Miley, still reeling from her mother's death, is working at a lodge in the Frank Church Wilderness. While runnning the desolate hiking trails to train for the 2026 Olympics, she is abducted by two men who live in the middle of the forest. She is beaten, raped, and forced to marry the younger of the two men. Along with another missing woman made wife, Miley must find a way to escape.

Noelle W. Ihli writes a fantastic survival thriller and this is no different. Using the real-life kidnapping of Kari Swanson as inspiration, Ihly tells the story of an Olympian who feels guilty over the death of her mother and fighting her feelings for the man who loves her. The way Ihli tels this story keeps the reader interested. The story is well-told and makes you fear that some men are capable of this behavior. There are trigger warnings at the beginning of this book so please take care of yourself when deciding to read this book.

The worst thing in these woods was already inside the cabin. Miley took on a summer job at the Hidden Springs Resort where she cross-trained in the wilderness. There are over two million acres in Frank Church. It’s a popular location for hunter, hikers and backpackers.
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Miley worked alongside Wes helping in the kitchen. Jennifer the owner of Hidden Springs Resort was trying to separate the two of them. Wes knees Mikey went for runs by herself so he insisted she take bear spray with her. During one of there campfire outings Jennifer shared a story of how a girl was attacked by a bear four years ago.
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Bears isn’t what Mikey needed to worry about. On the day visitors were to arrive Mikey was cornered by two doomsday preppers.
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Brent and Miley are biathletes. Miley is in good health and physically fit. She knows how to survive in the wilderness. Her mother has been training with her since she was thirteen.
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This is an atmospheric story about miles of thick forest where a cabin is hidden and occupied by two men preparing for doomsday. Noelle Ihli hit the mark on this scary and frightening nightmare. Miley was the ideal type of character to survive. Being an athlete prepared her for this type of survival strategy. I enjoyed every breathtaking moment of this story. It was a fast pace story that entertained from beginning to end. Nicole Ihli is a phenomenal storyteller. She knows how to hook her readers. Each and every book she writes is fantastic with its horror filled pages that have you gripping your seat with terror.
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The story is told from Brent and Miley’s points of views. This is my favorite way to read a story when two characters are involved the way these two are with Miley missing and Brent determined to find her. The way they used their friendship and love to help each other survive the elements of pain. I learned what a biathlon is and how biathletes compete in these types of events. I had no idea it was an Olympic sport.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was my first Ihli book but I’ve obviously heard the hype for Run on Red. I would say this book met my expectations. There’s nothing super unique about the plot, but I loved the fact that it was loosely based on a true story. What I enjoyed about this book was the pacing and brutality of it all. There are tws listed in the beginning that I absolutely recommend noticing if domestic violence can be triggering.

The story was well written but I do feel like the characters could’ve been fleshed out a bit more. Fred felt like a bit of a cliche at times. I also struggled with some of the plausibility aspects of the book overall. The ending felt a bit rushed and I could’ve used further expansion.

Overall, I feel this will be well received within the thriller community. Despite feeling a bit cliche at times it’s well written and hard to put down.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

While out practicing for another attempt at making any Olympic team, Miley has a horrifying encounter which causes her to realize she has greater strength and resilience than she has ever credited herself with having. Along the way, she banishes old demons and discovers love.

Miley dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal, which is why even while taking a summer job at a remote mountain lodge, she can’t stop herself from training. During her trail run one day, she’s abducted by two men and brought to their off-the-grid cabin where they live as “preppers”. Desperate to survive, Miley must determine how to outsmart her captors before it’s too late…

Ohhh… myyyy… 😮‍💨😮‍💨 This was the most intense book I’ve read in quite some time. My heart is still pounding from the exhilarating journey this story took me on!

From the very beginning, the prologue grabs your attention as you’re thrust into the action. You can physically feel the main character’s run-for-your-life fear as it radiates off the page! 😬

The story slows down a bit so you can get some backstory of the characters - but by 25% in, you’re back to heart-pounding suspense! This book definitely is not a slow burn. It’ll have you on the edge of your seat, flipping pages so vigorously there’s no way you can put it down. I finished it in less than 24 hours. It was such a fast, enthralling read!

