Review by Frank Plowright

In No Refuge Joe Brady and Patrice Aggs catch up with youngsters Hannah and Bea along with their even younger brother Dom, last seen in No Country. That told of a United Kingdom split between forces both claiming to represent the heart and soul of the country, while neither greatly cares for those left behind.

In 2025 the cover illustration Aggs provides is powerfully evocative as the voices demonising refugees grow ever louder in an intolerant UK. By the simple matter of having white, blonde-haired children buffeted in an overcrowded small inflatable boat Aggs reframes the real world discussion. These are people wanting to escape a UK where their lives are endangered, hoping another country will give them refuge.

It’s also the starting point for No Refuge, after which Joe Brady flashes back to relate how Bea, Dom and Hannah came to be in those circumstances. In No Country they became separated from their father, and under those circumstances their instructions were to make for a specific foreign embassy in London. With the country divided and everyone looking out for potential outsiders that’s no easy task. Under other circumstances Hannah wouldn’t be considered old enough to care for her siblings, and her task is made more difficult by their being stubborn without fully understanding what’s going on. It makes for amazingly tense situations where all views can be appreciated.

Children’s book illustrator Aggs has the talent of reducing her art to illustrations easily understood by younger readers to follow the story, yet locations are supplied in detail, and just looking at the way people are posed and their expressions supplies who they are and what they feel. Every panel is extremely work intensive, and the overall result impressively beautiful.

While a thrilling adventure, Brady also intends No Refuge as a frightening story intended to make readers think about what could happen, and questions asked in the process material further encourage thought, although more about individual actions. The emotional moments have an exceptionally well phased ebb and flow, the three main characters are eminently credible and the suspense is maintained throughout. No Refuge is a great sequel.