Run Time
Catherine Ryan Howard
Blackstone Publishing
August 16, 2022

Adele Rafferty had a lengthy run on a soap opera called These are the Days. She thinks her biggest career mistake was leaving the show. She got fired from her last job for having a psychotic break on set. Unemployed for almost a year, she agrees to act in a horror film set in the deep woods. She has only 24 hours notice and she has to travel trans-Atlantic to the set. The last actress has bowed out and the director only has two weeks to shoot the movie. Adele thinks this could be her brilliant comeback as an actor.

Little did she know that she was walking into the nightmare of Final Draft: The Film set in the isolated, deep, dark woods. And then strange things start happening starting with an eerie text from an unknown caller.

This book is downright scary. Howard’s writing keeps the tension going and going and going! It kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. The book goes from the screenplay text to the book it’s based on, to reality. It works really well. There are clever reveals and a wonderful cast of characters.

I recommend this book to those of us who enjoy psychological thrillers. It’s a mystery that will keep you guessing until the end.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to #Netgalley and #BlackstonePublishing for the arc. The opinions are my own.

Another hit by Catherine Ryan Howard! Fans of her books will not be disappointed in her newest one! The story keeps you engaged and you will find yourself thinking about the characters long after you put it down. Highly recommend!

Adele was once a famous soap star whose career has taken a hiatus, so when the opportunity to step into a leading role in a psychological horror flick presents itself, she jumps at the chance hoping it can help propel her back into the industry. It’s a last minute switch as the previous actress has left the project, so she probably doesn’t ask enough questions, and is quickly whisked away to a remote cottage in the woods of West Cork, Ireland. What can possibly go wrong? 

📖 I loved the story within a story, but it was a little hard to follow at times because you’re not sure what’s real and what isn’t.  The remote location lent to creepy vibes throughout, and it kept me on the edge of my seat seeing how it would unravel. I thought it was fun and entertaining but it wasn’t my favorite thriller, however I will be excited to look for more from this author.

What a thrilling book. So gripping I was able to listen to it while rocking both nephews to sleep, while cleaning, moving around the house, preparing dinner, everything. The narrator was amazing, with such a compelling and enchanting voice I lost myself to the novel for whole hours at a time. It was such a thrill to listen to, and I'll definitely recommend it to anyone. The book itself was such a neat and thrilling twist on the typical meta story(and could it get more meta outside of being a Wes Craven film?). I love Catherine Ryan Howard and am finding that she is one of my favorite authors now. I love reading her books and listening to them as well. She's completely engrossing no matter the form.

Adele is struggling to re-start her acting career so when she is offered an opportunity to take a leading role in an independent horror movie, she barely hesitates. She only begins to question her decision when she arrives on set and discovers that it is in a remote location with a minimal, all-male crew, and the filming is being done only at night.

Catherine Ryan Howard’s latest book, Run Time, has a spooky and intriguing premise. The author has produced a unique plot that includes a book within a book within a movie. Or something like that. In any case, there are events that take place in the story, the book in the story, and the movie (screenplay). They are all similar and as Adele tries to sort it all out she begins to realize that her comeback role could be her last.

Ms Ryan is a talented and creative author and I’ve enjoyed her other books. But, Run Time was a bit of a struggle for me. Even though there’s a lot going on, there were times that the story seemed to drag and Adele’s paranoia became a bit wearing. Because it is complex and fairly lengthy, and it jumped between the three scenarios, it is a book that will be most appreciated if it is read on a fairly continuing basis (like a long train ride). While this isn’t one of my favorite books by this author, I’m looking forward to her next one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Adele is an actress living in LA who has been struggling to find work. When a production company in Ireland offers her a lead role in a horror film, she takes the next flight back to her home country. Filming takes place in a cabin in the woods, and odd things quickly start happening on set. Adele does not know who she can trust, and soon feels like she is living in a real life horror movie.

For starters, I loved the setting of this book! I found the setting to be what drew me in and kept me reading. This one gets bonus points for making you feel like you are being watched. I also enjoyed that the movie script was added in! With that being said, I do feel as if the pace of this book was pretty slow, and I did not find myself connecting with any of the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the plot of this one but wish it was more fast-paced.

