Running In Circles by Claire Gray (Book Review)

Today I am so excited to be part of the Blog Tour for Running In Circles by Claire Gray.

Many thanks to Caoimhe O’Brien from Sapere Books and the author for supplying a copy of the book, which I have reviewed honestly.

I loved the cover for Running In Circles, the girl running towards a very stormy sea, it really made me want to know more about this book.

Here are the details of other book bloggers who are participating in the tour.

You can’t outrun murder…

When Lucy Lewis landed herself a reporting job on an idyllic Thai island, she thought she’d found paradise.

But one day her dream turns into a nightmare…

A bomb goes off outside her hostel and there is more than one fatality.

Although the local paper she works for is mainly a tourist guide, the phone is soon ringing off the hook with people desperate to hear news of their loved ones.

Together with her editor, Steve Boyd, Lucy finds herself drawn into the investigation.

And things become more complicated when the dead body of someone connected to the paper washes up on the shore.

Was the bomb planted by terrorists? Are the two incidents connected?

Lucy finds herself running in circles as she desperately searches for the key to the mystery…

Pages: 239

Publication date:  27^th December 2018

Purchase Link

My Thoughts

Running in Circles hits the ground running and never stops. I am fortunate enough to have never witnessed a massive explosion but the intricately descriptive writing of the tumultuous effect it produced was moving and extremely compelling.

I was drawn to the main characters Lucy and her boss Steve right from the beginning. It was clear that they both had secrets and Claire Gray gives droplets of information about the characters backgrounds which just make you want to know more. Lucy works with editor Steve as journalists on a small newspaper which is circulated throughout the small Thai Island where they live. Lucy’s journalistic tendencies cannot stop her from wanting to know exactly what happened. Then a body is found and Steve and Lucy find themselves fully immersed in the investigation.

The plot is highly suspenseful with plenty of twists and relatable characters. It was truly hard to put down and a stunning debut from Claire Gray.

 

Claire Gray – Writer Bio

Claire Gray lives in the South Lakes with her husband and two small children. She studied Creative Writing at the Cumbria Institute of the Arts, which no longer exists, having been absorbed by the University of Cumbria. She graduated in 2006 and then went on to complete a journalism course at Darlington College.

That same year, she won a Northern Promise Award from New Writing North, and her work was featured in their anthology, entitled Ten Years On. Claire now works as a freelance copywriter and continues to write short stories, some of which have been published in magazines and online.

Recently, she has been guest editor for the prose section of SpeakEasy Magazine, which showcases Cumbrian writing. In 2015, she received editing advice from The Literary Consultancy through their Free Read scheme. They felt that her manuscript, Running in Circles, showed potential, and began approaching literary professionals on Claire’s behalf. Sapere Books published Running in Circles in 2019 and Claire is really excited to have published her first novel!