Rounded up from roughly 3.5 Stars ⭐️

And then she ran follows Grace as she flees America with her newborn baby. But has she really managed to leave her past behind her or is she being followed.

As an avid thriller reader I loved the sense of tension and intrigue that this novel created. The story was laced with a darkness that I couldn’t get enough of. Although I did guess the twist at the end from very early on, my heart still raced as I read the words. I loved that Karen Clarke was still able to grip me, and leave me on the edge of my seat, despite the surprise not being present for me.

There were some parts that felt a little slow. They lacked the ominous sensation that I loved whilst reading other parts of the book. I also would have loved a more in depth look at some of the characters and their relationships. I feel like there was a lot of scope to create a connection to many of the characters. For me, I only connected with a few of the characters, none of which were Grace which dampened things slightly. But Karen’s writing managed to evoke a deep instinct in me to protect Grace’s baby (Lily), which left me desperately wanting the best for her. I think some of the writing in this was very clever and I will definitely keep an eye out for more of Karen Clarke’s work.

I would recommend this to thriller lovers who like a small town setting. I want to thank Netgalley, HQ Stories and Karen Clarke for allowing me to read this and give my personal thoughts.