'The Woman Who Ran' by Sam Baker

Published by Harper Collins,
28 January 2016.  
ISBN 978-0-00-746435-7
 
This  is the story of a mysterious woman who runs away to a remote house in Yorkshire.  The building is dilapidated and she camps out in its crumbling interior with only a halfwild cat offering her company.  Shedoesn't want to communicate with anyone in the village - particularly the inquisitive keeper of the village shop.   Any faint stirring of familiarity with the work of another Yorkshire writer is not accidental!  Helen  Lawrence has a very interesting past and a number of serious gaps in her memory.  Gradually we discover what has happened through her life and the demons with which she battles.  The Yorkshire Dales make a superb backdrop as Helen runs through them - literally!  

 Helen's exercise regime is one of serious running.  Her contact with a retired journalist gradually leads to her explaining to him what has occurred during her life.   She starts to learn to understand her own reactions through these gradual revelations.
 
The feeling of being hunted plays a large part in her fears.   The tension grows and grows until a climax of this hunt is reached in really frightening circumstances.
 

The question "How far would you run to escape the past?"  leads the reader to consider how he or she would respond in such a position.   Sam  Baker has produced an accomplished tale that is compulsive reading.
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Reviewer: Jennifer S. Palmer
Sam Baker has written other detective stories but this psychological thriller is in a different vein.
 

Sam Baker  was born July 1966 and  grew up in Hampshire. After a degree in politics at Birmingham University became a journalist, going on to edit some of the UK's biggest magazines. For six years she was Editor in Chief of Red magazine, where she set up the Red Hot Women Awards recognising achievement across politics, science, tech, the arts, media and charity, as well as championing support for Refuge, the charity for victims of domestic abuse. In 2015 she co-founded and launched The Pool with Lauren Laverne, the online platform that makes inspiring and original content for busy women.Sam is married to the novelist Jon Courtenay Grimwood and lives in Winchester. When she’s not working or writing she escapes by devouring crime novels or watching box sets.

http://www.sambaker.co.uk/

Jennifer Palmer Throughout my reading life crime fiction has been a constant interest; I really enjoyed my 15 years as an expatriate in the Far East, the Netherlands & the USA but occasionally the solace of closing my door to the outside world and sitting reading was highly therapeutic. I now lecture to adults on historical topics including Famous Historical Mysteries.