EXCERPT: 'I've no car and no way of getting around.'

'But I have a car,' said Grace. 'And I have an itinerary. I also have more clues to be deciphered. We've already seen that two heads are better than one. Why don't you come with me?'

'On all your stops? Through France and Spain?' Deira looked at her in astonishment.

'Why not?' said Grace. 'To tell you the truth, you'd be doing me a favour. My elder daughter thinks I'm off my rocker doing this trip on my own. If I tell her I have company, she might stop worrying about me and asking me to share my location with her so she can check up on me without me even realizing it.'

'I'm not sure . . .'

'We still haven't worked out the full La Rochelle clue,' said Grace. 'Besides, I'd love your company.'

'Really?'

'Why not?' repeated Grace.

Why not indeed, thought Deira. Why not do something even madder than her original plan and travel with a woman she hardly knew, following a treasure hunt set by a dead man?

ABOUT 'THE WOMEN WHO RAN AWAY': Deira is setting out on the holiday she'd planned with her long-term partner Gavin... only she's on her own. Gavin will not be amused when he finds out she's 'borrowed' his car, but since their brutal break-up Deira's not been acting rationally. Maybe a drive through beautiful France will help her see things differently...Grace is also travelling alone, each stage of her journey outlined in advance by her late husband. Ken was head of the household when he was alive, and it seems he's still in charge. His last decision was a surprise - could there be more surprises to come? There's only one way to find out, galling though it is to dance again to Ken's tune...Thrown together by chance, Deira and Grace are soon motoring down the French highways, sharing intriguing stories of their pasts, as they each consider the future...

MY THOUGHTS: Don't you just love that cover! Especially now when we're still all restricted to armchair travel, I can just imagine strolling through that open gate, feel the sand between my toes and the water lapping at my ankles.

Unfortunately I liked the cover better than the story. I found it difficult to readily connect with both main characters, but Deira in particular. It could be an age thing, but I don't really think so. I enjoyed the story, but never became fully invested in it. I did love the travelling aspect, and O'Flanagan's descriptive powers are excellent. I loved learning about the history of some of the locations Grace and Deira travelled to and the references to famous historical literary and artistic characters. I found the map coordinates at the beginning of the chapters frustrating. I would rather have had dates and locations.

The idea behind the plot is excellent. It covers some serious subjects: terminal illness, grief, loss, suicide, and infidelity. But don't go thinking that this novel is full of doom and gloom, because it isn't. It is a novel of hope, friendship and personal growth.

I'm not quite sure why I didn't love this. I usually do love O'Flanagan's books. This is a nice, quick, easy read, just not one that left me enchanted and missing the characters when I closed the covers.

⭐⭐⭐.2

#TheWomenWhoRanAway #NetGalley

@sheilaoflanagan @hachetteaus

'One thing I've learned about life is that no matter how shitty a time you are having, it does pass. And then you look back and say, that was a terrible week, or month, or year. But you've got to remember that it's only a tiny bit of your whole life. It's important to put it into perspective.'

THE AUTHOR: As you can see, a Dubliner all my life. My parents owned a grocery shop in the Iveagh Markets, in the Liberties area of the city and I guess city blood runs through my veins.

As a child I enjoyed reading and telling stories and everyone thought that I end up in a job which had something to do with books and literature. But though I applied for a job in the library all of the job offers I got were in commerce.

I turned down lots of them before my mother accepted one for me (I was on holiday at the time). It was in the Central Bank of Ireland and that’s how my career in financial services began.

But I still loved reading and writing (which I did in my spare time) and I desperately wanted to write my own book. I guess I never quite got over the fact that I was never offered the library job! In my thirties I decided that it was now or never and I sat down, stuck Chapter 1 on a page, and started. I wrote the whole thing before sending it off.

I was offered a publishing deal (with no advance) by an Irish company but only if I wrote a different book! So back to the drawing board, I started again. It was another two years before it was published. It wasn’t until I’d written a few books and was offered a contract (this time with an advance!) from another publisher that I felt able to give up my trading job and write full time. So, even though it took a long time, I eventually realised my dream of being a full-time writer.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hachette Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Women Who Ran Away by Sheila O'Flanagan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Grace's husband has died but has sent her on a treasure hunt on a trip through France and Spain. It was along the lines of a trip they might have done together. Deira's partner of thirteen years leaves her for someone else and she's still reeling. She takes his car and starts on a trip that they had already planned before, starting in France. The two women meet while on the ferry going across from Ireland to the continent and enjoy each other's company. Later on they encounter each other again and circumstances have them travelling together. There are a lot of up and downs along the way but they each have issues to work through and they do a lot of that together.

