I DNFd this as ai just couldn't get into it which is a shame as I had heard really good things and have previously enjoyed this author's work....hopefully a one off for me.

This book is very slow burn and was hard to get into. It was dark and I love the paranoia as a plot point!

That old saying….just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean it’s not true? THIS! It covers a dual time period which I always enjoy as it keeps you reading and gives depth to characters. I believe this is based on Dr Faustus and with that in mind the devil is prominent in this compelling read. I read it in one sitting and I’m desperately looking forward to more by this brilliant writer.

Thank you so much for this ARC.
Well that was creepy, but a very good thriller.
I got confused a few times as the time line goes back and forth between then and now but the plot was very clever. I had a few feelings of claustrophobia when reading this!
Definitely recommend.

2.5 If you saw Adam in the street you’d think he was a neurotic, constantly looking at the many CCTV cameras, convinced they’re all watching and recording him. Possibly they were after the pact me made whilst reading medicine at Cambridge. I found most of this story exceptionally slow especially the flashbacks to his uni days. I was on the verge of giving up several times as it took so long to get going. It only pepped up at the point where the pact was made. After that much better but not as good as I thought it was going to be but that might just be me! Anyone familiar with Christopher Marlow’s Dr Faustus might enjoy this book.

This was a great thriller with lots of twists and turns and it had me hooked from the start. If you enjoy twisty thrillers then I definitely recommend this one.

Good thriller that gave me the creeps more than once! With a time line that goes back and forth between then and now and a clever and complex plot I was overwhealmed with a sense of claustrophobia! Good read.

I loved this. It was super engaging and exciting and I couldn’t put to down. There were many twists and turn which not only surprised the character, but me too. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for the author.

4 stars.

"No Place to Hide" by J.S. Monroe is a slow-burning dual-timeline thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. There is an air of suspicion and suspense in every chapter as the story delves into the paranoia many people feel in our modern digital age. It may leave you rethinking how much information you voluntarily choose to put online. What happens in this book is shady, seedy, and is likely happening under our noses at this very minutes. Can you even imagine?! I certainly can't. It was like having an anxiety attack reading this book (in the best way, not in a detrimental one). There is a bit of a lull in the middle of the book after a strong opening and very strong ending. I think it could have been a smidge shorter. Luckily, I was left guessing about what was happening and didn't figure out what was going on right away (which is a good thing for a psychological thriller!). The twist was excellent! Overall, I found this book to be very enjoyable. Don't read any reviews or spoilers before reading: go in without any preconceived notions and let yourself stew in just how twisted the internet and dark web are!

Thank you to NetGalley, J.S.Monroe, and Aria & Aries, Head of Zeus for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

One of the best thriller novels that I have read. It kept me guessing and the suspense never lets up. It's hauntingly real and twisted. I don't know how the author came up with the idea but it's a page turner.

Excellent read! I enjoyed this a lot. Twisty, engaging and the right amount of drama to keep me reading til the end. Highly recommend!

Well plotted with 2 different timelines.
A good read, had me gripped.
Seemed to be really well researched.
Really enjoyed it and would recommend

A really enjoyable thriller! I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I was kept guessing up until the very end. I found it very enjoyable and original.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller was unlike many that I read, and it was enjoyable because of that! It brings up lots of questions about safety & security that face us, and has many twists throughout that kept me guessing. I will look out for more of this author's books because it was a page-turner!

With dual timelines, this was a slow burn thriller. For those of you that know me, you know that I prefer a faster paced read so though it was entertaining (the short chapters helped) and came together towards the end, I did struggle to stay invested throughout. The ending was good though.

Adam did something a long time ago as a student, and now is convinced that he is being watched by everyone - from the hospital he works in to CCTV everywhere -someone somewhere is recording him!
Then one of the two people who knows what he did turns up - and reignites a pact that they made a 24 years ago.

Murder, psychological suspense, drama - it’s got it all.
Good read - when you get through the first couple of chapters.
Thanks to @NetGalley for the advanced copy

No Place to Hide is the third book I've read by J.S. Monroe and while each has been very different, it's fair to say that they are all an unsettling exploration of contemporary life. As the tagline to the novel exhorts, 'You might be paranoid. But that doesn't mean they're not watching you.' Constant surveillance has become a regular theme in thrillers in recent years but nevertheless, this is an original and utterly chilling look at the darker side of technology – and of humanity itself...
The dual timeline follows Adam, as a first-year medic studying at Cambridge in 1998 and later as a successful consultant paediatrician. The older Adam is married and has two young children but it very quickly becomes obvious that he is constantly on edge and feels he is being watched. Although No Place to Hide is a slow-burner, the sense of foreboding is evident right from the start and I was immediately intrigued to know more. A frightening event in their local park results in Adam being reunited with Clio, whom he last saw at Cambridge, but while she seems delighted to see him again, it's clear that his reaction is less straightforward.
The present day scenes gradually depict a man losing control of his life but the clever switching between now and then soon makes the point that it was actually his actions in the past – and one night in particular – which brought him here. The gradual intensification of suspense is superbly compulsive, it's horribly obvious that Adam will make the wrong choices but fascinating to understand how and why he can be so manipulated. We are first introduced to the younger Adam shortly after he has played Doctor Faustus on stage, opposite Clio's Mephistopheles. As he is apparently befriended and drawn into the bohemian world of the louchely irresistible Louis, he ignores all the warnings and the resultant Faustian leitmotif which features throughout the novel is cleverly intertwined into the plot, becoming particularly terrifying as the significance of twenty-four year gap becomes impossible for him to ignore.
The first-person narrative of the past artfully conjures up the sordid yet irrevocably tempting world Adam enters; it's unequivocally awful and yet as we witness events through his eyes, it's clear to see how he ends up in this situation. Adam is the archetypal outsider; a first-generation medical student who spent his youth on fishing boats, he doesn't fit in at university and is later a disappointment to his father-in-law. This clash of worlds is almost imperceptible, given his success and yet evidently shapes everything he does, and when coupled with the guilt he feels about his past actions, J.S. Monroe brilliantly adds a chilling layer of doubt to proceedings – just what did Adam do?
The present-day chapters are told in the third-person which cleverly mimics the constant observation he is under, and as he realises the full, horrific truth, it feels almost as if we become complicit in events as we watch his life full apart. It's terrifying and as a study of human behaviour, only too believable; the voyeuristic tastes catered for by the dark web are shrewdly observed here but as our own reality shows increasingly give us the opportunity to determine other people's lives, it's perhaps also a cautionary tale as to what such power could eventually lead to.
No Place to Hide is a damning, perceptive exploration of humanity; temptation, revenge, fear and lust are examined alongside more insidious pressures, including class, media and money. It's a captivating combination of the most sinister elements of dark academia fiction and a disturbingly relevant look at where we may be headed. It's not a comforting read but kept me engrossed from start to finish and I thoroughly recommend it.

Given the number of cctv cameras recording and following us, paranoia about being monitored and tracked is very relatable. This thriller takes this theme and transforms it into a compelling page turner. Engaging and original.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to review an advance copy

This is a slow read and if you love psychological books, then you'll love it and what happens next. Would recommend.

If you weren't paranoid before reading this book you will be now. A slow burner but I just had to keep on reading I HAD TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!!! It definitely picked up and kept me entertained. A good read and a well deserved three stars.