I LOVE Harlan Coben!! I was so excited to be able to read this in advance! I was not disappointed! Coben's books are so vivid and feel like a wild roller coaster ride. I could not put this book down and cant wait for my patrons to read this book. There is a long waiting list for it!

Simon and his wife, Ingrid, have three children. Their oldest, Paige, has been lost to them for a while. She has been lost to her addictions. And that boyfriend of hers. Simon has been looking for Paige on every street corner and in every park, even though he and Ingrid agreed to just let her go. And then one day he sees her, playing the guitar in a park. He hardly recognized her but was happy to see her. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was there and the situation escalated. The video of Simon punching the "homeless" man went viral, making his life very difficult.

Now the police have told them that the boyfriend is dead. He died a violent death. And he is a suspect, obviously, Simon didn't do it, and the police soon agree. But where is Paige? Did she kill the man who got her addicted to drugs? Or is she a victim herself? Soon Simon and Ingrid find themselves in a dangerous, life-threatening situation. But they will do whatever it takes to find Paige. But will it be too late? And does his death have anything to do with the young men who are being murdered all over the area?

Run Away is Harlan Coben at his best. Simon and Ingrid are good people. Good parents who have a daughter battling nightmares and addictions. Things they know nothing about. When they heard about Aaron's death, their immediate reaction was for the safety of their daughter. The path they take to find Paige is a non-stop thrill ride for the reader. Involving drug dealers, a crazy cult, and one no-nonsense landlord. There is a lot of bloodshed in this book, but it only adds to the suspense. I really liked Simon and found Ingrid to be a little cold, she had cut off Paige and had even told Simon not to look for her. There was a big reveal later that redeemed her a little in my eyes, but I am not sure if it was enough. There are a few other quirky characters that added to the layers of the story, including an appearance by an "old friend", Nap. In the end, things ended the best possible way for Paige, it was satisfying. Even a relief. -- CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS!

Bottom Line - Every year I eagerly await the latest Harlan Coben novel. I will always be a devoted fan of his, but not every book is created equal. Run Away was definitely worth the wait.





Details: Run Away by Harlan Coben
On Instagram
Pages: 384
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: 3/19/19
Buy it Here!
Thank you to Netgalley for the free review copy.

This book took a little longer to capture me than others by Coben, who is one of my favorite authors. But, once I got into it, I read it in one (long) night. It was a good story about love, secrets, and touches on the devastation that drug dependency can cause in a family.

One unanswered question I have, and this is a slight spoiler, is why Wiley Corval adopted Aaron. But, I guess life is full of unanswered questions.

Good book that I am still thinking about a week after reading.

4+ Stars.

OH BOY! There's a doozie of a secret hiding in RUN AWAY!

The search for Paige is underway and daddy Simon is playing it close to the edge punching out those who get in his way, and questioning everyone and anyone....including those hazardous to your health.

Bullets are flying....and hitting their mark in this suspenseful mystery-thriller with ruthless killers and drug dealers; we even meet up with a couple familiar notable faces from the past.

Get ready to quickly turn pages, read a well-written, multi-layered story....by a master.... with well-done characters and more than one worthy twist.

Don't RUN AWAY from this one.....and be sure to check out H.C.'s Myron Bolitar series (my favorite)

(Did you Coben fans catch the reference to Win? .... "Articulate!" ... Love it!)

***Arc provided by Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for review***

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing and Harlan Coben for the opportunity to read his latest thriller - this is definitely a Do Not Miss It read - 5 stars for a wild ride!

Simon Greene and his wife, Dr Ingrid Greene, seemingly have the perfect life - great jobs, living in NYC, 3 great kids. Until their oldest, Paige, goes to college and things take a bad turn. Paige eventually becomes addicted to drugs and leaves the family. Simon is in Central Park at lunch one day and sees a street performer panhandling - he realizes it's Paige. He goes after her, is confronted by her druggie boyfriend, Aaron, and Paige takes off running. Simon and Ingrid do what any of us would do - try to find her. That decision leads them down a dark rabbit hole and involves an intertwined plot of murders that somehow must circle back to Paige.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. You will feel for these characters and become emotionally involved. Highly recommended - another winner by Coben!

This one is going to be a smash hit. Though an awful lot of secrets are beneath the plot, one has to admire the mind that put this book together. Taut, riveting, a page turner - read it and choose your own descriptor.

All hail the king of suspense! Harlan Coben has proved again why readers keep snatching up his books. I am always captivated by Harlan's writing. The place where Harlan surpasses many others in this genre is his ability to develop characters in a manner where they are well rounded, likeable, and damn entertaining. It's no easy feat to capture your readers full attention when a story surrounds itself around a privileged white family living in New York City; who just so happen to have a troubled child who is also an addict. 

