Frank Randall has served his time for the murder of his wife Annie. Now after 20 years he's back home. The locals won't let him forget.
Suddenly there's another 'running girl' murder. Dis Frank do it? His daughter -in-law, Detective Laurie Campbell feels that something isn't right. Can her investigations prove Frank's innocence or is he guilty?

The Running Girls by Matt Brolly is an American thriller.
In short, Detective Laurie Campbell is investigating the troubling disappearance of a young girl, which has all the trade marks of a similar murder case twenty years previous which her father in law was convicted for and it just happens that he has just returned from his jail sentence!
It’s an interesting thriller with plenty of characters with shady back stories which create a good mix of twists and turns, however, for me the ending seemed a bit off! Without giving the story away, although there was a good amount of drama it was sadly all a bit OTT and far fetched.
Big thanks to Matt Brolly, Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

This was an incredibly engaging and fast paced thriller! I couldn’t put it down. One twist after another combined with an intense hurricane made this book intense and interesting.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and this was up there with the best. Fast paced page turner that will have you hooked from the beginning.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a review copy of The Running Girls, a stand-alone thriller set in Galveston, Texas.

Frank Randall returns home to Galveston after serving sixteen years for murdering his wife, Annie. Now, another body has been found, disfigured and murdered the same way as Annie. Detective Laurie Campbell, Frank’s daughter-in-law, is heading the murder investigation and while Frank seems like the obvious suspect, she isn’t so sure and that makes her wonder if he killed Annie.

I was looking forward to reading The Running Girls as I have enjoyed the author’s previous work and the premise is intriguing. Sadly, it never captured my attention and I found reading it a chore. I found so many other things to do rather than pick it up again, so it took me days rather than hours to finish.

The novel is very slow to start with much of the first half exploring the characters and the family dynamic. There is a lot to unpack in both the characters and their relationships, but, to be honest, I didn’t find it particularly engrossing, because I am more interested in the investigation and it took so long to get there. Once the investigation gets going in the second half things heat up. There are more bodies, plenty of twists and more personal drama, all set against the backdrop of an impending then landing hurricane. This hurricane gives the novel the tension that feels lacking in the murder investigation and contributes to the action packed finale.

The Running Girls is a solid read.

I have read a few books by this author and enjoyed them and this was no exception. A good solid thriller with murders spanning 2 decades apart. I really felt the atmosphere as the author went into detail about the hurricane as though as I was almost there. I liked the main character Laurie and hope she appears in further books. I recommend this book and author.

The Running Girls by Matt Brolly was another excellent book by this author. i just love the way Matt writes all his books and you always feel you are there especially as its full of great twists and turns throughout which made it a great page turner and a great holiday read.

The Running Girls is about two murders, these are twenty years apart and these murders were in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas,
Annie Randall took her dog for a walk. The dog returned. Annie did not. Her body was found, cruelly broken and posed like a runner,

Why posed as a runner?

There was only ever one suspect: Annie’s husband, Frank. Years pass and Frank has now served his time and is coming home. But the locals won’t let him forget his past!!! Especially, when there’s a new ‘running girl’ murder.

Detective Laurie Campbell remembers Annie’s case. Especially as she’s also married to the Ann and Frank Randalls’ son. Laurie takes the lead on the new investigation. Everything points at her father - Law for these murders, But, something doesn’t add up.

If he didn’t commit the most recent murder, is it possible he never killed Annie his wife either?
If he didn’t, who did?

Time is running out and the killer has to be caught before they kill again!

I highly recommend this latest book by Matt I really enjoyed it.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas & Mercer for my ARC

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this authors DI Louise Blackwell books and thought this might be my kind of read. I did enjoy this book, I thought it was well written and was a good read. I liked the main character Detective Laurie Campbell who investigates a murder that has similarities to one some 20 years before. Are the two deaths connected? Having a personal connection to the historic case doesn’t stop Laurie following up all leads and seeing where they take her. I liked the glimpses into her home and personal life which isn’t without problems. I thought the pacing of this book was perfect and liked the authors description of the hurricane, its aftermath and the devastation it wreaked, I could picture Galveston in my mind when reading. I thought I knew who the murderer was and was very wrong. The last quarter of the book was a riveting, edge of your seat read which was very hard to put down and where I needed to know what would come next, and I thought the ending was fitting for the story. I just wished this book had more wow moments in it although saying that it is still a good read in my opinion. I’d recommend this if you like good solid police procedurals and I’d definitely read more books from this author.

3.5 stars

The Running Girls is a riveting thriller about a man that returns home after 16 years in prison for killing his wife.

Frank's daughter-in-law, Laurie, is in the Galveston P.D. Once he returns home, Laurie goes to visit him. She starts to check on him and has doubts that he was responsible for her mothers-in-law's death. Laurie finds Warren and two other men beating up Frank. Laurie breaks it up threatening to arrest Warren the former chief of police and Annie's father, who is still grieving and blames Frank for her death.

All the locals still hold a grudge and won't let it be forgotten especially when another girl that likes to run is found murdered in the same manner as Annie. All the clues lead to Frank, but Laurie finds it hard to believe he is guilty. Several more bodies turn up also murdered the same way. But with a hurricane is about to hit the small island, will Laurie be able to prove that Frank did not kill all these people and another suspect is worth pursuing.

