It’s a real pleasure today to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review of The Runaway Wives by Karen King: published by Boldwood Books on 24th March, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. Thank you, as always, to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).
I think I owe Karen a bit of an apology – I’ve seen on her social channels that she’s celebrating forty years of publication, but although I’ve been sharing reviews for almost that long (ok, not really – it just feels like it sometimes!) this is the very first time I’ve picked up one of her books. Although I know she’s written plenty of romance over the years (and how on earth did I miss out on The Cornish Hotel by the Sea?), I’ve always associated her more with the psychological suspense she writes so very successfully with Bookouture – and you’ll know that’s not often my personal cup of tea. But now she’s also writing for Boldwood, and I was so thrilled to find that she’d be writing the golden years fiction that I unfailingly love – so let’s take a closer look at her new one…
‘We’re leaving. And there’s nothing either of you can do about it!’
When the surprise holiday Dee thinks her husband has booked for her sixtieth birthday weekend turns out to be yet another solo golfing break – it’s the last straw.
Meanwhile her best friend Babs’s other half has decided to move to Spain and is acting like he doesn’t need to consult anyone. Not even Babs!
Well, if their husbands think they can do what they want, so can their wives. So, with that thought, the two best friends leap into Dee’s trusty car and head for the seaside, and an adventure they’ll never forget.
Back home their furious husbands want them to return immediately. But – as they begin to enjoy their newfound freedom – will either of the runaway wives ever want to come back home again?
An absolutely hilarious, uplifting, escapist story, perfect for fans of Maddie Please, Judy Leigh and Dawn French.
There’s little I enjoy more than getting involved in the lives of characters I find it easy to relate to – I remember it was once difficult to find books about women of my age and experience, and I’m delighted that there are more and more well-written books realistically portraying their lives. In this case though, I’ll admit I was rather thanking my lucky stars that I chose to stay single, and haven’t experienced the challenges of married life that made Babs’ and Dee’s lives so very difficult.
After spotting an email on her husband’s phone, Dee is adding to her wardrobe ahead of a “surprise” holiday for her 60th birthday – only to find that her husband has instead booked a golfing break, and she’s not invited. I seethed on her behalf – especially on learning that she’d brushed his previous infidelities under the carpet, and it was unlikely that he’d turn down another opportunity to stray. Babs though thought she had a strong marriage – until it seemed her husband had very different retirement plans from her, having become fixated on purchasing a house in rural Spain. Despite him putting their home on the market, and booking a trip for them both to look at suitable properties, she’s absolutely determined that it’s never going to happen.
The friends decide that their best course of action is to find their own fun, escape from real life for a while – and they head to Cornwall for a break together. I did rather expect their time away to be full of high jinks and hilarity – the publishers had mentioned “women behaving badly” – and there certainly were plenty of laughs, but what I really enjoyed was the way they both became so involved with the community around their holiday home and were able to make decisions on what they really wanted from life. There’s a fair bit of poignancy to the story, a rather lovely touch of unexpected romance, a bit of drama needing their intervention, a neighbour (and her characterful cat) who need their help – I so enjoyed being part of both women’s lives for a while, both of them very easy to identify with and extremely likeable, their friendship so filled with warmth and mutually supportive. And as the holiday draws to an end, the story continues – through to an ending that was so perfect in every way, and tremendously uplifting.
This was a totally delightful read, and entirely engaged me from beginning to end – as both women found the strength to define their own futures, had fun and adventures along the way, and finally found their own paths to future happiness. And the writing was quite wonderful, so easy to read and to become immersed in the story’s many twists and turns – I’ll be looking forward to reading more from this really talented author.
About the author
Karen King is an Amazon international bestselling author currently writing psychological suspense for Bookouture and women’s fiction for Boldwood. Her sixth psychological suspense, Girl Next Door, was published on 9 July 2024 and her first ‘golden years’ novel for Boldwood is published in March 2025.
Karen has also had 120 children’s books, two young adult novels, and several short stories for women’s magazines published. Her early writing career was spent working on various teenage and children’s magazines. Her suspense novels The Mother In Law, The Perfect Stepmother and The Stranger in my Bed and her romantic novel The Cornish Hotel by the Sea all became International Amazon bestsellers.
Karen is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, the Society of Authors, the Crime Writers’ Association and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. She now lives in Spain where she loves to spend her non-writing time exploring the quaint local towns with her husband, Dave, when she isn’t sunbathing or swimming in the pool, that is.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub
Oh my, what a wonderful review. Thank you so much, Anne. Reviews like this make all the blood, sweat and tears worthwhile. x
And an absolute pleasure Karen – a book I thoroughly enjoyed! xx