“GOLD. THEFT. MURDER.
A ROAD TRIP TO DIE FOR.

Charlie and Nao are strangers from different sides of the tracks. They should never have met, but one devastating incident binds them together forever.

A man is dead and now they are unwilling accomplices in his murder there’s only one thing to do: hit the road in the victim’s twin cab ute, with a bag of stolen gold stashed under the passenger seat.

Suddenly outlaws, Nao and Charlie must make their way across Australia’s remote outback using only their wits to survive. They’ll do whatever it takes to evade capture and escape with their lives . . .

Thelma & Louise for a new generation, No Country for Girls is a gritty, twisty road-trip thriller that follows two young women on the run across the harsh, unforgiving landscape of Australia.”

Hello and welcome to damppebbles. Today I am delighted to share my review of No Country for Girls by Emma Styles. No Country for Girls is published by Sphere Books today (that’s Thursday 21st July 2022) and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow next year. I chose to read and review a free ARC of No Country for Girls but that has in no way influenced my review. My grateful thanks to Sphere Books for sending me a proof copy.

If you’re a regular visitor to the blog then you may be aware that Australian crime fiction is very much a passion of mine and it’s my mission to read it all! So when I saw No Country for Girls mentioned on the socials, I jumped at the chance to read it. It felt a little different to my usual go-to Aussie reads, more of a modern day Thelma and Louise than the police procedurals set in a dusty town I tend to pick up. And what a joy it was!

Charlie and Nao, two teenagers living very different lives, are forced on the run after things go horribly wrong and one of them accidentally kills a man. With a bag full of gold and driving the victim’s stolen ute, they hit the road knowing that if they don’t, there’s a chance they won’t be alive for much longer. But the road ahead is tough. The outback is a very lonely place and it’s clear they’re being tailed. Someone wants the gold, they’ll go to any length to get it and the girls must do whatever it takes to survive…

No Country for Girls is a tense, thrilling read which I very much enjoyed. Charlie and Nao are both likeable characters and I found myself warming to them as the book progressed. However, as much as I liked them, they really weren’t keen on each other! Coming from very different backgrounds, having very different approaches to life and at times a different understanding of their situation, really added to the tension of the story and kept me turning the pages, desperate to find out how things would end for them both. I really enjoyed watching their initial frostiness towards each other thaw a little as the story neared its climax.

The plot moves at a great pace with many ‘hold your breath’ moments along the way and lots of well-written, thrilling action. The locations the girls stopped at along the way were all vividly drawn and I could picture the scenes unfolding in my mind with ease. But the absolute highlight for me was the drama the author captured in one of the final scenes which felt a little Bond-esque to me. OK, it was perhaps a little far-fetched (maybe it wasn’t – I live in a small rural town in the south of England – what do I know about the Australian Outback?!), but I didn’t give a damn! It was exciting, it was something I don’t think I’ve encountered in a novel before and I loved how theatrical it was!

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. No Country for Girls is an action packed, high-octane read featuring two great characters you can’t help but like. I loved the setting, it felt authentic and very vivid. I loved the urgency of the writing and the way the tension built almost from the opening chapter. You could feel the characters were in a race against time with the ever-present threat right at their heels. This is an accomplished debut and I look forward to reading more from Styles in the future. All in all, a gripping road trip thriller overflowing with well-written tension which I very much enjoyed. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free ARC of No Country for Girls. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

No Country for Girls by Emma Styles was published in the UK by Sphere Books on 21st July 2022 and is available in hardcover, audio and digital formats with the paperback to follow (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | Book Depository | bookshop.org | Goodreads | damppebbles bookshop.org shop |

Emma Styles writes contemporary Australian noir about young women taking on the patriarchy. She grew up on Whadjuk Noongar Country in Perth, Western Australia and now lives in London where she was born. Emma loves a road trip and once sat out a cyclone on the north west coast of WA in a LandCruiser Troop Carrier. She is less afraid of great white sharks than she should be, and hopeless at surfing.

Emma has an MA in crime fiction from the University of East Anglia. Her debut novel, No Country for Girls, won the Little, Brown UEA Crime Fiction Award in 2020 and will be published by Sphere in the UK in July 2022, and by Hachette in Australia and New Zealand in September.