Twisting, turning, gritty, gripping and absolutely compelling!
Firstly, I have to say I've never read a Harlan Coben book before. I thought I'd try to branch out! I'm very glad I did!
Simon appears to have it all. A successful career, a happy marriage to his equally successful doctor wife and three children. However, his oldest child Paige has run away and is a drug addict in the thrall of an abusive boyfriend. Simon tries to find Paige but when he does he sets off a series of events that could easily end in disaster for all of their family.
I love twists and turns when reading, and this was packed with them from the start to the very bitter end! Just as I was fully immersed in Simon's story, the narrative changed to follow two new characters and it took quite some time until it was revealed how they were relevant to the rest of the plot. This only served to keep me even more gripped and I completely devoured the whole book desperate to find out answers!
I wouldn't initially have chosen this type of book, thinking it might be a bit too "blokey", but I was proven very wrong. A great, intriguing plot, a cast of interesting characters and a fast gripping pace. I will definitely be reading more by this author!
Two seemingly unrelated plots collide at the very end in a fast and explosive finish.
Having read some of Harlan Coben’s previous books, I was looking forward to reading this. The book begins with Simon, who has been looking for his missing daughter, suddenly spotting her busking in a park. The story is told in two plot lines. One follows Simon as he tries desperately to find and save his daughter, who ran off when he approached her. Just what will a parent do to save their child? The other plot, following a hit man, seems so completely unrelated it is like reading two books at the same time. The story is a big knot of threads which unravel in all sorts of unexpected ways as the body count rises. The two seemingly unrelated plots collide at the very end in a fast and explosive finish.
Bonnie and Clyde meets Taken, a thriller guaranteed to keep you guessing to the end.
Oh my, well that kept me up all night! What a great read, great characters, great plot, great twists, a complete guessing game. You have a man trying to reconnect with his drug reliant daughter, you have a Bonnie and Clyde type couple travelling around the country getting up to all types of mischief, you have a seemingly unconnected series of unexplained deaths and then you have the questioning mind of P.I. extraordinaire Ramirez on the case trying to unravel it all.
I loved the nods to Coben’s earlier works and I feel Elena Ramirez could have a whole series of titles based around her.
I had a quibble with continuity at one point which was dealt with but rather after the fact, apart from that if you what a thriller to keep you reading through the night, then this fits the bill.
A thriller, full of twists and turns, that follows a father's attempt to find his drug-addicted daughter.
It's a long time since I read a novel by Harlen Coben, but I do remember that I always enjoyed the experience. So, I approached Run Away with pleasurable anticipation!
The author tells the story of the Greene family and the search for the eldest daughter, Paige. Coming from a privileged background, Simon and Ingrid Greene are having to cope with the fact that Paige has left this lifestyle and her family behind. She is living with an abusive and drug-addicted man and has become an addict herself. After finding her busking in Central Park, Simon is hopeful that he can rescue her from the life she is leading, but his plans go awry and Paige runs away. When Paige’s boyfriend is murdered, the Greenes go in search of their daughter once again, with even more catastrophic consequences.
There are several storylines in this novel and several interesting characters. The author interweaves these plotlines skilfully with a final resolution in which they come together. I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller, with its fast pace and twists and turns. There is an authenticity to the anguish felt by Simon Greene and many readers will be able to identify with the anxiety and guilt that he felt over his daughter ‘s downward spiral.
All in all, an exciting and intriguing thriller and one I thoroughly recommend.
If you’re already a Harlan Coben fan then this is a must read and if not and you’re yet to discover this excellent author, there’s no better book to start with, you won’t be disappointed.
I have always enjoyed Harlan Coben novels and have constantly looked forward to every new one he has brought out. I was particularly interested in this, his latest offering Run Away, as it is a standalone thriller about a father in search of his runaway daughter, who has gone missing after her boyfriend has been found viciously murdered.
As a parent myself, I fully engaged with the dad, Simon Greene as he struggled to come to terms with his once intelligent and smart minded daughter Paige, becoming a troubled junkie and now on the run. Of course, no sooner does Simon start to make enquiries as to where Paige is, when he and his wife are embroiled in the world of drug dealers, DNA websites, a religious cult and hired assassins. Typical Coben style, there’s shocks, twists and turns a plenty and I loved the nod to his Bolitar series, with the inclusion of ruthless litigator Hester Crimstein and her sharp words and love of being in the media spotlight.
As usual, there’s subtle humour in the dialogue and together with plenty of action, this makes for a very entertaining and enjoyable thriller. There are a few threads running through the story that are connected and the denouement links them all perfectly. The ending was unexpected and very clever and I was disappointed when the story ended as I could have kept on reading for much longer.
If you’re already a Harlan Coben fan then this is a must read and if not and you’re yet to discover this excellent author, there’s no better book to start with, you won’t be disappointed.