The story is created around this family and all the lies and secrets they hold. But wait, there is more! Not only are we lead on a wild goose chase to find Paige, but we also get a side story containing a duo who travel around the country executing targeted individuals. But, why? Who would want all these men dead and what is the connection between it all? When the connections are tied together, and when the truth is revealed it hits like a hard blow to the gut.

This book as so many elements, seriously, in addition to all the above, add in a creepy cult factor—that right, A CULT. It may sound like an explosion of information and storylines, but Harlan ties it all together in a pretty package. With all its twists, in the end I was surprised to find I had figured out the ending quite early. This is a major rarity as I have been unable to do so in Harlan's prior works. Even still, RUN AWAY is a major page turner and it begs the question of how far you will go to protect those you love.  Overall this is a cleverly crafted story filled with heart-pounding suspense and, as always, is sprinkled with Harlan's sarcasm and heart.

P.S. At the start of this story you are led into a Beatles tune and I was all for it.

Maybe I'm just getting tired of his style and prose, but it seemed like more of same to me. Story was good until he got to conversations within the Cult and The Truth and it became just too silly and ridiculous. Started out well but unraveled.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this title to review.

WOW. I've enjoyed a number of Coben's books, but this was fantastic. I really feel like he stepped away from his typical "formula" with this title, and it paid off. I should note - this doesn't mean it's a <i>realistic</i> thriller by any means; no one is actually going to pull off the stunts that the Greenes manage in real life.

Simon and his family. I feel the issues simmering there on such a deep level. I grew up with a "wayward brother" so to speak, and our parents certainly didn't approach things the way Paige's did! There were a number of times that I wanted to throw my phone down (technology! Kindle reading app!) because I was SO frustrated with Simon and Ingrid's decisions. But at the same time, as a mother, I can *completely* understand their behavior!

The subplots at first made little sense. I won't say too much because I don't want to give anything away - but I promise that if you're wondering "wait, how does THAT fit in", it WILL make sense and leave you creeped out. Coben manages to tap into some major issues facing (especially American) culture today without it seeming overbearing or preachy.

Everything wraps up relatively neatly, as these types of thrillers tend to. That doesn't mean I expected the ending at all, and I was really pleased with how Coben managed to trick me one last time with the ending. Overall a great story and I will definitely be reading more from Coben!

This book takes you on a wild ride! Non-stop action, plenty of suspense, and as a big Harlan Coben fan, I totally enjoyed it all.

Others have given the gist of the story, so I'll not go into that much. It involves a father, Simon Greene's search for his daughter, Paige, who has dropped out of college due to her boyfriend, Aaron, who got her addicted to drugs in the first place.

The pace is fast and kept me turning pages quickly. I couldn't wait to find out where Paige was, if she was still alive.

I highly recommend this book. 5 stars

Another great book by Harlan Coben. The story line is every parents nightmare, a runaway child. The story line includes cults, drugs, and some interesting DNA ancestry info. I can definitely recommend this book to my mystery readers.


Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review

Fast paced thriller with great characters... - like all of Harlen Coben books it kept me reading late into the night .Very strongly recommended for any mystery/suspense fans.

Simon and Ingrid Greene are married and have three children - Paige, Sam and Anya. Sadly, Paige is addicted to drugs and has run away from home. One night, Simon and Ingrid decide it will be up to them to find their daughter. They end up going to her last know address. What happens that night leads them down a path they never could have imagined.

Mr Coben is one of my favorite authors. The problem with that is that I always have such high expectations of his books. This one did not disappoint me. What I like most about his writing is he takes several seemingly unconnected storylines and slowly, slowly brings everything together. Several times I found myself saying - oh, so that's the connection. Or - so that's how this person fits into the main story. He creates characters that we root for, or ones that we despise. He finds topics, like drug addiction, that many readers can relate to.

This was a real page turner and I enjoyed every minute of it!

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley.

Harlan Coben is a renowned thriller author, and his latest novel is literally page by page gripping action. The pace never falters and just when you think you can catch your breath, another twist has your mind off and running again. The layers of plot are truly captivating, and the level of detail and unpredictable surprises is impressive and wholly believable.

