What does “I don’t see that there’s much to go on” mean?

I don’t see that there’s much to go on.

Does it mean:

There is no reason to go on the discussion?

Or it means something else?

The fuller text is here:

It’s Ian who starts it, bluntly asking the attorney why he seems to be
suggesting that Dana’s death might not have been an accident.
[...]

“Very well,” David says, looking around at the rest of them,
as if considering what to say. He takes a deep breath and exhales. “I
don’t think that Dana’s death was an accident.” He pauses and adds,
“In fact, I think she was pushed. And then I think her head was
deliberately and forcefully smashed against the bottom stair.” [...]

“I
think it’s a distinct possibility,” the attorney says crisply. Riley
grips the arms of her chair tightly. She feels the tension build in
the silent room; it’s palpable. Then Riley blurts out what they’re all
thinking: “Did Matthew do it?” [...]

David turns to her and says, “I have
no idea.” [...]

It seems to me,” Henry says, in his
slightly pompous way, “that if this is a murder, it would be almost
impossible to solve. It seems to have happened in the middle of the
night. We were all asleep in our beds. There are no witnesses. Unless
someone wants to confess, or share some helpful information about
seeing someone creeping about in the night, I don’t see that there’s
much to go on.”

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

2 Answers
2

I don't see that there's much to go on.

In my opinion there are few clues and they are not very good ones.

I don't see much = I see rather little

not much to go on = little to serve as a basis for proceeding further.

P.S. As Darren remarks in the comment, the "prosodic" emphasis falls on the word go:

There's not much to gó on.

Think of 'go' in a more general sense: There's not much to 'act' on. While they'd love to start investigating the mystery, the clues they have so far don't lend themselves to action on their part. A clue about a guy down the street we can track down and talk to? That's something to go on. The fact that the victim died at night? Unless you know someone who's third shift and wanders near where the victim was found, that information, while useful, is not actionable.

By clicking "Post Your Answer", you acknowledge that you have read our updated terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy, and that your continued use of the website is subject to these policies.