Member Reviews
I quite enjoyed reading this book but did find it a bit slow. The last 10% of the book is where it gets exciting and I really did not see the twist coming. Overall it's an easy read and quite enjoyable.
This is a really well crafted story. The characters are well developed and you find yourself caring for the lead character Grace from the start.
It follows Grace fleeing New York with baby Lily to her aunts secluded home in Wales.
But she’s soon left wondering if her past has followed her, and starts fearing for her and the babies safety.
With twists and turns at every corner it’s a delight to read and I will definitely be looking out for more books by Karen Clarke to devour in the future
ARC REVIEW.
3.5 stars.
Graces flees life in New York to a remote village in Wales with her eight week old baby Lily.
As the story unfolds we learn what Grace is running from.
This is a relatively enjoyable thriller. There’s mystery surrounding Grace’s ex partner Patrick, her Aunt Morag who she has come to stay with, and her new friend Declan.
Grace is clearly on edge and tense throughout the book and there is a couple of twists that I think would be hard to predict!
As a huge thriller fan I have a lot to compare to and unfortunately this fell a little flat for me. I found the pace slow and we don’t really get to any excitement until about 80% into the book.
Though the ending is full of twists and is riveting so that increased my rating!
Overall it’s an enjoyable read but not an edge of your seat kind of thriller, more of a slow burn.
I really wanted to like this one, but it was a slow burn with not much happening. I was anticipating a mystery/thriller, but that only really happened in the last 15% of the book. The book was mainly a domestic women's fiction which is not my style.
I also struggled with the main character Grace. She was very frustrating and didn't really do much to make me connect with her. I did however enjoy her Aunt Morag.
Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
The fist flew past Grace's face and smashed into the wall behind her. A switch flicked in Grace's head. Grace bundled her eight week old daughter into her carrycot, opened the door and ran. Her life in New York faded into the background - she needed to keep her baby safe. She needed to get as far away from Patrick as possible.
Now, staying in a remote village in Wales, Grace is trying to start again. But she can't shake the felling that she's being followed. And then she finds the note left on her bed: Keep her close. Anything can happen.
This is a cleverly crafted story. The story follow Grace as she flees New York with her baby and starts a new life in Wales living with her Aunt Morag. Strange things start to happen and Grace is paranoid that she's being watched, The pace is fast and the tension builds as you read prologue. It's descriptively written with some good twists, especially towards the end. The characters are well developed and likeable. This is an easy book to follow.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #HQ and the author #KarenClarke for my ARC of #AndThenSheRan in exchange for an honest review.
This is an intriguing story as we join Grace and her 2 month old baby daughter Lily, as they flee from New York to a sleepy backwater village deep in Wales, where Grace often stayed with her grandparents as a child. The story of why Grace has fled from New York, and from Lily’s father Patrick, is the basis of this mysterious tale. There are twists and turns along the way, some expected, some definitely not, as Grace explores her previously fractured relationship with her mother.
Her aunt is happy to have her niece and great niece to stay, despite her curiosity around the circumstances of their sudden arrival on her doorstep. But she has her own secrets from her past, which Grace is puzzled by.
Grace finds herself constantly on edge, and unable to trust almost anyone. What is spooking her so dramatically is gradually revealed as the book progresses.
The characterisation is excellent, the main players are very well drawn. This is a slow burn of a book, but no less enjoyable for that, as the reader’s interest never flags. I will look for more of this author’s work.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this title.
‘And Then She Ran 🏃♀️👶🏻’ by Karen Clarke
🌟🌟 2/5
I really wanted to love this book but....in the end I was really disappointed. It was a slow burner for me and I nearly gave up so many times. I didn’t find it engaging or thrilling at all and thought the book could be doing with more action. I also didn’t like the main character Grace - she frustrated the life out of me!!
There were a few twists at the end which where great & I didn’t see them coming. Just a shame there weren’t more throughout the book to keep you interested.
.
