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.”

Oh my, this is a corker of a book.  Totally enthralling, totally compelling, totally addictive! The opening chapter grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go.  Imagine waking up to find masked men in your bedroom, it doesn’t bear thinking about.  After I had read the opening chapters of See How They Run I wanted to rush out and buy new locks and alarms for my own home!

Alice and Harry French are a normal couple with an 8 week old daughter to keep them busy (or exhausted if you prefer!).  Life is pretty normal, pretty ordinary.  That is, until masked men break into their house, threaten the life of baby Evie and assault Alice.

The men are looking for someone called Renshaw, or rather they are looking for him AND a package addressed to Renshaw.  Despite the terror they are exposed to they deny all knowledge. Thankfully the men leave but before they do they hand a stark warning to the French family.  Go to the police and Evie will die.  Forced to run, the couple are torn apart.  Can they keep themselves, and most importantly Evie, safe..?

The characters are what make this a great, great book.  Harry’s desire to protect his family is truly heart warming and I was willing him on from start to finish.  I found Alice’s attitude a little gung-ho, especially when it came to the safety of her daughter.  There were times I wanted to shake her and say ‘really…?’.  Evie is a cutie and I loved the way she was written.  Tom Bale is obviously a father himself to have that level of understanding when it comes to a baby’s thoughts and feelings!  At points in the book my heart was breaking for Evie, but maybe that’s because I am a mummy to two small people myself.

This is a great story that keeps you turning the pages.  There were times when I should have been doing other things but I just couldn’t put this book down.  I kept saying to myself, one more chapter just one more chapter and I love books like that.

Five out of five stars.

Many thanks to Bookouture, Tom Bale and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

See How They Run by Tom Bale was published in the UK by Bookouture on 6th May 2016 and is available in eBook and audio formats | amazon.co.uk | amazon.com