Title: Run Rabbit Run (Sophie Green #5)
Author: Kate Johnson
Publication date: April 7, 2012
Publisher: Choc Lit
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-906931-73-5
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Mystery / romance
Age group: Adult
Source: Publisher
Add it: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon US | Amazon UK | The Book Depository

Sophie’s in trouble. Must be Tuesday.

Sophie Green’s an ex-spy, or trying to be. You wouldn’t believe the trouble she’s in. An MI5 officer has been shot with her gun, her fingerprints all over his office. And no, she didn’t kill him. But she has gone on the run. Now Sophie’s desperately seeking whoever’s trying to frame and kill her. She’s being forced to work with the least trustworthy man in Europe, MI5 is following her every move, and she’s had to leave the tall, blond, god of a man she loves behind.

Luke Sharpe works for MI6. Or did, until his girlfriend became a murder suspect. Doing nothing wasn’t an option, so he started investigating. Who cares if it means jeopardising his career? Sophie’s everything he used to say he never wanted. Young, irresponsible, bright and mad. Now she’s just everything – and she has to live. She will live, won’t she?

I’ve always loved mysteries and powerful heroines so when I was asked if I wanted to review this book, I was delighted and couldn’t wait to get started. Run Rabbit Run is the fifth instalment in the Sophie Green series and not being familiar with the previous books, I had no idea whether I could get into it or not or. But once again, Choc Lit presented me with a gripping story I was unable to put down and which kept me awake all night – I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Run Rabbit Run tells the story of Sophie Green, an ex-spy who gets accused of killing an MI5 officer. An officer who’s been shot with Sophie’s gun, whose office is full of Sophie’s fingerprints, and who Sophie visited on the day he was found dead. To make things even worse, the guard who might have seen her enter and leave the building, i.e. the only witness, is also found dead. And this is when Sophie flees, even though she knows she’s innocent. All the while MI5 and the CIA are following her every step and if this wasn’t enough, she still needs to find out who framed her before it’s too late.

Sophie is one of those characters who I had an instant connection with. She’s funny and sarcastic and most importantly, tough. I could literally hear her speak while I was reading the book – she reminded me a little bit of Sarah Millican. Take Sarah, give her a few guns, put her in an episode of ‘Spooks‘ or ‘Criminal Minds’ and you have Sophie: witty, sarcastic, funny, someone who finds it hard to stop talking and someone who adores cats. Fabulous!

I loved the fact that you simply never knew what was coming. I tried to put myself in Sophie’s place and imagine how it might be to be on the run, knowing that spies are following my every move. When you know you can’t stay in one place for a long time, in case someone’s been following you. I’d be terrified.

There was only one thing I didn’t particularly like – for me, there were a few unnecessary episodes in this novel. Sophie visits so many places while she’s on the run that after a while, I almost kept forgetting where she was coming from. A little bit after I was halfway through the book, I thought it was dragging on a little bit but thank goodness the last 70-80 pages make up for this.

If I had to pick one book that I think could be made into a successful film then I think Run Rabbit Run would be my number one choice. Kate Johnson created such a gripping story that, even though I wasn’t familiar with this series, I found it really hard to put it down. And here I was again, staying up until 1 a.m, clutching my Kindle in a white knuckle death grip and hoping that Sophie would make it to the end. Johnson did a fantastic job and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

*Thank you to Choc Lit for sending me a review copy of this book*