This book gave me the creepies and in a good way it definitely set the tone. I loved the premise of this book. It was very unique and I was hooked. I love Catherine Ryan Howard’s books. I will read anything she writes. I did find that so much happened in the end it was a little hard to keep up with but overall this was a thriller that did not disappoint!

Wow! I think I might have found a new must read author. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I was invested the entire book. I loved the whole story, within a story, within a story that was so fun. i have never read anything quite like it. The imagery that this book created for me was terrifying I felt like I was right there with Adele in her nightmare experience. I will say I did have the plot figured out a little more than halfway through but I still had to know how the whole story tied together. Was the ending kind of unbelievable and wrapped up a little too neatly? Maybe, but I still enjoyed every second if this crazy ride. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to be creeped out in the middle of the night thinking about Mothmen and Ghostly banshees hiding in the woods you are lost in. Lastly thank you #netgalley for the opportunity to read and give my honest review to this book. Until next time Happy Reading!

This was another solid story from Catherine Ryan Howard. I like her thrillers, but I do think her pacing is a bit slow for me. I found that again, I struggled to really get into this story. Once everything really started to get moving, I enjoyed this quite a bit. The ending was a bit off, but overall, I would recommend this to thriller lovers!

Adele is a struggling actress living in L.A. waiting desperately for her big break. One day she receives a phone call proposing to her a last-minute role of a lifetime. She is a little hesitant at first but realizing this is just too good to pass up, she accepts and takes the first flight to Ireland. Once on set for the thriller horror movie “Final Draft” that has been laced with much secrecy, she notices strange things happening on set that coincide with events that take place in the script. As she receives ominous text messages and just can’t shake the feeling that she is being watched, Adele must get to the bottom of things before it’s too late.

•

I really love the idea behind this story and I enjoyed how the book flipped from the present to the actual script of the movie. However, I had a lot of hopes in this being more of a horror story, there was plenty of potential and opportunities but it just fell a little flat for me. There was some suspense that kept me on edge as you try to navigate through Adele’s POV what is going on, I just wish there was some more action. I also was not the biggest fan of the reasoning behind everything, it was a little underwhelming and did not make every much sense to me. I do love the author’s writing style and really enjoyed her previous book 56 days, however I just could not really connect with this one. I do recommend this for any movie fans out there, it was very interesting to read of the filming progress and the secrets within the movie business. Thank you toNetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. This title is available now for purchase!

When semi- has been actress Adele gets offered a feature role in an indie film last minute, she thinks it may be her last chance to get back into the game of movie making. The film is set in a remote location, with minimal staff and the atmosphere definitely instills a sense of isolation.

I enjoyed that the movie itself (called Final Draft) was primarily about a woman reading a book called First Draft. Weird coincidences between the movie character, the book character and our actress start occurring and then it becomes a race to figure out if Adele is in real danger or if her mind is just playing tricks on her. At times this one was a bit heavy on the gaslighting/unreliable narrator trope.

Run Time was my second Catherine Ryan Howard book and I'll likely pick up whatever she writes next despite not rating this one higher.


Special thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for a copy for review.

If you've read a thriller from Catherine Ryan Howard before it's very similar to her others with the format which I enjoy. If not, she commonly writes a story within a story. For Run Time, this time for her story within the story it's a movie script that takes place within the action on a psychological horror movie set. The action in the movie script eerily mirrors what is going on for Adele Rafferty, our leading lady, on the set.

If the word horror scares you, do not fret. Although the movie is set to be a psychological horror, I'd say we as readers only get to the psychological thriller aspects of the script and story. I thought the first half of the story was well done, but sadly the last half started to run out of steam. I found the ending underwhelming. It was an exciting premise, but for me it didn't work out.

If you've enjoyed her previous works or enjoy psychological thrillers that are more character driven, pick up Run Time.

(PSA – My rating should NOT be looked at – unfortunately you can’t leave a review without a star rating)

I was SO excited to read this after loving 56 Days! The premise sounded very intriguing. Upon diving in - I started with the netgalley, but also had a library book hard copy. I kept struggling with trying to read a screen play inside of a book. It reminded me a lot of "The Appeal" - also a screen play inside a book, which I struggled heavily with. Unfortunately, this format just does not work for me, despite my interest!

Thank you, netgalley & the publisher,!

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