Published January 2nd 2014 by David Fickling Books.
Goodreads Synopsis: Meet Garvie Smith. Highest IQ ever recorded at Marsh Academy. Lowest ever grades. What’s the point, anyway? Life sucks. Nothing ever happens.
Until Chloe Dow’s body is pulled from a pond.
DI Singh is already on the case. Ambitious, uptight, methodical – he’s determined to solve the mystery and get promoted. He doesn’t need any ‘assistance’ from notorious slacker, Smith.
Or does he?
My Review: Running Girl was a book I’d been really looking forward to- and luckily I did really enjoy it! Not entirely as much as I thought I would, but still, it was a really fun mystery to follow.
I started the book with a pretty clear idea of it, as I’d talked to the author at the RHCP crime event about it! I was really absorbed in the story for most of the time: I enjoyed the beginning, especially, which really hooks the reader in. I really did like the pot; it’s a classic crime fiction scenario, though it felt fresh and new, and completely original.
I enjoyed guessing throughout, though Running Girl is so misleading! It’s clever, really clever, though I found a lot of parts quite confusing. It’s a really great crime book in the way that it leads you to think the killer’s one person, when really it’s the person I least expected… though I think so much was going on, I lost track! I ended up re-reading a lot of passages and chapters, because I did get confused.
Garvie’s a really uncommon main character. A lot of books I read centered around mysteries have character that are the complete opposite. Instead, Garvie Smith is lazy, incredibly intelligent but unwilling to do anything, and prefers to hang out with crime-committing kids instead of going to school. Despite his personality, I loved him. He was very much like Sherlock Holmes, only willing to do something if it interests him hugely- and that, now, is working out the mystery behind Chloe Dow’s murder.
I admit it was hard to like him at first, but I did really grow to like him! He was brilliant, a really alternative protagonist, that I think a lot of teens and adults will become attached to. I don’t think he developed very much through the events, but I’m hoping to get to know him even better in book two.
Overall, Running Girl is a book that I’m really mixed on, though I’m mainly loving it. Despite the fact I struggled to follow at a few points, the murder plot was really clever. It’s unpredictable and unexpected, and Garvie’s journey is wild and takes him everywhere on a search, from a Casino to a school… I really enjoyed reading about Garvie’s search, because he’s not your average fictional character. Recommended to crime fiction fans. (:
My Rating:
I received a copy of Running Girl from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.
Goodreads Synopsis: Nine months. Two weeks. Six days. That’s how long recovering addict Sophie’s been drug-free. Four months ago her best friend, Mina, died in what everyone believes was a drug deal gone wrong – a deal they think Sophie set up. Only Sophie knows the truth. She and Mina shared a secret, but there was no drug deal. Mina was deliberately murdered. Forced into rehab for an addiction she’d already beaten, Sophie’s finally out and on the trail of the killer – but can she track them down before they come for her?
Goodreads Synopsis: Top student. Beauty queen. Girlfriend of the hottest football jock: Felicity’s got everything. And it’s all down to her red, red hair.
Goodreads Synopsis: It’s hardest to belong when you’re closest to home…One wet Friday evening, Professor Andrew Martin of Cambridge University solves the world’s greatest mathematical riddle. Then he disappears. When he is found walking naked along the motorway, Professor Martin seems different. Besides the lack of clothes, he now finds normal life pointless. His loving wife and teenage son seem repulsive to him. In fact, he hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton. And he’s a dog. Can a bit of Debussy and Emily Dickinson keep him from murder? Can the species which invented cheap white wine and peanut butter sandwiches be all that bad? And what is the warm feeling he gets when he looks into his wife’s eyes?
The Naturals was… wow. It blew my mind. The story was so original and clever, fast paced and action packed. The plot focuses around Cassie Hobbes, whose mum went missing, supposedly murdered, due to the terrifying evidence Cassie found years ago in her dressing room. Now, Cassie has been recruited to work in a secret branch of the FBI, solving mysteries with her talents.Cassie’s talent reminded me a lot of Sherlock Holmes. She’s amazing at breaking things down and solving mysteries. It was easy to connect with her, and I really enjoyed seeing her character develop a lot. As she’s solving a mystery, she realises it’s more dangerous than she ever could have imagined. I enjoyed it so much! The plot was really fast paced and addictive; I was left completely stunned. I think some parts seemed a little too… freaky? I know Liz, who let me read her copy, definitely saw this too! It’s a seriously chilling book, and definitely not for the faint hearted… there’s something about the murders that sends a shiver up your spine, stronger than a lot of other mysteries I’ve read.
Goodreads Synopsis: Lona Sixteen Always is about to become Lona Seventeen Always, but she isn’t feeling much older or wiser. Unlike Fenn and the rest of the Path strays, she is struggling to move on with her life. How can she look to the future when she knows almost nothing about her past? Lona feels like everyone’s pressuring her to become ‘normal’ – even her beloved Fenn – and on top of this, she’s been having strange, violent dreams. It almost feels like someone’s trying to send her a message…
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