Super excited to be taking part in Cath Staincliffe’s blog tour for RUNNING OUT OF ROAD. My thanks to Tracy Fenton / Compulsive Readers for the invite and arranging an arc via Little Brown UK. A bit about the author and this book before I share my review!
A missing schoolgirl, a middle-aged recluse, an exploited teenager. Lives thrown into chaos and set on collision course. With the police in hot pursuit.
Scarlett is dancing in the school talent show tomorrow. Nana, who Scarlett lives with since Mum died, reckons Scarlett will be on Strictly at this rate. Except Scarlett doesn’t make it home from school. She’s abducted by a man she never imagined she’d see again. A man on the police’s most wanted list. Her dad.
Ron has made a living as a house and pet sitter since quitting his career on the front line in the fire service. He’s currently looking after a place deep in the Derbyshire Peaks. The solitude suits him. And managing animals is so much simpler than coping with other people.
Dylan’s a ‘cuckoo’, dealing drugs on the county line, moving from nest to nest, picking out people who daren’t say no. Keeping his head down, one step ahead of the law. So far. But now everything’s falling apart.
DS Laura O’Neil is running on empty after nights dealing with her teething toddler. But Laura is driving the hunt for Scarlett and knows that every minute counts.
A race against time, played out in the brooding wilderness, the limestone gorges and gritstone edges of the Peak District. Themes of escape and entrapment, of shifting loyalties and new alliances, of violence, fear and love, resilience, kindness and hope.
Set in the Peak District, the reader comes face to face with fear, substance abuse, manipulation, abduction, power & control, payback but also much much more!
An intense and intriguing opening kept my interest and had me hooked. This is one of those complex stories that I adore! separate strands that seamlessly meet at that crucial point until everything is wrapped up perfectly! It takes real talent to do that without losing the readers interest and Cath does this well.
I loved the characters in this novel – A diverse cast, from differing walks of life – who some how get drawn into and entangled in a curious web. I have a few firm faves I just have to mention. DS Laura O’Neil is quite the character. Moody, determined, a new mother trying to juggle her personal life with a stressful job – she was fantastic! Scarlett was another character I was drawn too – lives with her nan after a family tragedy. Dylan – young, dumb (in some respects) and on the run. Wanted to prove himself but ended up drawing the wrong kind of attention. And Scarlett – she was just brilliant!
Would I recommend this read? You bet your sweet ass I do! A complex, tense and absolutely gripping read – I’m soooo looking forward to what’s next in this series! Follow the tour here:
