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A review by portybelle
See How They Run by Tom Bale
4.0
"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.
Tom 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 Tom 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 people like that and before long Tom 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 Tom, 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 Tom 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.
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.
Tom 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 Tom 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 people like that and before long Tom 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 Tom, 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 Tom 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.