✨ The Vibes ✨
A cat and mouse cybercrime story

📖 Read if…
✨ You want a true thriller that’s tense but not scary
✨ You want a book you can binge by the pool
✨ You want a fast-paced, plot-driven story

Ruth Run is a book that really snuck up on me. I’ve seen almost nothing about it, and because of that, moved it further down my TBR, but when I finally picked it up, I found it to be a unique and enjoyable thriller.

It’s a really tense book that details a cross country chase from two different POVs: Ruth, a cybercriminal who used her knowledge of microchips to steal millions of dollars, and Mike, the government agent who has been tasked with bringing her in. There’s little to no exposition as the story starts with Ruth, quite literally, on the run, and the pace doesn’t ease up from there. I thought that structure would bother me, but the author did a great job of showing Ruth’s character and sharing her backstory through the action of the story, which was a great choice to keep readers engaged.

I was initially pretty skeptical of this book because I’m not typically a fan of heist/chase stories like this one, as I find them to be simultaneously too boring but also too intense (I know, it doesn’t make sense!). But Ruth Run went to some really interesting places. To say any more would spoil the story, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed some of the final twists.

Ruth Run would be a great pick for readers who love the tension of thrillers, but want something that isn’t scary at all. It’s available now, just in time for beach read season. Thanks to Penguin Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review--3.5 stars, rounded to 4
Publication date- 4/15/2025

Meet Ruth--a tech hacker on the run from unknown assailants as they try to decode her chips placed allover the world. Hydrant Mike--the man responsible for apprehending Ruth, but who is also responsible for creating Ruth. This cat and mouse thriller alternates perspectives between the two characters creating a dynamic story.

Overall I enjoyed this thriller. It was a quick and easy read. Ruth was very relatable and I found her ides unique to try to evade being caught. Mike on the other hand I could not believe would let some of the things happen that did throughout the book--some things just seemed very outlandish and unbelievable.

That’s it? Where’s the rest! Overall, I was not very entertained by this book. Maybe you'll have better luck. It is a quick read with very short chapters to keep things moving.

That’s it?!

…. where’s the rest?!

Wildly unfinished feeling.

Might be holding out for a sequel? But ehhhh

This is a true cat and mouse adventure. Ruth, a cyber tech, has created a microchip that has allowed her to steal millions from banks over a period of seven years. When her firewall alerts her she's about to be caught she goes on the run. She's being pursued by two government agencies but the question exists - who really is trying to help her and who has ulterior motives. Somehow she manages to take down the men who may have been helping her but can she really just get away with it all.
There's a lot of technical jargon which had me spinning a bit but I just read over it.

Twenty six year old Ruth is a smart and talented microchip designer in San Francisco. Some years ago she discovered a coding glitch that she was able to program into the microchips she designed for banks and other companies that allowed her to commit the ultimate cybercrime, gradually stealing over $250 million, all safely stashed offshore. Up to now she’s been safe, with her specialist hacking virtually untraceable, but now she’s been found and has no choice but to run and hide, hoping she can get far enough away to shake off the various national security agencies coming for her.

With short, punchy chapters, this quirky, offbeat debut thriller is a fast, compelling read unpredictable twists and turns. Told from alternating points of view by Ruth and by a government agent with his own plans for Ruth, who has been obsessively watching her over the years. He is sure he can anticipate her next moves, but Ruth is more than a match for him, even if she does find herself in some difficult situations.

With multiple agencies on her tail, she hooks up with a truck driver called Big John, who for his own reasons, plans to drive the back roads through California to Cheyenne. However, she might just have chosen the wrong truck to climb into if she wanted to stay clear of attracting trouble.

There is plenty of humour in Ruth’s journey as she tries to stay one step ahead of those chasing her. In this fast-paced cat and mouse game, the mouse is way smarter than the cats, although you may need to suspend belief at some of the moves Ruth gets away with. Is she a villain or anti-hero? Whichever you decide, you’ll be guaranteed to find yourself cheering her on.

3.5 stars

From early on, Ruth Run has a weird vibe to it. Everything feels disconnected. At the start of the book we’re dumped right into the middle of the action without any prior knowledge of any of the backstory that led up to that moment in time, and it took me more than half the book to play catch up and get an inkling of how all the pieces were fitting together.

