book seemed to follow these stories but couldn't really bring them back into a central theme and one story.

For some reason this book really wasn't what I was expecting, but in typical Fern Michael's style, I was hooked. From start to finish I just immersed myself in the characters lives and was engrossed.

An abusive husband, a neighbor who is a recluse and from those two main characters we get an book easy and fun to read. The never goes out of her house and rarely speaks to anyone other than a young man who does errands for her. The abusive husband is out of the area, but continues to push the limits of his no contact order, Actually a good read, but the ending is contrived and hurried which ruined my enjoyment of the book.

Ellie hadn’t been outside her house for two,years. She lives in a small town, but what has paralyzed her with fear. Slowly, she will unfurl that fear and begin to reclaim her life. I love Fern Michael’s books. This one is no exception. Five houses sit on a cul-de-sac and I love the sense of community. They all looked out for each other and helped one another. My favorites were Frank and Ellie’s animals. There was a lot of character development with one person, which was a total surprise. It was a soothing read because I knew everything would turn out all right. The ending was very positive. It’s a worthwhile read.

This book had a lot of characters to follow. Some with serious issues, domestic violence and alcoholism being 2 of the issues. I enjoyed the book but it was a little too pat that all the characters with problems reformed themselves. Also the ending was abrupt, could have been longer. Everything was wrapped up neatly in a very short time. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

2 stars

Not so good. It started so we'll and went downhill. It was too long and dragged a lot in the middle.
I do not recommend.

A good book for a rainy day. There may be a trigger for domestic violence so please beware. Otherwise in this book Michaels give us a variety of characters whose life has not gone exactly as planned. Read to find all the individual stories.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was just ok for me. I’ve read just about all of this authors books and I usually love her books. I don’t know I can’t put my finger on why it was just ok. It may be I’m just not in the mood for this book right now. I look forward to future books