I've read other books by Sheila O'Flanagan in the past and for the most part enjoyed them. This book was a bit hit and miss for me. Sometimes the story goes into great detail and that's not something that bothers me in the right context. But here it seemed to drag the story down at times and I could have done with some paring down of some parts. Also, the conversations sometimes seemed unnatural the way they were written and it made for difficult reading. The overall story is quite an interesting one and it was nice to see how the women were able to support each other as their journey continued.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Hachette Australia for sharing the advanced reader copy in exchange for a honest review.

Overall I'd give this three stars.

A Sheila O’Flanagan book always guarantees a good read. On this occasion serendipity plays a role bringing together two women (at different stages of their lives) who find themselves together on a road trip through France and Spain. Current world circumstances dictate that this book provides some much needed armchair travel to two fabulous European countries. These women are at different stages of their lives and are dealing with different issues. What these differences do however, is allow them to work through things together removed from the usual life demands.

One thing I particularly enjoyed about this book was the rich descriptions of locations that they traveled through from the time they got off the ferry at Roscoff to their final destination of Cartagena. Sheila provides just enough detail of places such as Bordeaux or Pamplona to make them come to life and invite you to feel a part of the journey. Two further interesting inclusions were the use of classic novels and the treasure hunt. Loved the snippets of classic literary references as both lead characters work together to solve clues regarding the destinations enroute.

‘Why not do something even madder than her original plan and travel with a woman she hardly knew, following a treasure hunt set by a dead man! Because it’s crazy, that’s why, she told herself. Bonkers. But then you’re crazy and bonkers too, aren’t you? ‘OK.’ She smiled at Grace. ‘I will.’

The idea behind this book is rather unique. Grace is a widow fulfilling her husband's last wishes of a treasure hunt. Deira is escaping Dublin after the unexpected departure of the man she thought to be her soulmate. Initially they socially cross paths but after a certain incident, make the decision to pair up and share the journey finding it easier to work through clues together. Of course, the journey evolves into more than just the literal excursion, as both women are on a course to learn about themselves and the choices and options life has in store for them. Despite the age gap, the two women worked together and supported one another.

“Don’t judge her,’ said Grace. ‘Everyone’s very quick to pass judgement these days, and we don’t always know what’s going on in each other’s lives.”

Sheila’s books always provide good escapism, this one particularly so with its unique concept and armchair travel on offer. What person doesn’t love a road trip! This is a really lovely one through the French and Spanish countryside with two women whose lives will forever change as a result.

‘It was so damn easy for people to tell you that you had plenty of time to start a family after doing the things you wanted to do, but life wasn’t like that. It hurtled past when you weren’t paying attention until suddenly you realised that policemen didn’t only look younger, they were younger, and that you didn’t recognise a single tune on the radio. And that somehow the exciting, energetic stuff you’d put off doing was now being done by other people while you rubbed Voltarol onto your aching back.’





This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

This was a light hearted, feel good novel about two women who meet whilst on holiday. They become close friends, and choose to spend the rest of their vacation together.

It was an easy read, although I found it to be a bit dull in some areas. It seemed to drag on quite a bit, I think I might have preferred it if it was a slightly shorter novel.

However, I'm sure that if you enjoy the authors previous books, this one will be right up your alley!

Thank you so much to Hachette for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This book has an interesting concept, Grace is a widow left a treasure hunt through France and Spain by her late husband. Deira has been unexpectedly left by the love of her life, she ‘borrows’ his car to take the holiday through France that was planned before he left. The two women come across each other find they have some things in common, and decide to continue their journey together.
This novel never really gets going for me. The story was intermittently interesting, but then would drag on and I kept skipping pages and losing interest. Some of the themes in the book, particularly Deira’s story arc about having a baby made me uncomfortable. I felt the whole thing was a bit flat. I know this author has a lot of fans who I’m sure will enjoy this novel.

Deira and Grace meet while aboard a ferry to France from Ireland. They decide to join forces and go on a road trip together. Following the clues of Grace’s late husband.

You can never go wrong with a Sheila O’Flanagan book!