See How They Run Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

This was my first time reading this author. The book started off with a bang. It kept my interest throughout. Nicely paced.

In the middle of the night, Alice and Harry French and their newborn Evie are confronted with their worst nightmare when a couple of intruders show up in their bedroom. The men are wearing plastic covers over their shoes, they are clearly no amateurs and the threat is very real and quite horrific. All they want however is a package addressed to a guy named Renshaw that was delivered to their house. This must be one important package, only they have never heard of Renshaw or have any knowledge about this package. Their terror and innocence seem real enough for the trespassers and they leave empty handed, with the threat they will be watched and there will be repercussions sooner or later if they go to the police. Since nobody was hurt and they don’t have any proof of any kind, they think it best to leave it be, but the next day Harry is contacted by a woman called Ruth and Alice takes a dangerous route herself when she’s trying to find Renshaw, with little Evie in tow. What follows is a nerve-wracking race for Harry to find Alice and Evie, while Alice is on the run for whoever is after Renshaw and the package. They can’t call the police because, as long as Alice can’t be reached, they might think Harry harmed his wife and child.A captivating story that draws you right in and keeps up the suspense throughout the novel. Did you know that the author, Tom Bale, got the inspiration for the novel when he was putting the garbage outside one evening? He heard a sound and started thinking… would any of the neighbours take notice if there was a break-in? Well the situation in this novel is one of those moments we all have when we are laying in our bed and we think we might have heard something. The situation and what follows feels so life-like, you can almost imagine this being the real deal. It makes it all so relatable and I love it when stories start out with ordinary people in ordinary situations that spiral into outrageous ones. This is exactly such a story.There is so much more to say about See How They Run that made me love this novel. I think it really is an added value that the author included a baby in the storyline. He didn’t make it easy on himself because this tiny personality – and Evie is a cool personality even if she’s only 8 weeks old – needs feeding and changing in between and makes travelling, running and all that fairly difficult but he did a beautiful job doing just so without it being ever annoying. Tom Bale also seems to have mastered the knack of developing two separate suspenseful storylines (the one following Harry and the one following his wife Alice) and making them both seem plausible and gripping. It’s not that I wanted to read one of these storylines more than the other, no they were equally engaging with the right amount of tension and cliffhanger each time. Ruth’s character in the book is quite mysterious, making you question if she’s trustworthy and what her deal is in the story for a long time. It takes a while until her story is finally revealed and what her connection to this Laird is. Another twist in the plotline I didn’t imagine and which made me hate Laird even more, although two-faced Nerys and her son came to a close second. If you are talking about bad guys and personalities, he’s done a hell of a job in putting them out there. On the opposite side, Harry and Alice make such a likable family that you would want to help them yourself if you could.This novel was a page-turner and I can highly recommend See How They Run to crime lovers who think they possess nerves of steel. This was an entirely new author to me but I know I definitely want to read more of his work!*I received a free copy of this book from the publicist through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion*[...]. Thank you.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book from the moment I started it. The authors writing style in this book is one I particularly enjoy and one that is often employed by authors like Dean R. Koontz.And that is the chapters that alternate between the main characters.This book is about an ordinary young family thrown in to very extraordinary circumstances. One chapter will be about the husband searching for his wife and child while being wanted for questioning in their disappearance. The next chapter about the wife as she fights to protect herself and her child. Then a chapter here and there about the various people that are helping them or double crossing them.Because of this, the book moves along very quickly and is full of fast paced action. It's all very refreshing that even though there is plenty of murder and mayhem it is done without being too graphic.

I am a fan of psychological thrillers, but this one didn't appeal to me very much. I was expecting a story with twists and turns, but this one didn't really have any. It was filled with action and suspense, but no shocking revelations or surprises. Just people running and hiding and lots of evil, disgusting bad characters. If you are a woman, you may want to read on.....(SPOILER ALERT: There is a particularly disturbing scene of a woman being sexually molested in front of her family and is later stripped bound and almost raped before being rescued and some other severely upsetting scenes of an infant being terrorized-dangled upsidedown by it's pjs, being tossed in the air, knife held to it's throat, kidnapped to be sold). If you are a women or a mother, this may be too disturbing for you. I know it's only fiction, but it can cause anxiety due to the detailed graphic descriptions. I only add this because I wish I had been warned about this content. I wouldn't have read it.

I gave this book 4/5 stars.  This book is suspenseful and so action packed!  It's another one I can add to my list of staying up late to finish reading because I just had to know what was going to happen!  Harry and Alice are woken one night to intruders in their home.  They terrorize the couple as well as their baby, only to discover they have the wrong house.  The criminals are in search of a package that was supposedly delivered to their house, but it wasn't...or was it?  After being threatened with their lives if they tell a soul, including the police, Harry and Alice take matters into their own hands (separately) and try to figure out the mystery behind it all.  With 'help' (I'm using that word very lightly) from 'strangers' (again, using it lightly) they start to uncover the horrific truth while trying to stay alive and safe.The suspense is unreal and when the truth is finally revealed, I was completely in shock.  There are so many twists and turns, I found myself questioning everyone Harry or Alice came in contact with wondering if they were good, bad, or just plain evil as some of the characters were.  At times I did find the story a little confusing.  There were so many characters it was hard to keep up.  I found myself having to read pages over again just to make sure I understood what was going on. While I know of many reviewers who gave this book a perfect 5 review, I couldn't bring myself to do it.  There are two sexual scenes that were very difficult to read. One of them might be one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever read, and I've read some pretty messed up stuff.  For those scenes, I had to knock my review down a star.  However, keep in mind, just because they bothered me doesn't mean they will bother everyone.  The author's writing was phenomenal and I highly recommend this book.