This was fun! A story within a story and I enjoyed them both. I couldn’t figure out what was happening the whole time and the reveal kept me guessing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Will this be her big break, or her final call?

Adele's acting career has been on a downward trajectory for a long time, so when she is offered a role in a movie, she accepts it without hesitation. The movie is a psychological horror flick that's being filmed deep in the forest, far from any town. When problems arise on set, and real life begins to mirror the movie script, Adele's life may be in more jeopardy than her career is...
The description for this novel was promising, and I was excited to pick it up. I had difficulty getting into the story from the beginning and found it a bit slow and hard to follow. There was a lot going on at once which made parts of the book confusing. Things picked up as the novel reached its climax, and from there I enjoyed the ending a lot. I listened to the accompanying audiobook, and the narrators did a great job portraying the characters and bringing them to life. I have enjoyed Catherine Ryan Howard's work in the past and look forward to reading more of her books!

Really wanted to love this book, the concept is killer (no pun intended) and very intriguing, but... there's a ton of build up without resolution. Not a lot really happens, and not all the set ups were paid off.

This book I felt like was very different from the others I’ve read by this author. It was different but I still really enjoyed it. Kept me on my toes the whole time!

Actual rating: 2.5 out of 5

"...were all things experienced by Karen, the woman in the First Draft: The Novel, and Kate, the woman in the Final Draft: The Movie, and now me, the complete idiot who'd agreed to come here and play Kate because she was so damn desperate to make it as an actor."

If the plot and writing did not confuse the hell out of you, kudos to you. I enjoyed reading Adele's part the most but that also got repetitive and a convoluted mess.

Thank you NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and Catherine Ryan Howard for an ARC of "Run Time" in exchange of an honest review.

Adele is an Irish actress who is testing her luck in LA (and having minimal success) after jeopardizing her acting reputation back at home. she hopes that being in the states will give her a fresh start as someone who is mostly unrecognizable.

so it comes as a surprise to Adele when she gets a call from an Ireland number inquiring about a lead role back home. Adele is quick to agree, especially when hearing the filming details: a small rookie crew, a set located in the woods with no cell service & all wrapped in a bow with a NDA.

as someone desperately hoping to escape the negative publicity while simultaneously searching for her breakthrough role, the stars seem to have finally aligned for Adele. but as soon as filming begins, things start to get a little strange. Adele finds herself living through moments eerily similar to the very own script she’s acting out on set. is she going crazy over mere coincidences, or is she starring in her own horror movie?

i’ve heard great things about this author, so I was excited to read this one! i will say, it took me until about halfway through the book to actually get invested. i will definitely attribute some of that to having little time to read large portions of the book in one sitting, so I think my attention span was lacking some for the first half. 🙈 however, I do think some of it can also be attributed to the slow burn of the story itself.

i’m glad I stuck through til the end, as there were some good twists and it was interesting how everything was tied together, although some of it was a tad predictable and I thought the ending was good, not great.

thank you to @netgalley & @blackstonepublishing for my advanced reader’s copy! this book is available now!

Adele Rafferty was a rising soap star in Ireland before her acting career took a nose-dive. Now living in the U.S, she’s desperate for any gig she can land.

When an opportunity to star in a film in Ireland falls in her lap she quickly says yes. I mean, how could she not! But without an agent to vet the offer she’s in for more than she bargained for.

First issue….Adele isn’t the first choice for starring in this film. But as the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers.

Second issue…Filming is slated to be entirely filmed at night in a desolate forest. Hello…can anyone say ‘Blair Witch’!?🙈

Sadly this was probably my least favorite work from this author. I never warmed up to Adele no matter how hard I tried. I also found the format extremely confusing.

I attempted the audio as well as the digital version, but neither seemed to work. The audio, which appeared to be a finished copy had multiple errors of repeating sentences. Perhaps it was just my copy?🤷🏻‍♀️Again, since I had issues with the flow of the book, this certainly didn’t help!

But after having positive experiences with this author in the past I’ll still be watching for her next release!

A buddy 🎧 & 📚 with Susanne!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing

"That's the problem with mysteries... they only exist because you don't have the answers."
Run Time is a great transition book for summer to fall!
The tension is no joke in Catherine Ryan Howard's newest thriller. It's non-stop!
Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for my eARC for review.
Adele Rafferty is an actress known once upon a time for her work on a soap opera. She relocated to LA and was never quite able to solidly transition to film.
Then a last-second job offer comes along for a horror film, shooting in a remote Irish forest and under a strict non-disclosure clause.
As per the genre, wise decisions do not a horror film make.
The story is told in traditional manner, then intercut with pieces of the script for Final Draft - there's a story within a script within the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed flipping the pages to find out what was happening to Adele once mysterious goings-on started occurring at the set, as well as the inside workings of the film industry.
The reveals ended up a bit messy and disjointed. But overall an enjoyable read and a great ending - recommended!
Released on Aug. 16.

