“Home is our sanctuary: it’s the place we rush back to in times of crisis. But this particular sanctuary had been invaded – violated.”
Harry and Alice French wake suddenly one evening to discover that their house has been broken into. The men who have broken in are masked, armed, dangerous – and in their bedroom. Even worse, Harry and Alice’s eight week old daughter is also in the bedroom and the intruders have no qualms about threatening the baby as well as her parents. It was a shocking and disturbing start to the book and I did initially wonder if I would want to read on. It seemed a lot darker than I would normally read. But then with a couple of sentences, Tom Bale shows that Alice knows a bit about what these men want and then I was hooked.
Harry and Alice are too scared to contact the police and I can’t say I blamed them. These were truly terrifying men and I could understand why Harry and Alice hoped that maybe the nightmare would just go away if the men realised they couldn’t help. But of course, that doesn’t happen with callous people like that and before long Harry and Alice find themselves separated, on the run for their lives and with no idea who to trust.
Tom Bale has created some truly vile characters and I had no idea what was going to happen to Harry, Alice and little Evie. Some of the situations make uncomfortable reading in places (I’m a bit of a woose!) but although I felt uneasy, I just had to know what was going to happen. The pace does not let up from that first shocking chapter right to the last page. The short chapters flitting between Harry and Alice’s experiences make for nailbiting stuff! As Tom Bale says in his letter at the end of the book “This story centres on ordinary people whose lives are suddenly thrown into chaos.” That pretty much sums up the book – ordinary people are faced with unimaginable situations and impossible choices and this makes for an edge-of-the-seat, can’t-put-it-down, tense-till-the-end thriller.
Thanks to publishers Bookouture for giving me a copy of this book to review. See How They Run was published as an e-book on Friday 6th May. At a special offer price of only 99p, what are you waiting for? Order your copy now: See How They Run
From the back of the book
How far would you go to save your family?
In the dead of night, new parents Alice and Harry French are plunged into their worst nightmare when they wake to find masked men in their bedroom. Men ruthless enough to threaten their baby daughter, Evie. This is no burglary gone wrong. The intruders know who they’re looking for – a man called Edward Renshaw. And they are prepared to kill to get to him.
When the men leave empty handed, little do Alice and Harry realise that their nightmare is just beginning. Is it a case of mistaken identity? Who is Renshaw? And what is he hiding?
One thing is clear – they already know too much.
As Alice and Harry are separated in the run for their lives, there is no time for breathe in their fight to be reunited. And with their attackers closing in, there is only a choice:
STAY ALIVE. OR DON’T.
Terrifying, unputdownable and full of twists and turns, this stunning thriller will have you on the edge of your seat right to the very last page.
About the author
Tom Bale decided that he wanted to be an author from the age of seven but, after another career got in the way, it wasn’t until much later that his dream was fulfilled. After several books with Random House, Tom signed with Bookouture for two stunning ‘everyman’ thrillers.
www.facebook.com/tombalewriter
Portobello Book Blog 
Sounds terrifying but compelling. I’m a woose too, but I’m tempted…
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There were only a few scenes that were a bit gruesome. I would have closed my eyes if it was on tv!
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