An explosive, romantic thriller for the ages, No Body No Crime follows a pair of fiery exes as they barrel towards a reckoning years in the making. Overflowing with sapphic yearning, buff women, and guns, it’s the perfect hit of adrenaline for fans of Love Lies Bleeding (2024), Drive Away Dolls (2024) and Thelma & Louise (1991).
When they were sixteen, Mel and Chloe killed a boy and got away with it. Or at least they thought they did. In the aftermath of the most traumatic night of their lives, a bond forms between them that sparks a passionate, star-crossed romance. Until Chloe disappears after graduation. And Mel is left to pick up the pieces.
Six years later, rural PI Mel Tillman is hired to track down her ex-girlfriend, Chloe Harper. It’s not the first time she’s looked for her. But it’s the first time she’s found her. Tracking Chloe to an off-grid cabin in the Canadian wilderness – and barely surviving the booby-traps that surround it – Mel is finally about to learn why the love of her life disappeared without a word. And why their lives are still haunted by that night in the woods that bound them together… and might yet leave them six-feet underground.
Tess Sharpe, best known for The Girl’s I’ve Been (Hodder Children’s, 2021) and multiple best-selling YA thrillers, steps into the adult crime genre with great success. Applying her talent for queer-hijinks and twisty plots to a grittier story and more adult themes. The result is an expertly crafted thriller that will keep you on your toes, and charismatic characters you can’t help but fall for.
The plot unfolds through multiple perspective characters across two timelines, in a non-linear fashion. Each thread explores either the present-day plot of Mel and Chloe reuniting, or the traumatic events of Chloe’s sixteenth birthday. Sharpe uses this structure to disguise and seed narrative twists, building tension as both timelines progress towards their climax and secrets are revealed. It’s the kind of novel where each chapter has the potential to completely change the reader’s understanding of a character or event!
The protagonists are both uniquely interesting. As teens, Mel is a prodigy with an eye for detail, raised in a cruel home and isolated from her peers. Meanwhile, Chloe is the mayor’s daughter, with a privileged upbringing and a talent for archery and practical skills. As adults, Mel is a cynical and talented PI, and Chloe has become a hardened survivor – ready to kill or be killed. We watch the pair change significantly throughout their lives – while retaining the wit, love, and compassion that make them likeable – and Sharpe plays with this to great effect.
However, outside of Mel and Chloe is where No Body No Crime sets itself apart. Many thrillers boast engaging protagonists, but it’s rare to find one with such a well-rounded cast. The rural setting and multiple timelines immerse us into a large supporting cast of locals at different times in their lives, exploring how their relationships grow and change. Whether it’s best-friend Gigi, mentor Nat Parker, or the villainous ‘Bag of Dicks’, the temporal split adds growth to the side characters that most thrillers lack.
No Body No Crime bursts from the block with one of the most captivating openings I’ve read in some time. Then draws you in with it’s charasmatic cast, and constantly twisting narrative until you’ve lost a whole day between it’s covers. It’s easily one of the must-read thrillers of the year, and a perfect summer holiday adventure!
No Body No Crime by Tess Sharpe is out now from Dead Ink
9781915368980 | PB | £10.99