It’s a very interesting story and unlike anything I’ve read before, but the main issue I had was that I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I’m not saying they weren’t any good, they just weren’t very likeable and had zero redeeming qualities. Let’s take Ruth for instance. She keeps everyone at arm’s length, including the reader, for no reason I could discern. She comes across as cold and calculating. That was my perception of her. Also, she’s not a strong female lead. Her evading her pursuers was mostly luck, as throughout most of the story she’s a shaking, terrified wreck, with no clear plan of action.

Then there’s Mike. If you’ve ever watched the cult classic movie, American Psycho, Mike is a copy of Christian Bale’s narcissistic, creepy character in the aforementioned movie. That is a terrific movie, so by the way, and kudos to the author for writing a similar character – intentional or not - as he definitely creeped me out.

The two other big issues I had was all the endless technical computer jargon, and the blunt ending that was very unsatisfying and left me with many unanswered questions. But overall I can say with certainty that this book will appeal to the right audience. It has a clever plot and is very well-written. The synopsis was appealing and had me curious, but sadly at the end of the day this book wasn’t exactly for me.

Many thanks to the author, Penguin Press, and NetGalley for an early copy of Ruth Run. My review is my own, unbiased opinion.

I think if it was just a little bit longer it would be five stars.

I loved many things about this novel, including but not limited to: snappy chapter titles, Mike's insistence on comparing himself to GrecoRoman heroes (he was just as petty and bitchy as the heroes he believes he's emulating), and Ruth's uncanny ability to manipulate the shit out of men. #yasqueen

I loved how everyone constantly thought THEY were Ruth's master manipulator, when really they were all (accidentally?) manipulating everyone else watching her. And for all of Ruth's intelligence, she makes mistakes and gets lucky because sometimes all the planning in the world doesn't account for random chance and a lack of experience. In her defense, very few people have firsthand knowledge of going on the run and it's pretty hard to practice. My only complaint is that it ended so abruptly! There's not much more that could've been added, but I don't know, it still felt too sudden to me.

Lastly, as a certified STEM kid that hates coding I absolutely couldn't tell you if the electronics knowledge was accurate - I dropped all coding and electronics classes as fast as I could - but if it's based on real science I do wish it had been a little bit more in depth. I had trouble imagining exactly what her chip did.

For anyone who needs a read that will suck them in and just NOT let up after that, I definitely recommend this book! I really enjoyed Ruth Run, and it reminded me a but of the feeling of watching the various Jason Bourne movies- and that’s no bad thing! I’ve loved every Bourne movie, and similarly, I had great fun with this. My only quibble would be slightly with the end of it, but that in no way took from the overall fun that was being gripped by Ruth!

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book starts with a bang, and doesn't let up for the entire story, very face paced, though character development is a bit scarce. Ruth had found an error in a microchip that allowed someone to access the system the chip was installed in, so Ruth hired a fellow to copy that error onto hundreds of chips then arranged for them to be sold to banks to safeguard their systems. Over time she has managed to syphon off $250 million, the burning question is why she would need that much and why she didn't quit earlier. A safety trigger alerted her that someone had discovered her scheme and were coming after her, so she goes on the run with the the fellow that had helped her develop the scheme, he not soon after, decides he wants to stay put in a city, thinking he'll be fine. Ruth continues on, this after she had realized her car and her were being tracked. She is very good at critical thinking always managing to stay one step ahead of a number of federal agents that are tracking her, one who she had met back when she first found the bug in the chip. The story is told from Ruth's perspective and that of the agent and it also covers their backstory, which ties everything together nicely. A wee bit of graphic violence I wasn't expecting, but not entirely out of place for the circumstances. I would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Penguin Press for the ARC.

‘I was dreaming about a ginger cookie—soft-centered, crunch with sanding sugar—when the alarms went off.’

Meet Ruth. She is twenty-six years old and excels at microchip design. And Ruth’s excellence at design enables her to hack a firewall chip which she uses to siphon more than $250 million out of the banking system. Ruth may be the only person who knows how to access the chip, but others have been watching her. One night an alarm goes off and Ruth realises that she has been discovered. A few hours later, she is on the run.
One of those pursuing Ruth, Mike, is a government agent who is certain that Ruth and he have a future. Mike’s certainty leads him to make some questionable decisions and certainly ratchets up the tension. Meanwhile, Ruth teams up with a truck driver dealing with issues of his own.