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for the free copy in exchange for an honest review! Publication date 28th April 2021 📝
This was an easy to read book ut still had many twists and unexpected parts.The descriptions of the Welsh countryside and Morags cottage were fantastic and as a reader I felt that I was there with the characters. I found Grace to be slightly insipid and very impulsive, not thinking things through in a caareful manner. The whole book was about relationships, past and present, and stories that had been untold. It was well paced with the ending putting everything into the correct boxes and making sense of the previous parts. I loved Morag as she was so brave and yet lived in such isolation.
Great read
I was quite disappointed with this book. The main character was very frustrating, she had an odd thought process and made very dubious decisions. I found the plot throughout quite predictable and boring, the ending did pick up slightly but probably not enough for me to recommend reading
This was an easy to read thriller about a mom running to protect herself and her newborn daughter. One of my favorite things to read about in a book are the settings they take place in. I literally could picture her small town in my mind and loved the descriptions she provided of the various places. While I did figure out quite early what was happening, I still felt engaged until the very end.
Grace flees from New York with her 8wk old baby to North Wales and a remote cottage where her Aunt Morag lives. leaving behind the baby`s father.
But grace feels she is being watched all the time and small things keep happening to her.
A great description of the Welsh countryside and Morag`s cottage, felt I could move there myself.
Morag was a great likeable character.
Though it didn`t give me the suspense and chills I was waiting for it was a great book and would definitely read more from the author.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
A story about Grace and Lily who move to Wales from Manhattan but who are they hiding from and will they be found. Suspense, romance and a few twists that I wasn't expecting. Highly recommended this book, its a goodun
📚 BOOK REVIEW 📚
And Then She Ran by Karen Clarke - Publication Date - 28th April 2020
Bl**dy hell!! That twist at the end.... did not see that coming - Karen Clarke had done it again!!
Grace moved from the UK to USA to do her dream job of being a chef. She meets Patrick and falls pregnant. The book prologue is with Grace running away with the baby and then the books starts with her going to stay with her Auntie in Wales. Somewhere Patrick won’t find her. But is someone watching her?
There is so much more to this story but I don’t want to spoil it for you. Make sure you read this book!
#netgalley #andrhensheran #karenclarke
#thriller #harpercollins
https://www.instagram.com/Bookstagramshaz
Good read. Well written.
I enjoyed the atmosphere of the Welsh village and the tense bits and the twist.
I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 as I felt I warranted a little more action.
Enjoyable well paced thriller with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing!
The twists are clever and had my heart racing at times!
Brilliant writing and this will have sitting on the edge of your seat!
A fascinating book about multi generational, strong, independent women. Grace arrives with her baby, shrouded in mystery and the plot twists back and forth, only revealing the truth at the very end. I was on the edge of my nerves all the way through, regretting that it ended. 5 stars.
Grace escapes with her baby from the baby’s father, having seen him standing over the body of his troubled wife at the bottom of the stairs! She flees with their baby, to her Aunt Morag in a tiny Welsh village, where she hopes he will keep his promise to leave her alone as long as she doesn’t reveal any of his secrets. Now she feels that he has broken his promise, as she feels watched and the cottage starts to feel unsafe.
This was an easy to read stalker story. I didn’t particularly invest in any of the characters and didn’t feel as swept up in the story as in Karen’s other books. However, it is a good read and worthy of my 3 stars.
A reasonable thriller- a good poolside read. Will keep you entertained.
The characters are well drawn and believable. Unfortunately, I really didn't click with Grace, the panic because she was "on the wrong side of the road"- really?? and her absolute fawning over her baby. Eyelashes on cheeks were described numerous times and the baby always seemed to be crying. I would really have liked greater emphasis on Morag's story. I felt we were missing something by not having her voice. I've never come across Irish people talking about pots of gold either. It felt a bit like a romantic novel that really wanted to grow up into a thriller. I would give a future book a go because this showed promise
Wow this book will keep you absolutely hooked from start to finish. With some different things going on it is not one to put down!
I received an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review
It took me a while to get into this one, but once the twist started happening I was well hooked. Morag initially got on my nerves but she grew on me. Above average thriller with a well-worn trope. 3.5 rounded up