Great premise and very chilling atmosphere. There were times I honestly felt scared reading this book. I loved not knowing who to trust and what to believe. The ending seemed little too far fetched and little confusing but overall a solid, entertaining thriller.

Run Time is one of those thrillers that is so spooky because the creepy feelings and unease come from things that you can completely understand and imagine happening in real life. You can feel the same sick feelings and worry in the pit of your stomach. The tools of isolation, desperation, and gas lighting come together in a perfect storm or fright. I loved the fast pace and realism of this book. An excellent and spooky new thriller!

This is a book within a book, within a movie that gets made into a book then a movie. Lol. Some of it is happening in real time, some as a movie script, all of it based on a book that only exists in the movie. Scratching your head? You’re not alone.
I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately I couldn’t get past Adele’s paranoia and the endless chapters of her running from nothing. It was all running and panic and no climax. The actual climax/twist was totally predictable and unsatisfying.
I’m so sad I didn’t love this book. I really like this writer. But the book needed so much more then what was given. Maybe throwing something supernatural in it, or an actual deranged killer, would have saved it. Without it, it fell flat

I don't know. I thought it was unique and a very creative concept. I don't know if it was the writing style maybe, but this didn't hit with me. I judged a book by it's cover, and thought it looked exciting, but it was kind of underwhelming. There were some entertaining bits, but overall, it was just okay for me.

Thank you so much to @Netgalley for this advanced reader for an honest review.

Adele Rafferty was once a successful child actor in Ireland, where she performed for years on a popular soap opera.

Adele actually got into acting by chance, when she was selected from the crowd by a casting agent at an audition she simply attended with her best friend, Julia.

Julia was actually the actor, but Adele got real lucky that day. The role was on These Are the Days, the soap that she remained on for years.

Branching out, later on, Adele took a role in a movie and it was a wild success. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, that success went to her head a wee bit.

She began to resent the soap for holding her back from doing other projects. Feeling constrained she abruptly left. Her next project did not end well.

Embarrassed beyond belief and consequentially, partially blacklisted from the industry in Ireland, Adele packed her bags and moved to the United States to try her luck there.

As the hits keep on coming though, that's not a successful venture either. Where once Adele was a big fish in a tiny pond, in L.A. she's more like an amoeba in the ocean.

Just when she's about to call it quits on acting for good, Adele receives a call that could change everything and the opportunity is back home.

She's offered the chance to be the lead in a very secretive project. A Horror movie called Final Draft filming in a remote region of West Cork. This could be exactly what Adele needs to revitalize her career.

With some minor trepidation, she hops a plane and heads home. Once on location, Adele is surprised by the skeleton crew and lack of bells and whistles. This is quite a small production indeed.

As she tries to settle in, Adele is unnerved. When the screenplay she reads begins to come to life, she's properly freaked out. Seemingly abandoned on set and in a desperate search for answers, Adele fears for her life.

Will this be her final cut!?



I had a lot of fun with Run Time. This was my first novel by Catherine Ryan Howard, but I absolutely plan to pick up more from her soon.

I was intrigued by this from the very start because here lately I'm loving different formats in writing I absolutely would recommend that format.

This novel has an interesting format. You follow Adele in her present perspective and through her reflections on her career leading her up to this point.

You also get the screenplay from the movie, Final Draft, the one Adele is returning to Ireland to act in.

In Final Draft, one of the main characters, Kate, is reading a book whilst at a remote cottage on a weekend getaway. You also get the portions of that book that Kate is reading.

So essentially, you're reading a book within a screenplay within a book. That's a lot of layers.

Additionally, I love a screenplay included within a book. I know this is hit or miss for people, but for me, it is almost always a hit.

I found some scenes in here genuinely creepy. Putting myself in Adele's shoes, I was properly freaked out. It was claustrophobic and disturbing. I had no idea what was happening.

I liked how the truth behind the movie was revealed. It was surprising, but also sort of not at the same time. Like once it was revealed, it did make a lot of sense, but I didn't see it coming at all.

Since this has a bit of a nontraditional format, I know it won't be for everyone. Luckily, I found it quite enjoyable. I think if you enjoy Horror in general, gritty-feeling found-footage movies, or just stories that go against the grain, you should absolutely give this one a shot.

Although the blurb of this book didn’t really grab me at first, I wanted to read it solely because I’m such a fan of this author. Her excellent writing kept me engrossed in the story despite the fact that the plot just wasn’t up to her usual standard.