This was a thrilling story about murder and a deadly hurricane. I really liked how the story was interwoven with a hurricane. It was another way to ramp up the drama. As all the evidence led to Frank it was hard not to believe he was not guilty. The writing was very descriptive and held my attention not wanting to put it down. Looking forward to reading many more books from this author.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the setting. As a native Texan the idea of a thriller set in Galveston devastated by a hurricane was a winner, and the author did a terrific job of working the menacing setting into the story. I personally enjoyed the well developed characters and the climbing pace. The tension builds and builds into a satisfying climax. A complex plot, deft prose, characters you care about- five stars for this compelling read.

I found this a but of a slow burn to start although it did pick up towards the middle and was certainly a decent enough thriller. I wasn't terribly invested in the character relation side of it, I felt they just weighed the story down and were a bit irrelevant but I enjoyed thebtwists and turns and it all ended quite nicely. Its a quick and easy read that I'm probably just overthinking lol. As a thriller, it delivered and I liked that the premise was quite unique and the storm setting also added a different feel to the story

⭐️Rating: 3/5
✍🏼Author: Mat Brolly
📖Genre: Thriller

::My thoughts::
Slow start but once you get past the second half, it speeds up and takes you on a thrill ride. It was a very suspenseful book, and the ending was a complete surprise. The story mixes multiple murders spanning 20 years apart and set in Galveston, TX. I think the author did a great job developing the story line and characters. It felt very realistic being that I’m from Texas – so that was a cool tie in. I think this was a solid book, and worth a read!

*Thank you to the Author and NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for my review.

A very well thought out plot that was exciting, thrilling and harrowing in equal parts. This was my first Matt Brolly and I definitely enjoyed the tale. The backdrop of the hurricane was a good idea but trying to get the horror of that across to the reader did take more pages than ideal I never lost interest though but was much more involved with the human story rather than the storm.
I liked Laurie as a character and hope she maybe re-appears in a future book.

The Running Girls by Matt Brolly.
Twenty years ago, in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas, Annie Randall took her dog for a walk. The dog returned. Annie did not. When her body was found, cruelly broken and posed like a runner, there was only ever one suspect: Annie’s husband, Frank. Now he’s served his time and come home – but the locals won’t let him forget. Especially when there’s a new ‘running girl’ murder…
Detective Laurie Campbell remembers Annie’s case. She’s also married to the Randalls’ son. Painfully conscious of the deep wounds within her family, and still suffering from a personal tragedy of her own, Laurie takes the lead on the new investigation. As much as the finger of suspicion points to her father-in-law, something doesn’t add up. If he didn’t commit the most recent murder, is it possible he never killed Annie either? And if he didn’t, who did?
A really enjoyable read. Gripping read. I did like Laurie. 5*.

A quick read of a book but utterly satisfying - if you love crime novels that have a satisfying ending, this is a great book to read. Wonderful characters, a gripping plot and a very satisfying ending means I will recommend it far and wide to my lovers of mysteries that are always looking for a new author or book to check out.

#shortbutsweetreviews

I do like Matt Brolly books but this is not my favourite. Set in Galveston, the main character, Randall, is released from prison after serving 19 years for the murder of his wife. Another murder occurs with the same MO and Randall comes under suspicion. I liked the setting and the plotting was good but it was a bit repetitive and the characters were undeveloped. The pace was fast but the ending was wrapped up just a bit too neatly. it's a book for holiday reading. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Good book! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery ,great detective work and a crazy great who done it that I never would have guessed!! There were so many crazy twists and turns! storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my Kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

The Running Girls was an easy read. Just weeks after Frank Randall is released from prison for murdering his wife, the body of a second girl is found in the same location. The placement of the bodies is too close to be a coincidence. Detective Laurie Campbell is married to Frank Randall's estranged son and as she begins to investigate the case and look into the murder of her mother in law she starts to question her own intuition.

The author’s law background makes the investigative part of the story very strong, and the book touched on some important social issues in law enforcement such as bias influencing an investigation and the existence of a boy’s club. The first 15% of the book was a bit slower than I would have liked mostly because I found the sections narrated by Frank’s relationship to be a bit clunky and it was almost off-putting. Similarly, the interactions between Laurie and David were a bit distracting, the lack of self-esteem that Laurie had was the weakest part of the writing for me. At times it almost perpetuated this idea that adultery could be justified. It didn’t really add anything to the overall story, it could have and given how strong the author’s writing is in other areas, I did wonder if the awkward sections are a deliberate attempt at reflecting a newly released convict’s difficulties adjusting to life on the outside and a marriage that is in trouble. Overall, I really enjoyed the story, it was relatively fast paced, and the twist was unpredictable, there were very few hints along the way.

I would say it’s a 3.5-4/5 for me. Enjoyable but probably not a contender for my top 10 books of 2023.

A harrowing story where a man convicted of murdering his wife is released from prison, but within days a girl goes missing. The hunt is on to find her before it's too late. An interesting read, with a thrilling finale.