“The Running Girl” is a young adult crime novel set in England. The novel chronicles the story of Garvie, a teenager who takes it upon himself to solve the murder of his ex-girlfriend by helping Inspector Singh, the policeman assigned to the case. Garvie is a math genius with a very high IQ who chooses to be a slacker. Throughout the book, he discovers many clues that lead him to eventually uncover the truth about Chloe Dow, the girl who was murdered.

The book was very compelling with many red herrings and twists. The plot was fast-paced and definitely kept me on tenterhooks. I didn’t know who the murderer was until the end of the book because the plot and suspects kept changing. The only issue I had with the book was that I didn’t like the main character, Garvie. I didn’t really understand his personality, and I found it difficult to connect with him as a reader. However, he is definitely an unconventional and interesting character.

One aspect that I enjoyed about “The Running Girl” was the diversity among the characters. Garvie is from Barbados, and Inspector Singh is Sikh, which isn’t a religion you often see portrayed in teen young adult books. As a Sikh, this was very compelling to me. Garvie and Inspector Singh are foils to each other, and their relationship is an amusing part of the book. Chloe Dow is a fascinating character because everybody thinks they know exactly who she is, but her secrets shock everybody in the end.

The main themes in this book are social commentary, violence, crime and assault.

Overall, “The Running Girl” is definitely a must-read. I would recommend this book to crime novel fans, Sherlock Holmes fans and anybody who wants to read a thought-provoking and engaging mystery novel.