Setting and characterization were the leading elements of this horror/thriller genre bender. The remote, cold, and creepy woodland was one to make you shiver regardless of the temperature where you are. The isolation, without cell service or WiFi, added a sinister element. The protagonist, Adele Rafferty, was one who was easy to empathize with.

The plot however… it left me as discombobulated and disoriented as the protagonist. Like a fun house of distorted mirrors.

With themes of desperation, gaslighting, revenge, and envy, there was a lot to admire in this book. However, compared to this author’s former brilliant novels, this one left me rather underwhelmed.

Catherine Ryan Howard's The Nothing Man is one of my favourite thrillers, sadly this was a miss for me. I hate horror so the horror film story line did nothing for me and it was all just a bit flat. I will still buy her next book though because I enjoyed all her others. I was lucky enough to get an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

”Run Time” by Catherine Ryan Howard is a popcorn thriller for readers who like a story-within-a-story.⁣

⁣I was a huge fan of Howard’s pandemic thriller “56 Days,” which is a pretty gruesome domestic thriller. The vibes in “Run Time” are very different.⁣
⁣
When I learned this was about a horror movie, I was worried it might be too scary for me. Horror movies aren’t my thing. It’s quite the opposite — this was more of a mystery and suspense novel than horror/thriller. If you want a very manageable case of the creeps and a thriller that’s not too dark, this one is for you.⁣

Overall, I enjoyed this one and can't wait for Catherine Ryan Howard's next book!

This book did not read like it was 520 pages. Once I got into the story of a book, in a movie, in a book I was flying through the pages. Adele is an Irish actress that had a great career until something mysteriously led her to a bit of a breakdown on set. In the aftermath, she picks up and moves to Los Angeles to escape the small industry circle she fears knows everything about her incident. When she gets a call offering her a lead role in a very hush hush production back home she thinks maybe her luck could be turning around. What better way to end up back on top than starring in a horror film that no one knows your making until it's already finished? I was immersed through the first two sections of the book. It was very atmospheric and has a real secluded location/locked room thriller vibe. There were portions that were a little confusing and repetitive switching back and forth from Adele in the present, her script, and the book the script is based on. There is a quote in the later portion that really summed up the book for me, but I don't want anything to be spoiled, so you'll just have to read it for yourself to see if you agree with me. All in all an interesting premise that delivers until coming to a luck luster, for me, conclusion.

I really enjoyed 56 Days, so I was delighted to see that I had been approved for this ARC. Run Time is essentially about a book within a book in a movie. This gets weird because the things that happen in the book begin happening to the person reading to the book and then our main character Adele, begins experiencing things on set. Now, This was not the scary psychological horror I was expecting or that the book was marketed as, but the story was definitely a wild ride, if a bit reaching, The structure reminded me of Riley Sager's Survive the Night, which was met with polarizing reviews, many not loving his script style writing. For me, STN is one of the only Sager books I enjoyed and I enjoyed the style in this book as well- especially how both plot lines impacted and intertwined with one other. This created a meta feeling that, if pulled off well, can be a really trippy, and that was the experience here. I also enjoyed how the fictional book within a screenplay mirrored the events of this story. Overall, a win for sure. I will continue to request and read Catherine Ryan Howard's books for sure.

Talk about a book with layers! This story follows along with former soap star Adele as she makes a horror movie based upon a book that's events are happening to the person in the movie, but are also seeming to happen to Adele as she is on set. The combination of story within a story, within a story and an unreliable narrator makes this a book that one will want to re-read. It's easy to get lost in all the layers, and question what is real, and what isn't. It's laid out in an interesting format too, with parts of the movie script included throughout. This is an atmospheric thriller/horror tale that will keep the reader on their toes.

Read this if…you like books within books (or in this case, a book within a movie within a book).

A big thanks to Netgalley, Blackstone Publishing, and the author for an ALC and a finished copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Adele Rafferty is a washed-up soap star who finally lands the part that could turn her career around. The horror movie is shooting in a very remote location in Ireland, which means there’s no cell service or neighbors to ask for help when strange things start to happen on set. Adele isn’t sure if she’s having some kind of mental break or if someone on set is out to get her. This role may turn out to be her ticket to stardom or it could be her final scene.

I loved the premise of this book. It had a complex plot with a book inside of a movie inside of another book. It was confusing at times, but everything made sense in the end. The big twist was pretty easy to see coming, but the twists and turns leading up to the climax took me by surprise. Reliable narrators are always fun and Adele kept me guessing the entire time. The setting of the book had a life of its own and really added to the spooky atmosphere. Overall, I enjoyed this one and think it’s a solid addition to CRH’s body of work. If you’re a fan of her other novels, I think you’d enjoy Run Time as well.