4.75 ⭐️ rounded up! What an incredible MUST READ novel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dynamite Books, & Xpresso Book Tours for the opportunity to read this captivating thriller as a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Based on real life events, this story is terrifying! The level of intensity is astounding. Several times when I was reading, I found myself questioning whether or not I wanted to know the fate of those involved. What a wild ride!

Another nail biting, anxiety inducing book from Noelle W. Ihli. The author has a talent of making you feel claustrophobic in the most isolated of wildernesses.

Gray after Dark follows Miley, an Olympic competitor who is taking time away whilst working at a wilderness resort. In her spare time she utilizes the vast span of the woods to do long distance running through the trails, that is until she stumbles upon two degenerate backwoods men who hold her captive and take her back to their cabin.

With the woods spanning over 4000 miles it’s essentially impossible to find her, but her team mate and potential love interest is determined not to give up.

The plot made me so queezy, the thought of how impossible her situation and the danger she was constantly in as she fights for her survival.

This was unputdownable (except for the times I did literally have to put it down for a breather 🤣). I loved the love interest aspect and the fact her life time friend and Olympic partner refused to give up his search.

Fast paced, character driven, addictive, fully recommend! As an added note I was surprised to see that this book was inspired by actual real life events, that just makes it even more disturbing and eye opening.

Thank you to NetGalley, Noelle w. Ihli and dynamite books for an ARC!

Wow!! I am a HUGE fan of Noelle W. ihli and this is without a doubt her best one yet! When Miley is abducted on her morning run in the Frank Church Wilderness, will she have what it takes to survive?

This was based on a true story and I was captivated from the beginning. Tons of action that will keep you relentlessly turning the pages. The setting of the Idaho wilderness sets the stage for this horrific story. Run rabbit run!

Miley takes a job at a lodge in the Frank Church Wilderness after a tragic accident where her mother passes away. She plans to train for the Olympics during her off time that summer. However, she’s abducted shortly after starting her new job and while on a morning run in the woods. She is then held captive in the woods in a small cabin with her abductors.

I could not put this book down! This fast-paced thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, anxiously hoping for Miley’s escape!

Thank you Netgalley and Dynamite Books for the opportunity for this ARC. Gray After Dark is a thriller in which a young promising Olympian named Miley gets kidnapped by 2 men in the woods named Fred and Hamish. To be honest, this fell flat for me. I wanted to feel heart pounding, hands over my face, anxiety, but I didn't feel any of that. I thought the premise of the book was interesting as it did follow a true story from the 80s of which a female Olympian did suffer through the same ordeal as our FMC Miley. Okay let's just get down to it.
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Okay, first off Brent and Miley, LOVE them. I love how Brent was always there for Miley even when she had the accident with her mother. But honestly, come on Miley. I feel like if she just listened to Wes or Jennifer, she would not have ended up in the situation she was in, or just even updating which trail she was taking that morning. Not to mention, once we got to Part 2 of the story and it was FOUR WEEKS LATER? You mean to tell me that Brent and Wes "survived" all that time by splitting some meat sticks and whatever else Brent had in his backpack? Eh, whatever, overall this was ok. I just wish it was more heartpounding.

The thing I like best about Noelle W. Ihli's books is how high she keeps the suspense/thriller anxiety going for the reader. For me, her books cause nail-biting, heart-pounding unease. I enjoyed Gray After Dark when we were in the thriller part of the book (there are multiple POV's). However, the POV's other than the protagonist's and back story felt superfluous. Since it is based on a true story the backstory was probably necessary to include. If you want a good horror/thriller, this certainly fits the bill. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. *the story is also quite reminiscent of Emiko Jean's The Return of Ellie Black.

Noelle Ihli has such an amazing talent for writing books that are so investing and anxiety inducing. Her books are so vivid that I feel like I’m actually inside of the world to the story she’s created. Gray After Dark is another book added to her list of captivating stories that redefine thrillers-Echo to the anxiety inducing….on literally every single page. I felt EVERY emotion reading this book. The ending provided perfect closure and her bonus stories always have a special place in my heart. 🤍