No Return is a fast-paced read set in the Mojave desert, where a film crew witness the crash of an F-18 Navy fighter. TV
cameraman Wes Stewart races to help the downed pilot but is unable to save his life.
Wes has stumbled into a conspiracy
regarding the identity of the pilot and soon finds himself in more and more trouble. When members of the film crew go missing and old friends from Wes’s youth in the nearby town appear, things
grow increasingly complex.
Several threads in this story work together at the end, which kept me
guessing as to precisely what was going on. I enjoyed the story but found some
aspects lacking, notably the complete absence of any sort of characterization. They all just act, say things to each other, try to avoid bad guys, etc. Although we’re following the story mostly from Wes’s eyes, I felt I knew almost nothing about him.
A number of coincidences in the story (not least that Wes was on site), the incompetence of some of the people tailing Wes,
and the convenience of a friend who can quickly hack into military secrets make the story feel not entirely believable. Although I enjoyed No Return, I was far from convinced and found it overall rather unmemorable.