I’d read it already back in 2021. But I was starting to enjoy it the 2nd time around!

this was a surprisingly engrossing read for me. it started a bit slow, and yet i was still super intrigued. and once it picked up, it REALLY picked up, so high-action and non-stop, and i really loved every second of it. funnily enough, the overt "parental love" theme and aspect of this book didn't land with me. i didn't really feel it or care, because i have no soul and am cold as ice. but there was an angle within that, about family dynamics and bloodlines etc, that i found fully fascinating, and that's what got me. on top of that, seeing how everything tied together, what each piece meant and what it's impact was, was so expertly woven and balanced in this book, i loved that. there was a surprising amount of nuance. also fuck me that ending (some of which i saw coming, but it still didn't pull any punches.) taking off a star because there were moments i had a hard time keeping track of all the characters, i let it slide bc i assumed it would all come together in the end. and it did, but there were a few points when i would have to pause and was like “wait who was that again” and that was a little annoying. it could have been my own headspace and engagement though.

The overall plot is a father who is trying to find his daughter who became enthralled with drugs and an abusive relationship. On his quest to find her, he uncovers that multiple murders are associated to her being missing. An easy read that kept me turning the pages the further I got in to the book. Definitely suspenseful, but mostly with the help of guns. Some characters weren’t as detailed though (I guess that may be the point to a thriller novel); I often forgot who some characters were once the story started breaking into other plot lines. It took me well over halfway before I actually got hooked and wanted to see how the various plots connected to one another. The women were written in an evident misogynistic way ~ full lips, silky hair, curves ~ and a lot of stereotypes were used to describe addictions ~ gangs, mainly POC, lazy or destructive. I truly think more thought could have gone into the overall writing but it was a good read nonetheless.

I normally don't do thriller, but this one is very great. In the beginning it's a little confusing because there are mentioned so many different names, but after a couple of pages you get used to it. The story is told in a very unique way and the actions are so unpredictable, i loved it! Would definetly recommend it, except you don't like thriller.

3.5

4.5/5

My first Harlan Corban and it did not disappoint! I really wanted to read something by this author after loving the Safe Netflix show with Michael C Hall last year but I didn’t know where to start. After seeing this title make the Goodreads best thrillers list for 2019 I decided to start here. It was a good choice! This was a believable and down to earth thriller with twists and turns that shocked me but still kept me invested in the story. Quite often I find myself balking at the disbelief most thrillers have me in, but this was so relatable even though I’ve never been in such a situation (thank goodness). Simon is looking for his missing daughter. One day he sees her singing in Strawberry Fields. When he approaches her she doesn’t recognise him and Simon is soon involved in a situation that leaves him fearing not only for his daughter but for himself and the rest of his family. Simple but exciting premise which really paid off!

Run Away by Harlan Coben is an action packed book, with twists and turns that lead you to think you know what's happening. We meet Simon Green, a father of a drug addict, who finds her looking far worse than she ever has before, and he blames one person only, the boyfriend. People start dying, including the drug addict's boyfriend, and that's when Simon has to bring his daughter home, no matter what. This is a great thriller, that sweeps you along on the ride. Run Away was published on 8th August 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent! You can follow Harlen Coben on Twitter, or through his website. If you like thrillers, then here are some more I've reviewed: The Nowhere Child by Christian White 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 The End of the Line by Gray Williams 🌟🌟🌟 What She Found in the Woods by Josephine Angelini 🌟🌟🌟🌟 I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book. Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

4.5 stars for this one. Wow oh wow... this book did not disappoint. Harlan Coben is a mastermind. There’s so many plot twist that you will have a hard time believe anything. It is truly amazing, so entertaining to read and it will leave you on edge. I swear I couldn’t put it down. How is this book not a Jason Statham film yet? It is that good! I was not expecting the ending even though the Detective’s word resonated a lot with me. (You’ll have to read it to find out) I PROMISE you that you will love it too.

4.5*

I feel like to really get into how I felt about this book I need to break this review down into two sections, the story/plot and the writing. Because one contributed to this being a higher star rating and the other stopped it from being too high. Shall we start on the positives? The plot of this book followed a dad trying to find his daughter who he lost to drugs and an abusive man. There have been a series of murders that are somehow involved in his search and he must try and figure out how everything is connected. There was a lot of suspense in this book, mainly thanks to the use of guns. This combined with short chapters made it quite easy to binge read and so I read it over one weekend. The characters I didn't really care much for and found they slowly grew on me. But mainly I just wanted to know how each line of the story was relevant to the overall plot. Gradually I could see the plot breaking off into separate story arcs and I felt compelled to keep reading to see where this went. So yes, I enjoyed the story of this book and I wanted to pick it up. But. A big but. I was shocked by the writing. This book was blurbed by Dan Brown, the writer has previously had a book adapted to a Netflix series. So I expected his writing to at least be decent. I understand that when writing a mystery you need to make it easy to follow otherwise you lose half of your readers, but there's simplifying the writing and then there's using nativities that could have easily been avoided. The author's use of description could have certainly used some work. Most women were initially described in some sexy way. I have no issue with looks being described first as that is usually how we make first impressions fact to face. But the full lips, luscious hair, the sexy undertones of the descriptions we saw in most 'eligible' women in this book made me feel quite irritated. This book even mentions itself when one of the characters is being sexist by saying a woman needed a man to save her. So the author is clearly aware of this being an issue, yet the male gaze we look through pins these women to nothing more than their womanly, sexy appearance to start with. Further on from this, the naivety and ignorance towards LGBT themes mentioned in this book have shocked me. At one point our main character reports to be fascinated, fascinated, but the fact that two identical twins with the same upbringing may have different sexual preferences.  Heaven forbid! The little comments like this did begin to ruin the reading experience of Run Away for me, but I'm glad I pushed through to finish this book as I was intrigued by what was happening. It's just a shame this was twinged with naive writing and failed at its attempts to be inclusive.