Simon Greene sits in Strawberry Fields in Central Park, watching this bedraggled homeless girl sing and play a butchered version of the Beatles song, Penny Lane. Simon is a stock-broker and his wife, Ingrid, is a paediatrician, both wealthy, happily married and supportive of their 3 children, yet here he watches his run-away daughter Paige. Her hair matted and her cheekbones sunken. She was rail-thin, raggedy, dirty, damaged, lost and a drug addict. He has searched for a long time to find her and his heart breaks as he watches his beautiful daughter in such a decrepit state.

When Simon approaches her, he is confronted by her drug dealer boyfriend, Aaron. After an altercation between Simon and Aaron, Paige takes off and goes back into hiding. Several days later Aaron is found savagely murdered, and of course who is the main suspect? Simon needs a high priced and capable lawyer to help his case and the interplay between lawyer and law enforcement is absorbing and quite revealing.

On a separate thread, several targeted murders are taking place by a professional killer. Simon and Ingrid are trying to find their daughter. A private investigator, Elena Ramirez, is trying to find a missing person and a Detective Fagbenle is investigating a murder and searching for a killer or killers. It’s unfair to say anything more about the story as it reveals itself so cleverly that the turns and surprises shock the reader, regularly.

The dialogue, imagery, characterisation and plot, weave together so effortlessly that it is a delightful experience to read this book. The family challenges are wonderfully portrayed and what will happen the ideal family when placed under extreme pressure. What family secrets will be exposed in an effort to understand what happened their daughter? What pressures are put under children as they start to live independent lives while having been protected their whole youth? An amazing book with so many perspectives to explore a story. Themes that are appropriate in today’s world make this a contemporary novel that just frightens the life out of me.

Run Away is a masterful story delivered by a true master of the mystery thriller. A book that I highly recommend and a solid 5 star. I'd like to thank Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.

Pretty typical Harlan Coben book, always interesting and always great writing. Really liked the story except the fact we didnt get to spend more time with Paige, would have been good to be part of her journey as well except for right at the end. easy four stars though for me.

Yes I got a FREE copy for my FEARLESS review.

Harlan Coban, the jealous say he is a formula writer, we readers say he is a fantastic writer. Time after time he grabs you with his story and will not let go. Simon Greene is every parent, with all of our fears and shortcomings. A great story with a creepy cult, a bit of a stretch in a few places but you will love this book; AS USUAL!!!

Fast-paced, cleverly plotted, page-turner - Coben does it again! Simon Greene and his wife, Ingrid, are searching for their college-age daughter, Paige, who has run away and fallen in with the drug crowd and much more. There are plenty of twists and shocking turns during the search. They find themselves getting in over their heads with drug dealers, DNA websites, a religious cult, and hired assassins. Coben has a way of bringing it all together so that nothing seems outrageous - as you will find with the ending - Coben makes you a believer! Sit back and just enjoy the read!!!

Another thrill-a-minute roller coaster ride with Harlan Coben! I find his books incredibly hard to put down once I get started and this one was no exception. Only this time I was smart enough to start it early on a weekend so I wasn't up all night. As a parent, this one really got to me especially considering I have a child the same age. I felt the pain as though it were my own child. Coben evokes such visceral reactions in me! One of the many reasons I love and hate his books in equal measure. LOL

Holy Cow! "Run Away" is a fantastic, fast-paced and fun thriller to dig into. I loved it from the first page and especially appreciated the different topics (DNA-ancestry sites, cults, drug abuse) and how they were handled among an affluent and seemingly-perfect family. Coben sets a great tone with the character development and believable plot. With so important issues, it would have been easy to confuse the reader but he is masterful at telling a good story.

I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of mysteries and thrillers. This is no "slow-burn" story - it quickly moves along and it's an entertaining read all the way to the end.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing a complimentary copy for me to read in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #RunAway #HarlanCoben

Imagine losing your daughter to drugs and an abusive boyfriend. She does not wish to be found, but you cannot help but look. Then by chance, you see her in Central Park. Hardly recognizable but you know this is your daughter and that she is in trouble. So like any parent, you beg her to come home. Of course, she runs away. And of course, you follow; not knowing it will lead to danger, murder, hard decisions and tough love.

I usually love any and everything Harlan Coben writes. So I was super disappointed when I settled in with a piping hot cup of chai black tea to read an advance copy of his new release, Run Away. My tea ran cold as I struggled through the first couple chapters. Maybe I was just tired and losing focus. So I paused reading and picked it up again later. This time it was even harder. I could not connect with the main character, let alone empathize with his situation. The storyline jumped all over the place without a smooth transition. It fell flat. In fairness, maybe the book got better but I did not finish (DNF).

Nevertheless, Happy Pub Day, Harlan Coben! Run Away is now available.

LiteraryMarie