Will the government agents catch Ruth, or can she outsmart them? While they are not all as deluded as Mike, all those individual agendas slow them down. Meanwhile, it occurs to at least one government official that Ruth could be an intelligence asset. Hmm.
The action and tension increase. What will Ruth do?

I kept reading, both unsure of where the story was going and how it would end. And damn, I was blindsided. Yes, I enjoyed this novel with its twists and turns. Ruth was not the only character whose moral ambiguity shaped her choices and decisions, but she was the only one I cared for.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and the Penguin Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I will start off by saying that this book took no time to get me hooked. I loved how fast paced this book was and the duel POVs really made it that much quicker to get through. I was literally at the edge of my seat at times with the cat and mouse game this book had going on. The only part that confused me were some of the tech terms, but it didn’t seem to really make a difference.

Thank you, @PenguinPress for my @NetGalley #ARC.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 295 / Genre: Technothriller
Release Date: April 15, 2025

Ruth is a microchip designer by day and a cyber hacker by night. She’s managed to steal more than $250 million from a banking system over five years. She’s been laying low all this time working a real job until one of her alarms goes off and she realizes she’s been discovered. She goes on the run, hitching a ride with a shady truck driver, who’s running from his own demons. Their worlds collide in a crazy series of events.

I liked how smart and practical Ruth is. Even when everyone around her is out to get her, she figures out her best move and refuses to get played. This is the perfect binge read when you’re in the mood for something fast and twisty.

Ruth Run is a shot of adrenaline in book form. Kaufman's prose is quick-witted and full of surprises at every turn. With some of the offbeat humor of FARGO and a zany on the run narrative that feels akin to Jason Pargin, this book is a must read.

Meh

This book is told from two perspectives: Ruth, who developed a computer chip that allowed her to steal a millions, and Mike, the government agent who has been following her and now that she is on the run he is trying to hunt her down--or is he? As various other agencies get involved in the cat and mouse chase, who will be victorious?

My main problem with this book is that I had no idea why on earth Mike was so invested in what was going on with Ruth. We're thrown right into the story as Ruth is trying to get away, and I never could garner up many reasons to support one side or the other. I felt no connection to either of them and by the end I just wanted it to be over, I didn't care if she ultimately got away or not.

My favorite parts were when Ruth came up with clever ways to slip out of their grasp, but it didn't happen very often. You definitely have to suspend disbelief through most of this book because some of the things that happen are so over the top unbelievable I was rolling my eyes.

Overall, I was not very entertained by this book. Maybe you'll have better luck. It is a quick read with very short chapters to keep things moving.

Occasionally, a reader has the need to sit down with an unputdownable fast-paced thriller that does not involve serial killers. That same reader welcomes an opportunity to immerse herself in a wholly unrealistic but also funny and suspenseful financial caper involving our clever protagonist Ruth on the run with millions of dollars from creepy shadowy government agents. If that reader is you, I highly recommend this gem. Well done Elizabeth Kaufman! Thanks to Penguin Press and NetGalley for the DRC.

It's not like the summary doesn't clarify this but it was a bit more action-y, heist-y than I wanted. But that's definitely a me issue.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elizabeth Kaufman, and Penguin Group Press for the eARC! This was a fast-paced and funny read that kept me hooked from start to finish. The characters were well-developed and memorable, and the storyline was both intriguing and full of surprises. I couldn’t put it down!

What to say about this cat-and-mouse tale about cybercrime? Quite frankly by the end I still had more questions than answers.

Here are some things I liked:

🚙I love a good road trip and Ruth spends time in some of my favorite states, especially Idaho.

🐶Blobs, an old dog who joins the story far too late, was my favorite character. Hope he got the ending he deserved.

🏃‍♀️Ruth is on the run and we know more than she does due to the addition of the Mike POV. While our girl has some cyberskills, the guys on the hunt have some tricks up their sleeves as well. Who will prevail?

Two reasons I will not read more of this author:

💻The cybercrime capers in this book are above my pay grade. Did not especially enjoy reading about them.
🧾Author's disdain for Christians and scripture.

Happy Pub Week to this promising debut thriller. Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.